Creator: Elmore, Grace Brown, 1839-1912.
Collection number: 243
View finding aid.
Abstract: The collection includes an intermittent diary of Miss Elmore of Columbia, S.C., containing primarily personal and introspective entries except for a detailed account of life and events in the city, September 1864-January 1865, during Union army occupation. Also, small notebooks containing drafts of a novel and other literary materials.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: Volumes 1, 3, and 4 all contain discussions of slaves on the family property, and Grace Elmore’s thoughts on slavery and freedom. Of particular note in Volume 4 are descriptions of family slaves telling Brer Rabbit and Ole Harry Scratch stories and other “negro tales.” Also included is a narrative purported to be by her brother Albert’s former slave Billy about his Civil War experiences, entitled “Billy’s Account of Himself,” and Grace B. Elmore’s description of Billy’s visit to the Elmore home in 1890.