TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
 |
Inventory of the George Deal Papers, 1862-1975, bulk 1862-1864
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2005. ©2005. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
|
| Creator | Deal, George, ca. 1825-1864 |
| Title | George Deal Papers |
| Dates | 1862-1975 |
| Dates | bulk 1862-1864 |
| Extent | 0.2 linear feet (1 box) |
| Abstract | Fifty-five letters and fragments of letters from George Deal, Ohio Union soldier in the Civil War, to his wife Sarah Cole Deal. Also, photographs of Sarah and George Deal, photocopies of army service records, three Confederate bills, and a few genealogical notes made by Deal's grandson. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | VAULT Case MS 10030 |
| Collection Stack Location | Vault 35 3 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
George Deal Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift of Carolyn Young, 2004.
Processed by
Virginia H. Smith, 2005.
Access
The George Deal Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum (Priority II).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The George Deal Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Return to the Table of Contents
Biography of George Deal
Ohio farmer and Civil War soldier.
According to a copy of his volunteer enlistment form, in October, 1862, George Deal was thirty-eight when he went into the Union army in Sidney, Ohio. However, since Deal was illiterate, signing the enlistment form with his "mark," it is possible he was younger than he stated. He joined Company K, 20th Regiment Ohio Infantry as a private, and served until he was killed at the Battle of Atlanta in 1864. Deal's regiment was stationed at Camp Dennison, Ohio, Lake Providence, La., Memphis, Tenn., Vicksburg, Miss, and Atlanta, Ga.
George Deal was born in Pennsylvania, but lived as a farmer in Ohio. His letters to his wife, Sarah Cole Deal, are addressed to the town of Montra, Shelby County, some miles southwest of Toledo. He had several children, one of whom was Emaline Deal (Young).
The government casualty sheet states "missing in action" July 22, 1864 near Atlanta, Georgia.
Return to the Table of Contents
Scope and Content of the Collection
Fifty-five letters and fragments of letters from George Deal to his wife Sarah Cole Deal, written for apparently illiterate Deal by several individuals.
Written from Camp Dennison, Ohio, Lake Providence, La., Memphis, Tenn., Vicksburg, Miss., and Atlanta, Ga., the letters briefly describe camp life, the scenery as his regiment moves south, his health and his concerns about army pay and his family's welfare. He frequently sent home advice to his wife on how to feed herself and her children while struggling to pay for lodging. The letters show the low level of literacy among those Deal depended on to write for him. Some lettersheets contain printed vignettes and many are accompanied by envelopes. Also, portrait photographs of Sarah and George Deal, photocopies of army service records requested in 1975 by Deal's grandson, James L. Young in 1975, three Confederate bills and few genealogical notes regarding the Young family.
Return to the Table of Contents
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in the following order: correspondence, photographs, army records, Confederate bills, genealogical notes.
Return to the Table of Contents
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Deal family
- Deal, George, ca. 1825-1864
- United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 20th (1861-1865)
Subjects
- Atlanta Campaign, 1864 -- Personal narratives
- Camp Dennison (Ohio)
- Correspondence -- Southern States -- 1851-1900
- Husband and wife -- Correspondence
- Literacy -- United States -- History -- 19th century
- Manuscripts, American
- Married women -- Economic conditions
- Patriotic envelopes
- Photographs -- Illinois -- 1851-1900
- Pictorial lettersheets -- 1851-1900
- Shelby County (Ohio) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Soldiers -- Ohio -- Correspondence
- Soldiers -- Southern states
- Soldiers' writings, American
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Military life
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- Vicksburg (Miss.) -- History -- Siege, 1863 -- Personal narratives
Return to the Table of Contents
Container List |
|||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Letter, Camp Dennison, Ohio, (uniform, pay), Patriotic vignette, Envelope Oct. 23, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Letter, Camp Dennison, Ohio, (pay, guard duty), Patriotic vignette Nov. 9, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Letter, Camp Dennison, Ohio, (travel, boats), Patriotic vignette Dec. 5, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Letter, South of Cincinnati, (steamboats, illiteracy), Patriotic vignette, Envelope Dec. 14, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Letter, Steamer to Columbus, Ky., (steamboats, illness, troop movement, hopes for peace), Patriotic vignette, envelope Dec. 20, 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Letter, Columbus, Ky., (Christmas, food), Patriotic Vignette Jan. 2, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Letter, Lafayette, Tenn., (marching, food), Patriotic vignette, Envelope Jan. 14, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Letter, Near Memphis, Tenn., (illness, marching, hope for peace), Patriotic vignette, Envelope Jan. 23, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Letter, Near Memphis, Tenn., Envelope, Valentine Jan. 30, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Letter, Memphis, Tenn., (camp life, lack of news, instruction about rent/lack of money) Feb. 10, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Letter, Memphis, Tenn., (washing, courage, hope for peace) Feb. 16, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Letter, Memphis (fragment), (camp life) Feb., 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Letter, Memphis, Tenn., (pay, instructions about rent/lack of money Feb. 17, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Letter, Lake Providence, La., (Vicksburg, Destruction of countryside), Envelope Feb. 24, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Letter, Lake Providence, La., (instructions about rent/lack of money, longing for home, pay, troop movement), Envelope March 19, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Letter, Lake Providence, La., (plea for help from neighbors, longing for home) March 31, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Letter, Lake Providence, La., (difficulty receiving and writing letters, sending pay, southern men) Apr. 8, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Letter, Near Lake Providence, La., (sending pay), Envelope Apr. 12, 1963 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Letter, Louisiana, bank of the Mississippi, north of Vicksburg, (Vicksburg, draft, butternuts, advice about house, writing letters) Apr. 20, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Letter, Hanes Bluff, north of Vicksburg, Miss., (marching, friendsip, battle, Vicksburg) June 2, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (marching, difficulty of writing), Envelope June 7, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (marching, hospital, battle, longing for home and peace), Envelope June 16, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (2 fragments) (parade, writing, sending pay, butternuts) [June, 1863]. | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Letter Near Vicksburg, (writing letters) June 24, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (dead and wounded, inability to come home) July 4, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (Vicksburg surrenders, sending pay) July 6, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Letter, Bovina, Miss., east of Vicksburg, (Vicksburg, camp life, butternuts), Patriotic vignette July 11, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Letter, Camp Vicksburg, (advice on house, longing for home) July 30, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | Letter, Vicksburg, Miss., (marching, deserters, hope for peace) Aug. 3, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | Letter, Vicksburg, (geography, longing for home, destruction of Vicksburg, butternuts) Aug. 6, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sick furlough, sending pay, price of food and clothing, butternuts), Envelope Aug. 17, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Letter, Vicksburg, (illness, jail, butternut) Sept. 13, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Letter, Vicksburg, (pay, letter from Cornelius Deavenport) Sept. 26, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34 | Letter, Vicksburg, (butternuts, weather) Sept. 27, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 35 | Letter, Vicksburg, (scouting, marching) Oct. 21, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Letter, Vicksburg, (weather, hopes for mustering out, sending pay), Envelope Oct. 28, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 37 | Letter, Vicksburg, (health, election, hopes for returning home) Nov. 11, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 38 | Letter, Vicksburg, (hopes for returning home, food prices, General Logan) Nov. 15, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 39 | Letter, Vicksburg, (weather, pay) Nov. 20, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 40 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sending pay), Envelope Nov. 28, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 41 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sending pay, butternuts) Dec. 12, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 42 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sending pay), Envelope Dec. 21, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 43 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sending pay, Christmas), Envelope Dec. 25, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 44 | Letter, Vicksburg, (sending pay, longing for home) Jan. 3, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 45 | Letter, Vicksburg, (hopes for returning home) Jan. 8, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 46 | Letter, Vicksburg, (fragment) (hopes for returning home) Jan. 19, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 47 | Letter, Vicksburg, (hopes for returning home) Jan. 25, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 48 | Letter, Near Vicksburg, (marching, plans for returning home) Mar. 10, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 49 | Letter, Cairo, Ill., (return to the army) May 8, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 50 | Letter, Huntsville, Ala., (marching, Sherman, geography, pay), Envelope May 24, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 51 | Letter, Near Atlanta, Ga., (marching) June 9, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 52 | Letter, Near Atlanta, (marching) June 13, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 53 | Letter, Near Atlanta, (pay, Atlanta, waiting for battle, instructions about lack of money) June 15, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 54 | Letter, Near Atlanta, (waiting for battle) July 11, 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 55 | Photograph -- George Deal, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 56 | Photograph -- Sarah Cole Deal, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 57 | Army service records (photocopies), 1862-1975 | |||||||||
| 1 | 58 | Confederate bills, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 59 | Genealogical notes relating to the Young family, n.d. | |||||||||