Ramsey Family Papers

The Ramsey Family Papers date from 1797 to 1891 and consist chiefly of correspondence, along with autobiographical and genealogical notes and a small photograph of Sue Ramsey. The family owned enslaved people and supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, fighting to maintain the Southern economy based on the labors of enslaved people. The correspondence describes the family's affairs through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Most of the letters are written from the family living in Tennessee to Sue when she lived in North Carolina. Some correspondence of note includes several letters from Sue's father in 1864, suggesting she remain in Virginia with relatives or attend the Female Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are letters from Sue's brother John, stationed in Virginia, and her fiance and cousin, William Alexander (who was serving with the 37th North Carolina troops) dated 1864 and 1865, describing the demoralization and numerous desertions among the Confederate soldiers, prison conditions and heavy rains. Letters from Sue's friends and relatives dated 1866 to 1869 describe life in the South under Reconstruction, decisions by many to move to Texas or Mexico, and discouragement with farming on a large scale. Sue's father's letters provide commentary on political and economic developments at the state and national levels; one letter from Dr. Ramsey, written in 1877, discusses the progress of his lawsuits to obtain remuneration for war time property losses. Her mother's letters address the deaths of her children, the loss of her home, the deprivations of the war years and the economic troubles afterward, and her health problems, as well as her religious faith.