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Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection

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Unknown to "Brother William"

Author Unknown

Regarding father's will and it being different that the writer had thought. The author of the letter notes that all that has been willed to them is now William's
Chapin M. Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1892 April 25)

Chapin M. Gerdine

Chapin explains that due to losses incurred by recent heavy flooding they are forced to ask "Uncle Ed" [E.E.C. Chapin, Roxana's half-brother], to pay the interest on a loan
Mrs. Chattie Beall to Emily Chapin (1891 April 25)

Chattie Beally

Mrs. Beall writes to Emily McKinstry Chapin about Roxana's recent stroke and condition
Joe Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1891 April 28)

Joseph Gerdine

Joe Gerdine (Roxana's step-son) writes to Emily about his step-mother's stroke and general condition.
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Carra Chapin (1891 April 16)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana thanks Carra (who she always called Carria) for her recent birthday present. She mentions "the grippe" bothering her right arm which was a sign of her illness to come. She suffered a stroke later that month and would die on May 2, 1891
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1891 March 11)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

This is Roxana's last surviving letter to Emily before her stroke in April 1891. She writes mostly about family matters, especially of her sons Chapin and Lynn and stepchildren Mary, Joe and Jane White
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1890 December 28)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the Christmas holidays and presents; she notes the general financial panic and the talk of several fore-closings; her step-son Joe Gerdine is closing his affairs in West Point and people are paying their notes with mules. She also notes her son Chapin's position with Mr. Crump
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1890 March 9)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes a very moving letter to Emily about the death of her eldest son Tom Gerdine
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (23 November 1890)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about a Ku Klux Klan incident and lynching at Macon, GA which involved her step-grand-daughter Ella. She describes the repercussions felt from this incident in West Point, MS. She talks about how white men view southern white women in this context and how race plays into this
Chapin M. Gerdine to Clint Chapin (1889 November 2)

Chapin M. Gerdine

Chapin writes to his cousin Clint about purchasing an "oxidized handle walking stick" and sending it to him in Mississippi
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1886 February 7)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of "Brother Edward" her son Chapin going to school, possibly to Amherst College in MA; Clint Chapin; and Joe Chapin
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (15 January 1882)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana describes the unusually rainy winter they have had; gathering rents from the plantation and estate matters; her children's health and smallpox scares in Mississippi; their half-brother Edward's financial difficulties, and Emily's fellowship meetings.
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1878-)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about the end of the school semester and returning to the plantation. She notes the loneliness of the plantation (Mr. Gerdine would have died after 1878); she mentions Greenwood Cemetery; her step-daughter Lucy coming to visit from Florida where she was teaching; mentions her interest in Emily's daughter Carra
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1878 December 4)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about her school; financial affairs; high rate of taxes; the cotton crop; the financial problems of their half-brother Edward and she advises him to sell Aunt Roxey's place
Tom Gerdine to Roxana Chapin Gerdine (1878 August 20)

Thomas Cobb Gerdine

Most likely written by Tom Gerdine, Roxana and W.L.C. Gerdine's first born son, while she was on vacation up north visiting family. Tom mentions town events, and talks about his father's grave and Greenwood Cemetery
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1873)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana is possibly pregnant with her fourth child, Lynn Van Horn Gerdine (b. 1873). She writes about the death of her step-daughter Lizzie Gerdine Sykes' son Emmett and she notes her son Chapin's reaction to the death. She writes of cholera outbreaks and the inability to buy a house in West Point, MS because of the poor cotton crop
Regina Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1870-)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes news of her school and boarders; information about the running of the plantation; and the marriage of a (cousin?) Eleanor Chapin
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1870-)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the business surrounding her school. The letter is after 1870 because she mentions her niece (Emily's daughter) Carra Chapin, who was born that year. Roxana also writes in detail about several suicides of neighbors in the area
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1870 August 30)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the birth of Chapin McKinstry Gerdine (August 7, 1870); also writes of the birth of Robert Emmett Sykes, son of Roxana's step-daughter Lizzie Gerdine Sykes
Joe Gerdine to Roxana Chapin Gerdine (1866 September 9)

Joseph Gerdine

Joe writes to Roxana while she was visiting family in Chicopee, MA. He discusses the Mississippi gossip and mentions seeing quite a number of Confederate veterans recently (Col. Chalmers, Col. Sims, Col. Young). Joe also write about "Pa" in some detail (William L.C. Gerdine). Note: Joe's first wife and child died in 1865. He would remarry in 1867 to Rebecca C. Murrah and have eight children including Joe Jr. in 1870
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1865-1878)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana mentions that she is not so enthusiastic about travel as she gets older; they have rented out the plantation to freedmen; mentions the trend of plantation owners to rent out their plantations to freedmen; they pay with cotton for their rent; mentions the scarcity of schools and churches; and talks about the death of her step-daughter Lizzie's baby
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1865-1878 January 14)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

In this letter Roxana discusses family business matters; she responds to the family's question regarding how much she spent on Lucy's doctors and burial; division of assets; their "Mother"(step-mother Sarah); mentions how the South was not "whipped enough" in the war; and ends with a description of what she sees as a dangerous society
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1865 April 5)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about the "Fall of Selma, [AL]" [April 2, 1865]; talks of sons in service; describes how it was almost impossible to send mail through the lines now; her tiredness in feeding so many Confederate soldiers; a law passed by the Confederate Congress which took half their cotton; need of greenbacks; and guerrilla warfare tactics
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1865 June 22)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes in detail about what is happening in post-Civil-War Mississippi; freedmen; death of (daughter-in-law) Maddie (married to Joe Gerdine) and their baby; death of a freewoman's baby that morning; the sending of a former slave "Aunt Tempe" away in part due to the running away of her daughter Harriet with Federal troops came through Columbus and resulting consequences
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1865 March 4)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of wanting the image Emily has of "Pet" her daughter who died in on October 17, 1863; this letter was possibly written after the death of their father Titus Chapin in 1865 as Roxana speaks about division of assets; Roxana is clear that she does not want to accept any money from her family for caring for their sister Lucy Chapin before her death
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1863 December 13)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about her extreme sadness over the death of her three year old daughter,"Pet," (Emma Sarah Chapin Gerdine); mentions not receiving any mail from the family; and the difficulty of getting greenbacks
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1863 March 21)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the death of her good family friend Gen. Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb at the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862); talks about her family and her worries over their father; talks about a possible trip north despite the war; talks about the opposition of her husband to the proposed trip north; begs her sister not to allude to military affairs; talks in general about the Confederacy; and discusses her continued sorrow over the war
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1862 January 25)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about the sickness of their sister Lucy [Lucy would die on March 21, 1862]; writes about the ban on the communication of war news north; says she is limited to only one page; tells her sister to direct her letters via Fort Monroe; mentions a Colonel Young and his family; and talks of her desire to travel north sometime in March
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1862 November 24)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about her worries over what to do with the remains of their sister Lucy who died on March 21, 1862 of tuberculosis and is then buried at the Gerdine plantation. Lucy's remains would not be returned to Chicopee, MA until after the Civil War
Lucy Chapin to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1862 March 21)

Lucy Chapin

In this letter Lucy writes about her desire to know more of Chicopee, MA gossip; explains the lack of eligible men in the area due to the outbreak of the Civil War; and the effects of the Civil War in general upon Mississippi
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1861 February 4)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the improvement in Lucy's health since her coming to Mississippi; talk of secession in surrounding areas; calling her son Tom Cobb "a little black Republican" the secession of Mississippi; her desire to read northern newspapers; the Southern Congress; and mentions T.R.R. Cobb and Mr. Howell Cobb
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1862 March 21)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about the differences between northern and southern newspapers; explains what her family is doing on behalf of the Confederacy; the possibility of making Mr. Gerdine a Colonel; departure of Miss Eaton for Ohio; the dangers of travel, especially for a woman alone; notes that their sister Lucy will be staying south; and notes the hanging of a "suspicious" woman in Columbus, MS
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1860-1861 December 16)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of talk of secession; their step-mother Sarah Chapin; T.R.R. Cobb; Tom Cobb Gerdine; the feelings of southerners via the north; her desire to obtain reliable northern news; talks of the new railroad through West Point; and writes of their sister Lucy Chapin
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1860-1862 November 29)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of her recent trip north to Chicopee, MA; her husband's favorable impression of the north, especially ladies who work; return home; visiting Waverly, MS; complains of their sister Lucy Chapin not helping with household work enough; and she talks a bit about starting her school
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1860 April 2)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about a possible visit north but continues to worry about bringing an enslaved person with her. She also notes the birth of a daughter to Mrs. Cobb
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1860 January 1)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about her first Christmas on the Mississippi plantation; the celebrations of the plantation slaves; the making of clothes for slaves [in 1860 the census listed 73 slaves for the Gerdine plantation]; sending her congratulations on Emily's marriage; interesting notations about her disbelief in romance; and her hope for a possible visit north
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1860 September)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

This letter was written after Roxana visited her family in Chicopee, MA. She writes to let Emily know that the piano has been delivered; how excited her children are waiting for the "box" of goodies from the north to arrive
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1859-1861)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes that Mr. Gerdine has gone for two months to a plantation possibly in Texas. It is unclear from this letter whether Roxana has moved to the West Point, MS area or is still in Athens, GA
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1859-1862 November 19)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of their sister Lucy's spending habits while she visited up north; she mentions "Lizzie" (possibly her step-daughter Elizabeth Gerdine, later Mrs. William Sykes); mentions slaves in household; Thanksgiving and food for the holiday; and their cotton crop
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1859 December)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes about the move from Athens, GA to the Mississippi plantation outside of West Point; behavior of slaves; possibility of traveling north next summer; Tom Cobb Gerdine's boyhood antics; their father's resemblance to John P. Calhoun; and Judge Joseph Lumpkin of GA
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1859 March 6)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of her baby Tom Cobb Gerdine; Tom's nurse (slave) and the differences between "northern" and "southern" children; their sister Lucy Chapin (who came to teach at the Lucy Cobb Institute in January 1859; William L.C. Gerdine's Mississippi plantation; Roxana's dislike of possibly living on a plantation; talks about Washington, GA; and also the possibility of two of her step-sons (Joe and Johnnie) attending the University of Georgia in the future
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (19 May 1859-1861)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of the raising of Tom Cobb Gerdine and southern children in general; her worries about bringing a slave north to visit with her because of their father's abolitionist views; talking off of her mourning (probably for her brother, Titus Chapin, Jr.) Emily's upcoming marriage (William Day Chapin); the "General"(William L.C. Gerdine) wanting to buy a Texas plantation and her opposition to it
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1858 May 17)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of Mt. Holyoke; hearing from mutual acquaintances in Washington, [GA]; her wish that her sisters (Lucy and Emily) could be with her down South; stories about her step-children; T.R.R. Cobb's opinion of her; and the opinion of Judge Lumpkin (grand-father of her step-children).
Roxana Chapin Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1858 November 28)

Roxana Chapin Gerdine

Roxana writes of her children and cooking for such a large family; Thanksgiving celebrations; alludes to the death of their brother Titus Chapin, Jr. who at 26 drowned in the Kansas River; speaks of the arrival of their sister Lucy Chapin; talks about the school in Washington, GA; talks of her step-son John traveling to their land in Mississippi; and talks about slaves in the household
William L. C. Gerdine to Emily McKinstry Chapin (1858 February 12)

William Louis Crawford Gerdine

Writes about his upcoming marriage to her sister Roxana Chapin.