Skip to main content

Currie Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC 713

Scope and Content Note

Letters, promissory notes, and other miscellaneous documents pertaining to the Currie families of Woodruff County, Arkansas.

The letters describe farming conditions, some local politics and race relations, and mostly family gossip regarding health, marriages, and deaths. The promissory notes include sections of ledger books and other financial records from both Arkansas and Tennessee transactions. The miscellaneous documents include some items which do not appear to directly relate to the Currie family.

Dates

  • 1852-1891

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

The Currie family moved to eastern Arkansas from Tennessee prior to the Civil War. Dr. Calvin J. Currie probably came first, settling in Richland Township, St. Francis County, around 1850. His brothers, James B. Currie and William J. Currie, followed with their wives and children. By the time of the 1860 census all three Currie brothers were living in Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas. This area later became part of Woodruff County when it was created in 1862. The Currie brothers all became prominent landowners, planters and enslavers, each enslaving several people on their cotton-growing operations. James B. Currie may have died before 1870, and his wife, Mary, moved back to Tennessee. Most of the postwar correspondence is between Mary and descendants of the Currie brothers living around Woodruff County. Franklin Currie, another brother mentioned in the correspondence, also appears to have been living in Tennessee after the Civil War.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Arrangement of the Papers

The collection has been arranged in three series.

  1. Correspondence, 1852-1890 (Box 1, Folders 1-3)
  2. Financial documents, 1852-1887, n.d. (Box 1, Folders 4-7)
  3. Miscellaneous documents (Box 1, Folder 8)

Acquisition Information

The Currie Family Papers were purchased by Special Collections from Charles Apfelbaum of Valley Stream, New York, on August 28, 1987.

Related Materials

Records relating to the Currie Family Papers include:

James B. Currie Ledger MC 900

Processing Information

Processed by Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in November 1987. Finding aid language was updated by Catherine Wallack in November 2023 as part of a project to update outdated or harmful description related to slavery or to enslaved persons.

Creator

Source

Title
Currie Family Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Kim Allen Scott
Date
November 1987
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444