Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: William Meshack Abernathy Manuscript (Z/0002)
Creator/Collector: William Meshack Abernathy.
Date(s): June 1, 1902.
Size: .10 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, 1953; Microfilmed, 1974; Bill Hanna, 1980; Laura Heller, 2023.
Provenance: Gift of Frances Abernathy Thompson, of McKinney, Texas, on August 9, 1953; Z/0002.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Microfilm copy must be used.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: William Meshack Abernathy Manuscript (Z/0002), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

William Meshack Abernathy

William Meshack Abernathy, was born on May 9, 1843, in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi, the son of Frances Jane Franklin (1820-1897) and David Addison Abernathy (1811-1887).  He married Lucy Roberts (1846-1937) in 1873 and the couple had several children: Frances Gibbons Abernathy (1874-1968), William Roberts Abernathy (1876-1940), Robert E. Abernathy (1877-1878), Cecil Abernathy (1879-1973), Mary Abernathy (1879-1973), and Clare Abernathy (1887-1953).

Abernathy was a member of the Mississippi Rangers (Company B, 17th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry), Confederate States of America, of Holly Springs. He enlisted with an older brother at Holly Springs at age seventeen. After the Civil War, Abernathy is said to have walked home to Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1868 and from Cumberland University’s law school in 1871. He practiced law in Ashland, Benton County, Mississippi, for two years before moving his law practice to McKinney, Collin County, Texas.  In 1902, he wrote his memoir, "'Our Mess': Southern Army Gallantry and Privations, 1861-1865."  William Meshack Abernathy died on August 17, 1911, and he is buried in the Pecan Grove Cemetery, in McKinney, Texas.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection consists of a typed manuscript of 62 pages by William Meshack Abernathy of McKinney, Texas, entitled, 'Our Mess': Southern Army Gallantry and Privations, 1861–1865.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Typed Manuscript. 1902.

The manuscript, entitled, 'Our Mess': Southern Army Gallantry and Privations, 1861-1865 by William M. Abernathy, is a sketch of the activities of the Mississippi Rangers (Company B, 17th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry), Confederate Army, of Holly Springs, Mississippi. Due to the fragility of the original manuscript, the microfilm copy must be used by researchers.

Box 1, folder 1 (Restricted)
Microfilm copy: Z/0002.000/M/Roll 35977