Dates: 1835; 1843-1862 (scattered); 1868-1889 (scattered).

 

Scope and Content Note:

In scattered form, the Aldridge Papers provide information on the nineteenth century from 1835 to 1889. Significant clusters exist centering on Francis M. Aldridge's years as a student at Georgetown College in Kentucky from 1843 to 1847 and the early Civil War period from June 1861 to March 1862. Correspondence from the 1850s represents a sparse coverage for that decade. Scattered letters and documents from the late 1860s, the 1870s, and the 1880s are present, but provide no extensive information on the times.

The content of the collection consists of personal correspondence of Francis Marion Aldridge and other family members, essays and poems written by Aldridge in college, 1860s newspaper clippings, essays written by Aldridge after graduation, and public addresses made by Aldridge both in school and later in life.

The most revealing elements of the Aldridge papers in terms of understanding Aldridge's character and his life in the nineteenth century are his essays and speeches; and his Civil War correspondence with his wife Elizabeth Minter Aldridge, sent from Confederate Civil War camps such as Camp Clark at Corinth and those at Cumberland Gap and Mill Spring, Kentucky.

 
Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1835; 1844–1862 (scattered); 1868–1889 (scattered).

Folder 1:

  • November 18, 1835: L. S. Somerville to wife Ellen G. Somerville
  • May 16, 1844: Elizabeth Minter (Aldridge's future wife) to Thomas Minter (brother)
  • July 28, 1844: "Cousin" Lida to Elizabeth Minter
  • July 1, 1845: "Cousin" Lida to Elizabeth Minter
  • September 14, 1845: "Cousin" Lida to Elizabeth Minter
  • October 15, 1845: "Cousin" Lida to Elizabeth Minter
  • February 2, 1847: J. H. Pendleton to Elizabeth Minter
  • September 30, 1847: Francis Clement to Elizabeth Minter
  • October 14, 1847: B. T. Blewett to Francis M. Aldridge

Folder 2:

  • July 3, 1851: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge (wife)
  • July 18, 1851: May E. Simmons to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 22, 1852: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • April 30, 1852: M. D. Caldwell to N. C. Snider
  • October 21, 1852: B. T. Blewett to J. M. Aldridge
  • January 19, 1854: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 3:

  • August 11, 1856: John R. Hall to Francis M. Aldridge
  • August 3, 1857: B. T. Blewett to Francis M. Aldridge
  • August 11, 1858: B. T. Blewett to Francis M. Aldridge
  • July 1, 1859: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • July 11, 1859: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • August 9, 1860: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge(?)
  • 1860: portions of three Francis M. Aldridge letters on his trip to the North and the West

Folder 4:

  • June 3, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • June 9, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • June 23, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • July 4, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • August 3, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • August 25, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge's sister Sue to Francis M. Aldridge
  • August 27, 1861: Sue to Francis M. Aldridge
  • August 28, 1861: Sue to Francis M. Aldridge
  • August 31, 1861: Elizabeth Aldridge to Francis M. Aldridge

Folder 5:

  • September 10, 1861: Elizabeth Aldridge to Francis M. Aldridge
  • September 15, 1861: Elizabeth Aldridge to Mrs. Land
  • September 17, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge Aldridge
  • September 19, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • September 21, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 6:

  • October 2, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • October 5, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to his sister Sue
  • October 6, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • October 7, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth M. Aldridge
  • October 11, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge's sister Sue and Francis M. Aldridge
  • October 20, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • October 27, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • October 30, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • October 31, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 7:

  • November 13(?), 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to his sister Sue
  • November 3, 1861: sister Sue to Francis M. Aldridge
  • November 8, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 9, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 12, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 1215(?), 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 18, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge(?) to Rev. C. K. Marshall
  • November 18(?), 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 19, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November 21, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • November ?, 1861: incomplete letter
  • December 1(?), 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge(?)
  • December 4, 1861: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • December 13, 1861; Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 8:

  • January 15, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • January 30, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • February 19, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • February 26, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 17, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 22, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 27, 1862: Francis M. Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 9:

  • May 18, 1868: Lulu Aldridge to Frank Aldridge (both are Francis M. Aldridge's children)
  • August 6, 1869: Sam B. Jones (nephew) to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • December 2, 1869: Frank Aldridge (son) to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • January 18, 1870: Frank Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 27, 1870: "Mignonette" to "Andro" (sister of Elizabeth Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge using nicknames)
  • November 17, 1870: "Mignonette" to "Andro" (sister of Elizabeth Aldridge to Elizabeth Aldridge using nicknames)
  • August 4, 1871: James Minter (uncle) to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • September 3, 1873: Lulu Jones notebook. (formerly Lulu Aldridge, married Sam B. Jones)
  • March 20, 1874: Frank Aldridge (son) to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • March 27, 1874: Elizabeth Aldridge to Lulu A. Jones (sister-in-law)
  • July 30, 1874: Sam B. Jones(?) (nephew) to Elizabeth Aldridge

Folder 10:

  • September 4, 1876: Sam B. Jones notebook
  • October 6, 1882: F. M. Aldridge signature on title paper
  • May 3, 1883: receipt signed by Mike Dayle(?)
  • November 1, 1889: Lulu Jones to Elizabeth Aldridge
  • Undated: Unsigned letter fragment1870s[?]
  • Undated: Unsigned letter fragment1880s [?]
  • Undated: Phrenological chart for Francis M. Aldridge

 

Series 2: Student Essays. 1843–1845. Folder 11.

  1. Amusements essay, March 26, year unlisted.
  2. "The Art of Printing " undated.
  3. "Communication," letter to editor of "Rural," undated.
  4. "Criticism on Shakespeare, A," January 26, 1845.
  5. Debating society essay, October 9, 1845.
  6. "Fame," March 23, 1843.
  7. "Hope," undated.
  8. "Labor Vincent Omnia," September 12, 1844.
  9. "Peculiarities of Kentucky Character," September 18, 1843.
  10. "Personal Adventure," n.d.
  11. "A Plea for the Blue Bird and Mawking [sic] Bird," n.d.
  12. "Pleasures and Advantages of Solitude," November 29, 1845.
  13. "Quisque Fortunae Sue, Fabor," November 23, 1843.
  14. "Reflections on a Graveyard," June 6, 1844.
  15. RichesPoverty essay, March 15, 1844.
  16. "Self Confidence," n.d.
  17. "War," November 15, 1844
  18. Undated fragment of an essay.

 

Series 3: Student Poems. 1844. Folder 12.

  1. Untitled, March 30, 1844.
  2. Untitled, undated.

 

Series 4: Newspaper Clippings. 1861; 1864. Folder 13.

  1. Undated clipping from unnamed paper on 1861 inauguration of Jefferson Davis.
  2. Macon, Miss., Daily Clarion Extra, April 1 1864.

 

Series 5: Post-Collegiate Essays. n.d. Folder 14.

  1. "Moral Sense," n.d.
  2. "The Sabbath," n.d.
  3. "Toleration," n.d.
  4. "Two TrialsThe Imagination and its Abuses," 2 drafts, n.d.

 

Series 6: Public Addresses. 1846–1870 (scattered). Folder 15.

  1. February 1846: An Oration by Francis M. Aldridge: Member of the Tau Theta Kappa Society, and Student of Georgetown College.
  2. 1847: Address to returning Mexican War veterans.
  3. 1859: Essay on law delivered at reunion with fellow graduates of Georgetown College Law School.
  4. 1861: Speech to unspecified military unit at start of Civil War (possibly Carroll County Volunteers).
  5. Ca. 1870: Speech delivered by Samuel Bartlett Jones at graduation from law school (Jones was the son-in-law of Francis M. Aldridge).
  6. Undated: Fragment of an address, probably delivered by Francis M. Aldridge.
  7. Undated: Fragments of two addresses delivered in court by Francis M. Aldridge.