TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Biographies of Francema and Otis Mason
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Inventory of the Francema Mason - Otis Mason Correspondence, 1863-1876
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Claudette Rocan, 2003. ©2003. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Mason, Francema A., 1837-1911 |
| Title | Francema Mason - Otis Mason Correspondence |
| Dates | 1863-1876, |
| Dates | bulk 1863-1868 |
| Extent | 0.2 cubic ft. (1 box) |
| Abstract | Nineteen letters from Otis Mason, a sergeant in the Civil War to his Illinois wife, Francema Otis. Twelve letters from various friends and family, and a wedding invitation are also included. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Case MS 10021 |
| Collection Stack Location | Vault 35 4 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Francema Mason - Otis Mason Correspondence, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum Rare Manuscripts and Archives, October 2002, Accession No. 2002103007.
Processed by
Claudette Rocan, 2003.
Access
The Francema Mason - Otis Mason Correspondence is open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum, and items in each folder will be counted before and after delivery to the patron (Priority I).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Francema Mason - Otis Mason Correspondence is the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biographies of Francema and Otis Mason
Illinois Union soldier and his spouse, whose families originated in New York and Vermont.
Francema Agnes Smith was born on January 18, 1837 at Orwell, Addison County, Vermont. Otis Sylvester Mason was born September 2, 1833 in Rural, Steuben County, New York. Francema Smith and Otis Mason married on August 15, 1862 in Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois. Otis Mason enlisted with Company E of the 129th Illinois Infantry on August 9, 1862; and he served in the Civil War as a sergeant. He was wounded and subsequently discharged May 25, 1865.
Otis and Francema Mason had six children: William Burnside (1864), Laura Elizabeth (1868), Ora Smith (1870), Fannie Adelia (1873), Arminta (1875), and Earl Arthur (1880). By 1870, the Mason family had moved to Pawnee City, Nebraska, and by the late 1870s, they moved again to Tecumseh, Nebraska. Francema and Otis Mason died in Tecumseh, Nebraska: Francema on September 6, 1911, and Otis Mason on May 25, 1919.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Correspondence, mainly addressed to Francema Mason, including letters from her husband during his Civil War service with the 129th Illinois Infantry in the South.
Otis Mason's Civil War letters indicate that he marched to Bowling Green, Kentucky in November 1862. The 129th Regiment reached Mitchellville, Tennessee as a garrison unit in December 1862, and they reached Nashville, Tennessee by October 1863. Otis Mason marched across Georgia in 1864 to join the army under the command of General Sherman. The letters largely consist of his concerns for his wife's well-being and details of his daily routine. Otis Mason also discusses the regiment's movements and comments on Union generals such as Sherman and Rosecrans. Many of the letters are cross-written.
Unless otherwise specified, all other letters from friends and family are addressed to Francema Mason. A friend originally from Fairbury, Illinois and who had moved to Topeka, Kansas writes of the women's suffrage movement in Kansas in 1876. A relative writes about Native Americans and the gold rush from Deadwood, South Dakota in July, 1876. A wedding invitation is included for a 1873 wedding of Daniel Crompsey and Nora Caldwell.
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Arrangement
Letters arranged alphabetically.
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Brown, Olympia, 1835-1926
- Mason family
- Mason, Francema A., 1837-1911
- Mason, Otis S., 1833-1919
- Rosecrans, William, 1819-1898
- Sherman, William Tecumseh, 1820-1891
- United States. Army--Officers--Correspondence
- United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 129th (1862-1865)
Subjects
- Correspondence--Kansas--1867-1868
- Correspondence--South Dakota--Deadwood--1876
- Correspondence--Southern States--1862-1865
- Deadwood (S.D.)--History--19th century--Sources
- Livingston County (Ill.)--History--19th century--Sources
- Manuscripts, American
- Soldiers--Illinois--Fairbury--Correspondence
- Southern States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
- Topeka (Kan.)--History--19th century--Sources
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Archival Resources
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military Life
- Women--Suffrage--Kansas--History--20th century--Sources
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Coomer, H.N., to Otis Mason and Francema Mason, Fairbury, Illinois (weather, fruit harvest, local news), 1868 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Coomer, John, to Otis Mason, Fairburg County (account information), 1868 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Cropsey, Daniel, to Otis and Francema Mason, private residence (wedding invitation), 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Mason, Kate M., to Otis Mason, Bath, Michigan (description of new home), 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Mason, C.M., Norwalk, Michigan (weather, fruit harvest), 1865 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Mason, Otis, Bowling Green, Kentucky (drill and sentry duty), 1862, November 4 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Mason, Otis, Mitchellville, Kentucky (weather, food, health), 1862, December 15, 16, 17 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Mason, Otis, Mitchellville, Kentucky (weather, health, General Rosecrans), 1862, December 28 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Mason, Otis, Nashville, Tennessee (health), 1863, October 14 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Mason, Otis, Nashville, Tennessee (sentry duty), 1863, October 17 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Mason, Otis, Nashville, Tennessee (weather, General Rosecrans), 1863, October 21 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Mason, Otis, Nashville, Tennessee (inspection), 1863, October 25 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Mason, Otis, Nashville, Tennessee (drill), 1863, November 13 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Mason, Otis, Wauhatchie Valley, Tennessee (inspection), 1864, April 20 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Mason, Otis, Wauhatchie Valley, Tennessee, (family news, birth of child), 1864, April 24 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Mason, Otis, Wauhatchie Valley, Tennessee (expected scout mission), 1864, May 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Mason, Otis, Near Kingston, Georgia, 1864, May 20 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Mason, Otis, Near Atlanta, Georgia, 1864, August 7 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Mason, Otis, Near Chattahouchee, Georgia (reinforcements have arrived), 1864, September 7 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Mason, Otis, East Atlanta, Georgia (General Sherman), 1864, September 13 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Mason, Otis, Atlanta, Georgia (health, General Sherman), 1864, September 25 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Mason, Otis, Chattahouchee, Georgia (Regiment's plans), 1864, November 3 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Mason, Otis, Chattahouchee, Georgia (Regiment's plans), 1864, November 11 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Mason, Otis, Madison, Indiana (mustering out and returning home), 1865, May 24 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Pearson, J.R.R., Joliet, Illinois (condolences on mother's death), 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Unidentified, Fairbury, Illinois (torn letter, local news), 1868 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Unidentified, Adelia, Topeka, Kansas (suffragette Olympia Brown, local news), 1867-1868 | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Unidentified (brother), Deadwood, South Dakota (Native Americans, gold rush), 1876 | |||||||||