Williams, Rusty (1948- ) Confederate Home Research Collection, 1866-2009
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Williams, Rusty, 1948-
Title: Confederate Home Research Collection, 1866-2009
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Collections.
Size of Collection: 3 Cubic Feet
Location Number: Mss. A W726
Scope and Content Note
This collection is comprised of contextual history, research, and records, concerning the Kentucky Confederate Home, in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, compiled by Rusty Williams for his book, My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans. The collection contains chronological information concerning the home, genealogical research for some of the residents of the home, and biographical research for prominent persons associated with the home. The collection also contains copies of photographs, and assorted lists of residents. There is also compiled research on Confederate veterans, Confederate organizations, and Kentucky during and after the Civil War. Finally, the collection contains peer review material, and chapter outlines for Williams’ book. Records throughout the collection include, but are not limited to, Confederate Home trustee minutes, newspaper clippings, excerpts from periodicals, censuses, compiled family histories, correspondence, Confederate Home registers, regimental histories, maps, Confederate Home applications, senate bills, etc. Most of the records within the collection are copies of the originals stored in three ring binders.
Binders 1-9 contain chronological information concerning the home and its background from 1866-1979. The material discusses Confederate organizations and their purpose, pensions and aid to Confederate veterans, site selection for the home and the state of Kentucky’s role in the home. Also included is material on the dedication of the home, leadership of the home, controversies, discipline problems, and World War I’s impact on the home’s budget and rationing. There is also research on the 1920 fire which destroyed most of the home, and what became of the surviving veterans and the building after it officially closed in 1934. Research on Morgan’s Calvary Division and the Orphan’s Brigade is also included.
Binders 10-13 contain genealogical research on some of the residents of the home in alphabetical order by surname. Photocopies of both primary and secondary sources can be found in the collection. These include: death certificates, newspaper clippings, correspondence, census data, family charts and histories from websites such as Rootsweb.com. Applications for admittance to the home can also be found in the collection, which contains the following information: date of enlistment and discharge, age, nearest living relative and current residence, etc. There are also Confederate Home Infirmary records which contain health information, birth and death information, marriage data, and physical descriptions.
Binders 14-17 contain biographical research on people associated with the home through donations, services, etc. The records in this part of the collection reflect the types of records found in the genealogical section. Many photocopies of pictures of the biographical subjects are included, as well as city directory listings, obituaries, memoirs, and cemetery plots. There are also biographical sketches from periodicals and websites included in the collection. Military histories are also included for some of the prominent veterans associated with the home.
Binder 18 contains copies of photographs of the Confederate Home, both the exterior and interior. Photocopies of photographs of Oldham County, John Hunt Morgan’s memorial, and Confederate veteran reunions are also contained in the binder.
Binder 19 contains an assortment of registers for veterans at the home as well as other personal information. The various registers include, but are not limited to, lists of residents discharged or expelled, list of those buried in the Confederate Home Cemetery, registers of residents and their personal information including birth information. There are also disciplinary records regarding residents who were drunk, violent, etc.
Binder 20 contains historical context for Confederate veterans, post-Civil War Confederate organizations, and the Confederate Home. Included in the binder are book titles concerning the war, material for fire prevention and architectural styles of the era.
Binders 21-23 contain chapter headings and outlines for My Old Confederate Home, as well as contextual research for each of the chapters in the book. Binder 23 contains peer review returns, and more historical context research for the book.
Binder 24 contains historical information concerning the Orphan’s Brigade, military organization, and early twentieth century history of Kentucky, etc.
Separation Note: The William Breckinridge Research Collection compiled by Rusty Williams (Mss. A W726a) was separated from this collection.
Biographical Note
In 2010, historian Rusty Williams published a history of the Confederate Home in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, titled My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans. The research material collected for the book comprises this collection. The Kentucky Confederate Home located in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, was created to help provide for Confederate veterans who were struggling to take care of themselves. The creation of the home was a group effort of the state, fellow Confederate veterans, and the public. The aid of the community and the state towards Confederate veterans was crucial as the Federal Government did not provide financial aid to veterans of the Confederacy. Established in 1902, the Confederate Home served about 1,000 veterans for thirty-four years. At the home, residents had access to services and resources including, but not limited to, healthcare and a library. A newspaper, “Confederate Home Messenger,” was published in association with the home. The home was damaged by a fire in 1920 but remained open for fourteen more years, closing in 1934.
Sources:
Williams, Rusty. My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2010.
Hicks, James R., and Timothy D. Bowman. Confederate Home Messenger: Pewee Valley, Kentucky. Utica, Kentucky: McDowell Publications.
Folder List
Box 1
Binder 1: Information Regarding Confederate Veterans, Soldier’s Homes, and Veteran Organizations, pre-Kentucky Confederate Home, 1866-1891
Binder 2: Information Regarding the Confederate Veteran Association, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Confederate Reunions and Memorials, 1892-1900
Binder 3: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, 1901-March 1902
Binder 4: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, April 1902- Jan. 1903
Binder 5: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, 1903-1904
Binder 6: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, 1905-1907
Binder 7: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, 1908-1916
Binder 8: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, 1917-1922
Binder 9: Information Regarding the Kentucky Confederate Home, and Post Home Period, 1923-1979
Box 2
Binder 10: Genealogical Information Concerning Residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames A-C
Binder 11: Genealogical Information Concerning Residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames D-I
Binder 12: Genealogical Information Concerning Residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames J-O
Binder 13: Genealogical Information Concerning Residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames P-Z
Binder 14: Compiled Biographical Research on Bennett H. Young
Binder 15: Compiled Biographical Research on Persons Associated with the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames A-B
Binder 16: Compiled Biographical Research on Persons Associated with the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames C-J
Binder 17: Compiled Biographical Research on Persons Associated with the Kentucky Confederate Home, Surnames L-W
Box 3
Binder 18: Photos of the Kentucky Confederate Home, Veteran Reunions, and Oldham County Community
Binder 19: Assorted Lists of Inmates at the Kentucky Confederate Home
Binder 20: Compiled Research Material on Confederate Veterans, Confederate Organizations and the Kentucky Confederate Home
Binder 21: Chapter Outlines and Contextual Research for, My Old Confederate Home, by Rusty Williams, Chapters 1-5
Binder 22: Chapter Outlines and Contextual Research for, My Old Confederate Home, by Rusty Williams, Chapters 6-15, epilogue
Binder 23: Peer Review Material and Contextual Research for My Old Kentucky Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans by Rusty Williams
Binder 24: Compiled Contextual History on Kentucky during and after the Civil War and Confederate Veterans
Subject Headings
Alcoholism.
Barlow, Florence, 1854-1925.
Bascom, Alpheus Washington, 1840-1912
Beasley, William W.
Beckham, John Crepps Wickliffe, 1869-1940.
Birth of a nation (Motion Picture: 1915)
Boyd, John
Coleman, William Oscar, 1839-1928.
Confederate States of America. Army. Kentucky Brigade, 1st .
Confederate States of America. Army. Morgan’s Calvary Division.
Confederate States of America. Army – African American Troops.
Confederate Veteran (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Daughtry, Charles Lawrence.
Duke, Basil Wilson, 1838-1916.
Duke, Henrietta Hunt Morgan, 1840-1909.
Duke, Lizzie Zebbeon Howe, 1844-1912.
Eastin, George B., 1843-1896.
Fire.
Fire extinction.
Fire prevention.
Fitch’s Home for the Soldiers.
Ford, Salem Holland, 1835-1915.
Goebel, William, 1856-1900.
George, Henry, 1847-1919.
Hanson, Roger Weightman, 1827-1863.
Hanson, Virginia, 1824-1888.
Helm, Benjamin Hardin, 1831-1863.
Hewitt, Fayette, 1831-1909.
Jackson, William Lowther, 1825-1890.
Kentucky Confederate Home (Pewee Valley, Ky.)
Kentucky – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Veterans.
Kentucky – Genealogy.
Leathers, John Hess, 1843-1923.
Lewis, Joseph Horace, 1824-1904.
Long-term care facilities – Kentucky.
Macklin, Alexander W., 1844-1922.
McFarlan, Alexander S., 1869-1939.
Milton, William Agun, 1844-1928.
Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864.
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
Obituaries – Kentucky.
Old age homes – Kentucky.
Older people – Institutional care.
Oldham County (Ky.)
Osborne, Thomas De Courcy, 1844-1925.
Parr, Daniel G., 1825-1904.
Pensions – United States.
Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Poyntz, J. M., 1838-1904.
Prisoners of war – Confederate States of America.
Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Rest homes – Kentucky.
Sea, Andrew McBrayer, 1840-1917.
Senior centers.
Soldiers’ homes – Kentucky.
Suicide.
Tobacco.
United Confederate Veterans.
United Daughters of the Confederacy.
United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Prisoners and prisons.
United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Veterans.
Veterans – Services for – Kentucky.
Veterans’ families – Kentucky – Social conditions.
Villa Ridge Inn (Pewee Valley, Ky.)
Woodbury, Charlotte Osborne, 1874-1964.
World War, 1914-1918.
Young, Bennett Henderson, 1843-1919.
