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Furman's Legacy of Slavery: A Digital Exhibition: James C. Furman Letters and Notes
Series contains personal letters dating from 1827-1891 between James C. Furman and his siblings and immediate and extended family. Correspondence with members of the Davis family and between James C. Furman and his wives, before and after marriage are included. Oversize letters are in Box 5 – Oversize Correspondence. Frequent correspondents include:
His step-brother Wood (1779-1840), his siblings Richard B. (1790-1846), Samuel (1792-1877), Josiah B. (1795-1842), Charles Manning (1797-1872), Maria Dorothea (1799-1870), Henry Hart (1801-1841), Thomas Fuller (1807-1866), and Anne Eliza (1812-1897).
Daughter, Rebecca Dorothea "Dora" Furman (1838-1917). Cousin, Maria (Baker) Taylor (1813-1895), daughter of JCF’s step-sister Rachel. Friend, Elizabeth (Witherspoon) Williams (1782-1840), wife of S.C. Gov. David R. Williams.
Of note are three letters from James C. Furman to Mary G. Davis in February 1853 concerning the disagreement between himself and her father, Rev. Jonathan Davis. Davis was in charge of Furman’s planting and of working his enslaved persons and a problem arose regarding his disciplining of them. See Jonathan Davis Family Papers, Box 1, folder 13 and 4 Apr 1853 letter from Mary to brother Nathan.
James C. Furman to Brother Mims, 1852
Autographed letter, signed, to James S. Mims, 31 December 1852.
James C. Furman Papers, Box 2.
Here, James writes from his father-in-law Jonathan Davis’s plantation, Monticello, near Winnsboro, to his fellow professor Mims back in Greenville as he works to settle some outstanding debts. He notes that the failure the past two years of crops “have crippled me a good deal in money matters” and that he may have “to sell some negroes” or borrow funds to pay a note that has come due.Read letter
Letter from James C. Furman to William E. Bailey, 1848
A two page letter and envelope from James C. Furman, writing from 'Furman Institution' in Fairfield County, S.C., to William E. Bailey. The location on the envelope is 'Waynesville,' located in Wayne County, Ga.Read letter
James C Furman's Commonplace Book, 1832-1823
Two pages from a small pocket notebook belonging to the young James C. Furman, first president of Furman University. In this book Furman copied quotations from works, recorded ideas and themes for sermons, and at the back, as seen here, maintained a record of baptisms during his travels in the Carolinas. On these pages, from 1832 and 1833, Furman recorded a number of baptisms, in separate columns for black and white, in several churches, from Chester, SC, and Georgetown, SC, to Charlotte, NC.Read the Commonplace Book