SEMO's Kent Library surveying Civil War items in 24 area counties

A project to digitally document Civil War history in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois is in the beginning stages.

Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library is conducting a survey of original materials from the Civil War held by museums, historical societies, libraries, genealogical societies, archives, state historic sites, individuals and other organizations in 19 counties in Southeast Missouri and five counties in Southern Illinois.

The goal of the project is to create an interactive archive website full of area history for researchers and educators, said Ellen Ryan, the project's manager.

The survey is a collaboration between the library's Special Collections staff, the university's Center for Regional History, the university Department of History, the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center and the Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The project is part of the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative funded by a Federal Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Missouri State Library.

Dr. Lisa Speer, the university's special collections and archives librarian, wrote the grant application for the $68,721 that will cover phase one of the project.

According to Ryan, phase one includes taking an inventory of items such as letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs and artifacts from that period. During the inventory phase, which is ongoing, Ryan and a graduate student research assistant, A.J. Medlock, are making hundreds of phone calls to locate items and set up visits to take notes and photograph items. Their finds are reviewed for inclusion in the project by a committee consisting of university history professors and archivists.

"It's tedious," Ryan said, "and there has been a lot of eliminating right off the bat what were are and aren't looking for."

Friday morning Ryan received a call back from a Charleston, Mo., historical society that has Civil War-era letters referring to slaves.

Ryan said it is helpful that some museums and institutions, such as Southern Illinois University, already have documents and photographs digitized and are willing to share for the project. Other times, she said she is on a bit of a chase, but most of the time ends up finding what she needs.

"Everyone's been pretty generous and helpful," she said. "A lot of times if we make a call and they don't have what we are looking for, they will refer us to someone who does or has something else we might be interested in."

According to Ryan, the sesquicentennial anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War is a good time to be searching for leads, because there are plenty of commemoration events in the area to attend. She gave the example of the event in Fredericktown, Mo., from Oct. 21 to 23 to mark the 150th anniversary of a battle there.

"The organizers have invited descendants of the men who fought there, and around 60 have said they'll go," she said. "They might have documents to share."

Phase one will last about 10 1/2 months. Phase two, where all items identified as original will be digitized and added to an online archive, will last about a year.

No funding has yet been secured for phase two. Ryan said the grant application for that funding isn't due until March 15.

Speer said that when the project is finished she thinks it will be a helpful tool for teachers and researchers.

Ryan said the project will include as much original material as can be collected.

"It will spark another way of accessing information about the Civil War, and it will be a way of teaching people about primary information, what it is and what it can do," she said.

Items from the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center that will likely be included on the site are documents from 30 criminal loyal oath cases that took place in 1865, documents from a murder case, a muster roll, bounty claims, a widow's pension application and the diary of a reverend titled "Incidents in the Campaign in 1861 in Southeast Missouri." Items Ryan has seen from the Cape River Heritage Museum may also be included. The museum has a soldier's handbook containing prayers and hymns and photographs of a hospital ship named Red Rover.

Items do not need to have necessarily originated in the survey area to be considered for inclusion on the site, Ryan said, but there should be a connection to the area.

During the survey, items are not required to be donated.

Anyone interested in contributing to the survey can contact Ryan at 651-2750.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO