Autograph manuscript diary of the greater part of Baird's journey by stage, ship, and railroad from Serbin, Texas to Trinidad, Colorado Territory in June of 1867, which he notes on the title page is "affectionately dedicated to his beloved wife and children." Baird's route included New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Columbus, Kentucky; Cairo, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Junction City, and Salina, Kansas. He describes the scenery, weather, hotels, and individuals he meets along the route. His Confederate sympathies are reflected in bitter comments regarding the destruction of property by Union soldiers during the war and the freed slaves he enounters. He closes "volume first of my diary and narrative" in Salina, Kansas, and notes that he will complete the balance as soon as he can. The diary entries are followed by The Lord's Prayer, Psalm XXV, and notes regarding distances between points along the travel route.
Description:
Spruce M. Baird was born in Glasgow, Kentucky in 1814, and taught school there prior to moving to Texas before the Civil War. He practiced law in Nacogdoches, Texas, served as judge in Santa Fe County (in what became New Mexico), was Indian agent to the Navajos, and was appointed attorney general of New Mexico. Baird returned to Texas during the Civil War and served as a regiment commander in the Confederate army. In 1867 he moved to Trinidad, Colorado where he opened a law office. He died at Cimarron, New Mexico in 1872. He was married in 1848 to Emmacetta Bowdry of Kentucky and was the father of Andrew Bowdry Baird.
Subject (Geographic):
Illinois--Description and travel, Kansas--Description and travel, Kentucky--Description and travel, Louisiana--Description and travel, Mississippi--Description and travel, Missouri--Description and travel, Tennessee--Description and travel, and Texas--Description and travel
Subject (Topic):
Railroad travel--United States and Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
Draft, holograph, corrected, of a novel about a young woman from New York who learns of her African-American ancestry while travelling through Florida, Tennesee, and other parts of the southern United States in the mid to late nineteenth century. The novel, by an unidentified author, addresses issues of race, slavery, and women's rights during the Reconstruction. Inscribed "Jan. 28, 1876, New Orleans" at the top of page 65. Pages 13 through 16 excised
Description:
In English.
Subject (Geographic):
United States, Nashville (Tenn.), and New York (N.Y.)
Subject (Topic):
Race relations, Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877), Slavery, Women's rights, and History
