Call Number:   MS-13

Name:   Richard Ransom Family Papers, A collection of letters and documents from the Ransom family including the diary of Richard Ransom 2nd lieutenant in the 24th regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.

Dates:   1836-1925

Size:   1 box; 3 folders       

History:  Much of the history of the Ransom family is gained through reading about their day-to-day lives in the collection of family papers. Not much is written about the Ransom other than what is written within the collection, so it was very hard to find more background information about the family. All that is really mentioned of Richard Ransom is that he later became the Sheriff of Rutherford County, Tennessee.

Scope and Content: 

The Richard Ransom Family papers collection is housed entirely in on box and within that box there are three folders. The first of the three folders contains the Item Inventory, the loan receipts from the previous institutions, a memorandum, and the collection or unit description sheet. The second folder contains all of the Ransom Family papers in Xerox form. The papers are in the format of letters, poems, pictures, and one handwritten menu. The folder’s oldest document is a poem entitled “Early Days” by an unnamed author. The rest of the folder consists of letters written as correspondence between relatives within the Ransom family. Most of the letters are from the Ogilvie sisters and cover the geographic area of Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Within the second folder are several interesting letters including one from a soldier (R.O. Mclean) to Molly Ogilvie. In this letter the soldier the soldier actually reports to Mrs. Ogilvie the movements of his regiment’s movements. There was also a letter from Alice Ogilvie to her cousin Molly in which she writes about how sad she was that Mollie no longer kept in touch with her. She also alludes to the fact that she thinks Mollie is too “Rich” to remember about her “insignificant little cousin.” The third and final folder contains the incomplete diary of Richard Ransom, which spans from February 19 until August 12, 1862. Although some pages have been lost over time it has been very well kept through the years. His diary records the movements and events of the 24th regiment of the Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. Included in his writings are accounts of the battle of Shiloh on the 6th of April in 1862. On the final pages of his diary he wrote two memorandums that recorded transactions between the soldiers and also recorded the death of one person and the names of five others who deserted during his service.

Inventory:

Box 1:  Richard Ransom Family Papers 

Folder 1: Item Inventory/ Loan Receipts/ Unit Description Sheets/ Memorandum

Folder 2:  Letters/ Poems/ Pictures/ Menu

Folder 3:  Diary of Richard Ransom/ Two Memorandum Books

Processing Date: 10/2006

Author of Finding Aid: Douglas R. McMillan for History 3000, Dr. Dunn