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JOHN B. ALEXANDER
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PAPERS, 1855-1905
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UNCC MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION 218
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| Contents: |
Collection
Information |
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Biographical
Note |
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Scope
and Content Note/Container List |
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Size:
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1.0 cubic ft. (ca. 600 items, including 10 volumes). |
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| Locales: |
Mecklenburg County (NC). |
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| Bulk Dates: |
1855-1905. |
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| Languages: |
English. |
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| Summary: |
Papers of a Mecklenburg County physician. Includes account
books, medical journals, correspondence, memorabilia, and writings. Also
documents his service as a surgeon in the 37th North Carolina Regiment of
the Confederate Army, as well as his general interest in the Civil War. |
| Index Terms: |
Alexander, John B. (John Brevard), 1834-1911. |
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Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry
Regiment, 37th. |
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Mecklenburg County (NC)--History. |
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Medical care--North Carolina--19th century. |
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Menstruation disorders--19th century. |
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North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Sources. |
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Physicians--North Carolina--19th century. |
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United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. |
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Women--Medical care--19th century. |
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| Sources: |
Gift of Selby A. Daniels, 1995. |
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| Access: |
Unrestricted. |
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| Copyright: |
Not held by UNC Charlotte Library. |
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| Citation: |
John B. Alexander Papers, University of North Carolina at
Charlotte Library. |
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| Contact Information: |
For more information about this collection, please contact:
Special Collections Department
J. Murrey Atkins Library
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
E-mail: speccoll@email.uncc.edu
Telephone: (704) 687-2449
Fax: (704) 687-2232 |
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| Compilers: |
Jeff Forret and Joanna Goltzman; completed February, 1998.
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| Related Collections: |
Alexander
and Ramsey Family Papers (UNCC Manuscript 162). |
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Annie
L. Alexander Papers (UNCC Manuscript 247). |
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| John Brevard Alexander was born in Mecklenburg
County, NC, on May 27, 1834. He was the son of Robert Davidson and Abigail
Bain Caldwell Alexander. He was graduated from Davidson College with high
honors in 1852 and from the Medical College of South Carolina at the top
of his class in 1855. |
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| During the Civil War, Alexander served as a sergeant
and assistant surgeon in the Thirty-seventh North Carolina Infantry, but
he resigned on May 16, 1863 because of "a bilious attack" and
"acute dysentery." Later, on November 6, 1863, he was appointed
surgeon in the Sixty-third Battalion of the North Carolina Militia for "home
defence" [see North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, vol. 9 and
folder 1:1]. Following the war, he returned to Mecklenburg County to resume
his medical practice. He moved into Charlotte in 1890. Throughout his career
he also managed a drugstore until failing health required him to retire
in 1898. |
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| He married Annie Wall Lowrie on May 18, 1858.
They had six children: Robert D. (d. 1901); Dixie (d. 1909); Annie Lowrie,
M.D. (1864-1929), one of the first women from the South to be graduated
from the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia and the first woman to
practice medicine in the South (1864-1929); Lucy (d. 1919); Samuel Lowrie
(d. 1887); and James Houston, a farmer in Chatham County, NC |
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| Alexander authored three books: Biographical
Sketches of the Early Settlers of the Hopewell Section (1898); The History
of Mecklenburg County from 1740 to 1900 (1902); and Reminiscences of the
Past Sixty Years (1908). He also compiled a sketch of local church history,
"Presbyterianism, How and Where It Was First Planted in Mecklenburg
County." |
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| He was an elder at Bethel Presbyterian Church
and after moving to Charlotte, he became active in the First Presbyterian
Church there. Alexander apparently served briefly as a justice of the peace
in Charlotte (ca. 1895; see box 1, volume 5). He died in Charlotte on June
24, 1911 and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. |
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| [For more information, see William S. Powell,
ed., The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, vol. 1 (1979).] |
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SCOPE
AND CONTENT NOTE/CONTAINER LIST
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| This collection is comprised of account books,
journals, correspondence, memorabilia, and writings. One of the two medical
journals includes detailed patient histories, primarily of women (1895-1905).
Also includes Civil War-related material, including correspondence, essays,
and fictional writings. The John B. Alexander Papers are organized into
a single volume and folder title series. |
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| Box:Volume |
Contents |
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| 1:1-4 |
GENERAL ACCOUNT BOOKS (1868-69, 1889-1907): volume 4 includes
newspaper clippings pasted-in by Alexander. [4 volumes] |
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| 1:5 |
JUSTICE'S CIVIL AND CRIMINAL DOCKET FOR THE JUSTICES OF NORTH
CAROLINA (1895): contains 2 entries for a case in which Alexander presided
over as a justice of the peace. [1 volume] |
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| 1:6-7 |
MEDICAL JOURNALS (1855-71, 1895-1905): volume 7 includes detailed
patient histories, primarily of women; 15 pages of notes on menstrual disorders;
and two pages with the heading "Chapter II" (apparently part of
a story written by Alexander; remaining pages have been removed). [2 volumes;
volume 6 is shelved separately due to size] |
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| 1:8 |
SAWMILL ACCOUNT BOOK (1883-89) [1 volume] |
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| Box:Folder |
Contents |
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| 1:1 |
CIVIL WAR DOCUMENTS (1862-64): includes J. B. Alexander's
commission, furlough, and resignation papers; correspondence about the death
of James B. Lowrie; and a medical report following a battle. |
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| 1:2 |
CORRESPONDENCE (1860-1909, n.d.) |
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| 1:3-5 |
CORRESPONDENCE-CIVIL WAR (1861-1863): includes depictions
of camp life; reports of troop health; information on troop movements and
exercises; concerns over planting, harvesting, the management of slaves,
and the operation of the Alexander farm; and insights into husband and wife
relationships during wartime. |
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| 1:7 |
FINANCIAL (1843-1907): includes store accounts, medical accounts,
and records of tax payments. |
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| 1:8 |
HISTORY AND POLITICS (1901-03, n.d): comprised of newspaper
clippings (including articles and editorial letters by Alexander) and handwritten
essays, these materials demonstrate Alexander's affinity for espousing the
Lost Cause, as well as his general interest in history. Among the writings
are two fictional war stories (n.d.) by Alexander. |
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| 1:9 |
LEGAL (1852-98): includes a civil docket, criminal docket,
records of court cases, and deeds. |
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| 1:10 |
LOWRIE (ALEXANDER), ANNIE WALL--ALBUM (1853-55): autograph
album of Alexander's wife prior to their marriage in 1858. The majority
of the entries are in the form of prose. [1 volume] |
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| 1:11 |
LOWRIE, JAMES B.--WORKBOOK/LEDGER (ca. 1870-1880): this belonged
to James B. Lowrie, who was Alexander's brother-in-law. Contains entries
for British monarchs, calculus, translations, and dried plants. Also contains
ledger entries. [1 volume] |
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| 1:12 |
MEDICAL (1886-93, n.d.): includes Alexander's writings about
arthritis, births, "insane Negroes" (this appeared in his Reminiscences
of the Past Sixty Years) and histories of the medical profession. The latter
includes his reflections upon the medical practice over a fifty year period. |
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| 1:13 |
RELIGION AND LITERATURE (1900-06): much of this material
appears to be Alexander's writings for prayer meetings, which probably took
place at his church, First Presbyterian. |
