East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia
Box 70295
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614
E-mail: archives@etsu.edu
Telephone: (423) 439-4338
INTRODUCTION
Title: Brabson Family Papers
Collection Number: Accession No. 167
Physical Description: 2 linear feet; 1 oversize photograph
Creator: The Barkley and Brabson families.
Repository: Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Provenance: The Brabson Family Papers were donated to the Archives of Appalachia on July 22, 1983 by Mrs. Margaret Brabson of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Access: The papers are open for research.
Processing Information: Norma Myers completed processing and the papers were opened in 1983. Marie Tedesco revised the Findaid in 1995.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
(For additional information see the family lineage below.)
The Barkley and Brabson families identified in these papers had lived in the Leesburg/Bowmantown area of Washington County, Tennessee since the 1830s. The activities of Alexander W. Brabson and Daniel B. Barkley are the earliest documented within the papers for each family. These two families were united through a marriage on September 20, 1876 of Alexander Brabson's son, Ethelbert Dudley Brabson (1849-1917), to Daniel B. Barkley's daughter, Katherine Jane Barkley (1850-1915).
Alexander Brabson's family originally lived in the Limestone area of Washington County, Tennessee. After attending medical school in Kentucky, he returned to his home to open a general practice. In addition to his duties as a physician, Brabson owned and operated a flour mill. His son, E. D. Brabson, remained in Washington County and served as a member of the county court for the 17th Civil District.
D. B. Barkley operated a general store located near the family home in the Leesburg/Bowmantown community. The original family home was built by Samuel Keebler with slave labor. At Keebler's death, the house was inherited by Keebler's sister, Mary Ingersall [Ingersol], the wife of D. B. Barkley and mother of Katherine Jane Barkley.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Brabson Family Papers contain day books and ledgers belonging to Dr. A. W. Brabson; a family Bible; elementary and high school certificates belonging to Lyle E. Brabson, Jr. and his wife Sarah Ruth Anderson; property deeds; receipts and I. O. Us from D. B. Barkley's general store; and other miscellaneous family papers. In addition to these items, there are letters scattered throughout the collection, an undated survey map, and five freedman's books, which document purchases and labor contracts made by free African-Americans in both antebellum and postbellum periods. The papers date between 1829 and 1941, but the bulk of the collection falls predominantly between 1831 and 1880. The papers are arranged alphabetically by type of material. Please note that all five account books of African-Americans were kept together under the title "Freedman's Books," and placed alphabetically under the letter "F," even though the first two books' titles do not begin with the letter "F." The oversized certificates and photographs have been removed from the collection and placed in oversized storage by accession number. Five books have been removed also and cataloged into Special Collections. A subject index follows the Box and Folder list.
Important subjects covered in the collection include:
Agriculture--Tennessee, East
Barkley, Daniel B.
Barkley family
Brabson, Alexander W.
Brabson family
Free Afro-Americans--Tennessee--Washington County
Freedmen--Tennessee--Washington County
General stores--Tennessee--Washington County
Washington County (Tenn.)--Commerce
BRABSON/BARKLEY FAMILY TREE
BOX AND FOLDER LIST
Box 1
1. Account books, D. B. Barkley, 1860-80, 1 of 2.
2. Account books, D. B. Barkley, 1860-80, 2 of 2.
3. Account Ledger, "B," Alexander W. Brabson, 1833-1850.
4. Account Ledger, "C," Alexander W. Brabson, 1840-1851.
5. Account Ledger, "D," Alexander W. Brabson, 1848-1892.
6. Certificates: D. B. Barkley, 1873 and 1876.
7. Correspondence: A. H. Barkley to D. B. Barkley, 1855-59.
8. Correspondence: James T. Blair to D. B. Barkley, 1851.
9. Correspondence: Lucetta Bassett Lee to Caroline Prudence M. Ingersol, September 18, 1831.
Box 2
1. Day Book, Alexander W. Brabson, 1831-1838.
2. Day Book, Alexander W. Brabson, 1831-1835.
3. Deed: Jacob Good to Samuel Good, August 28, 1835.
4. Deed: Sale of land, Solomon Good to Samuel Keebler, August 13, 1838.
5. Deed: Sale of Land, Peter and Sarah Cook to Samuel Keebler, September 13, 1837.
6. Deed: Sale of Land, James Campbell to William L. Humphreys, February 2, 1843.
7. Deed: Sale of Land, Thomas J. Humphreys, administrator of James C. Humphreys, to James H. Bright, January 28, 1868.
8. Deed: Sale of Land, Alfred B. Brabson to Samuel Keebler, September 12, 1849.
9. Deed: Sale of Land, Thomas Humphreys to James W. Shafer, February 15, 1868.
10. Deed: Sale of Land, James H. Bright to Prudence M. A. Barkley, March 16, 1870.
11. Deed: Sale of Land, from the Brabson family to J. F. and Mary E. Harrison, April 27, 1901.
12. Deed: Sale of Land, S. K. and Bettie Barkley to J. D. Barkley, April 24, 1883.
13. Deed: Ownership of Land, E. D. Brabson, April 3, 1893.
14. Estate Settlement, Jacob Good, June 18, 1836.
15. "Book for Colored Persons," 1859-78 (accounts and labor contracts), 1 of 5.
16. Account book, 1860-69 (store accounts, labor agreements), 2 of 5.
17. "Freedman's Book" (1861-1877), (accounts, cropping and labor agreements), 3 of 5.
18. "Freedman's Book," Accounts on General Store in Cedar Grove, Washington County, Tennessee, 1868-73, 4 of 5.
19. "Freedman's Book," Accounts on General Store, Cedar Grove, Washington County, Tennessee, 1866-69, 5 of 5.
20. Ingersol Family Bible, with family names, 1837-38.
21. Letter of Condolence to Lyle E. Brabson, December 15, 1915.
22. Letters of introduction for D. B. Barkley, 1868 and 1871.
23. Patent Assignment, D. B. Barkley, September 20, 1872.
24. Printed articles, 1849 and undated.
25. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. Barkley, Barkley Family, 1860-80.
26. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, A-E, 1860-1880.
27. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, F-H, 1860-1880.
28. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, L-O, 1860-1880.
29. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, P-S, 1860-1880.
30. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, V-W, 1860-1880.
31. Receipts and I. O. Us: D. B. Barkley, unknown, 1860-80
32. Survey map, Unofficial, undated.
33. Tennessee Questions, undated.
Box 3
Ingersol Family Bible.
Box 4
1. Certificate of completion of elementary school, Lyle E. Brabson, Jr., April 19, 1932.
2. Certificate of completion of high school, Lyle E. Brabson, Jr., May 7, 1936.
3. Certificate from Junior Department of Sunday School for Ruth Anderson, Salem Presbyterian Church, Washington College, Tennessee, October 14, 1906.
4. Day Book, Alexander W. Brabson, 1838-1848.
5. Day Book, Alexander W. Brabson, 1845-1857.
Oversize Folder
1. Deed: Ownership of Land, Jacob Good, September 30, 1835.
2. Deed: Ownership of Land, William L. Humphreys, August 29, 1849.
3. Certificate from Primary School, Lyle E. Brabson, February 10, 1905.
4. Certificate of completion of primary school, Ruth Anderson, May 9, 1907.
5. Certificate of completion of high school, Ruth Anderson, May 13, 1915.
Photographs
1. One 8" x 10" photograph of Samuel Keebler is stored in Small
Photograph Collections Box 1.
2. One photograph of the mechanical department, Cherokee Dam, Norris, Tennessee,
March 14, 1941, is stored in an oversized folder in the map cabinets by
accession number.
INDEX TO THE BRABSON FAMILY PAPERS*
*Notation following index term indicates box and folder location of indexed materials. PH means photograph(s) located in the special environment storage area for photograph collections, and OS means oversized located in the oversized storage area; both are located under accession number.
African-Americans: 2-15 thru 19
Agriculture: 2-16 thru 17
Anderson, Ruth: 4-3; oversize folders 4, 5
Barkley, A. H.: 1-7
Barkley, Bettie: 2-12
Barkley, D. B.: 1-6, 7, 8; 2-15 thru 19; 2-22 thru 23, 25
Barkley family: 2-25
Barkley, Prudence M. A.: 2-10
Barkley, S. K.: 2-12
Blair, James T.: 1-8Brabson, Alfred B.: 2-8
Brabson, E. D.: 2-13
Brabson family: 2-11
Brabson, Lyle E.: 2-21; 4-1 thru 4-1; oversize folder 3
Bright, James H.: 2-7, 10Campbell, James: 2-6
Cedar Grove, Tennessee General Store: 2-18 thru 19
Commerce, Washington County, Tenn.: See Washington County, Tenn. Commerce.
Cook, Sarah: 2-5
Cook, Peter: 2-5Cures and remedies: 2-24
D. B. Barkley and Company: 2-15 thru 19
Free blacks, Washington, Tenn., (antebellum period): 2-15 thru 17
Freedmen, Washington County, Tenn.: 2-15 thru 19
General Stores, Washington County, Tenn.: 1-1 thru 5; 2-1 thru 2, 15 thru 19; 4-4 thru 4-5Good, Jacob: 2-3, 14; OS-1
Good, Samuel: 2-3
Good, Solomon: 2-4
Harrison, J. F.: 2-11
Harrison, Mary E.: 2-11Humphreys, James C.: 2-7
Humphreys, Thomas J.: 2-7, 9
Humphreys, William L.: 2-6; oversize folder 2
Ingersol, Caroline Prudence M.: 1-9. See also Prudence M. A. Barkley
Keebler, Lewis: 2-15 thru 16Keebler, Samuel: 2-4, 5, 8, 16, PH
Labor contracts: 2-15 thru 17
Lee, Lucetta Bassett: 1-9
Shafer, James W.: 2-17
Sharecropping: 2-17
Tennessee history: 2-33
Washington County, Tenn., Commerce: 2-1 thru 2, 18 thru 19; 4-1 thru 4-5
MTC 11/00