Hepbron-Jackson family papers

The Hepbron-Jackson papers consists of four series: Hepbron family, Jackson family, Clapham family, and Miscellaneous. The folders within the first two series are further divided into subseries based on the individual family member, and arranged according to date. Series I, Hepbron family, consists of papers related to the Hepbron family of Kent County, Maryland. Many of the records in this series are legal documents such as deeds, bonds, and wills. One item of note in Subseries C, Mary Ann Elizabeth Hepbron, records in 1867 the enslaved individuals in her custody as part of the Kent County Slave Statistics. The document lists the names of seven enslaved people and notes their age, sex, physical condition, and term of servitude. Their names are: Matilda Tillerson, Mary E. Parker, George W. Parker, Orlando S. Parker, Harriette M. World, Samuel Tillerson, and Joseph A. Tillerson.

Also in Series I is correspondence from Sewell Hepbron to his brother and niece, Col. Thomas Hepbron and Mary Ann Elizabeth Hepbron, circa 1837-1853. In 1837, Sewell and his wife had moved to Madisonville, Missouri with their three eldest children. They remained there until 1853, at which point the family (which had grown to include three more children), moved back to Maryland. Sewell's letters to back home include descriptions his family's life in Missouri, particularly in regards to farming. On December 5, 1840, he writes to his brother, "There is uncommonly large crops of everyting that grows raised this year. I have raised about 300 barrells of corn on 60 thousand cornhills which is worth at this time 1.25 cents per barrell but is thought will be higher in the spring." In August 1841, he writes again of a dry season, but salvages his crop by keeping the ground constantly stirred.

Sewell's letters also express his anxiety at being so far away from his family, particularly in moments of bereavement. In a letter of April 14, 1843, he writes to Col. Hepbron, "I had before noticed the deaths of John Henry and our sister Elizabeth in the Kent News and looked forward with a great deal of anxiety for a letter from you giving an account of their deaths. I did hope to visit you all and to see all my family and friends alive and in health but death has made sad havoc among them in the last six years." He often writes anxiously regarding the health of his remaining family, and gives frequent updates on his own health and that of his wife and children in Missouri. On August 7, 1843, he again writes to Col. Hepbron, "We are all well at time. I am just now recovering from a slight attack of the billious. Martha is likewise recovering from a late confinement. She had a very fine large child, much the largest we ever had about 3 weeks ago. It did not live more than 5 or 6 hours. She is now out a visiting." Such casual updates on the death of infants is very typical of the time, when infant mortality was a common occurance.

Series II, Jackson family, consists of papers related to the Jackson family of Loudoun County, Virginia. These papers are included in the collection as the combined inheritance of the Hepbron-Jackson descendants. To preserve the integrity of the collection, the papers of this Virginia family remain with the papers of the Maryland family.

Included in this series is the Civil War correspondence from Benjamin and Samuel Jackson, brothers who both joined the Confederate Army. Their letters, most of which they addressed to their father William B. Jackson, describe their living conditions and various encampments. While Samuel's correspondence mostly consist of updates on his horse, Benjamin's letters in particular reveal the stark reality of of life in the Confederate Army. On September 12, 1862, he writes, "We had a hard time on our retreat especially after the battle of Williamsburg. We marched all night through mud and water nearly up to our knees that night." On December 22, 1862, Benjamin confesses to his father that he doesn't expect to make it home before the end of the war. He was killed 7 months later at Gettysburg.

Much of William B. Jackson's incoming correspondence consists of letters of concerning Benjamin's death. In October 1863, William Jackson received a letter from John George, informing him of the manner in which his son died. "Benjamin was laying down upon the ground when he was struck in the left breast by a piece of shell. When struck he asked to be carried off of the field which was done immediately...he asked for water often, he did seem to suffer very much from pain, but complained of the weather being very warm. He received every attention that was possible to save him, but his wound was mortal, and from the loss of blood he sank away quietly in death in abotu three quarters of an hour after he was struck." Various letters of sympathy lament the loss of young life, and also praise the nobility of the cause.

Series III, Clapham family, consists of four folders of records related to the Clapham family, also of Loudoun County, Virginia. This series notably contains a pocket journal belonging to Samuel Clapham, in which he primarily lists financial transactions for the year 1772. Also included are typed transcripts of Clapham family correspondence, and genealogical research conducted by Rebecca Dulin Hepburn.

Series IV, Miscellaneous, contains Loudoun County land agreements, the will of Edward Dulin, an estate inventory, and photographs of an unidentified home.