Willis B. Keith diary
Collection — Folder: S2542
Identifier: S2542
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a bound volume containing photocopies of a typed transcript of daily diary entries that Willis B. Keith kept from January 1, 1865 to October 25, 1865 while serving with Company B, 35th Indiana Regiment during the Civil War. Bound with the diary are photocopies of a typewritten transcription of a letter written by Keith on March 6, 1865 and sent from Huntsville, Alabama to his Uncle Willard Keith, typewritten histories regarding the 35th Indiana Regiment and Morgan's Raid, a September 17, 1964 letter sent to a Mr. B. J. Cooper of Hastings, Nebraska from Virgil L. Levy, D.D.S., and a June 4, 1965 letter written by Beverly Cooper, Willis Keith's great-grandaughter, to Dr. Levy.
Dates
- 1865, 1964-1965
Creator
- Keith, Willis Benson, 1845-1933 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights resides with the creators of the documents or their legal heirs and assigns. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical / Historical
Willis Benson Keith was born on December 30, 1845 in Illinois to Madison and Mary Peck Keith. He enlisted on December 12, 1861 with Company B, 35th Indiana Regiment as a private during the Civil War. He re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer on December 16, 1863 and was promoted to sergeant in December 1864, then to 1st sergeant in January 1865 before being mustered out in Texas on September 30, 1865. He traveled back to Indiana and was discharged at Indianapolis on October 23, 1865. He moved to Harrison County, Iowa and married Sarah E Yoakum, a second cousin to Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, on January 1, 1867. He later served as the postmaster for Mondamin, Iowa and passed away at the age of 87 on November 20, 1933.
Sources:
Information within collection.
Ancestry.com. "Sarah E. Yokeum."Iowa Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925." Accessed April 10, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Iowa Death Records, 1920-1940." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Web: Indiana Civil War Soldier Database Index, 1861-1865." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Indiana Adjutant General's Office and William H.H. Terrell. Report of the Adjutant General of the Stat of Indiana. Volume jV, 1861-1865. Indianapolis: Samuel M. Douglas, State Printer, 1866. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433006977882.
Sources:
Information within collection.
Ancestry.com. "Sarah E. Yokeum."Iowa Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925." Accessed April 10, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Iowa Death Records, 1920-1940." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Ancestry.com. "Willis B. Keith."Web: Indiana Civil War Soldier Database Index, 1861-1865." Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/.
Indiana Adjutant General's Office and William H.H. Terrell. Report of the Adjutant General of the Stat of Indiana. Volume jV, 1861-1865. Indianapolis: Samuel M. Douglas, State Printer, 1866. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433006977882.
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Fort Wayne Public Library in 1972.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2019/04/11 by Laura Eliason. EAD finding aid created 2019/04/11 by Laura Eliason.
Creator
- Keith, Willis Benson, 1845-1933 (Person)
- Title
- Willis B. Keith diary
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
