Samuel Beckett Boyd Diary
Samuel Beckett Boyd kept this diary while imprisoned at Camp Chase from January 1, 1865 to April 3, 1865. In it, he describes the weather, his diet, his journey to Camp Chase, letters he has written to and received from family and friends, rumors (especially rumors of prisoner exchanges) he has heard, men released from prison (particularly men who have sworn loyalty to the Union forces as a condition of their release), men transferred into the prison, and his health and the health of the other prisoners. Also included is a typewritten transcription of the diary.
Dates
- 1865 January 1-April 3
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet (2 folders)
Abstract
Samuel Beckett Boyd kept this diary while imprisoned at Camp Chase from January 1, 1865 to April 3, 1865. In it, he describes the weather, his diet, his journey to Camp Chase, letters he has written to and received from family and friends, rumors (especially rumors of prisoner exchanges) he has heard, men released from prison (particularly men who have sworn loyalty to the Union forces as a condition of their release), men transferred into the prison, and his health and the health of the other prisoners. Also included is a typewritten transcription of the diary.
Biographical/Historical Note
Samuel Beckett Boyd was born to James and Elizabeth King (Wilson) Boyd in 1828 in Virginia. He came to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1851 and married Isabella Reed Boyd on April 27, 1853. The couple had eight children: Elizabeth Wilson (Boyd) Caswell, Cynthia Irwin (Boyd) McCue, Isabella Reed (Boyd) Allen, Benjamin Stephenson, Samuel Beckett, Sarah Sutherland (Boyd) Saxton, Annie Bruce, and Mary Reed (Boyd) Birdsong. Samuel Boyd worked in the dry goods business until 1861, when he joined the Confederate Army. Here, he served in the ordnance department until being captured near Bristol, Tennessee on December 14, 1864. Boyd was then sent to Camp Chase, Ohio (by way of Chattanooga, Nashville, and Lexington, Kentucky) where he remained until signing an Oath of Allegiance on May 15, 1865. After his release, Boyd returned to his family in Knoxville and worked with several businesses, including Rayl & Boyd (dry goods merchants) and Boyd, Allen & Co. (furniture manufacturers). He was also deeply involved in the community, serving as one of the directors of Gray Cemetery, as a trustee of the Tennessee Deaf and Dumb Asylum (now the Tennessee School for the Deaf), and as a member of the East Tennessee National Bank's Board of Directors. Boyd died suddenly of heart failure in Knoxville, Tennessee on January 9, 1890.
Arrangement
This collection consists of two folders.
Acquisition Note
Elizabeth Allen Lockwood presented this diary to the Special Collections Library in 1961.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository