Macy-Davis Family. Letters, 1862-1864

This collection contains four letters written by members of the Macy-Davis family of Illinois and Indiana, all addressed to John M. Davis after he was drafted into the Union Army. Each regard a different aspect of the Civil War and its local impact on the family and their community. Materials include four hand-written letters, signed, and their original envelopes.

John M. Davis (1835-1909) was born February 12, 1835, in Shelby, Indiana, to Joseph Davis (1797-1844) and Judith (Macy) Davis (1796-1862). The Davis and Macy families both moved to Shelby County, Indiana, from North Carolina after Joseph and Judith’s marriage but before the birth of the first of their four children, Eliza Ann Davis (1827-1910), Sallie B. Davis (1828-1916), Samuel Davis (1831-1831), and John Melton Davis (1835-1909). Thomas Macy (1800-1874), brother of Judith Davis, relocated from Indiana to Elmwood, Illinois sometime between 1850 and 1860 with his wife Sarah Macy (1806-1863) and their children Matilda, Irene, Micajah, and John. The rest of the family, including Joseph and Judith Davis’s parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, settled in Union and Rush Counties of Indiana. Both families were a part of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and their attendance at Yearly and Monthly Meetings is noted in meeting records.

The collection consists of four handwritten letters signed by Sussanah Davis (aunt), Thomas Macy (uncle), J. Macy (possibly either John B. Macy or Joseph D. Macy, both cousins), and M. J. Macy (possibly Matilda Macy, cousin), all addressed to their relative John M. Davis and written between 1862 and 1864. Each letter discusses topics of the Civil War that the family was directly affected by including the drafting process, economic insecurity, a soldier’s imprisonment by Confederate forces, second-hand accounts from other enlisted family members and friends, speculations on the war’s duration, and local political and religious meetings and their attendants. The letters also include personal details regarding the health of the family and neighbors as well as reports of death within the family and community. 

The Library purchased this collection in 2024 with support of the Bruce C. Creamer Fund.