Digitized Content from the McNitt Family Papers | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

The digitized content of the McNitt Family Papers consists of correspondence and related materials, dating from 1861 to 1886, of three sisters, Sophronia, Hellen, and Jennie McNitt. The bulk of the correspondence is between soldiers serving in the Illinois infantry during the Civil War and Sophronia McNitt.

The McNitts were a farming family who lived in rural Montgomery County, Illinois, near the townships of Hillsboro and Irving. The family, including the three daughters, Sophronia, Hellen, and Priscilla ("Jennie"), had connections throughout the county. During the Civil War, many men that they knew left the county to make lives in the West or fight in Illinois volunteer infantry regiments. These men, along with other friends, maintained connections to the McNitts through correspondence.

The digitized content contains letters written to the McNitt sisters, particularly Sophronia, by friends, suitors, or other connections from their local community in Montgomery County. These letters give a glimpse into the activities and lives of Civil War soldiers from rural Illinois, politics and anti-war movements of the 1860s, and courtship of the era.

The McNitt Family Papers were partially digitized in 2018. Items are available online at the University of Illinois Digital Library. A preservation copy of the items is available to IHLC and digital preservation staff at the Library Digital Repository: https://medusa.library.illinois.edu/collections/1354.