Name/Title
Primary Sources, Box 1: Aiken-Rhett Family and Aiken-Rhett House (48 Elizabeth Street)Entry/Object ID
ELIZABETH.048.1.1Scope and Content
Box 1 contains primary source documents historical and biographical information.
Folder 1: Birth/Death Notices
Documents related to the births and deaths of immediate family members, including newspaper announcements, funerary and memorial programs and tributes, letters of condolence, Magnolia Cemetery map of burial sites, and information on the Aikens from the family bible. (See also photo file and drawings for images burial sites.)
Folder 2: Correspondence
Letters written to and from immediate family members of the Aiken and Rhett families selected for their particular human interest or relevance to the Aiken Rhett House. Includes letters from William Aiken to his daughter Henrietta Aiken Rhett; photocopy of 1862 letter from Andrew Burnet Rhett to Edmund Rhett requesting that he buy him a new uniform and a wedding ring for his upcoming marriage; and letters pertaining to damage to Jehossee following the Cyclone of August 1893. See Media tab for correspondence from David Wyatt Aiken (William Aiken's second cousin) in which reference is made to having met the Aikens with Miss Lowndes in Paris in 1851.
Folder 3: Mrs. William (Harriet Lowndes) Aiken travel Diary, 1857-8. Contains a photocopy of the original diary and a transcription of Mrs. Aiken's detailed travel diary from her and William Aiken's grand tour. Several references to items purchased.
Folder 4: Personal Papers (family and non-family members)
Various letters, diaries, and other personal papers of family and non-family members which relate directly to the Robinson, Aiken or Rhett families or their properties. Among these are excerpts from Mary Boykin Chestnut's diary; military correspondence describing a visit to Jehossee Plantation; an 1839 letter to Francis Kinloch Middleton regarding a party at the Aiken (Rhett) House [MISSING]; transcript of the Joseph D. Aiken's travel diary (see Media link, original at SCHS); passenger list showing I'on Rhett aboard the RMS Empress of Britain.
Folder 5: Newspaper Articles/Advertisements/Contemporary Publications
Various "contemporary" publication excerpts directly pertaining to family members, descriptions of their properties including the Aiken Rhett House and Jehossee Plantation, commentary on the Aiken's art collection, articles about Jefferson Davis's visit to Charleston and R.B. Rhett's accounts of the "siege," etc. Includes Eola Willis article, Some Art Works in Charleston.
Folder 6: Voyage of the Paper Canoe, 1878 (Jehossee)
Transcript of a chapter in the account of N. H. Bishop's 1870s journey from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in a canoe for the purpose of providing the United States Coast Survey Bureau with maps of the American coastal region, during which he visited "Governor Aiken's model rice plantation," Jehossee.
Folder 7: Census/Tax Records
Contains copies of federal, state and city censuses and tax information related to the Aiken Rhett House and Aiken and Rhett families. Includes Federal Census information for the years from 1800 to 1860, South Carolina Slave Schedules for 1850 and 1860 with lists of individual slaves owned by William Aiken, and Charleston tax information from 1849, 1850, and 1859.
Folder 8: Marriage Records
Documents, both legal and personal, relating to the marriages of Aiken and Rhett family members. Includes the 1833 marriage settlement between Henrietta Wyatt Aiken and her second husband George Edwards (see Media link for transcript), and an 1862 letter from Andrew Burnet Rhett to his brother regarding preparations to be made for his impending marriage to Henrietta Aiken.
Folder 9: Probate Records for William Aiken, Jr.
Papers relating to the petition of Henrietta Aiken Rhett to administer the estate of her father following his death and subsequent estate transactions.
Folder 10: Probate Records for Harriet L. Aiken
Papers relating to the settling of the estate of Harriet L. Aiken by her executrix Henrietta Aiken Rhett.
Folder 11: Probate Records for Henrietta Aiken Rhett
Papers relating to the settling of the estate of Henrietta Aiken Rhett by her children. Includes numerous statements of estate transactions through the 1930s.and details from the division of Henrietta Aiken Rhett's furniture among her children in 1923.
Folder 12: Probate Records for Francis Dill Rhett and I'on Rhett
Probate documents for I'on L. Rhett, and documentation relating to the settling of the estate of Francis Dill Rhett, including her Last Will and Testament and various itemized statements of her personal and real property, particularly furniture and jewelry.
Folder 13: Documents relating to Slavery
THESE DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE SLAVE RESEARCH BINDER (ELIZABETH.048.5.1)
Various documents directly relating to slavery in the Aiken and Rhett families. Includes transcriptions of documents pertaining to the sale of 31 slaves by R. B. Rhett to Langdon Cheves in 1858; and transcriptions of documents pertaining to the 1870s appeal of William Aiken, Jr., to the U. S. District Court for restitution for the emancipation of his slaves in 1864. Also includes various bills of sale and other documents for slaves owned by William Aiken. See also ELIZABETH.048.5.1.
Folder 14: University of Virginia handbooks (photocopies)
Includes A.B. Rhett's Students' Handbook of the University of Virginia, with handwritten cash accounts and class schedule (original at Virginia Historical Society); excerpts from Catalogue of Students for 1800-81, 1881-82, 1882-83, 1883-84, 1891-92, 1892-93, 1897-98, 1898-99, highlighting Rhett family students.Collection
Aiken-Rhett HouseAcquisition
Accession
ELIZABETH.048.Source or Donor
48 Elizabeth Street (Aiken-Rhett House)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Correspondence, Personal Papers, Memorabilia, Aiken-Rhett House (Charleston, S.C.), Aiken-Rhett FamilyArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 document box containing 13 file foldersArchive Notes
Date(s) Assembled: 1/23/23 added Vanderbilt Benevolent Association tribute to Gov. Aiken (see media tab- SF)
Associated Material: See ELIZABETH.048. for materials in other repositories.
Level of Description: ItemLocation
Location
Container
Document BoxShelf
ARH ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Aiken FamilyPerson or Organization
Rhett FamilyRelated Entries
Notes
ELIZABETH.048.1.2, ELIZABETH.048.1.3
Related Units of Description: Various items in HCF Archives. See ARH collection record (ELIZABETH.048.) and related materials.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
May 25, 2007Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023
