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Slave deeds, cotton accounts, and other records, 1833-1911
Manuscript Collection 1075
The Shugart Plantation operated between the 1830s and the turn of the century near the Dallas County community of Princeton. It was owned by Henry F. Shugart, and its primary crop was cotton. Documents concerning the plantation begin in the 1830s and end in 1911. The records contain information on quantity of cotton picked, how much each laborer picked, expense records, and some family correspondence. Also included are deeds, cotton warehouse receipts, tax records, expense statements, and the personal diary of Henry R. Shugart which he kept from January 1839 to August 1840.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Records pertaining to the Henry F. Shugart Plantation of Dallas County
were microfilmed by the University Libraries in September 1990. They
were subsequently donated to Special Collections by Herman H. Shugart,
El Dorado, Arkansas, July 1, 1993.
The Shugart Plantation Records have been extensively cited in a 1990
University of Arkansas master's thesis written by the donor's daughter,
Sharon Luvois Shugart, entitled "A Socioeconomic Analysis of a Small Plantation
in Dallas County, Arkansas, 1844-1868."
RESTRICTIONS: The original documents of this collection have been restricted due to fragility. Researchers should use the microfilm copy which follows the same arrangement in this finding aid. Permission for access to the original material must be granted by the division head.
Processed by Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Division, University
of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in July 1993.
CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
86 items (1 container)
Box 1
1. Possibly the account book of a general store. Henry F.
Shugart is one of the entries, and the store may have been owned by Shugart
and served the plantation. The book itemizes purchases by customer,
and also includes records of letters received and cash on hand. It
contains references to nighttime visits and prescriptions which may be
the records of a country doctor. These records are from May 18, 1835
to May 20, 1839. It also includes diary entries for Henry F. Shugart
between January 1, 1839 and August 1, 1840, and work records and workers'
expenses for 1866.
2. Cotton account book containing records of dates and amounts
of cotton picked by each slave, Aug 26, 1844 - Dec 15, 1851, and number
and weights of cotton bales raised in 1845 and 1846. 1 item.
3. Cotton account book similar to above, Sept 5, 1855 - Oct
1, 1868. 1 item.
4. Boot and shoe account book, April 1, 1845 - July 9, 1850.
Also contains records of corn and other crop prices, expense lists, and
some records of salaries paid to agricultural workers. 1 item.
5. Slave deeds, July 24, 1837 - 1862, and n.d. 10 items.
6. Cotton sales receipts, Dec 9, 1852 - Dec 20, 1877. 30
items.
7. Cotton warehouse receipts, Dec 2, 1852 - Dec 13, 1853.
16 items.
8. Documents regarding money lending and credit transactions,
Feb 20, 1834 - Apr 26, 1853. 6 items.
9. Tax receipts, 1833 - Nov 21, 1866. 10 items.
10. Two itemized lists of expenses, May 1 - Oct 30, 1863, and
Nov 21, 1866 - Jan 5, 1867. 2 items.
11. Correspondence. Includes letters to the Rucks family
of Camden (Ouachita County), Arkansas, who were related to the Shugarts,
letters to other family members (including his son, Levi O. Shugart while
his son was away at school), and a letter from the Shugart family's lawyer
in 1911 concerning cotton taxes. Dec 2, 1862 - Aug 23, 1911.
11 items.
12. Commission of E.R. Shugart to be special judge, July 1, 1895;
marriage license of E.R. Shugart and Alice Marshall, Feb 22, 1889.
13. Miscellaneous letter envelopes which did not contain letters
(6 items) and fragments of two newspapers, The Princetonian, Princeton
(Dallas County), Arkansas, Jan 23, 1902, and the Chronicle-Enterprise,
Fordyce (Dallas County), Arkansas, Dec 11, 1902.