TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Collection Summary
Index Terms
Administrative Information
Restrictions
Series Descriptions
Series 1: Biographical materials
Series 2: Thomas Winston correspondence
Series 3: Caroline Mumford Winston correspondence
Series 4: Winston family correspondence
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Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division
Processed by Francesca C. Morgan
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by John P. Rees
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| Collection Number: | MS C 207 |
| Creator: | Winston, Thomas, 1829-1928 |
| Title: | Thomas Winston Papers
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| Dates: | 1845-1915 (bulk 1861-1866) |
| Quantity: | 2.1 linear feet (5 boxes) |
| Abstract: | The Winston Papers consist mostly of the correspondence between Thomas Winston and his wife Caroline Mumford Winston during the three and a half years he was at war (1862-1866; he spent six months at home in late 1864 and early 1865). Winston imparts a vivid picture of what he saw and did while encamped with the Illinois 92nd, while also discussing at length many of the most vital and controversial issues of the time. Winston spends much time pondering issues of slavery and race relations. In his descriptions of the frustrations and "red tape" he encountered when finding hospitals for sick men and his opinions on other surgeons, Winston also delivers a full account of the state of military medicine during the Civil War. |
Physician Thomas Winston (1829-1928) was born in Wales, emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two, and was orphaned at the age of ten. He worked as an apprentice to a Milwaukee tailor, leaving the job to head west at the age of seventeen. His trip ended, however, in rural Illinois, where he would live for most of his long life. He began his formal schooling at the age of twenty, earning his M.D. in 1858 from Chicago's Rush Medical School after a six-week course.
Soon after his 1861 marriage to Caroline Mumford and the birth of their first child, Winston went to fight for the Union in the Civil War. An ardent abolitionist and a strong believer in the Union cause, he served as a physician and surgeon to Illinois' 92nd regiment. He spent 1862 and 1863 encamped in the border areas of Kentucky and Tennessee, fighting measles and diarrhea in his regiment under threat of Confederate raids. He witnessed the battle of Chickamauga in September of 1863. His regiment also marched through Georgia in 1865, where Winston viewed the destruction wreaked by General Sherman and his men. He returned home to Illinois in 1866, where he continued to run a country practice. He also served as surgeon to the Illinois Central Railroad and invested in Western land. He spent his last years in Kansas and Nebraska after Caroline died in 1909. Winston died in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1928.
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The Winston Papers consist mostly of the correspondence between Thomas Winston and his wife Caroline Mumford Winston during the three and a half years he was at war (1862-1866; he spent six months at home in late 1864 and early 1865). Also present is a small collection of later family correspondence. The material has been divided into four series. The first series contains biographical materials. The second series consists of correspondence written by Thomas Winston mostly to his wife Caroline Mumford Winston between 1858 and 1866. This material has been divided into four subseries: handwritten originals of the correspondence, typescript copies of the correspondence made in the 1960s by Winston's granddaughter Caroline Newson Beshers, bound volumes of photocopies of the handwritten originals, and bound volumes of photocopies of the typescript copies. A spot-check would indicate that almost all, if not all, of the original handwritten copies have been photocopied and typed.
The third series contains correspondence written by Caroline Mumford Winston to her husband during the war years. This material has also been separated into two subseries, handwritten originals of her correspondence and typescript copies of it. The fourth series of the collection contains the original handwritten copies of Winston family correspondence dating from the 1870s to 1914.
Both Winston and his wife Caroline were articulate and expressive writers. Winston in particular imparts a vivid picture of what he saw and did while encamped with the Illinois 92nd, while also discussing at length many of the most vital and controversial issues of the time. Winston spends much time pondering issues of slavery and race relations. In his descriptions of the frustrations and "red tape" he encountered when finding hospitals for sick men and his opinions on other surgeons, Winston also delivers a full account of the state of military medicine during the Civil War. Contemporary politics, Winston's participation in the Prohibition Party and his land in Nebraska are discussed in the later family letters written by Thomas Winston, Caroline Mumford Winston and their children (1870s-1910s). The Winston Papers would be of interest to those studying the Civil War and late nineteenth-century America in general, as well as to those interested in American medical history.
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Restrictions
Restrictions
Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
Copyright
NLM does possess copyright to the collection. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding use. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
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| These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine's online catalog LocatorPlus. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog using these terms. |
| MeSH Subjects |
| | Military Medicine |
| Personal Names |
| | Winston, Caroline Mumford |
| | Winston family |
| Corporate Names |
| | United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 92nd (1862-1865) |
| Geographic Names |
| | Illinois |
| | Kentucky |
| | Tennessee |
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Microfilm. [Bethesda, Md.] : National Library of Medicine, 1998. 1 microfilm reel : negative ; 35 mm.
[Call Number, Collection Name, Series Number], Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, USA.
Gift from Mrs. Hugh M. Beshers, 1969.
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Series 1: Biographical materials
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Box | Folder |
1 | 1 | Thomas Winston: Diary |
| | | (see box 2, folder 4 for photocopy) |
1 | 2 | Photographs |
1 | 3 | Photographs |
1 | 4 | "Following Scott's Louisiana Cavalcade" [manuscript], n.d. |
1 | 5 | Biographical sketch [xeroxed copy], 1927 |
1 | 6 | Biographical sketch of Dr. Thomas Winston by A.P. Winston [son], n.d. |
1 | 7 | Caroline Newson Beshers [granddaughter], "Epilogue" , [196?] |
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Series 2: Thomas Winston correspondence
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Box | Folder |
| | Subseries 1: Handwritten correspondence [originals] |
| | | Correspondence, Thomas Winston to Edith Higgins |
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1 | 8 | | | 1858-1859 |
1 | 9 | | | 1860 |
| | | Correspondence, Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston |
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1 | 10 | | | 1861 |
1 | 11 | | | October 17-30, 1862 |
1 | 12 | | | November 1-21, 1862 |
1 | 13 | | | November 22-December 24, 1862 |
1 | 14 | | | January-February 1863 |
1 | 15 | | | March-April 1863 |
1 | 16 | | | May-June 1863 |
1 | 17 | | | July 15-September 16, 1863 |
1 | 18 | | | September 19-October 24, 1863 |
1 | 19 | | | November 4-30, 1863 |
1 | 20 | | | December 4-29, 1863 |
1 | 21 | | | January-February 1864 |
1 | 22 | | | March-April 1864 |
1 | 23 | | | May-July 16, 1864 |
1 | 24 | | | February 17-April 29, 1865 |
1 | 25 | | | May 7-June 7, 1865 |
1 | 26 | | | June 14-July 16, 1865 |
1 | 27 | | | July 22-September 11, 1865 |
1 | 28 | | | September 17-October 28, 1865 |
1 | 29 | | | November-December 1865 |
1 | 30 | | | January-February 1866 |
| | Subseries 2: Typescript copies of correspondence |
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1 | 31 | | Thomas Winston to Edith Higgins, 1858-1860 |
1 | 31 | | J.G. Robertson to Thomas Winston, 1860 |
1 | 32 | | D. Lamb to Thomas Winston, 1866 |
1 | 32 | | Ada Parsons to Thomas Winston, 1863 |
1 | 32 | | Albert Woodcock to Thomas Winston, 1863 |
1 | 32 | | C. Helm to Thomas Winston, 1863 |
1 | 32 | | Charles Newcomer to Thomas Winston, 1862-1863 |
1 | 33 | | Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford, 1861 |
| | Subseries 3: Bound volumes of photocopies of handwritten correspondence, Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston |
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1 | 34 | | Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston, October 1862-May 1863 |
2 | 1 | | Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston, May 1863-January 1864 |
2 | 2 | | Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston, January 1864-May 1865 |
2 | 3 | | Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston, May 1865-February 1866 |
2 | 3 | | Miscellaneous correspondence, 1863; 1866 |
2 | 4 | | Thomas Winston Diary, 1863-1865 |
| | | | [photocopy of original] |
| | Subseries 4: Typescript copies of correspondence, Thomas Winston to Caroline Mumford Winston [bound volumes] |
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3 | 1 | | Caroline Newson Beshers, ed., Personal Papers of Dr. Thomas Winston, Surgeon, Union Army (1862-1866), vol. 1, October 1862-November 1863 |
3 | 2 | | Caroline Newson Beshers, ed., Personal Papers of Dr. Thomas Winston, Surgeon, Union Army (1862-1866), vol. 2, November 1863-February 1866 |
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Series 3: Caroline Mumford Winston correspondence
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Box | Folder |
| | Subseries 1: Originals of correspondence, Caroline Mumford Winston to Thomas Winston |
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3 | 3 | | 1861 |
3 | 4 | | October 17-December 5, 1862 |
3 | 5 | | December 6, 1862-February 28, 1863 |
3 | 6 | | March 8-April 25, 1863 |
3 | 7 | | May 10-June 28, 1863 |
3 | 8 | | July 6-September 27, 1863 |
3 | 9 | | October 2-November 9, 1863 |
3 | 10 | | January 28-April 3, 1864 |
3 | 11 | | April 9-May 28, 1864 |
3 | 12 | | June 1-August 5, 1864 |
4 | 1 | | February 22-April 30, 1865 |
4 | 2 | | May 7-July 16, 1865 |
4 | 3 | | July 30-October 29, 1865 |
4 | 4 | | November 5, 1865-January 26, 1866 |
| | Subseries 2: Typescript of Caroline Mumford Winston correspondence |
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4 | 5 | | Caroline Newson Beshers, "The Letters of Caroline Mumford Winston to Thomas Winston: Introduction", [19--?] |
| | | Correspondence, Caroline Mumford Winston to Thomas Winston |
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4 | 6 | | | October 17-December 5, 1862 |
4 | 7 | | | December 6, 1862-February 28, 1863 |
4 | 8 | | | March 8-April 25, 1863 |
4 | 9 | | | May 10-June 28, 1863 |
4 | 10 | | | July 3-September 27, 1863 |
4 | 11 | | | October 2-November 9, 1863 |
4 | 12 | | | November 12, 1863-January 24, 1864 |
4 | 13 | | | January 31-April 3, 1864 |
4 | 14 | | | April 9-May 28, 1864 |
4 | 15 | | | June 1-August 5, 1864 |
4 | 16 | | | February 22-April 30, 1865 |
4 | 17 | | | May 7-July 16, 1865 |
4 | 18 | | | July 30-October 29, 1865 |
4 | 19 | | | November 5, 1865-January 26, 1866 |
4 | 20 | | | Miscellaneous letters |
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Series 4: Winston family correspondence
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Box | Folder |
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5 | 1 | 1870-1879 |
5 | 2 | 1880-1883 |
5 | 3 | January 10-September 21, 1884 |
5 | 4 | September 28-October 14, 1884 |
5 | 5 | October 19-November 2, 1884 |
5 | 6 | 1885 |
5 | 7 | May 19-September 25, 1886 |
5 | 8 | October 24-December 24, 1886 |
5 | 9 | January 23-June 12, 1887 |
5 | 10 | June 20-October 4, 1887 |
5 | 11 | October 9-December 4, 1887 |
5 | 12 | January 8-April 15, 1888 |
5 | 13 | April 29-September 30, 1888 |
5 | 14 | October 7-28, 1888 |
5 | 15 | November 11-December 29, 1888 |
5 | 16 | January 6-February 3, 1889 |
5 | 17 | February 10-May 19, 1889 |
5 | 18 | May 22-26, 1889 |
5 | 19 | May 28-October 16, 1889 |
5 | 20 | November 5-December 16, 1889 |
5 | 21 | 1890 |
5 | 22 | 1891-1895 |
5 | 23 | 1896-1914 |
5 | 24 | Miscellaneous letters, 1845; 1862; 1876; 1885; n.d. |
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