This collection is primarily made up of letters between members of this Tuscaloosa, Alabama, family between 1838 and 1883, the majority of which were written between 1850 and 1868. Most of the letters were written by Henry S. and Isabelle Donoho and their Aunt Peek. There are also a few letters from Charles M. (the father) and Charles M. (the son), as well as some from other relations and friends.

Many of the war-time letters are particularly poignant, especially those between Isabelle and Aunt Peek. They offer some insight into the general mood and mind of those on the home front. Several of Henry's letters give vivid commentary of significant events including the battles around Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, and the fall of Atlanta.

The persons shown in the photographs are not identified, but there is a possibility that they are two of the authors of the letters.

The Donoho family lived in and around Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the early and mid nineteenth century. Charles M. Dohono married Rebecca Trowbridge Whitcomb and had three children: Henry S., Charles M., and Isabelle (b. 2 April 1842). Rebecca Dohono died 30 March 1846, leaving Charles with the three young children. An aunt, Mrs. A.M. Peek, cared for the children.

Both boys served in the Alabama 2nd Battalion Light Artillery, Company F, Lumsden's Company; Henry enlisted on 21 February 1861 as a private and Charles enlisted on 29 November 1861, also as a private. Henry was captured on 15 December 1864, near Nashville, Tennessee, and spent the remainder of the war in various prisoner of war camps in Kentucky and Illinois. Charles was also captured in Tuscaloosa, on 18 May 1865.

Isabelle married twice, first to a Mr. Norris at some point, possibly just before the war ended, and second to Samuel Lowrie Robertson. She and Samuel had one daughter, Isabelle Donoho Robertson, born in 1876.

Letters (lcsh)

Southern Life and Culture (localbroad)

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life (lcsh)

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate (lcsh)

War and Military (localbroad)