Contains plantation journals, account books, and checkbooks of Francis Surget, Jr., and Eustace Surget; Morville Plantation journal, 1854-1857; record of cotton production on plantations of Francis Surget, Sr., 1848-1855; and memoranda detailing purchase of following plantations by Francis Surget, Sr.: Palmetto (1843), Pecan (1845), Windsor Forest (1847), Scotland (1853), and Palestine (1854).

Bank drafts, account of Francis Surget, Jr., 1859-1860; includes bank draft to Union Club, April 23, 1860.

Daybook, Palestine Plantation (Concordia Parish); purchased by Francis Surget, Sr., on January 3, 1854; conveyed to Eustace Surget on January 9, 1854; name changed to Morville Plantation on March 5, 1854; overseer’s rules and regulations.

Daily journal, Palestine/Morville Plantation (Concordia Parish), 1854-1857; entries are especially detailed for 1854 and 1855 and are of particular note because of extraordinarily high number of runaway slaves recorded.

The Natchez Country by Richard F. Reed (35 pp.) precedes Morville materials on roll.

Francis Surget, Sr., account book, 1842-1856; accounts include A. C. Dunbar, Jacob Surget, Messrs. Moss and Company, Liverpool, England; Bank of Louisiana (late 1840s, early 1850s), Duckworth and Williams, Liverpool, England; Charles P. Leverich, New York; Royal Bank of Liverpool (1852), among others; also three notes of William L. Balfour of Yazoo Company dated December 26, 1844; and three notes of Gabriel Benoist Shields dated January 21, 1856.

Cotton production of Francis Surget, Sr., 1848-1855; includes production figures for following plantations: Ashley, Ashwood, Aventine, Duck Pond, The Hedges, Highland, Pacone (or Pecan), Palmetto, Sycamore, and Windsor Forest (apparently renamed Sycamore in 1849); most cotton shipped to Duckworth and Williams of Liverpool, England; weight in pounds for each plantation is given for some years, as well as date and vessel by which shipped; sales figures for crops of 1848; 1851-1852; largest crop was 5,490 bales in 1851, but figures are incomplete for some years.

Memoranda of plantations purchased by Francis Surget, Sr., 1843-1855; Palmetto (Adams County) purchased for $40,000 in January 1843; Pecan (Concordia Parish) purchased for $29,500 in November 1845; Windsor Forest (Concordia Parish) purchased for $77,000 in December 1847; Scotland (Concordia Parish) purchased for $69,000 in January 1853; Palestine (Concordia Parish; renamed Morville) purchased for $97,360 in January 1854; William B. Duncan Place (Arkansas); conveyed to John Ker and Francis Surget, Sr., for $6,854 in December 1855.

[Francis Surget, Jr.] account book, 1859-1861; items include taxes; pew rental in both and St. Mary’s Cathedral and Trinity Episcopal Church, Natchez; installation of gaslights at Clifton; and contributions to Natchez military units, February-May 1861.

[Francis Surget, Jr.] checkbook, W. A. Britton and Company, Natchez, 1858-1862; 1866; notations of expenditures; blank checks; items include payments for taxes; pew rentals; purchase of corn and fodder from blacks (June 25, 1858); purchase of cattle (November 1861); contributions to Confederate military units; and expenditures relating to death of Eliza Surget (February-March 1866).

[Francis Surget, Jr.] checkbook, Bank of Louisiana, New Orleans, 1861-1862; notable items include check to Woodville factory of Edward McGehee for $369.86 (June 30, 1861); payments for taxes in both Arkansas and Wilkinson County; more contributions to Confederate military units; numerous checks to W. A. Britton and Company, Natchez, and George S. Mandeville, New Orleans.

[Eustace Surget] checkbook, 1857-1860; loans, charitable contributions, taxes, Christmas gifts for Highland Plantation slaves (December 23, 1859); notable loans are $7,000 to L. P. Conner (November 14, 1857) and $6,000 to John Minor (January 18, 1858); also equal checks for $1,053.18 to siblings Sarah Surget Davis, Jane Surget Merrill, Catharine Surget Shields, and Francis Surget, Jr., on January 31, 1859 (probably related to distribution of estate of Francis Surget, Sr.).

Note: Immediately preceding first account books on roll is a copy of The Gardener’s Monthly, Volume 9, September 1867.

Compiled by William K. Scarborough, 1997.
Copyright 1997 by William K. Scarborough.

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