Biography/History:

William Penn Andrews was born in New York about 1822. He had settled in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi, by 1850 and was employed as an editor. Andrews joined the Royal Arch Chapter No. 20 of the Masonic Order in Kosciusko in July of 1851.

Andrews moved to Marion, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, in late 1851, becoming a farmer and merchant. He married a local teacher, Sarah (Sallie) Ann Smith, on December 3, 1851. The couple had four children: William P. (b. ca. 1854), Mary A. (b. ca. 1856), Frederick S. (b. ca. 1858), and Henry (b. ca. 1860-1861).

The McLemore Guards, Company I, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, was organized in Lauderdale County on February 23, 1862. Andrews was elected as captain of the company on March 3, 1862. He then led the McLemore Guards to Camp Whitfield, which was located near Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi. The Thirty-seventh Regiment was later ordered to Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi, in late September of 1862. Andrews was killed in the battle of Corinth on October 3, 1862.

Sarah Ann Smith was born in Alabama on July 14, 1832. Her parents, Lewis and Mary Parker Smith, had settled in Mississippi by 1834. Lewis Smith was a farmer and merchant in Lauderdale County by 1850. Sarah Ann Smith was the eldest of at least eight other children, including Louisa (b. ca. 1834), Joshua R. (b. February 8, 1836), Jane (b. ca. 1838), Wilburn (b. ca. 1841), Henry Clay (b. October 10, 1842), Elizabeth (b. ca. 1845), Hiram (b. ca. 1847), and William M. (b. ca. 1849). Sarah Ann Smith was briefly employed as a teacher prior to her marriage to William Penn Andrews on December 3, 1851. When her husband enlisted in the Confederate army, Andrews took in boarders, worked on the family farm, and cared for her children. After the death of her first husband, Andrews married William C. Day on February 8, 1867. She died on September 7, 1896, and was interred at Old Marion Cemetery in Lauderdale County.

Series Identification:

1. Correspondence. 1857-1862; n.d. 5 folders.

   1.1. Correspondence (William Penn Andrews). 1857-1862; n.d. 2 folders.

   This subseries consists of letters that Andrews wrote to his wife, Sarah (Sallie) Ann, between 1857 and 1862. In an 1857 letter written from New Orleans, Louisiana, Andrews informs his wife about his attempts to locate someone named Mary. Andrews penned the remainder of the letters while he was serving as captain of the McLemore Guards, Company I, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, in 1862. He describes conditions at Camp Blewett and Camp Whitfield, both located near Columbus. Andrews comments on the health and morale of soldiers in both camps, particularly the sick and wounded at Camp Blewett. He includes news of family members and friends in his company and relates his thoughts and feelings about the war and its effects on himself and fellow soldiers. Andrews offers advice to his wife on matters such as the education of their children, the purchase of provisions, the sale of livestock, and the treatment of boarders. Of interest are the letters Andrews wrote to his wife between August and September of 1862. They detail the movement of his regiment, a part of Major General Sterling Price’s Army of the West, around Baldwyn and Saltillo in Lee County. Andrews describes in detail the skirmishes that he and fellow soldiers participated in around Iuka, Tishomingo County, and Ripley, Tippah County, before the battle of Corinth.

   Box 1, folders 1-2
   1.2. Correspondence (Sarah (Sallie) Ann Smith Andrews). 1862; n.d. 1 folder.

   This subseries consists of letters that Andrews wrote to her husband, William Penn, between May and October of 1862, while he was serving as captain of the McLemore Guards. Andrews informs her husband about the health of their children, Frederick (Fred) S., Henry (infant), Mary A. (Annie), and William (Willie) P., and asks for his thoughts regarding the education of Annie and Willie. She also relates anecdotes of the children and news of family and friends. Andrews also discusses business such as the buying and selling of livestock and provisions and prospects for a successful crop. Of interest is an October 12, 1862, letter written by Lieutenant Colonel Orlando S. Holland of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, informing Andrews of her husband’s death at the battle of Cornith and the location of his remains. Holland also offers condolences to the Andrews family.

   Box 1, folders 3-4

2. Andrews Family Papers (Miscellaneous). 1851-1879; n.d. 2 folders.
   This series contains a photograph, a Masonic certificate, and a list of promissory notes. The photograph is an undated image of William Penn Andrews. The July 1851 Masonic certificate documents the membership of William Penn Andrews in the Royal Arch Chapter No. 20 of Kosciusko. The December 31, 1879, list records promissory notes payable to William C. Day by Henry Clay Smith.
   Box 1, folders 5-6

• Box 1, folders 1-4: correspondence, 1857-1862; n.d.
  Box 1, folders 5-6: miscellaneous family papers, 1851-1879; n.d.