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Biography/History:
William Frederick Spell, son of Joanna Louisa Spell, was born in Rankin County, Mississippi, on October 6, 1838. His mother married Frederick Sullivan of Smith County, Mississippi, when Spell was around two years old. The Sullivan family resided in Smith County where they engaged in farming.
Spell and a maternal uncle, John, enlisted in Company C, Eighth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army, at Raleigh, Smith County, Mississippi, on June 1, 1861. Spell suffered a gunshot wound under his left knee at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, on June 27, 1864. After recuperating at Ocmulgee Hospital in Macon, Georgia, Spell returned to Smith County.
On January 4, 1866, William Frederick Spell married Keziah Catherine Speed, daughter of William Wages Speed, Jr., and Keziah Duckworth Speed. The Speeds deeded their Covington County, Mississippi, farm to the Spells on January 29, 1867. The Spells had eleven children: Frederick William (b. July 1, 1867), Robert Washington (b. January 27, 1869), Joanna Letha (b. March 4, 1870), Patrick Pulaski (b. November 29, 1871), Mary Rebecca (b. October 29, 1873), Zabud Timothy (b. December 28, 1875), Benjamin Martin (b. April 7, 1879), Mahala Jane (b. May 29, 1881), Catherine Elizabeth (b. May 22, 1883), Fannie Lou Mabel (b. June 10, 1885), and Thomas Taylor (b. January 18, 1889).
William Frederick Spell served as justice of the peace of Covington County in 1874 and 1875. He died on December 18, 1905, and was interred at the cemetery of Union Baptist Church in Covington County. Keziah Catherine Speed Spell died on October 1, 1937, and was interred with her husband.
Scope and Content:
This collection primarily consists of correspondence, military documents, and miscellaneous papers of William Frederick and Keziah Catherine Speed Spell of Covington County, Mississippi. Most of the correspondence is addressed to William Frederick Spell from brothers-in-law Felix Washington Speed and Patrick Duckworth Speed who lived in Freestone County, Texas. The letters date from 1869 to 1894 and offer news of various family members who had moved to Texas. They also relate local prices of commodities such as beef, cotton, and pork. Of interest is an October 2, 1869, letter written by Patrick Duckworth Speed concerning the death of his father, William Wages Speed, Jr.
There are also two letters addressed to Keziah Catherine Speed Spell. The first is dated July 1860 and was written by Spell’s cousin, Lucinda Mahala Duckworth, who lived in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. The letter offers news of the health of family members and of crop conditions in the area. The other letter is undated and was written by another of Spell’s cousins, Maria L. Speed. She relates news of family members and asks if she can live with the Spell family for a while in Covington County. Another letter dated May 1864 was written by “James” in Dalton, Georgia, to an unnamed friend, probably a Duckworth-Speed-Spell family member. He mentions his inability to obtain a furlough in order to visit the recipient. Also included is a circa 1931 letter written by Maggie Parker to her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Sellers, who lived in Fort Worth, Texas. The Parker and Sellers families are allied with the Duckworth-Speed-Spell family.
The military papers consist of 1864 and 1865 furloughs of William Franklin Spell. They were issued while Spell was serving in Company C, Eighth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army.
The legal and financial records consist of commissions and tax receipts. The two commissions were issued to William Frederick Spell as justice of the peace of the fifth district of Covington County, Mississippi, in 1874 and 1875. The receipts are for taxes paid on farm equipment, land, livestock, and automobiles by Spell or his wife, Keziah Catherine, between 1868 and 1911.
The miscellaneous papers include a poem and two newsclippings. The undated poem is entitled “The Irish Girl” and was composed for Keziah Catherine Speed. One newsclipping features a circa 1920 image of members of the Dixie Division of the Salvation Army. The other newsclipping is of an April 6, 1913, article entitled “Members of the Sixth Mississippi are Reminiscent Today.”
Series Identification:
Box 1, folder 1
Box 1, folder 2
Box 1, folder 3
Box 2, folders 1-2
Box 1, folders 4-5
Box List: