James A. McAmis Letters:

A Guide

Biographical Note

Tennessee native, James A. McAmis was a house painter by trade who found his way to Texas by way of Alabama. Letters written home to his sister indicate that he lived in Dallas, Mansfield, Breckenridge, and Albany between the years 1874 and 1883. McAmis moved to Breckenridge on June 1, 1876. Friends from Tarrant County helped establish him there as a merchant with a small stock of goods on August 31, 1876. He was appointed the first postmaster of Breckenridge on December 15, 1876.

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Scope and Contents

This group of seven letters were written by James A. McAmis to his sister (probably Matilda) in Alabama between 1874 and 1883. The letters begin in Mansfield with great optimism and a goal of owning 80 acres of land, but the tone of his letters soon change to reflect the hard times he experienced during this Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The letter written from Breckenridge on October 27, 1879 provides great insight into economic conditions, citing prices of agricultural commodities, crop failures, and widespread drought conditions. Two envelopes dated 1872 and 1890 bookend the collection of letters.

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Restrictions

Access

Open for research.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, 2009 .

Citation

James A. McAmis Letters, GA212, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

Acquisition

Purchase, 2009.

Accessioned as number 2009-64.

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