Born to John A. and Mary Belle Nelms in Logan County, Kentucky, Americus Leonidas “Uncle Lee” Nelms (1832-1926), moved to Fannin County, Texas, with his parents in 1846. In 1856, he married Minerva Jane Pierce (1839-1923), who had come to Texas from Tennessee with her family six years prior. The couple eventually had six children, including a daughter named Montee, who later preserved the family’s papers. In 1862, Nelms entered the 34th Texas Infantry of the Confederate Army, in which he served under A. M. Alexander for the duration of the Civil War in the Cherokee nation and at Fort McCulloch, Oklahoma; Marshall, Texas; Arkansas; and Missouri. Before and after the war, Nelms farmed in Fannin County.
Correspondence, business and financial papers, legal documents, and clippings compose the Montee Nelms Weddle Papers, 1842-1926, documenting the history and affairs of the Nelms and Dulaney families in Texas, particularly the life of Americus L. Nelms. Forty-seven letters between Nelms and his wife Minerva during the Civil War (1862-1865) concern family business and health, news of the war’s progress, fighting with Native Americans, and combat with Union forces, including the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana. Letters to Nelms from his sister Laura Dulaney and her son James H. Dulaney (1852-1885) discuss family finances, activities, and health. Additional correspondence, business and financial papers, and legal documents, including court papers, tax receipts, and deeds for land in Fannin County, Texas, relate to the property and business of the Nelms and Dulaney families. Newspaper clippings include Nelms’ reminiscences of early Dallas and obituaries.
This collection is open for research use.
Montee Nelms Weddle Papers, 1842-1926, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.