Descriptive Summary
Edgerley, Oscar Morgan, 1841-1894
Edgerley, Samuel Augustus, b. 1837
Edgerley, Oscar and Samuel,
papers
1861-1873, 1894, 1935,
1940
Materials are written in English.
2011-002
3 in.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
Comprising diaries, correspondence,
newspaper clippings, legal documents, a photograph, and a family record, the Oscar
and Samuel Edgerley Papers, 1861-1873, 1894, 1935, 1940, document the Edgerley
brothers’ experiences fighting for the Confederate Army in Texas and Louisiana
during the Civil War as well as the activities of the Edgerley family in Texas.
Biographical Note
Born in New York, Samuel Augustus Sam Edgerley (b.
1837) and Oscar Morgan Edgerley (1841-1894) were the sons of British immigrants and
teetotalers Thomas and Mary (Read) Edgerley. Sam and his wife Amelia Meal had a daughter, Augusta Gussie, before he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, to
work as a sheepherder for John Wesley Scott. In 1860, Oscar traveled with Meal and
Gussie to join Sam and began shepherding for wool merchant William Headen. In 1862,
the brothers enlisted in the Confederate Army’s 36th Texas Cavalry Regiment, also
known as the 32nd Texas Cavalry, under Colonel Peter C. Woods. During the Red River
Campaign in April 1864, Oscar was wounded at the Battle of Monett’s Ferry in
Louisiana. A few months later, the Union Army captured Sam, who took an oath that he
would no longer fight and returned to New York with Meal, Gussie, and their infant
son William. Following the war, Sam’s family moved to Galveston, where Oscar
reported for the Galveston Weekly News under the pen
names Mac, MacGinness, and B. F. Stake. In 1869, Oscar married Margaret Day Sterett,
with whom he had three children: Florence Easton Delany, wife of Edgar A.
Overstreet; Georgine Wright, wife of George W. Maxwell; and Morgan Sterett, who died
in infancy.
Scope and Contents
Comprising diaries, correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal documents, a
photograph, and a family record, the Oscar and Samuel Edgerley Papers, 1861-1873,
1894, 1935, 1940, document the Edgerley brothers’ experiences fighting for the
Confederate Army in Texas and Louisiana during the Civil War as well as the
activities of the Edgerley family in Texas. The brothers’ diaries, 1861-1865,
describe Oscar’s work and social activities while working as a sheepherder for
William Headen in Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as the men’s travels and duties for
the Confederate Army in the Trans-Mississippi theater of the Civil War. Written by
Oscar under his pseudonyms, newspaper clippings, 1869-1873, undated, discuss
mercantile issues in Galveston and St. Louis, Missouri, as well as moving to and
living in Brooklyn, Texas. Correspondence, 1894, 1940, consists of letters from
Oscar in St. Louis to his wife Maggie and daughter Georgine and missives to Florence
Overstreet from Walter Prescott Webb and J. Frank Dobie concerning her father
Oscar’s papers. Photocopies of correspondence and legal records, 1935, document
Oscar’s military record and his widow’s application for a Confederate pension. The
collection also includes the 1865 Confederate discharge for Oscar M. Edgerley and a
photograph of Oscar while living in Galveston, Texas. Additionally, a family record
identifies genealogical and biographical information about Oscar as well as his
immediate family members and his children’s families.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Edgerley, Oscar Morgan, 1841-1894 --
Archives.
Edgerley, Samuel Augustus, b. 1837 --
Archives.
Edgerly family.
Subjects (Organizations)
Confederate States of America. Army -- Military
life.
Confederate States of America. Army. Texas Cavalry
Regiment, 32nd.
Subjects
Sheepherding -- Texas -- Corpus Christi.
Places
Corpus Christi (Tex.) -- History --
19th century -- Sources.
Galveston (Tex.) -- History -- 19th
century -- Sources.
Southern States -- History -- Civil
War, 1861-1865 -- Sources.
Preferred Citation
Oscar and Samuel Edgerley Papers, 1861-1873, 1894, 1935, 1940, Dolph Briscoe Center
for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Laurel Rozema, May 2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Inventory
3F519
Diaries, 1861-1865
3F519
Correspondence, legal documents, a family record, photograph,
newspaper clippings, 1869-1873, 1894, 1935, 1940, undated
3F519
Photocopies of collection,
undated