Rachel A. Wilson papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 2272

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Small collection that largely consists of manuscript correspondence sent to Rachel A. Wilson (then Rachel A. Beaver) from her first husband, James A. Beaver, and two of her brothers, Hazel F. Cecil and Hiram B. Cecil, while all three men were serving as Union soldiers during the Civil War. Other materials include a list of the members of James Beaver's unit, the 33rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry; a document listing details about Beaver's military service, pay, and clothing; a legal document from the state of Iowa appointing Rachel A. Wilson as the guardian of Idella Beaver, her daughter with James Beaver; and a document authorizing Rachel A. Wilson to receive James Beaver's pension payments on behalf of their daughter. The collection also includes handwritten genealogical information, circa 1975, about the Beaver and Wilson families.

Dates

Creation: 1862-circa 1975
Creation: Majority of material found within 1862-1863

Creator

Wilson, Rachel A., 1840-1889 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical note

Rachel Ann Cecil, later known as Rachel A. Beaver and Rachel A. Wilson, was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1940. She married James A. Beaver (1840-1863) of Marion County, Iowa, in 1861. They had one daughter, Idella Louise Beaver. James Beaver enlisted in Company A of the 33rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry in 1862, and served in the Civil War. He was wounded in the Battle of Helena in Arkansas on July 4, 1863, and died of his injuries not long afterward. In 1865, Rachel A. Beaver married John Harvey Wilson (1840-1920), who had emigrated to Oregon in 1853 and become a farmer near Gresham. They had three children: Charles W. Wilson, James Edgar Wilson, and Wiley Milton Wilson. Rachel A. Wilson died in 1889.

Sources: Collection materials; vital records on Ancestry.com; findagrave.com entry for James A. Beaver, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3148639/james-a.-beaver; entry for James Harvey Wilson in Early Oregonians Index, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/prs/personprofile.do?recordNumber=101584; obituary for James Harvey Wilson in the Oregonian, April 1, 1920.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Small collection that largely consists of manuscript correspondence sent to Rachel A. Wilson (then Rachel A. Beaver) from her first husband, James A. Beaver, and two of her brothers, Hazel F. Cecil and Hiram B. Cecil, while all three men were serving as Union soldiers during the Civil War. Other materials include a list of the members of James Beaver's unit, the 33rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and documents relating to Beaver's military service and to Rachel A. Wilson's guardianship of their daughter after his death. The collection also includes handwritten genealogical information about the Beaver and Wilson families.