Guide to the Nearpass Family Letters,
1863-1864.

Collection Number: 6040

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-3530
Fax: (607) 255-9524
rareref@cornell.edu
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
P.W.
Date completed:
Jan. 1979
EAD encoding:
Andrea Hektor, June 2004

© 2004 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Nearpass family letters, 1863-1864.
Collection Number:
6040
Creator:
Quantity:
1 reel microfilm.
Forms of Material:
Microfilm
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Four letters written in 1863 and 1864. Three are from Philip Nearpass, a Union soldier, to his sister Libbie Nearpass of Arcadia (now Newark and Palmyra). The last is from Jacob Wentzel, also a Union soldier, to Libbie Nearpass, presumably after Philip's death.
Language:
Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

A section in The History of Wayne County, N.Y. on Arcadia (now Newark and Palmyra) has a Civil War soldiers' list in which Philip Nearpass appears. He belonged to the Union Army, Company I, 17th Cavalry and was enlisted in l86l and killed on August 20, 1864. The letters are to his sister Libbie Nearpass who lived in Arcadia. Elbridge G. Austin who is mentioned in one of Philip Nearpass' letters also appears on the soldiers' list; he belonged to Company E, lllth Infantry, n.d. The owners of the original letters, Mr. and Mrs. Scheer of Fairville, N.Y. are the descendants of the Austin family of Arcadia.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

: The four letters in this collection were written in 1863 and 1864. Three are from Philip Nearpass, a Union soldier, to his sister Libbie Nearpass of Arcadia, N.Y. (now Newark and Palmyra). The last is from Jacob Wentzel, also a Union soldier, to Libbie Nearpass, presumably written after Philip's death.
Philip asks for news from home, health and welfare of friends and family, and tells of battles and the long marches he has gone through. In his third letter he is dismayed that he has received no word in return from Libbie, their mother, nor any other family. Other names appear in the fourth letter.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Nearpass family.
Wentzel, Jacob.

Subjects:
Family--New York (State)--Wayne County.

Places:
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Cavalry operations.
INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:
Nearpass family letters, # 6040. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
CONTAINER LIST

Description
Container
From Philip Nearpass (Camp Sache ? ") to Libbie Nearpass. June 17th, 1863 .
Letter 1
Some mention of his duties as soldier.
From Philip Nearpass ("Camp near Winchester") to Libbie Nearpass. August 11, 1863 .
Letter 2
Asks welfare of family and friends including Elbridge Austin who was also a Union soldier.
From Philip Nearpass ("Paint Rock, Ala.") to Libbie Nearpass. December 23, 1863 .
Letter 3
Mentions some heavy fighting and some names of cities such as Athens (no state name) that his regiment has passed through. He has become acting orderly sargeant.
From Jacob Wentzel ("Camp near Washville, Tenn.") to Libbie Nearpass. December 16, 1864 .
Letter 4
Answering Libbie 's inquiry as to what happened to the photographs Philip had made of himself, he explains how they were lost in battle. There are other names written in various places on the letter presumably not part of its original contents, such as Delia Austin, E.G. Austin, and Henry Miller, with much scribbling and figuring in the margins.