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Moses family papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 1128

Collection Overview

Photographs, photograph albums, correspondence, genealogical research, and printed materials pertaining to the Moses family of Sumter, South Carolina. Materials primarily document Montgomery Moses, a lawyer and judge, and his descendants, including Altamont Moses, a state representative and senator. The largest portion of the collection consists of cartes de visite, tintypes, cabinet cards, and daguerreotypes of the Moses family, as well as members of the related Cohen, Emanuel, Jennings, and De Ribas families. Also included are genealogical research materials, correspondence, pamphlets, and clippings.

Dates

  • circa 1855-1981, 2012

Creator

Language of Material

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

Montgomery Moses (1808-1886) was born to Esther Phillips (1778-1845) and Major Myer Moses (1779-1833) in Charleston, South Carolina. Montgomery married his first cousin Catherine Phillips (1809-1885) in Philadelphia in 1832 and went into law partnership with his brother Franklin I. Moses in Sumter, South Carolina. After the Civil War, Montgomery and Catherine moved to Newberry, South Carolina. In 1871, he was elected circuit judge. He and Catherine had nine children, Myer Buchanan Moses (1833-1889), Zalegman Phillips Moses (1835-1889), Franklin Moses (1837-1907), Arabella Phillips Moses (1839-1927), Henry Claremont Moses (1841-1905), Rebecca Phillips Moses (1843-1848), Altamont Moses (1846-1905), Catherine Esther Moses Werber (1852-1938), and Rachel, who died young.

Altamont Moses served in the Civil War on the Confederate side as a military telegraph operator. After the war, he returned to his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina, and in 1870 married Octavia Cohen. The couple had seven children: Altamont Moses Jr., who died as an infant, Katherine Moses (1874-1954), Herbert Altamont Moses (1876-1969), Vivian Mordaunt Moses (1878-1957), Emile Phillips Moses (1880-1965), Armida Moses Jennings (1884-1933), and Henry Phillips Moses (1886-1945). Altamont Sr. became an established merchant in Sumter, as well as a notable civic and political leader. He served as a delegate of Sumter County at the South Carolina Democratic State Convention in 1868. In 1886-ten years after the end of Reconstruction-he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, then in 1894 to the state senate, and, in 1898, he returned as a representative in the legislature. Besides his political career, he served as master of the Claremont Free and Accepted Mason Lodge and president of the Sumter Hebrew Benevolent Society and Sumter Society of Israelites.

Extent

3.0 linear feet (2 document boxes, 3 flat boxes, 2 photo boxes)

Abstract

Photographs, photograph albums, correspondence, genealogical research, and printed materials related to the Moses family of Sumter, South Carolina. Materials primarily document Montgomery Moses, a lawyer and judge, and his descendants, including Altamont Moses, a state representative and senator. The largest portion of the collection consists of cartes de visite, tintypes, cabinet cards, and daguerreotypes of the Moses family, as well as members of the related Cohen, Emanuel, Jennings, and De Ribas families. Also included are genealogical research materials, correspondence, pamphlets, and clippings.

Collection Arrangement

Materials arranged at the folder level.

Acquisitions Information

Materials donated in 2014 by Elizabeth Moses

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Lazarus, September 2015.

Title
Inventory of the Moses Family Papers, circa 1855-1981, 2012
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by: Amy Lazarus; machine-readable finding aid created by: Amy Lazarus
Date
2015
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)