Silas Turnbo Collection, ca. 1905-1913

Silas Turnbo Collection, ca. 1905-1913 UALR.MS.0172

UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture
401 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR, 72201
archives@ualr.edu

Arrangement

Scope and Content

This collection contains typed and handwritten manuscripts of Silas C. Turnbo, including a history of the Confederate 27th Arkansas infantry during the Civil War and a collection of stories concerning life in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri titled "Stories of the Ozarks." Box 9 contains typed letters between Turnbo and publisher William Connelley, written 1905-1913.

This collection was originally numbered H-29 and is part of the J. N. Heiskell Historical Collection, courtesy of the Arkansas Gazette Foundation.

Biographical Note

Silas C. Turnbo was born in 1844 in Taney County, Missouri. In the summer of 1862, he joined the 27th Arkansas Regiment, C.S.A. After the war, he settled in Marion County, Arkansas, where he married Matilda Holt. The Turnbos had five children. Later, the couple moved to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Matilda Turnbo died in 1922 and Silas died in 1925.

Silas Turnbo wrote "Stories of the Ozarks" over a number of years, starting in the late nineteenth century. Portions appeared as newspaper articles, and Turnbo may have been a part-time journalist. Some of the stories also were featured in the book "Fireside Stories of Early Days in the Ozarks." Beginning in 1905, Turnbo sent his writings to William E. Connelley, to whom he later gave his copyright on the works.

Turnbo wrote "The History of the 27th Arkansas" between 1908 and 1910. Although based on Turnbo's diaries, which burned in 1866, he carefully researched the history of the regiment by traveling to the battlefields where the 27th had fought. Connelley died in 1930, before he was able to publish Turnbo's manuscript. In 1988, however, Turnbo's history of the 27th Arkansas finally was published.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is available for viewing at the Arkansas Studies Institute.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17-U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The person using this material is liable for any infringement.

Copyright for correspondence in the collections belongs to those correspondents or their beneficiaries. Persons wanting to re-use those materials are advised to obtain permission from copyright holders.

Administrative Information

Citation Notes

Bibliographic Citation:

Silas Turnbo Collection, ca. 1905-1913, UALR.MS.0172. UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Arkansas Studies Institute, Little Rock.

Footnote or Endnote Information:

Description of item, location of item in the collection, Silas Turnbo Collection, ca. 1905-1913, UALR.MS.0172.