Series 6 - Acheson family letters

43pp

Transcripts of the Acheson letters were donated to Kerby A. Miller by the letters' owner, Russell Schrode of Charleston, West Virginia, via Professor William Rohrbach.

Materials pertaining to the Acheson family letters. Per Kerby A. Miller: 'James Acheson of Cavetown, near Boyle, Co. Roscommon, was born in 1784 and died in 1877. His brother, George (d. 1877), emigrated sometime prior to 1839 with capital to buy a farm in central Pennsylvania, where James Acheson's widowed daughter, Jane Acheson Stephenson, emigrated in 1839 with her young son, James, to join him. She remained and married George Byers. According to family legend, George Acheson emigrated to avoid prosecution for poaching, as a result, he sympathized with the oppressed and became an Abolitionist, operating a 'station' on the Underground Railroad to hide escaped slaves. That's ironic, because his brother James in Ireland identified totally with the oppressors. Also according to family stories, James's Irish wealth was dissipated by famine, a large family, and his own longevity. At his death, grandson James Stephenson figured in the inheritance, made a trip to Ireland, discovered that the estate was encumbered with debt and poverty, and returned rapidly to Pennsylvania. The Achesons are buried in the Eastersnow parish cemetery at Cavetown, 4 miles southeast of Boyle. James Acheson's letters are pious and sanctimonious, attributing his prosperity and good health to God's special blessings.'
The series includes: biographical and family research including a family tree; photocopies of typed transcriptions of the letters; an annotated bibliographic entry for a secondary source discussing a potential branch of the Acheson family; and Miller's research notes.