Charles A. Peabody Collection (MC 294)

Biographical Note

Charles A. Peabody was born in Woodbury, Connecticut on July 29, 1810 to William Henry Peabody (1760-1841) and Ruth Bulkley (1773-1843). He was apprenticed to a tailor. When he moved to Columbus in 1833 he and his brother George H. Peabody operated a clothing and tailoring store in Columbus until it was destroyed by fire in 1846. After the crash of 1837, he moved to a piece of wild land he owned in Alabama. There he discovered his true calling and devoted his energy to horticulture and experimental agriculture.

In 1832 Charles Peabody married Frances Harriet Williams ( 1812-1885), a niece of a former resident of Columbus, Edward E. Powers. They were married 52 years and had nine children. Charles A. Peabody became the agricultural editor of the Muscogee Democrat in Columbus in 1848 and was one of the founders and editors of the Soil of the South, a monthly agricultural journal published in Columbus from 1851 to 1856. He became the horticultural editor of American Cotton Planter until 1858. He emphasized the use of native plants, trees, flowers and shrubs.

Charles A. Peabody died October 1, 1884 and was buried from Trinity Episcopal Church in Linwood cemetery.

Scope and Content

The Charles A. Peabody Collection consists of one small box of materials, 15 folders, 3 books and photographs of family members.

1870s-1930s 1 box (.33 l.f.)

Provenance

This collection was transferred to CSU from the Columbus Museum by Rebecca Bush on May 23, 2012.

Permission to Publish

Permission to publish material from the Charles A. Peabody Collection must be obtained from the Columbus State University Archives. Use of the following credit line for publication or exhibit is required:

Charles A. Peabody Collection, MC 294Columbus State University ArchivesColumbus State UniversityColumbus, Georgia

Box and Folder List

• Folder 1 - Annual report of the Estate of Frances H. Peabody, deceased July 1, 1888
• Folder 2 -- Birth Certificate of Charlotte Marian Burnham, b. March 26, 1901, St. Louis, Missouri.
• Folder 3 - Empty envelope; Peabody & Roberts General Agents, Columbus, Ga., July 26, 1880
• Empty envelope addressed to Mrs. Charles A. Peabody
• Folder 4 - Estate of Edward Powers; includes Handwritten account of Powers Estate, 1885
• Folder 5 - Family Photographs:
• Small girl with blond hair
• Small girl with mother
• Young woman, dark hair
• Young girl with dog (postcard)
• Young girl with older woman-Charlotte Jennie P. Burnham and granddaughter Charlotte Marie Burnham (Hunt) (postcard)
• Woman, same as above- Charlotte Jennie P. Burnham (postcard)
• House with 2 females, 1 male in front; buggy behind bushes; St. Louis (post card)
• Young girl-portrait size
• Young woman, 8 x 10
• Daguerreotype of a man - poor quality
• Photograph of 2 men
• Folder 6 - Letter concerning Eagle Phenix stock, 1885
• Folder 7 - Letters from Charlie to Cousin Jennie
• Folder 8 - Letters from George to Jennie (Mrs. Theo Burnham), 1911
• Folder 9 - Letters from George Foster Peabody to Charlotte Hunt, Saratoga Springs, 1932
• Folder 10 - Peabody family history (includes obituary of C.A.P.)
• Folder 11 - Photographs of Mrs. Theo Burnham (Charlotte Jennie)
• Folder 12 - Secretary desk photo and provenance
• Folder 13 - Thank you note to Mrs. Burnham from Athena Pardee from Yaddo thanking her for flowers to Mrs. Trask, "The Ladye of Yaddo", Dec. 28, 1910
• Folder 14 - Will of Frances W. Peabody; executrixes Lucy A. Shepperson and Charlotte J. Burnham, August 9, 1885
• Folder 15 - Will of Mrs. Charlotte Burnham Hunt
• Book - The complete works of Alfred Tennyson, poet laureate, inscribed to Jennie P. Burnham from her brother F. D. Peabody July 1877; re-inscribed to Charlotte M Burnham from her grandmother Charlotte J. Burnham Dec 25, 1918
• Book - Sketches by Boz: Every-Day Life and Every-Day People, by Charles Dickens, 1874. Inscribed Mrs. Chas. A. Peabody, Nov 13, 1874
• Book - Leather and gold bound autograph book with Frances H. Williams embossed on cover. Inscription inside reads Miss Frances H. Williams, Hartford, Conn., Aug.18, 1829