Stuart Walter Case letters, 1837-1840

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Summary

Creator:
Case, Stuart W., 1819-1879 and George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana
Abstract:
Stuart Walter Case (1819-1876) was a white store clerk, originally from Indiana, who moved to Arkansas in the late 1830s. This collection consists of his letters home to his father, Thomas Case, which describe Stuart Case's experiences in Fayetteville, Arkansas between 1838-1840. The letters document his eyewitness account of the Trail of Tears through Fayetteville, with discussions of the animosity between different Cherokee factions; the exploitative businesses that sprang up to provision the forced emigrants along their route; and the bustling, diverse, and increasing violent community in Fayetteville.
Extent:
0.2 Linear Feet (1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13117

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of letters sent to Thomas Case, Esq., from his son Stuart Walter Case. Stuart writes from Oakland and then Fayetteville, Arkansas, describing his employment, activities, lodging, and the settlements in Arkansas he encountered. Stuart worked as a store clerk in Fayetteville, and many of the letters discuss Arkansas politics, development (building of fortifications and other structures), and business news. The letters include detailed descriptions of Fayetteville's role in the Trail of Tears, which overlapped with Case's residing in the town. He documents the Cherokee Nation's forced marches through the region, and describes the deep divisions between the different factions of Cherokee (some who were pro-migration, and most who opposed resettlement). Other topics in Stuart Case's letters include his attendance and mixed opinions of Methodist camp meetings; his recounting of ongoing tension and acts of violence between different Fayetteville residents and communities; a description of a vigilante trial and lynching (referred to as "Judge Lynch") following the Cane Hill Murders of 1839; and his expressions of both sympathy and fear of Native Americans he encountered during their forced migration through the town. At one point, he describes the commonplace practice of intermarriage between Indigenous, Black, and white people, and asks his father whether he would like to marry into the Cherokee Nation and "make a fortune without much trouble."

The earliest letter (1837) appears to be from Abram Case, who wrote to Thomas Case about his travels from home to Clinton, Alabama. It is in a different script and from a different location than the Stuart Case letters, but the signature is not clear and it could be this is a misattribution.

Biographical / historical:

Stuart Walter Case (also "Stewart Walter Cayce") was born on February 11, 1819, in New Albany, Indiana, to Thomas Case (1790–1840) and Jane Simonton Case (1791–1850). Case left home at the age of eighteen or nineteen to work as a store clerk for one "Mr. Wilson," evidently a family acquaintance, who had planned to establish himself in Arkansas. The letters document that Case initially lived and worked in Oakland before settling in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to work for Mr. James Sutton as a clerk in Sutton's store.

While in Fayetteville, Case lodged at the Fayetteville Hotel. His letters indicate he occasionally attended different Methodist camp meetings and that his store was located in central Fayetteville. He appears to have had an active social life, and mentions dating a young woman. At the time, Arkansas was a new state with legalized slavery; its population was both sparse and diverse, and intermarriage between white, Black, and Indigenous peoples was commonplace. Fayetteville became a converging point for bands of Cherokee, Muscogee (referred to by Case as Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, Chocktaw, and others forcibly expelled from the Southeastern United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Tribes were transported west to "Indian Territory" (present day Oklahoma) in wagons, by boat, or on foot. Stuart Case was coincidentally an eyewitness to the peak months of forced Cherokee removal, known as the Trail of Tears, which went through Fayetteville, Arkansas between October 1838 and March 1839. At that point in time, along with their ongoing displacement, the Cherokee Nation was deeply divided. There were violent skirmishes between different political and regional factions of the tribes. In his letters, Case wrote that he expected an "Indian War" between the different parties who had all converged in Fayetteville. He was not alone in his assessment, and white Arkansas settlers built new forts and established local militias as a means of protection against expected threats from "Indian Country."

The community also experienced a wave of violence later called the "Fayetteville War," which included several murders (particularly the Cane Hill Murders, where a family was murdered in their home) as well as recurring feuds and tension arising between the white settlers and Cherokee moving through the region. Case's letters discuss some of these events.

Case returned to New Albany, Indiana, in the summer of 1840. He married Hester Robinson in 1845. U.S. Census records indicated she emigrated from Ireland. Case served in the Mexican-American War (1845-1846) and then the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, where Case worked as a hardware merchant. He also served in the Alabama home guard during the American Civil War. The Cases had seven children. Stuart Case died in Mobile, Alabama, on July 16, 1879.

Sources cited:

"Trail of Tears," Encyclopedia of Arkansas: https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/trail-of-tears-2294/

"Cane Hill Murders of 1839," Encyclopedia of Arkansas: https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/cane-hill-murders-of-1839-5075/

Nelson Hackett Project: https://nelsonhackettproject.uark.edu/nelson-hacketts-journey/

Acquisition information:
The Stuart Walter Case letters were purchased by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from James Arsenault and Company in 2024.
Processing information:

Processed by Meghan Lyon, January 2025

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0100

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Physical facet:
8 letters
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Stuart Walter Case letters, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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