Box 1

Scope and Contents From the Collection: The collection includes a bound volume of twenty-eight letters and a boxed photocopy. The vast majority of the correspondence is from Ms. Kezia Payne DePelchin to her sister, Sallie Payne, describing her experience as a volunteer nurse from late August to mid-November during the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. The letters explain DePelchin’s motivations for traveling to Memphis and joining the Howard Association as a volunteer nurse, her experiences as a nurse, the reactions of Memphis society to...