272

[Edward L. Topp.]

Diary kept by a young cotton magnate during the first year of Reconstruction.

Various places, 1 January to 8 June 1866
[52] manuscript diary pages, plus [23] pages of memoranda. 12mo, original limp cloth, minor wear; minimal wear to contents. Laid in is a possibly unrelated tintype of two men, identified in pencil on verso as George Hunt and C.O. Francis. 

  • Notes: This diary begins just months after the end of the Civil War. A young Memphis man is attempting to manage his father's Mississippi cotton plantations with a new obstacle: the need to pay farm laborers. His efforts to hire free Black and local white labor failed, and he brought in a gang of German immigrants--then had them arrested when they ran away.

    His first stop was to lease out the family's plantation in Lawrence County, MS to a Yankee, selling all  cattle and supplies: "The Negroes will stay with him on the same terms that I made with them, that is for one third net proceeds" (16 January). The next step was to figure out a labor force for the family's remaining plantations in Kemper County, in time to get the cotton planted for the spring. 


    From 10 to 15 February, he fretted over a labor dispute: "Making calculations and counting the cost of planting with free labor." The next day, he "went over to Fox Prairie today to give the Negroes their copy of the contract," but found that "the Negroes . . . were quite troublesome in their inquiries about the contract. One of the foremen Daniel Gankins was almost insolent. Bad sign. . . . Mr. Carnathan came in and told me his Negroes had quit work. I immediately went over with him, called up the Negroes, told them they most instantly go to work, or leave the plantation. 3 left." The following day, two "asked to be taken back. I allowed them to return to work."

    Our diarist then pursued a variety of plans to find more labor. On 26 February, "came to Gainesville today to hire hands, but find none." On 6 March, "went to DeKalb today to see if we could hire white labor, found it out of the question, and gave it up." 

    On 13 April, he contracted with a group of German immigrants to work one plantation: "Dutchmen came last night and I went to the station and sent them out here, 16 in number, and have installed them in the John Jones houses. They are good-looking fellows." They apparently chafed at being treated like slaves. The next day, "Germans not quite satisfied with their rations and bedding, want many articles." On 18 April: "Seven of the Dutchmen ran off this morning without cause." They were found the next day, having contracted to work at a sawmill in Gainesville. These seven were treated approximately like runaway slaves: "Took out warrants to arrest the Germans who ran off" (27 April); "We arrested three of the runaway Germans and also a fourth at the junction." (30 April). Those that remained seemed to work out well: "Dutch working with Jack, and on willing terms. They seem to mix well with Negroes" (23 April). These 16 Germans are listed on a memorandum page, with 7 marked with an x for "gone off." 


    Though it is unsigned, we are confident in attributing this diary to Edward Ledcreigh Topp (1838-1888), who fits all of the right biographical points. He mentions several times his Uncle Samuel Vance (1823-1868) of Memphis; Vance had only one sister who survived to adulthood, Elizabeth L. Vance Topp, and Edward L. Topp was her only son. Edward acted as an agent for his wealthy father as described in this diary. An April 1873 legal case described in "Tennessee Reports" describes the case of Topp v. White, in which Edward Topp filed papers as agent for his father on 13 March 1866. The diary describes filing "a bill against White" on 15 March. A draft receipt on the rear pastedown reads "Received of Edward L. Topp five hundred dollars on account of his father." Edward's obituary (as shown on "Find a Grave") describes him as "one of the largest cotton factors in the South."
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