Sketches of the History of Shelby County

File — Box: 1307, Folder: 10

Scope and Contents note

From the Collection: Dr. Teague's papers consist primarily of his religious writings. The collection is small but includes histories of his churches, religious essays, autobiographies, ledgers, sketches of individuals, correspondence, religious degrees, marriage or honor certificates, awards, and his obituaries are included. One reason, perhaps, for the scarcity of material was mentioned in his autobiography which stated that during the Civil War in 1864 Wilson's raid in La Grange, GA. destroyed half of the family's possessions.

Dr. Teague's papers cover the period 1844-1883. Several of his sermons and essays were published in local newspapers and state magazines namely, the Alabama Baptist and Howard Collegian. In his autobiography, special coverage was given to the Civil War and plagues and diseases of the late 1800's. Several of his children died from fevers.

The correspondence consist of letters written about him from two friends of many years, Mrs. Katie Henderson Wallace and Attorney J. L. Peters, letters Dr. Teague wrote, including a letter to his second wife, a letter written to his mother from La Grange, Georgia, and a letter with no addressee. None of the letters were in envelopes and some were not dated.

The papers are arranged in the following series; portrait, autobiographies, correspondence, religious writings, ledgers, eulogies, certificates, articles, and a scrapbook, which includes a large collection of newspaper and magazine clippings. Of the works of Dr. Teague, Sketches of Shelby County, W.P.A. project 3525, is located in the Birmingham Public Library and another book A History of the Baptist Churches in Alabama, a 500 page manuscript, is located in the Archives of the Southern Theological Seminary Louisville, KY.