creator:

Sisson, Robert and Mary Ann

title:

Civil War Letters

dates:

1861-1864, n.d.

extent:

0.21 linear feet (1 half-document box)

collection number:

 MS 663 

repository:

Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

access:

Open for research

publication rights:

Consult Head, Special Collections Department

preferred citation:

Robert and Mary Ann Sisson Civil War Letters, MS-663, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Historical note

Robert and Mary Ann (Foreman) Sisson were natives of Cambridgeshire, England.  They were married in 1843 and immigrated to the United States later that year.  They had a farm in Waddams Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois.  They had eleven children: William, Robert James, Mary Ann, Christopher, John Peter, Rebecca, Ruth, Susan, Moses, Joshua, and Jane.

Mary Ann (Foreman) Sisson's nephew Alfred Foreman (1838-1911) came to the United States from England in 1854.  He settled in Lena, Illinois, less than five miles from his aunt and uncle.  In 1865, after serving in the Civil War, he married his cousin Mary Ann Sisson (1847-1938).  Alfred and Mary Ann Foreman left Illinois in 1872 and settled on a farm near Friend, Nebraska.  They had seven children.

Robert and Mary Ann (Foreman) Sisson both died in 1884 in Stephenson County, Illinois.

Collection description

This collection contains photocopies and partial transcripts of letters written to Robert and Mary Ann Sisson by various relatives during the Civil War. The letters primarily describe daily life in camp and on marches, and include references to the Meridian and Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaigns. Also included are notes and genealogical material gathered by Lisa Coffey, who was an Iowa State student and the great, great, grand-daughter of Alfred Foreman.