UAH Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives

Browse Items (55 total)

  • loc_robf_000234_000234.pdf

    The deposition of T. O. Gill. In his statement, Gill calls for a retrial at this document certifies that despite Mrs. Hazel's statement, Abner Tate's kitchen could not be seen from any part of the porch. The statement further details other areas of the house pertaining to the witness's statement.
  • loc_robf_000272_000282.pdf

    Ashworth and Gill are witnesses for the defendant, Abner Tate. Ashworth's deposition is first. He answers questions regarding Elizabeth Routt and her husbands, particularly of her character and what others said and thought of her. He includes at the end that he has heard of her destroying the lives of her husbands, stealing cotton by way of her slaves, and was accused of having one of her slaves shoot Abner Tate. Thomas O. Gill's deposition follows. He is asked about Elizabeth Routt and her husbands as well, including her character and what others said and thought of her. Gill also confirms hearing of the "great many charges alleged against her." Gill is then cross examined by the plantiff's, Elizabeth Routt, counsel. He is asked whether the charges against her character are of his knowledge or the publics'. Gill names those whom he heard the information from and admits that the charges were rumors rather than facts. He also details the pamphlet written by Abner Tate that he received from an unknown sender. He was also asked about the sicknesses of Routt's husbands and the attending physicians which he was unable to answer.
  • loc_robf_000283_000293.pdf

    The Whitakers were witnesses for the defendant, Abner Tate. Joseph Whitaker's deposition is first. He answers questions regarding Elizabeth Routt and her husbands, particularly the death of Alexander Jeffries. Joseph states that it is his opinion that Jeffries was poisoned. He also states that rumors have spread that she had ordered a slave to murder Abner Tate. Newton Whitaker's desposition is second. He also answers questions regarding Elizabeth Routt and her husbands, including the death of Alexander Jeffries. Newton states that he is also of the opinion that Jeffries was poisoned. Like Joseph, he also adds that she is said to have destroyed the lives of her husbands, stole cotton, and sought to harm Abner Tate.
  • loc_robf_000250_000259_000269_000271.pdf

    The depositions include the questions asked and the answer. Daniel Curry's deposition is first. The questions regard Elizabeth Routt and her husbands, particularly her third, Alexander Jeffries, whom Daniel Curry knew well. He details his death, claiming he saw him the day he died and he did not appear sick at that time. Later questions interrogate Curry about Routt's character and ability to murder her husbands. Polly Curry was asked the same questions as her husband. Her responses were similar. She stated that Routt was well thought of prior to the death of her third husband, Jeffries, the lost her good standing after that. Polly adds that she heard Routt say that she was glad her second husband was dead following his death and that she wished her last husband, Mr. Routt, was also dead so she could "live in peace." She also includes the rumors that Mrs. Routt was "too intimate" and charged with sleeping with two of her slaves, and had stolen cotton previously.
  • loc_robf_000294_000301.pdf

    Nancy Whitaker acted as a witness for the defendant, Abner Tate. Nancy responds to questions about Alexander Jeffries, her father, and Elizabeth Routt. She expresses her belief that her father was poisoned by Routt though she was not present until the morning after he died. Nancy details the dark color of her father's body and how it was swollen and "unnatural" in appearance. She also includes the rumors she has heard regarding several charges brought against Routt. She concludes by stating that it is her opinion that Routt is guilty in the case of her father's death.
  • loc_robf_000260_000268.pdf

    As a witness for the defendant, Abner Tate, Dr. Davies' deposition includes a list of the questions asked and the corresponding answers on the blue document. Davies is asked about Elizabeth Routt and her husbands, particularly Alexander Jeffries. Dr. Davies is asked his professional medical opinion about the cause of death to which he states was believed to be from "inflamation of the stomach and perhaps the bowels." Dr. Davies also states that he believed him to have been sick approximately six to eight weeks. He also compares the symptoms of Jeffries and Brown, Routt's fifth husband.
  • loc_robf_000225_000230.pdf

    This deed was created and finalized on June 19, 1843 between Samuel Conner and Elizabeth Routt (then High) following the death of her third husband, Alexander Jeffries. This indenture gives Samuel Conner a sum of two hundred and thirty seven dollars for a parcel of land. The land would be the Jeffries plantation that Elizabeth would live on until after the death of her sixth husband, Willis Routt, and following the dismissal of her lawsuit against Abner Tate.
  • loc_robf_000316_web.jpg
  • loc_robf_tribune_19001129.pdf

    Published on Thanksgiving Day 1900, this issue of the Tribune includes stories, songs, and poetry; lists of dead Confederate soldiers from Huntsville and Madison Count; and coverage of the erection of the Confederate monument in downtown Huntsville. Much discussion is made as well of the "Lost Cause," a mythology that perpetuates the belief that the cause of the Confederate States was noble and just and denies that slavery played the central role in secession. Includes columns written by Virginia Clay-Clopton and John Tyler Morgan.
  • loc_robf_000341.pdf

    This pamphlet announces the opening of the Hotel Monte Sano on June 1, 1887 and lists the manager as "Mr. S.E. Bates." The first section of the pamphlet includes a brief history of Huntsville and a description of the city's amenities. The author extolls the health advantages of Huntsville as "most healthfully situated at the base of Monte Sano" and describes the city's lack of recent disease outbreaks. The second section of the pamphlet details the Hotel Monte Sano's furnishings and amenities. The author emphasizes the "healthful" environs of the mountain and the hotel and includes letters from Huntsville's "eminent physicians" as testimonials. The pamphlet includes illustrations of scenes from Huntsville and Monte Sano.
  • loc_robf_000309_web.jpg

    Speakers included James Record, Frances Roberts, and Huntsville Mayor Joe Davis, with an invocation by Rev. Donald L. Bailey and a benediction by Rev. Lee Hudson. The program includes a map of Constitution Hall Park.
  • Frances Cabaniss Roberts_ Her Life and Legacy_default_599d46e8.mp4

    This virtual talk includes a lecture from Dr. Tom Reidy, editor of the 2020 edition of Frances Roberts' 1956 dissertation, with comments and moderation by UAH Head of Archives and Special Collections Reagan Grimsley and History Department Chair Stephen Waring. The talk was given as part of an Alabama Humanities Alliance grant, in partnership with the UAH M. Louis Salmon Library, the UAH Humanities Center, and the UAH History Department.
  • loc_robf_farm_production_booklet.pdf
  • loc_robf_000179.pdf

    The program dedicates three new Huntsville schools, each named for a member of the Apollo crew that died in the pad fire of February 21, 1967. This program was included in one of two scrapbooks that Christel and George McCanless made for UAH history professor Frances Roberts in 1969.
  • loc_robf_155_162.pdf

    This broadside was published by conservative Alabamians in opposition to the 1868 Alabama constitution, known as the "Reconstruction Constitution." The constitution was revised by the constitutional convention on November 5, 1867, and ratified in 1868.
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