UAH Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives

Browse Items (8239 total)

  • 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_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_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_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.
  • loc_robf_000311_web.jpg

    This page includes the photo of Frances Roberts, who later became a UAH history professor and the namesake of Roberts Hall. Roberts was a Senior II, or a junior, in high school at the time of this yearbook's printing.
  • loc_robf_000313_web.jpg
  • loc_robf_000314_web.jpg

    In this letter, Jones thanks Roberts, then a history teacher at Huntsville High School, for the opportunity to meet her students on their recent trip to Washington, D.C.
  • loc_robf_000315_web.jpg
  • loc_robf_000316_web.jpg