Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts and Archives Department

HELEN FLOYD CARLIN
COLLECTION, 1862-1903

Collection #
M 0039
OM 0336

Table of Contents

Collection Information
Historical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Folder Listing
Cataloging Information

Processed by
Charles Latham
16 October 1995

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION:

1 manuscript box, 6 oversize folders
Collection DATES:

1862-1903

PROVENANCE:

Dr. James Carlin, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone, November 1966

RESTRICTIONS:

None

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society

ALTERNATE FORMATS:

None

OTHER FINDING AIDS:

None

RELATED HOLDINGS:

None

ACCESSION NUMBER:

1966.1102

NOTE:
Collection was given with the request that it be named after the donor's wife, Helen Floyd Carlin

 

HISTORICAL SKETCH

This collection contains material relating to three men connected to each other by business and family ties. Two were officers in the Civil War.

Mahlon H. Floyd (1839-1891) was born near Middletown, Maryland. He moved to Hamilton County, Indiana, in 1860, and in May 1861 enlisted for one year as a sergeant in the 12th Indiana Volunteers. The regiment served in the Shenandoah valley, and was present at First Bull Run. Mustered out in May 1862, Floyd organized a company of volunteers which became Company I of the 75th Indiana regiment. Floyd was commissioned captain, and was promoted to major in 1864. The 75th Regiment fought at Hoover Gap, Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge, and marched with Sherman against Atlanta and Savannah. Mustered out in June 1865, Floyd in 1868 took over the Indianapolis notions and furnishing business of his father-in-law, James L. Evans (d. 1903), who also ran a grain elevator in Noblesville.

Sanford Fortner (1835-1917) was born in Cambridge, Indiana. In August 1862, giving his address as Noblesville, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 101st Indiana Regiment as it was organized at Wabash. He was successively promoted to first lieutenant, captain, and major, and was assigned to the adjutant general's office of the 2nd Brigade. The 101st saw action in Tennessee and with Sherman. After the war, Fortner joined Floyd in the partnership of Fortner and Floyd.

Sources: Materials in collection
W. H. H. Terrell, Report of Adjutant General, Vols. 2, 3, 4

SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection, filling one manuscript box and six oversize folders, contains correspondence, certificates, army forms, diaries and an account book, artifacts, and one tintype. It is arranged by correspondent, and chronologically within correspondent.

Folders 1-7 contain items concerning Mrs. Carlin's father, Mahlon H. Floyd, and his service in the Civil War. Included are a newspaper account of his homecoming to Noblesville as a sergeant in 1862, five of his diaries, his commission as a major in 1864, and an 1889 speech he gave about Sherman's march to the sea.

Folders 8-28 contain material concerning Floyd's partner, Sanford Fortner. This consists almost entirely of reports made by him during the years 1863-1865 while he was serving on the staff of the 2nd Brigade.

In Folder 29 are three items concerning Mahlon Floyd's father-in-law, James L. Evans: his membership in the Indianapolis Board of Trade, a legal paper, and a lodge obituary.

The collection also includes artifacts: parts of a Civil War uniform, eyeglasses, and a fan notebook; and a tintype of an unidentified young man with a huge bow tie.

FOLDER LISTING

Mahlon Floyd:

Folder Contents

1

Diaries June-November 1861, March-April 1862, April 1863-May 1864

2

(OM 0336) River Banner 1862; Commission as major 1864

3

Diaries February-June 1865; Soldier's hymnbook

4

Letters 1863, 1864

5

Letter 1889

6

Speech-- Sherman's march to the sea 1889

7

Obituaries 1891

 

Sanford Fortner:

Folder Contents

8

Circulars and orders 1863-1865

9

(OM 336) Lists of officers August 1863, May 1864

10

Quartermaster stores-- Nov.- Dec. 1863

11

Quartermaster stores -- Jan.- Feb. 1864

12

Quartermaster stores -- Mar.- Apr. 1864

13

Lost articles March 1864

14

Quartermaster stores-- May- June 1864

15

(OM 0336) Clothing vouchers-- May 1864- May 1865

16

Provost marshal July 1864

17

Deserters and POWs July 1864

18

Clothing account July 1864- May 1865

19

Quartermaster stores-- July- Aug. 1864

20

Report of casualties August 1864

21

(OM 0336) 2nd Brigade morning reports Sept.- Dec. 1864

22

Quartermaster stores-- Sept.- Oct. 1864

23

Quartermaster stores -- Nov.- Dec. 1864

24

(OM 0336) 2nd Brigade morning reports Jan.- May 1865

25

Quartermaster stores-- Jan.- Feb. 1865

26

Clothing return Mar.- Apr. 1865

27

(OM 0336) Muster-out rolls June 1865

28

Letter 1893

 

James L. Evans:

Folder Contents

29

1892, 1896, 1903

30

Cards

31

(VC) Tintype

 

32 (Art) Artifacts
black silk sash
epaulets
gold braid
pair of eyeglasses
fan notebook
sword sashes

OM 0336
Folder Contents

1

Mahlon Floyd--newspaper about homecoming 1862; commission as major 1864; James L. Evans--membership in Indianapolis Board of Trade 1892

 

Sanford Fortner:

Folder Contents

2

Lists of officers August 1863, May 1864

3

Clothing vouchers May 1864- May 1865

4

(ffF-10) 2nd Brigade morning reports Sept.- Dec. 1864

5

(ffF-10) 2nd Brigade morning reports Jan.- May 1865

6

(ffF-10) Muster-out rolls June 1865

 

 CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

  1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog
  2. Click on the "Local Catalog" icon.
  3. Search for the collection by its call number, using the letter or letters designation and four digits (e.g., M 0715, SC 2234).
  4. When you find the collection, go to the "Holdings" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.

END