Moments of Despair: Suicide, Divorce, and Debt in Civil War Era North Carolina

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments B ook acknowledgments often employ the rhetoric of debt to describe the help that the author has received. Given that this particular book is in part about changing conceptions of debt, I have thought long and hard about theways and words I would use to thank those who have helped me along theway. I have, to be sure, accrued manydebts in researching and writing it: financial, professional, and personal. I hope that my words here can start to repay these debts, though I doubt that I could ever hope to attain solvency through words alone. I would like to thank the faculty, staff, and graduate students of UNC’s Department of History. I have grown tremendously from their tutelage and friendship. In particular, I would like to thank William Barney for his constant support and whose extraordinary command of the Civil War era has inspired me, Heather Williams for some excellent reading suggestions, and Jim Leloudis, under whom this project had its origins. I would also like to thank Harry Watson and Kathleen DuVal for their assistance at a critical juncture. Many of my graduate school classmates also deserve thanks for their friendship during this process. I would particularly like to thank Tim Williams, Hilary Green, and Matt Harper for the aid they have given me. I would also be remiss if I did not offer thanks to Duke University’s Peter Wood, whose undergraduate classes and continuing friendship have spurred me to think about history in new ways. Finally, I cannot thank Fitz Brundage enough for his guidance, generosity, and friendship throughout this process. He has read many chapter drafts with alacrity, attention to detail , and thoughtfulness. His insightful comments have forced me to reflect on the broader conclusions of my work and write with greater clarity and purpose. I am a better scholar because of him. Acknowledgments x Research for this book has taken me to archives across North Carolina, and the final product would not have been possible without the aid of many librarians and archivists. I would like to thank the staffs of the Southern Historical Collection (particularly Laura Clark Brown) and the North Carolina Collection.The hours I have spent in Wilson Library perusing manuscripts and microfilm will never leave me. I have also benefited tremendously from the aid of librarians at the North Carolina State Archives, Duke University, East Carolina University, Appalachian State University, and Livingstone College. I would also like to thank the staffs of Dorothea Dix and Cherry hospitals for allowing me to study their records. These research trips were funded in part by the North Caroliniana Society’s Archie K. Davis Fellowship , and I am very thankful for its generous aid. The process of revising this work for publication was made considerably easier because of the support I’ve received from my colleagues in the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies and in the School of Education at North Dakota State University.The staff of UNC Press has been invaluable in helping me usher the manuscript toward publication, and the book has benefited significantly from the readers who reviewed drafts of the manuscript for UNC Press. Mydeepest debts are to my family. I would like to thank my father forencouraging me to pursue a graduate degree and supporting me throughout the endeavor and my mother for providing an excellent retreat from North Carolina’s August heat. My parents-in-law,Willis and Leona Whichard, deserve special praise for being there whenever I needed them and for opening doors for me that would otherwise have remained closed. My children, Chamberlain, Dawson, and Thessaly, have endured many hours away from their fatheras he buried himself in his books and papers, and they provided him with an excellent reason to put his work aside. My wife, Ida, has been my best friend and greatest inspiration. I dedicate this book to her. 1 Despair Moments of This page intentionally left blank ...