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The materials in this collection were collected and curated by Richard H. Mette. Mette was a lifelong Jacksonville resident and has family ties to the area going back several generations.

Photocopies of research materials concerning Conecuh County, Alabama, 1814-1877, including letters (1844-1860) of James Jones about life in Conecuh, the 1860 Presidential election, cotton business, and activities in Pensacola. Other materials cover the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and Fort Jackson (1814), Fort Pickens (1861), a biography of Dr. George Columbus Reynolds, and a history of the Perote area, Pike County, Alabama.

The Civil War letters and papers of Roderick Gaspero and James Kirkpatrick Shaw, dated 1861 to 1864, consist of letters from them to their sister, Mrs. Jesse Shaw Smith, a letter from A.M. Harris, C.S.A., describing the burial of R.G. Shaw after his death in battle, 5/28/1864, a newspaper article from Atlanta entitled: "Officers' Dream of Death Fulfilled to the Letter", a photo of R.G. Shaw, and xeroxed copies of "The history and military connections of the family of Gaspero Sweet".

This collection consists of original manuscripts related to Joseph Finegan, the estate of John D. Bellechasse, the Florida Railroad Company, and General H. S. Sanford. These materials should be useful as a biographical sketch of Joseph Finegan. Other subjects covered by the collection include: Jacksonville, Cuba, Lake Monroe, auctions, mill property, Joseph Oliver, St. Mary's Parish in Louisiana, debts, David L. Yulee, Confederate States District Court of Florida, George W. Call, railroad construction, Joseph Finegan & Co, Fernandina, William Phelan, orange groves in Mellonville, Florida, land sales, Orange County, John Forbes, St. Augustine, and Savannah. The collection also contains several maps showing purchase of lands, the "Ross Plantation," and Byrne lands.

Correspondence, papers, records, journals, cashbooks (or account books), scrapbooks, newspaper articles, passport, currency, manuscripts, books, songs, pictures, stamps, clippings and legal papers. This collection contains a wide variety of materials. The correspondence, papers, records, bookkeeping journals and cash books of Julius Diamond reflect the economic conditions of the time and are good examples of how merchandising business was conducted. The scrapbook, assembled by John W. Trench, contains manuscripts, Civil War letters and clippings, describing events such as the battles of Gettysburg, Bull Run and Vicksburg. There is an original holograph passport issued by Consul General at Marseilles, France, to a native of Italy, taken during the war. Newspaper clippings discuss the price of gold, burial ceremonies, and the sale of enslaved persons. Also included are recipes, poems, songs and jokes written during and about the Civil War, as well as other historical documents not preserved elsewhere.

This collection contains banking records from various businesses and banks dating back to the early 19th century. Included are bank receipts, record books, cash and receipt books, and financial ledgers. Such records are from the Gradner Maine General Store, Edwin Robinson, and the York County Water County.

Photostats of letters by Samuel House, Co. L. Artillery Corps, dated from 1862 to 1865, written from army camps near Cornish, Columbus and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and from Castle William, Governors Island, New York Harbor, to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel C. House, Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Sanibel Island Collection consists of photographs that highlight the geographical, environmental, social, and civic aspects of Sanibel Island. There are also letters, telegrams, and newspaper articles that highlight the social and community life on Sanibel Island. All materials in this collection are prior to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022.