Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch informing him of the latest news at the Ursuline Convent and school in Columbia. November 6, 1858. 4p.
Letter from John Lynch to Louisa (?) concerning family news. John writes that he is tired of hearing so little news about the war and he hopes "to see the war ended without a general battle." He also wonders what congress in Washington is doing and expresses hope that they "act with a spirit of wisdom and justice, different from that of Lincoln and his advisers." July 16, 1861. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and Academy. Madame Baptiste writes that several parents have sent remittances for the school year but she fears "few will be able to return if the war continues." July 6, 1861. 4p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about purchasing mules and a wagon for the Bishop's property and discusses the planting of crops. June 8, 1861. 3p.
Second letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch on this date. John describes a flag the Ursulines have made for the Emmett Guards writing, "it is the common infantry size, on one side blue, with Palmetto tree, with an Irish Harpleaning against the trunk..." He has heard the guard may be disbanding and, if so, asks the Bishop to offer it for sale to "some of your Irish Companies." He informs the Bishop that the telegraph is working again and they are being deluged with news about the attack on Fort Sumter. April 12, 1861. 3p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning preparations being made on one of the Bishop's properties. John writes that "your negroes have not yet arrived" and fears the lack of field hands and a shortage of corn may impact the season's crop. May 24, 1861. 2p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning the American Hotel on Richardson and Blanding Streets in Columbia as a potential site for relocating the Ursulines. John describes the hotel in detail and includes a small sketch of the lot it resides on. July 28, 1859. 3p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about family news and mentions the potential sale of the American Hotel in Columbia, believing it may be an appropriate place for relocating the Ursulines. July 25, 1859. 2p.
Letter from Madame Antonia in Baltimore to Bishop Patrick Lynch informing him of the availability of a priest for his diocese should the Bishop require one. February 26, 1866. 2p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch describing his attempt to secure corn for the Bishop and his negotiations with a potential overseer for one of the Bishop's properties. May 14, 1861. 4p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about several recent visitors to the convent, including one woman, a mother of a boarder at the academy, who has come to retrieve her daughter. The mother, Madame Baptiste writes, has been "implicated for running off negroes to the yankees" and Madame Baptiste fears that both "may be hanged." January 15, 1864. 3p.
Hugh Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch while on convalescent leave in Cheraw. As his health improves, Hugh realizes he will be conscripted back into the service and asks the Bishop to use his influence to get him a staff position with General Beauregard when he returns to take over Charleston's defense. Besides his rank as 1st Lieut., his qualifications for a coveted staff job are that he is a "good accountant and write a tolerable fair hand" and that an appointment should be made from "this section of the state" in Cheraw. September 8, 1862. 3p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch admonishing him for his forgetfulness concerning the profession of vows for two sisters at the Ursuline Convent. January 2, 1867. 4p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the possibility of renting out half of the Bishop's plantation house to Gen. Beauregard's sister, Mrs. Proctor. The other half is currently occupied by the family of Gen. Blanchard. January 18, 1864. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and Academy and of the prospects of the new school year. July 11, 1863. 6p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch regarding negotiations to accept the pupils of "Barhamville" into the Ursuline Academy. July 1, 1863. 5p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about news at the Ursuline Convent and Academy including a recent ceremony for nine child "aspirants." May 31, 1860. 4p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch responding to his inquiry of boarding room in Cheraw for those wishing to flee Charleston. He also touches on his shoe business, mentioning paying patent rights on a tanning process, the use of fennel, salt peter and salt in the tanning process and the delivery of 1000 pairs of shoes to the Confederacy. November 16, 1861. 4p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning news from the Bishop's plantation and his medical practice. John writes about the ongoing construction at the plantation and of a runaway slave, Emmett, who was briefly jailed but escaped. John told the overseer's son that "if Emmett should come around the plantation to tell him to come in and go to work as I did not blame him for trying to escape from prison." He also confides in the Bishop that his medical practice is on the verge of blossoming "if bigotry does not override everything." November 13, 1861. 2p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and a proposition to house the Sisters of Mercy from Charleston if they should come to Columbia to nurse the sick soldiers hospitalized there. October 17, 1861. 4p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the deteriorating condition of a house on one of the Bishop's plantations and that it is too dangerous for the overseer, Mr. Buff, to continue to live there. August 16, 1861. 2p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch wishing him a happy Christmas season and informing him of news at the Ursuline Convent. December 21, 1863. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch about family matters and news at the Ursuline Convent and Academy. Madame Baptiste describes how the sisters are sewing banners and flags for various companies noting "is it not queer for nuns to be engaged preparing flags for war?" She also thinks that business would return to normal if "other states would hurry and come out of the Union." January 8, 1861. 2p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning a new "noviciate" being welcomed into the Ursulines of Columbia. Madame Baptiste is concerned that given the precarious financial status of the convent that the new noviciate will not realize the sacrifices she must make given that she has previously known "many conveniences." She also suggests that the noviciate pay her own travel expenses to Columbia and possibly pay her board during her term. September 29, 1858. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about news at the Ursuline Convent in Columbia and that she is "glad to hear of our boxes, which we began to fear were gone to the fishes." September 29, 1858. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the premium associated with buying "specie" and asks the Bishop to procure for her $500 in gold. She also mentions that the tenants at the old convent are trying to get out of paying rent but that she does not pity their situation as "Mr. Fry is not sober (and) we teach their daughter gratuitously." March 19, 1862. 4p.
Francis Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the health of their sister, Anna, and the 50th anniversary of their parents' wedding, and details his financial situation for the coming year. April 1, 1866. 2p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch asking him to write letters of introduction for Dr. Gibbs (sic), a man "trying to serve his country, and science", who is travelling to Cuba. January 24, 1866. 2p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste (Ellen Lynch), from the Brown County, Ohio, Ursuline Convent to brother, Bishop Patrick Lynch, in Baltimore. Madame Baptiste describes how she disguised herself "as a secular" in her travel north and discusses the opening of an academy in Columbia. April 27, 1858. 4p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning financial affairs and family news. Francis is eager to get the newly seceded government's business if they should need supplies and plans to write to "His Excellency next week." December 27, 1860. 4p.
Letter from Madame Antonia in Baltimore to brother, Bishop Patrick Lynch, asking him to say three masses for her in honor of St. Joseph. February 20, 1861. 2p.
Unfinished letter (copy?) from Bishop Patrick Lynch to Madame Baptiste. The Bishop suggests that she "lay up a large stock of flour, and rice, and provisions, for it is pretty clear that they will get much dearer." He writes that Charleston is quiet now and he hopes that it will remain so until autumn when "perhaps by that time we may have peace." April 2, 1862. 2p.
Letter from Anna Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the family in Cheraw and news that their brother, Hugh, has been staying with them during an extended sick leave from the military. April 21, 1862. 2p.
Second letter from Anna Lynch in Cheraw to brother, Bishop Patrick Lynch, in Charleston, concerning the recent illness of their mother. May 23, 1858. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the conduct of "low, vulgar" soldiers who visited the convent and is sorry to hear that "deserters claim your attention, excepting for their souls' sake." She also writes the Bishop for advice on three controversial applicants for noviciate. One "has been by no means pious" and "read infidel works" and a second was born illegitimate. The third has had in the past "criminal intercourse" but has never had a child, though Madame Baptiste concedes, "she deserves no credit for that." March 6, 1863. 4p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch discussing the seizure of the blockade runner "Minnie", the shipment of cotton bales to Nassau, and his hope that an ailing Pope Pius IX remains alive long enough to see the Bishop who is on his way to Rome. June 15, 1864. 2p.
Hugh Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the illness that has sent him home to Cheraw from Charleston and news of their brother, Francis, who has gone to see the governor of North Carolina concerning an embargo that has prevented him from getting supplies from his business yard there. November 24, 1862. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about paying taxes and the need for more teachers, and revisits the idea of purchasing the Barhamville school as a future site for the Convent and Academy. March 7, 1864. 4p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about their anniversaries as Bishop and Mother Superior and wonders if the Bishop is "as tired of superiority as I am!" She also writes of a local murder in Columbia and a visit to the convent by the wife of "pirate Semmes." March 10, 1864. 8p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the mental state of one of the sisters and of general news at the Ursuline Convent and Academy. January 26, 1864. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and Academy. Madame Baptiste writes about obtaining provisions for the winter and her continuing trouble with one of the sisters. October 5, 1863. 6p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch detailing the death of a local man and the unfortunate consequences surrounding an orphan the man and his wife were taking care of. October 16, 1863. 8p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning the recent death of Archbishop Hughes in New York. Madame Baptiste laments that the obituary of the beloved Bishop in a New York paper is anti-Southern "when it speaks of his going to France at the request of Seward and succeeding in dissuading the emperor from acknowledging the Southern Confederacy." February 2, 1864. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch requesting his "Lenten regulations" for the season. She also writes of putting most of her money in the stockpiling of provisions "before the new currency comes in." February 10, 1864. 4p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning an incident with some slaves at the Bishop's plantation. John writes that the overseer, Mr. Buff, after "strapping" a young boy for idleness, was attacked with a hoe by the boy's mother. John wants word on what to do with the woman saying "if this goes unpunished and the woman remains, it will be the ruining of all the young negroes," and suggests selling the whole family. March 17, 1862. 3p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning a cotton transaction and an ongoing dispute Francis has with a cattle merchant who was supposed to supply him with hides. July 17, 1863. 2p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about news from Columbia. John mentions collecting money for the "Charleston orphans", the death of a slave boy on one of the Bishop's plantations and rumors that their brother Francis may have to go into the service. August 19, 1863. 3p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning plans for the Bishop's properties. He also asks the Bishop to send him a horse that the Bishop has been tasked with disposing. September 26, 1862. 2p.
Letter from Henrietta Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from Cheraw. Henrietta writes of sewing the Bishop some summer "drawers and under shirts" and mentions that "the people of Cheraw find fault with all the Charlestonians because they say they cannot find anything to eat." August 15, 1862. 2p.
Anna Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch with updates on the condition of their sister, Julia. Their mother, visiting Walterboro to help care for Julia, "no longer entertains any hope of her recovery." February 14, 1861. 2p.
Short letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch informing him that she is sending him twenty dollars out of fear that he is having money problems. January 7, 1859. 1p.
Second letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch on this date. Francis has enclosed $25 dollars towards the schooling expenses of the children being sent to Charleston and writes that they have been "accorded free passage on the RRd's." April 23, 1860. 1p.
Short letter from Francis Lynch in Cheraw to Bishop Patrick Lynch in Charleston asking him to endorse and deposit a note for $2500. October 26, 1858. 1p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning plans associated with one of the Bishop's properties, writing "I did not know whether you still intended sending the negroes over." He also writes of recent news of an accidental cannon discharge fired from "Cummins" Point that struck Fort Sumter stating, "Such carelessness or tricks might lead to serious results although it may show with what accuracy the guns can be worked." March 9, 1861. 1p.
Letter from Madame Antonia to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from her convent at Mt. Carmel in Maryland. Madame Antonia informs the Bishop that due to the departure of their prioress to start a new order in St. Louis, she has been elected the new Mother Superior of the convent. November 6, 1863. 1p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning the success of his shoe business. Francis writes that he already has orders for 2000 pairs of Brogans. June 28, 1861. 1p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning news at the Ursuline Convent and academy noting that "our pupils are diminishing weekly on account of the heat." July 8, 1859. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch discussing a visit from their siblings, John, Hugh and Anna, and the arrangements being made for the Ursuline academy's upcoming Distribution Day. July 14, 1859. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch asking him to procure newspapers from Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis and New York so the sisters can read about Distribution Days and exhibits from other Catholic academies. She laments that the South Carolinian newspaper did not publish their recent events and jokingly comments that it's "a very good index that they fear our power." July 27, 1859. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch concerning the upcoming school year at the Academy. She writes about the number of boarders, teachers, reference books, finances and provisions. She also comments on the "blockade paper" her letter is written on and mentions a deserter that the Bishop had attended to prior to his execution. August 29, 1862. 8p.
Letter from Madame Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and Academy. Madame Baptiste reports that the "Charleston refugees" do not like Rev. O'Connell, and suggests if the Bishop wanted to make a change in the priest assignments in Columbia now is the time "to break up this nest of (blank)." September 10, 1862. 4p.
Letter from Francis Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch detailing the difficulty he is having procuring leather for his business. He laments the "speculators" who are driving up the price of leather and has disseminated a handbill outlining his proposal to furnish brogans to the Confederacy at the low price of $1.50/pair by obtaining hides directly from the government. He has sent a copy of the handbill to "that distinguished advocate of low prices, Doct. Bachman." August 21, 1862. 4p.
Madame Antonia writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from Baltimore and a wish that God "will soon withdraw the scourge" of war. August 25, 1862. 4p.
Letter from Robert Lynch to his parents from Combree, France, where he is studying for the priesthood. Robert writes at length about a debilitating episode of constipation he has recently recovered from. April 24, 1860. 4p.
Madame Antonia at Mt. Carmel in Baltimore writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the death of a local priest and congratulates him on the progress he is making as Bishop. April 30, 1860. 3p.
Letter from Mary Lynch Spann to her brother, Bishop Patrick Lynch, informing him of news of her family in Washington County, Texas. September 24, 1858. 4p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about news at the Ursuline Convent in Columbia, including the potential recruitment of two lay sisters to help in housekeeping so the convent doesn't "have to pay servant's hire." She also mentions stocking up on stores and that she has ordered two tons of coal, "two thirds anthracite and one third bituminous", from Charleston. October 26, 1858. 4p.
John Lynch writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch asking him to send a copy of a letter so that he can more accurately respond to its contents. April 13, 1859. 4p.
Letter from John Lynch to Bishop Patrick Lynch informing him that he has received the will (Bernard's?) and requests a copy of a letter he had previously forwarded. April 25, 1859. 2p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch about the Ursulines' preparations for the Easter season and the health of their family. April 23, 1859. 4p.
Letter from Madame Baptiste to Bishop Patrick Lynch telling him about a French woman who had given her a gift as a "pretext" for being considered as a lay sister in the Ursuline Convent. She also asks the Bishop to speak to their sister-in-law, Henrietta, about "her neglect of duty as a wife and housekeeper" for staying in Charleston so long instead of her home in Cheraw. February 24, 1859. 4p.
Madame Baptiste writes to Bishop Patrick Lynch with news from the Ursuline Convent and congratulates him on the one year anniversary of his consecration. March 14, 1859. 4p.