Scope and Content Note
The papers of the George Montfort Gilchrist family span the years 1854-1921 and consist of correspondence, school records, literary and commencement programs, poetry, and genealogical records. Much of the correspondence is between Gilchrist, a captain in the Third Indiana Cavalry, and his wife, Mollie Gilpin Gilchrist. Gilchrist's wartime letters describe routine camp life, troop movements, and skirmishes with Confederate forces in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Other Civil War letters are between Mollie and Samuel J. V. B. Gilpin of the First Indiana Cavalry and Ebenezer N. Gilpin of the Third Iowa Cavalry. In addition, there is considerable correspondence with other members of the Gilchrist and Gilpin families. The school records, literary programs, and commencement programs pertain to Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana. The genealogical records are of the Gilpin family of Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.