MsC 236

Manuscript Register

PAPERS OF MARCELLUS WARNER DARLING

Collection Dates: 1862 -- 1911

(Bulk Dates: 1862 to 1865)

.5 linear ft.

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Acquisition Note: This collection was donated to the University of Iowa by Darling's son, Jay N. (Ding) Darling in 1949.

Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials"

Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

Biographical Note

Marcellus Warner Darling (1844 -- 1913) was a native of New York. He and his older brother enlisted in Company K, 154th New York Volunteers on September 6, 1862. The 154th saw a great deal of action during the Civil War. Darling was wounded in the battle of Chancellorsville, was subsequently captured and later escaped. While his regiment was fighting at Gettysburg, Darling was hospitalized with typhoid fever. He fought in the battles at Lookout Mountain and Chickamauga, and participated in the taking of Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston, during General Sherman's march to the sea.

After the war, he decided to go to school in Albion, Michigan. He graduated from Albion College in 1870. That same year he accepted a post as Superintendent of City Schools in Grand Haven, Michigan. He spent the following three years as a professor of Greek at Albion College. Darling pursued post-graduate work at Ann Arbor, where he earned his A.M. in philosophy and languages. After graduating, he decided to devote his life to the ministry. His first job was as a Methodist preacher, but he later found a home in the Congregational Church. From 1879 to 1886, he served as a minister in a Congregational Church in Indiana. In 1886, he moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and from there he went to Glencoe, Illinois, leaving that church in 1909. His last position was that of Chaplain at the National Home for Volunteer Soldiers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1910.

Among his children was cartoonist Jay Norwood Darling.

Scope and Contents

The papers of Marcellus W. Darling are comprised of seventy-eight items dating from 1862 to 1911. The majority of the papers relate to his service in Company K, 154th New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Included are approximately forty letters that he wrote home during the war, and a diary from 1864. The rest of the collection is made up of memoirs, genealogical data, and a book of quotes and sayings by Marcellus Darling.

Box List

Box 1

Folder: Co. K 154th New York Infantry, 1862 -- 3. Twenty letters written to those at home.

Folder: Co. K 154th New York Infantry, 1864. Fifteen letters to those at home.

Folder: Co. K 154th New York Infantry, 1865. Four letters to those at home. Diary entries for 1864.

Folder: Letter to Marcellus W. Darling. Ten letters.

Folder: Miscellaneous. Includes inquiries into Darling genealogy.

Folder: Co. K 154th New York Infantry. Mailing envelopes -- 1860's.

Folder: Transcription of Civil War diary and letters made by Mark H. Dunkelman.

Folder: Events and Comments on My Life (2 copies)

Folder: Fusing Truth into Life

Folder: Reminiscences of General Sherman

Folder: Letter from Isaac Pendleton

Folder: Estate of Marcellus Darling

Obituary from the Glencoe Record

Box 2

Items from the Civil War carried by Marcus Darling: Canteen; Sargeant's chevrons worn 1864-1865; piece of an overcoat brought home and worn first year in college; part of a haversack carried in the army; "House-Wife" (sewing kit) made by his sister, carried in the battle of Resaca, Georgia, lost there, picked up by a man after the battle and given to Darling

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