Abstract:
This issue centers on the preserved love letters of Chester D. Shaw, the youngest son of Francis Marion and Rachel Moore Allen Shaw. In 1895, Chester left his home in Ray City, Georgia, and traveled to Louisiana, where he wrote heartfelt letters to family and especially to Louannie Webb, the young woman who would later become his wife. The letters reveal Chester’s homesickness, romantic devotion, and reflections on life, faith, and social customs of the time. They provide an intimate glimpse into rural courtship practices of the late 19th century, the challenges of distance, and the enduring value of handwritten correspondence. Chester and Louannie married in 1898, but their time together was cut short when Louannie died just four years later at the age of 21.
