Sylvester Daman papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Kyler Andrew Culver, October 15, 2003; Last Updated: May 2020

Inclusive Dates: 1862-1865
Extent: .33 cubic foot (1 document case)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Sylvester Daman entered Federal service in 1862 from Granger Township in Medina County, Ohio. He served with compnay I of the 103rd OVI until his discharge at Raleigh, NC on June 12, 1865. The 103rd OVI was composed of men from Cuyahoga, Lorain and Medina counties. It saw major action at Knoxville, the approach to Atlanta, and around Nashville.

Scope and Content: This collection contains around two dozen letters and two diaries that document the war experience of this soldier. The letters are mostly to Daman's wife Almira and son Frank; such is the case with all the letters as listed in the inventory below except where otherwise noted. The diaries, with daily entries, cover the period from October 1862 to June 1864. Some supplementary materials explain the history of the collection and of the regiment in detail.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Description of the collection, from a sale catalog, undated
2. Index cards (two), handwritten information about Daman and 103rd Regiment OVI
3. Information about history of 103rd Regiment during the Civil War
4. Information about history of the 103rd Regiment
5. Roster of the 103rd Reg't O.V.I. compiled by M.F. Hulet [reproduction]
6. Letter, September 5, 1862
7. Letter, September 27, 1862
8. Letter, October 1, 1862
9. Letter, October 9, 1862
10. Letter, October 15, 1862
11. Letter, October 24, 1862 [verso is draft of an Oct. 12 letter to 'Vety']
12. Letter, November 30, 1862
13. Letter, December 14, 1862
14. Letter, December 25, 1862
15. Letter, January 1, 1863
16. Letter, April 30, 1863 [verso is Apr. 19 letter to 'Vety']
17. Letter, April 30, 1863 [to 'Vety']
18. Letter, July 21, 1863
19. Letter, September 25, 1863
20. Letter, February 5, 1864
21. Letter, February 5, 1864
22. Letter, February 18 [1864?]
23. Letter, February 21, 1864
24. Letter, March 27, 1864
25. Letter, May 26, 1864
26. Letter, June 15, 1864
27. Letter, June 30, 1864 (NB. to Vety)
28. Letter, September 5, 1864
29. Letter, partial, no date; letterhead: United States Christian Commission
30. Discharge papers [certificate], June 12, 1865
31. 10 envelopes, some with partial dates in postmark, all to Daman family except one to Lulu Vankirk of Ghent, Ohio
32. Diary, October 15, 1862-June 7, 1863
33. Diary, June 14, 1863-June 3, 1864