Ira B. Conine papers

The Ira B. Conine Correspondence (124 letters and 8 fragments) spans the years 1862 to 1865, covering the period of Conine's service in the 118th O.V.I., during much of which he served in various clerical posts on detached duty. The collection consists primarily of the letters between Conine and Minerva "Jennie" Bysel, with a few letters from other members of the Conine family.

The early letters from Ira to Jennie concern themselves, to a great extent, with defining their personal relationship while he is away from home, with some petty quarreling and jealousy. The series of letters he wrote while on detached duty escorting conscripts in Boston, and while returning to the Regiment in late 1863, provide the best description of military activities in the early correspondence. The correspondence written while serving as commissary sergeant at the Convalescent Camp at Knoxville relates several incidents of his social activities, particularly those involving his "messmate" Lieut. John W. Wallace, the Quartermaster of the camp.

One peculiar group of correspondence is the series of letters signed by James B. Carroll and C.W. Carroll addressed to various women. As revealed in Ira's letters to Jennie of Jan. 26 and Feb. 23, 1865, these items were written under assumed names by Conine, possibly aided by his friend John W. Wallace, as a form of amusement. After they would tire of writing to a particular person they would end the correspondence by "killing off" the writer, as illustrated by the item of Sept. 28, 1864 (C.W. Carroll to Laura Kopp, Chillicothe, Ohio), in which the recipient was informed that Lieut. J.W. Wallace was killed in a skirmish with Wheeler's Cavalry.

The letters of Jennie to Ira are not as complete as his correspondence to her. Apparently, she requested that he send her letters back home in bundles, but he did not always comply. The content of her letters primarily concerned events back home and relations with his family, her career teaching school near Ottawa, Ohio, and activities of mutual friends. Many of the individuals mentioned were members of the 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who came from the area around McComb and Findlay, including Isaac Cusac, Robert Dilworth, and James Porter.

The remaining letters in the collection are from several members of Ira Conine's family, including his mother and sisters. Since the family lived close to the Bysels, there are several references to Jennie in the letters. The relationship of Ira and Jennie seems to have been a topic of some concern, but the extent of friction is unclear. Of particular interest in these letters is the account of news of local political sentiments in the Findlay area during the Brough-Vallandigham campaign.