This finding aid describes the Turner Cordell Family Papers. The Turner and Cordell Families were wealthy, influential, southern families connected through the marriage of Dr. Levi O’Connor Cordell and Christine Turner. The collection, while documenting the families generally, contains a majority of materials documenting Christine Turner Cordell and her son, Dr. Eugene F. Cordell. A large portion of the collection are letters from Christine Turner Cordell and Dr. Eugene F. Cordell.

Christine’s letters are written during her childhood documenting her life in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia); education in private schools; her marriage to Dr. Levi Cordell; and their children. Dr. Eugene F. Cordell’s letters fall into two categories: his career in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War and his professional and personal life as a physician and educator in Baltimore, Maryland. The remaining materials present insight into the life and experiences of two wealthy, well-connected, slave-owning families in the American South before and during the Civil War, as well as, the ancestral and genealogical research into the families completed by Dr. E. F. Cordell. In addition, the collection contains provenance materials, documenting the purchase and donation of the materials to the Health Sciences Library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.