In order to find pictures of Thomas Nelson Conrad and Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, I searched for them in Dickinson’s House Divided engine. In doing so, I successfully located sketchings of men. (http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5454, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5422).
On the Dickinson Chronicles I found an old photo of East College, where Cloud and Conrad shared a room. The photo appears to date from the nineteenth or early twentieth century, so the building likely looks similar to how it looked when they lived there (http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/e/ed_eastcollege.html).
Since Cloud lived and died in Vicksburg, Mississippi after the war, I called Neil Brun at the Vicksburg historical society to see if they had any photos of Cloud or other relevant primary documents. Mr. Brun sent me his obituary from a local paper and a photo of his grave in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg. He also sent a photo of his son, also named Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, who was born in November of 1870 and died in 1964 in Los Angeles according to the California Death Index on Ancestry.com. He appeared to be an infant or young toddler in the photo, so it was likely taken around the time of Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, Sr.’s death. The photo of his son led me to wonder whether Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, Jr. was his first child, and if he was, whether Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, Sr. got married after the conclusion of the war. Since Cloud was born and raised in Warren County, VA, I called Judith Pfeiffer at the Warren County Historical Society, who was unable to locate any relevant images or documents.
Since Conrad was born and raised in Fairfax County, VA, I called Suzanne Levy at the Archives at the City of Fairfax Regional Library and asked if their archives had any relevant materials. She found a photo of the house where Conrad lived after his father, Nelson Conrad, purchased it in 1839. She also sent me a clipping from a May 1905 edition of “Confederate Veteran” magazine that featured with a photo of a middle aged Conrad. (Conrad House, Confederate Veteran Magazine)
His obituary indicated that he was the President of Virginia Agricultural College, which is now Virginia Tech, from 1882 until 1886. Therefore, I went to the Virginia Tech archives website to find what records they had on former university presidents. The website stated that a 1905 fire destroyed the records of all previous presidents, and therefore no items pertinent to Conrad survive in the university’s collections. The obituary also stated that he was a Professor of Agriculture and Chairman of the Faculty at Maryland Agricultural College, which is now the University of Maryland, from 1886 until 1890, so I called the university’s archives to find out if they had any his materials in their collections. The woman who answered told me to e-mail my inquiry to the university’s archivist, Jason Grant Speck. Mr. Speck replied that in 1912, a fire destroyed the university’s records and therefore none of his documents or photos currently survive. He foreworded my inquiry to Malissa Ruffner, who is conducting research into University of Maryland faculty and students’ connections to the Civil War. Ms. Ruffner sent me an e-mail stating that the university does not have any unique primary materials pertaining to Thomas Conrad.
Bibliography:
Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, undated. The House Divided Project at Dickinson College, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
Thomas Nelson Conrad, undated. The House Divided Project at Dickinson College, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
East College, undated. Dickinson Chronicles, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
Grave of Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, undated. Cloud-Hardaway Collection, Vicksburg Historical Society, Vicksburg, MS.
Daniel Mountjoy Cloud Jr. Age 2, c. 1872. Cloud-Hardaway Collection, Vicksburg Historical Society, Vicksburg, MS.
“The Rebel Scout.” Confederate Veteran 13, no. 5 (May 1905): 220. Thomas Nelson Conrad Collection, City of Fairfax Regional Library, Fairfax, VA.
Nelson Conrad (Moore) House, undated. Thomas Nelson Conrad Collection, City of Fairfax Regional Library, Fairfax, VA.
Great example of dogged research instincts. It’s especially impressive that you contacted so many different archives. Please make this post public, but if possible, before you do, go ahead and add the images of Conrad that you describe above (from Confederate Veteran magazine, for instance), if you can.