This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3500 items) |
Abstract | James Evans was a farmer, merchant, and county commissioner of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, N.C. Evans married Martha Henriette Knight of Hamburg, S.C., in 1839. The collection includes personal and business correspondence, financial and legal Papers, and other items, chiefly 1837-1870, of Evans and his wife, children, and other relatives. Included are items relating to Evans's life as a farmer before the Civil War and a merchant after, and a few manuscript copies of articles he wrote for the Fayetteville "News." Many letters relate to the status of African Americans before and after the war. Also included are letters from relatives of Martha (Knight) Evans in Hamburg, Aiken County, S.C.; letters that James Evans, Jr., wrote while he was serving with Company B, 13th Battalion, North Carolina Light Artillery at Fort Fisher, N.C., and other locations, in which he described camp life and military actions; a series of account books and ledgers relating to agricultural and mercantile businesses in Cumberland County, N.C.; financial records, 1870s, of the Cape Fear River steamer "Little Sam"; Cumberland County school records, 1849-1862; records, 1850s-1860s, of taxable property in Locke's Creek District, Cumberland County; and a diary of James Evans, Sr., chiefly concerning the weather, planting, the progress of crops, and family activities. |
Creator | Evans, James, -1869. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Rebecca Hollingsworth, February 1992
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2020
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
James Evans was a son of Josiah Evans of Cumberland County, N.C. He married Martha Henrietta Knight in 1839; they had eleven children, including sons James Jr., Josiah, and Oliver, and daughters Larry, Cecilia, Sue Douglas, and Henrietta.
Before the Civil War, Evans was a farmer. After the war, he went into business with James Evans, Jr., running a general store. In the last years of his life, Evans wrote many essays and articles for the Fayetteville News. He died in 1869.
James Evans, Jr., was born in 1841. During the Civil War, he served in the 13th Battalion, N.C. Light Artillery, writing many letters home about military actions and camp life in such places as Fort Fisher, Greenville, and Washington, N.C. After the war, he ran a general store with his father for a time and later became the captain of the steamship Little Sam
Oliver Evans, younger brother of James, Jr., was the father of Henrietta Evans Kent.
Back to TopPersonal and business correspondence, financial and legal Papers, and other items, chiefly 1837-1870, of Evans and his wife, children, and other relatives. Included are items relating to Evans's life as a farmer before the Civil War and a merchant after the war, and a few manuscript copies of articles Evans wrote for the Fayetteville News. Many letters relate to the status of blacks before and after the Civil War. Also included are letters that James Evans, Jr., wrote during the Civil War while serving with the N.C. Light Artillery at Fort Fisher, N.C., and other locations, in which he described camp life and military actions; a series of account books and ledgers relating to the Evanses' agricultural and merchandise businesses; financial records, 1870s, of the Cape Fear River steamer Little Sam; Cumberland County school records, 1849-1862; records, 1850s-1860s, of taxable property in Locke's Creek District, Cumberland County; and a diary of James Evans, written on a series of loose sheets, chiefly concerning the weather, planting, the progress of crops, and family activities.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Mostly letters written by or addressed to James Evans, his wife, his children, or other relatives. Family letters document everyday concerns. They include letters, 1834-1838, from James's brother, Joseph W. Evans, while he was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, writing about his intention to reduce his living expenses; from Evans's mother-in-law, Elizabeth Knight of Hamburg, S.C., describing her poor health and discussing her plans to come for a visit; and from his son James Evans, Jr., mostly written while he was in the Confederate Army, describing camp life and conditions in places such as Fort Fisher, Greenville, Washington, and Goldsboro, N.C., and also mentioning Ship Point and Yorktown.
Most letters by Evans are addressed to his son James, Jr., or to his brothers John and Dickson. Also included are many contemporary handwritten copies of letters by James Evans, apparently produced by Evans himself; many of these are addressed to his sister and his niece. In addition, there are a few letters, 1926-1927, to Evans's granddaughter Henrietta Evans Kent of Fayetteville, mostly from her cousin DeLancey Evans of Warrenton, Va. All of these letters primarily concern family matters.
Folder 1 |
1831-1837 |
Folder 2 |
1838-1839 |
Folder 3 |
1840-1842 |
Folder 4 |
1843-1846 |
Folder 5 |
1847-1849 |
Folder 6 |
1850-1853 |
Folder 7 |
1855-1857 |
Folder 8 |
1858-1859 |
Folder 9 |
1860 |
Folder 10 |
1861 |
Folder 11 |
1862 |
Folder 12 |
1863 |
Folder 13 |
1864 |
Folder 14 |
1865 |
Folder 15 |
1866 |
Folder 16 |
1867 |
Folder 17 |
1868 |
Folder 18 |
1869 |
Folder 19 |
1870, 1879 |
Folder 20 |
1880, 1925-1927 |
Folder 21-26
Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Promissory notes, bills, receipts, orders, accounts, indentures, and other financial and legal materials of James Evans and his son James Evans, Jr., pertaining to their affairs in agriculture before the Civil War and in merchandising after the war. Also included are many items concerning Evans's duties as administrator of the estate of his brother John, beginning in 1855; as trustee for his nephew Jonathan Evans, Jr., beginning in 1842; and as guardian of J.K. Daley, 1851-1860. There are also items documenting the elder Evans's responsibility, as a Cumberland County official, for recording the list of taxable property in the Locke's Creek District, chiefly in the 1850s and 1860s, and James Evans, Jr.'s activities as captain of the river steamer Little Sam in the 1870s.
Folder 27 |
1829-1839 |
Folder 28 |
1840-1842 |
Folder 29 |
1843-1844 |
Folder 30 |
1845-1846 |
Folder 31 |
1847 |
Folder 32 |
1848 |
Folder 33 |
1849 |
Folder 34 |
1850 |
Folder 35 |
1851 |
Folder 36 |
1852 |
Folder 37 |
1853 |
Folder 38 |
1854 |
Folder 39 |
1855 |
Folder 40 |
January-June 1856 |
Folder 41 |
July-December 1856 |
Folder 42 |
1857 |
Folder 43 |
1858 |
Folder 44 |
1859 |
Folder 45 |
1860 |
Folder 46 |
1861 |
Folder 47 |
1862 |
Folder 48 |
1863 |
Folder 49 |
1864 |
Folder 50 |
1865 |
Folder 51 |
January-April 1866 |
Folder 52 |
May-August 1866 |
Folder 53 |
September-December 1866 |
Folder 54 |
1867 |
Folder 55 |
1868 |
Folder 56 |
1869 |
Folder 57 |
January-August 1870 |
Folder 58 |
September 1870-1873 |
Folder 59 |
1880-1887, 1921-1926 |
Folder 60-62
Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
Undated |
Account books and bank books, mostly recording James Evans's expenses.
Handwritten drafts of articles for the Fayetteville News; original poetry by James Evans and others, including several acrostics; a composition book; and a diary, 1850-1869, of James Evans. The diary entries are written on loose sheets. Early entries are sporadic and often written on the back of accounts. Entries mostly concern the weather and the planting and progress of crops, with a few references to day-to-day family activities. Many of the articles and essays by James Evans are dated 1868 and signed "Sexagenarian." These articles are chiefly political commentary and reminiscences about Evans's early life, particularly his school days. There are also many items concerning the death of Evans's six-year-old daughter Henrietta in 1848. Also included are a few essays of James Evans, Jr., and his sister Sue Douglas Evans.
Folder 70 |
Diary, 1850-1864 |
Folder 71 |
Diary, 1864-1869 |
Folder 72 |
Composition book, 1829 |
Folder 73-74
Folder 73Folder 74 |
Essays and articles, 1848-1869 and undated |
Folder 75 |
Poetry, 1834-1877 and undated |