Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the William Harris Garland Papers, #2982, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from dealer, Charleston, S.C., 1953.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, August 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

The 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.

• Beaufort (S.C.)--Economic conditions.
• British Americans--South Carolina--History--19th century.
• Family--Southern States--Social life and customs.
• Fernandina (Fla.)--Economic conditions.
• Garland family.
• Garland, William Harris, b. ca. 1811.
• Laurinburg (N.C.)--Economic conditions--19th century.
• Mechanics (Persons)--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Migrant labor--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Migration, Internal--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Railroads--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Savannah (Ga.)--Economic conditions.
• Sawmill workers--Southern States.
• Southern States--Economic conditions.
• Steamboat lines--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Wilmington (N.C.)--Economic conditions.

William Harris Garland (born circa 1811) was an itinerant mechanic for railroad shops, sawmills, and steamboats in towns from North Carolina to Florida. He was married to Harriet B. Garland, and later apparently to Maria Garland. His son was Willie Garland.

The collection is chiefly business, personal, and family papers of William Harris Garland. Papers, 1836-1853, relate to his employment in Savannah, Ga., and on riverboats, and for a few months in Beaufort, S.C., at a sawmill and also to his connections with railroad shops, ship shops, and his own iron work shop in Savannah. There are letters from female relatives in Beaufort and Charleston, S.C., and from scattered ex-shopmates in other cities. Many letters discuss economic hardships and migration across the Southeast in search of employment. Papers, 1870-1872, are chiefly correspondence of Garland and his son, William, and daughter-in-law, Anna Garland, in Savannah, Ga.; Laurinburg and Wilmington, N.C.; Fernandina, Fla.; and elsewhere, relating to difficulties securing employment and financial troubles. The earliest papers, 1819-1829, are chiefly family letters and other papers of Thomas Harris of London, England, relating to family matters, transatlantic voyages, and economic hard times.