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Size | 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1900 items) |
Abstract | William Dunlap Simpson, lawyer of Laurens, S.C., served during the Civil War with the 14th S. C. Volunteers and in the Confederate Congress. In 1876, he was S.C. lieutenant governor, and, in 1878, was acting governor until he became chief justice of the state Supreme Court in 1880. He marrried Jane E. Young, daughter of Henry Clinton Young (b. 1794), lawyer of Laurens, and Lucy Melissa Young (1802-1874). William and Jane's children included William Dunlap, Jr., and Ernest, both lawyers, and John W., banker of Spartanburg, S.C., Greensboro, N.C., and Tennessee. John W. Simpson married Mabel Donald Fleming in 1895. Correspondence and related items, 1819-1852, include family and business letters, including an 1849 letter describing the capture of a violent runaway slave in Alabama. There are also letters of Mary Owen Dean in Spartanburg, S.C., and her husband Hosea G. Dean, clerk of the S.C. House of Representatives, 1852-1853. Letters in the late 1850s relate to William Simpson's law practice. During the Civil War, most letters are from William in the field, 1861-1862, with the 14th S.C. Volunteers, or from Richmond in the Confederate Congress, to his wife Jane, in charge of the Simpson platnation in Laurens. In 1876-1879, there are letters to William requesting political favors and outlining political deals, among them a letter from Wade Hampton, and to state Democratic Party activities. Similar letters appear during Simpson's tenure as chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court. After William's death, there are letters from his son Ernest from a sanitorium in Battle Creek, Mich., where he was trying to improve his health. Most letters, 1900-1942, relate to John W. Simpson's banking career or to Mabel Fleming Simpson's interest in the history of the Dean, Fleming, Simpson, Wade, and other families. Other items include a few writings by family members, who were particularly intent on defending old southern ways; legal notes; pictures of family members, including a strip of photographs of a baby with a nurse and a homemade calendar for 1899 with photographs of children; a copy of Tri-Weekly Guardian, an 1863 news sheet; and a copy of a history of the Gregg/McGowan South Carolina Brigade (1866). |
Creator | Simpson, William Dunlap, 1823-1890. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Brooke Allan, 1961; Roslyn Holdzkom, April 1995
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Revised by: Dawne Howard Lucas, July 2021
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William Dunlap Simpson of Laurens, S.C., was the son of Dr. John W. Simpson. He was graduated from South Carolina College in 1843. He studied law with and became the partner and son-in-law of Henry Clinton Young of Laurens.
Simpson served in the state legislature, and, during the Civil War, was aide to M. L. Bonham, on active duty as lieutenant colonel with the 14th South Carolina Volunteers, and member of the Confederate Congress in 1863. After the war, he practiced law at Laurens and ran successfully for lieutenant governor, with running mate Wade Hampton, in 1876 and 1878. During his second term, he served as acting governor, and, in August 1880, before the expiration of his term, was named chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
Simpson married Jane E. Young, daughter of Henry Clinton Young (b. 1794), lawyer of Laurens, S.C., and Lucy Melissa Young (1802-1874), daughter of John M. and Jennie Nisbet Young of Iredell County, N.C. William and Jane's children included William Dunlap, Jr., and Ernest, both lawyers, and John W., who was a banker in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. John W. Simpson married Mabel Donald Fleming on 25 September 1895 in Spartanburg, S.C.
Back to TopCorrespondence and related items, 1819-1852, include family and business letters, including an 1849 letter describing the capture of a violent runaway slave in Alabama. There are also letters of Mary Owen Dean in Spartanburg, S.C., and her husband Hosea G. Dean, clerk of the S.C. House of Representatives, 1852-1853. Letters in the late 1850s relate to William Simpson's law practice. During the Civil War, most letters are from William in the field, 1861-1862, with the 14th S.C. Volunteers, or from Richmond in the Confederate Congress, to his wife Jane, in charge of the Simpson platnation in Laurens. In 1876-1879, there are letters to William requesting political favors and outlining political deals, among them a letter from Wade Hampton, and to state Democratic Party activities. Similar letters appear during Simpson's tenure as chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court. After William's death, there are letters from his son Ernest from a sanitorium in Battle Creek, Mich., where he was trying to improve his health. Most letters, 1900-1942, relate to John W. Simpson's banking career or to Mabel Fleming Simpson's interest in the history of the Dean, Fleming, Simpson, Wade, and other families. Other items include a few writings by family members, who were particularly intent on defending old southern ways; legal notes; pictures of family members, including a strip of photographs of a baby with a nurse and a homemade calendar for 1899 with photographs of children; a copy of Tri-Weekly Guardian, an 1863 news sheet; and a copy of a history of the Gregg/McGowan South Carolina Brigade (1866).
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Chiefly letters of members of the Simpson family and their Young, Dean, and other relatives. Among these are letters of Jane Young Simpson's parents Lucy Melissa Young (1802-1874) and her husband (and cousin) Henry Clinton Young (b. 1794) of Laurens, S.C., including some relating to Young and Wright, Henry's law firm. There is also a March 1849 letter to Lucy from a relative in Mobile, Ala., that describes the capture of a violent runaway slave.
Many of the letters 1828-1847 were written by Mary Owen Dean in Spartanburg, S.C., and her husband Hosea G. Dean while she tended the farm and he traveled on business. In 1851-1852, Hosea wrote of legislative and other events in Columbia, S.C., where he served as clerk of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Folder 1 |
1819-1845 |
Folder 2 |
1846-1850Contains a letter describing the capture of an enslaved man who had run away. The relative also discusses Henry, another enslaved man. |
Folder 3 |
1851-1852 |
Dean and Young family materials continue during this period, especially from Hosea G. Dean, who serve as clerk of the South Carolina House of Representatives at least through 1853. The first William Dunlap Simpson letter appears on 8 February 1853. This and other 1850s letters relate chiefly to Simpson's business deals and legal activities, particularly 1858-1859.
During the Civil War, there are family letters written to Lucy Young in Iredell County, N.C., giving details of conditions on the homefront. Most of the letters during this period, however, are from William in the field, 1861-1862, where he served as aide to M. L. Bonham and as lieutenant colonel with the 14th South Carolina Volunteers, to his wife Jane Young Simpson, who was in charge of the Simpson plantation in Laurens, S.C. On 6 February 1863, William wrote that he had qualified as a member of the Confederate Congress, and, on 24 February 1863, he wrote from Richmond of his hope for a speedy peace. In late 1863 and through 1864, William wrote of his social and legislative activities in Richmond, inquired about conditions on the plantation, and lamented his long separation from his wife and family.
Folder 4 |
1853-1860 |
Folder 5 |
1861 |
Folder 6 |
1862-1863 |
Folder 7 |
1864-1865 |
The Fleming family, of which Mabel Fleming Simpson was a member, makes its appearance in 1866 with a legal document from Laurens, S.C. Papers through 1874 include family letters to Lucy Young and a few business letters of William. From 1874 to 1876, almost all of the materials relate to William's legal work in Laurens and to his political career.
In 1876, there are a few letters to William as lieutenant governor of South Carolina, chiefly relating to political deals and favors. Legal and political materials continue through 1877, when William served as president of the South Carolina Senate, and into 1878, when William as acting governor received many letters requesting political favors and outlining political deals. Also in 1878, there are a few letters relating to state Democratic Party activities, and a small number of letters about routine family affairs.
In 1879, political and legal papers continue. Included is a 19 April letter from Wade Hampton discussing political issues and a 28 September letter from a poor women asking the governor to send money to support her children.
On 25 May 1880, there is a notice that William is to become chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, and, on 1 September, there is a copy of his letter resigning the governorship to assume his position on the bench. A 23 December 1880 letter from W. R. Balch, managing editor of The American, who was interested in learning how northern Republicans could help southern Democrats. The letter includes a survey of questions relating to carpetbaggers, the position of African Americans in the Democratic Party, and other issues.
Patronage letters continue, sometimes directed to William as governor and sometimes to him as judge. On 19 August 1890, there is the first letter from Mabel Fleming, and, on 30 December, there is a letter lamenting the accident that lead to William's death.
Folder 8 |
1866-1872 |
Folder 9 |
1873-1876 |
Folder 10 |
1877 |
Folder 11 |
1878 January-May |
Folder 12 |
1878 June-December |
Folder 13 |
1879 January-March |
Folder 14 |
1879 April-May |
Folder 15 |
1879 June-September |
Folder 16 |
1879 October |
Folder 17 |
1879 November |
Folder 18 |
1879 December |
Folder 19 |
1880 January-March |
Folder 20 |
1880 April-July |
Folder 21 |
1880 August-DecemberContains a letter dated 23 Dec 1880 from W.R. Balch, managing editor of The American, discussing the role of African Americans in the Democratic Party, among other topics. |
Folder 22 |
1881-1882 |
Folder 23 |
1883-1886 |
Folder 24 |
1887 |
Folder 25 |
1888-1889 |
Folder 26 |
1890 |
Materials during this period chiefly relate to Simpson family members, including William's widow Jane and sons William Dunlap, Jr., Ernest, and John W. Most of William, Jr.'s letters are directed to Jane and discuss routine family affairs. Ernest's letters relate to legal deals until October 1897, when he wrote long letters from a sanitorium in Battle Creek, Mich., where he was trying to improve his health through diet, exercise, and "warm electric baths." On 25 September 1895, there is the announcement of the wedding of John W. Simpson and Mabel Donald Fleming in Spartanburg, S.C. By late 1897, letters show that John was assistant cashier at the National Bank of Spartanburg. Items in 1898 and 1899 document the beginning of Mabel's life-long interest in family history.
Folder 27 |
1892-1895 |
Folder 28 |
1896 |
Folder 29 |
1897 January-July |
Folder 30 |
1897 August-December |
Folder 31 |
1898-1899 |
Materials in this period relate almost exclusively to Mabel's interest in family history. Included are replies to her letters requesting information about various family lines--among them the Boatwright, Dean, Farrow, Faust, Fleming, McDonald, Middleton, Rutherford, Simpson, and Wade families--from relatives, professional genealogists, and others.
Among the letters not relating to genealogy are a few in 1926 that show that the Simpsons had moved from Spartanburg to Greensboro, N.C., where John worked for the Atlantic Bank and Trust Company and served as vice president of the North Carolina Bankers' Association. In 1934, letters show that John had moved his family to Morristown, Tenn., where he was receiver for the First National Bank. A letter of 18 June 1936, documents Mabel's winning a Pontiac car and 1,000 gallons of gasoline in Proctor & Gamble's Ivory Flakes Contest. Letters 1940-1942 show that the Simpsons had moved back to Greensboro. Materials in 1951 are condolence letters relating to John's death.
Folder 32 |
1900-1904 |
Folder 33 |
1905 January-March |
Folder 34 |
1905 June-December |
Folder 35 |
1906-1913 |
Folder 36 |
1914-1919 |
Folder 37 |
1920-1922 |
Folder 38 |
1923-1924 |
Folder 39 |
1925-1931 |
Folder 40 |
1932-1933 |
Folder 41 |
1934-1937 |
Folder 42 |
1938-1939 |
Folder 43 |
1940-1942 |
Folder 44 |
1951 |
Chiefly letters relating to Mabel's interest in genealogy.
Folder 45-46
Folder 45Folder 46 |
Undated |