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.
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 300 items) |
Abstract | Walter Alves of Orange County, N.C., was the son of James Hogg (1730-1804) and Ann McDowal (Alves) Hogg (1732-1801) of Scotland. The family emigrated to America in 1774, settling in North Carolina. His father legally changed his sons' last names from Hogg to Alves in honor of their mother. Walter Alves married Mary Amelia Johnston, daughter of William Johnston (d. 1785) and had with her nine children. Alves, a staunch Federalist, served in the North Carolina General Assembly, 1793- 1795; was a trustee of the University of North Carolina, 1795-1813; and speculated heavily in North Carolina and Tennessee lands. The collection is primarily business papers of Walter Alves. The bulk consists of correspondence, surveys, rental accounts, and other papers pertaining to Alves's extensive land holdings in North Carolina and in the Clinch and Powell rivers areas of east Tennessee. Also included are family correspondence, letters from Federalist politicians, and papers pertaining to Alves's move to Henderson, Ky. Correspondents include Gavin Alves, Richard Bennehan, William Boylan, Duncan Cameron, Walter Evans, William Gaston, William B. Grove, Archibald Henderson, James Hogg, Alex Mebane, James Norwood, and Henry Tazewell. Many items pertain to the estate of Alves's father-in-law, William Johnston (d. 1785), mainly concerning the efforts of Edmund Fanning (1739-1818), North Carolina colonial official and Loyalist for whom Johnston had been agent, to recover properties confiscated during the Revolution. These estate papers include correspondence, 1805-1812, between Alves and John Wickham (1763-1839), noted Virginia lawyer, and relevant earlier papers. |
Creator | Alves, Walter, 1768-1819. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, August 1992
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, March 2010
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
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.
Walter (Hogg) Alves was born on 6 October 1768 in Scotland, the son of James Hogg (1730-1804) and Anne McDowal Alves Hogg (1733-1801). James Hogg was a native of East Lothian, Scotland, where he lived until after his marriage and the birth of several children. A short time before the Revolution, he decided to leave Scotland for America, landing at Wilmington, N.C., in 1774. During the Revolution, Hogg stood with the colonists and served on the Committee of Safety. He was also a member of the Transylvania Company. In 1775, he represented the Transylvania Company at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he spoke in favor of allowing Kentucky to enter the union as the 14th colony, a measure that was blocked by Patrick Henry. James Hogg was one of the founders of Henderson, Ky.; he was also active in the founding of the University of North Carolina. At some point, Hogg successfully applied to the General Assembly of North Carolina to change the names of his sons Gavin and Walter Hogg to Alves in their mother's honor.
On 11 May 1787, Walter Alves married Mary Amelia Johnston, daughter of William Johnston (d. 1785), agent to noted Virginia lawyer John Wickham (1763-1839). Nine children were born of this union: Annie (1788-1852); Elizabeth (1790-1852); James (1792-1853); William Johnston (1793-1866); Mary (1797-1806); Haywood (1799-1854); Samuel Johnston (1801-1821); Walter (1803-1856); and Robert (1806-1860). Walter Alves served in the North Carolina General Assembly, 1793-1795. He was trustee of the University of North Carolina, 1795-1813, and treasurer of the board of trustees, 1795-1799. A staunch Federalist, he counted William B. Grove, William Polk, and William Gaston as close political allies. His business interests centered on land speculation in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Back to TopPrimarily business papers of Walter Alves, including correspondence, surveys, rental accounts, and other papers relating to Alves's extensive land holdings in North Carolina and in the Clinch and Powell River regions of eastern Tennessee. Also included are family correspondence, letters from Federalist politicians, and papers relating to Alves's move to Henderson, Ky. Correspondents include Gavin Alves, Richard Bennehan, William Boyland, Duncan Cameron, Walter Evans, William Gaston, William B. Grove, Archibald Henderson, James Hogg, Alex Mebane, James Norwood, and Henry Tazewell. Many items pertain to the estate of Alves's father-in-law, William Johnston, and relate to the efforts of Edmund Fanning (1739-1818), North Carolina colonial official and loyalist for whom Johnston worked, to recover properties confiscated during the Revolution. These papers include correspondence, 1805-1812, between Alves and noted Virginia lawyer John Wickham (1763-1839).
Back to TopFolder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1771-1790 |
Folder 2 |
1793-1799 |
Folder 3 |
1800-1801 |
Folder 4 |
1802-1804 |
Folder 5 |
1805-1807 |
Folder 6 |
1808 |
Folder 7 |
1809-1810 |
Folder 8 |
1811-1819 |
Folder 9 |
1821-1829 |
Folder 10 |
1830-1858 |
Folder 11 |
Undated |
Folder 12 |
Volume 1: Survey book, 1807-1810Surveys of Tennessee land. |
Folder 13 |
Volume 2: Account book, 1808-1812"Book of Accounts kept by John Goss for Walter Alves for Rents and etc. in Powell's Valley commencing 1808." |