Calvin J. Cowles Papers, 1773-1941 (bulk 1875-1907)

Collection Number: 03808

Collection Title: Calvin J. Cowles Papers, 1773-1941 (bulk 1875-1907)

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 and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	40.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 72,000 items)
Abstract	Calvin Josiah Cowles (1821-1907) of Wilkes County, N.C., was a merchant specializing in roots and herbs who traded with the North and England. Cowles was a Whig and post-war Republican, superintendent of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., 1869-1884, and consistent promoter of land, mining, and railroad development in northwestern North Carolina. The papers consist of letterpress copy books, 1877-1907; mercantile account books; land surveys and papers relating to Cowles's land holdings in North Carolina, Kansas, and South Dakota; papers relating to his copper and mica mines in northwestern North Carolina; business correspondence; and numerous letters exchanged between Cowles and his ten children giving a detailed picture of their education and careers. Correspondents included: Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young. Also included are letters to and from son Arthur Duval Cowles, who bought his father's business in 1869 and moved it to Ashe County, N.C., and campaign papers of another son, Charles Holden Cowles, Republican United States representative, 1908-1910. The bulk of the material is dated after 1875; there is little pertaining to C. J. Cowles's political activities during Reconstruction.
Creator	Cowles, Calvin J. (Calvin Josiah), 1821-1907.
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language	English

Expand/collapse Information For Users

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 Calvin J. Cowles Papers, #3808, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information: Received, 1968. Additional materials received from Hamilton C. Horton Junior, May 1972, and Elizabeth Cowles Finley of North Wilkesboro, N.C., November 1974.

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.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, March 2010; Nancy Kaiser, January 2021

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 by web browsers.

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

Expand/collapse Related Collections

Calvin Josiah Cowles Papers, North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.

Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Calvin Josiah Cowles (1821-1907) of Wilkes County, N.C., was a merchant specializing in roots and herbs who traded with the North and England. Cowles was a Whig and post-war Republican and superintendent of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., 1869-1884. Cowles was born in Yadkin County, N.C., to Josiah Cowles and Deborah Sanford Cowles. As a teenager and young adult, Cowles clerked at his father's store and in 1846 moved to Wilkes County, N.C., where he opened his own general merchandise store, specializing in roots and herbs, called J. & C. J. Cowles. Cowles was also deeply involved in the acquisition of land for purposes of mining, timber, railroad building, and speculation. He also owned land which he rented for agricultural production. A large portion of Cowles land interests were in North Carolina, however, he also speculated in lands further west, chiefly in Kansas and South Dakota, but also in Colorado and Wyoming. Cowles was also a voluntary county statistician and weather observer for the state and federal agricultural departments.

Cowles was married in 1844 to Martha T. Duvall, with whom he had five sons, including Arthur Duval Cowles. After Martha's death, Cowles married Ida Augusta Holden, daughter of North Carolina governor W. W. Holden. The second marriage produced five children, including Calvin Duval Cowles (1849-1937), who served with the United States Army in conflicts against Native Americans and the Spanish in Cuba, and Charles Holden Cowles (1857-1957), a North Carolina legislator and editor-publisher of The Wilkes Patriot.

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The papers consist of letterpress copy books, 1877-1907; mercantile account books; land surveys and papers relating to Cowles's land holdings in North Carolina, Kansas, and South Dakota; papers relating to his copper and mica mines in northwestern North Carolina; business correspondence; and numerous letters exchanged between Cowles and his ten children giving a detailed picture of their education and careers. Correspondents included: Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young. Also included are letters to and from son Arthur Duval Cowles, who bought his father's business in 1869 and moved it to Ashe County, N.C., and campaign papers of another son, Charles Holden Cowles, Republican United States representative, 1908-1910. The bulk of the material is dated after 1875; there is little pertaining to C. J. Cowles's political activities during Reconstruction.

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

1. Chronological Series, 1773-1941 and undated.
2. Miscellaneous Series, 1849-1911 and undated
2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910
2.2. Land Papers, undated
2.3. The Wilkes Patriot Material, 1908-1911.
2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899.
2.5. Bills and Receipts, 1850-1906.
2.6. Miscellaneous and Undated
3. Volumes, 1843-1937 and undated.
3.1. Letterpress Copy Books, 1853-1909.
3.2. Mercantile and Miscellaneous Volumes, 1943-1937 and undated.

Expand/collapse Series 1. Chronological Series, 1773-1941 and undated.

Arrangement: chronological.

The earliest items, 1773-1839, include bills of sale for land, horses, slaves, furniture, all in Mecklenburg County, N.C. There are also way-bills and memoranda of expenses; family correspondence of the Duvall family; bills from Baltimore, Md., wholesalers to William Pitt Waugh, a Wilkesboro, N.C., merchant.

Papers, 1840-1848, are chiefly personal correspondence of Calvin Josiah Cowles.

Items, 1850-1859, include family correspondence between Cowles, his brothers, Martha Duvall Cowles, Robert Duvall, and Josiah Cowles. There are also business papers from this period of J. & C. J. Cowles, including bills of lading and root and herb accounts with Northern dealers.

Papers, 1860-1869, contain some Civil War items, including muster rolls for Georgia and South Carolina Infantry regiments; business accounts; tax collection records. There are also numerous items related to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The bulk of the papers, 1870-1879, were created in 1875 and 1877 and are primarily concerned with efforts to redeem state bank notes of Southern banks and efforts to develop the Gap Creek (Copper Knob) Mine. Other topics addressed in this period are land, lawsuits, taxes, loans, and bonds. Family correspondence is primarily between Cowles, his sons, and his brothers, and concern business and family matters.

Papers, 1880-1889, are chiefly concerned with mining, Cowles' lawsuits (mostly over land titles), efforts to redeem North Carolina state bonds and old state bank notes; affairs of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C.; financial troubles; and family correspondence between Cowles, his sons, and his brothers. There is also correspondence about bills in Congress between Cowles and his half-brother, William H. H. Cowles, a Representative to Congress. There is also correspondence with agents and tenants of Cowles' Kansas land holdings, and other items.

Business papers, 1890-1899, include correspondence with tenants in Kansas and western North Carolina; pensions claimants; lawyers regarding lawsuits; real estate men; loan and insurance companies; banks; and mining and railroad contacts. Family correspondence is with Cowles' sons, Arthur, Calvin D., and William, concerning business, particularly money, loans, and land speculation; with Cowles' sister, Eliza Benham; with his brothers; with his wife and children at home while Cowles took a four month trip to New York and Kansas; with brother-in-law, M. M. Teague, on business matters. There are also miscellaneous letters from cousins and other relatives. Besides substantial correspondence with federal and state agriculture departments, there is correspondence with patent drug companies; with coin and stamp collectors; organizational letters for the American Silver Organization; and correspondence regarding claims for payment of railroad bonds issued during the Civil War and later repudiated by the state.

Business papers, 1900-1907, include correspondence with tenants concerning renting, payment, crops, timber thieves, and cutting timber; regarding land interests in Kansas, South Dakota, and western North Carolina; negotiations to sell much of the land; extensive correspondence with agents, lawyers, and creditors. Family correspondence is chiefly between Cowles and his children. Also included are notes of land surveys, correspondence with state and federal agriculture departments; correspondence with patent drug companies regarding the latest cures; correspondence concerning Charles H. Cowles local and state Republican Party political activities; letters from J.E. Rebstock concerning starting a farming and lumbering company somewhere in North Carolina; and other items.

There are relatively few papers, 1908-1941, and most of them are from Charles H. Cowles. Family correspondence is fuller for the years right after Cowles' death and concerns land sales and legal affairs of his estate.

Notable correspondents represented in the Chronological Series include Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young.

Folder 1a	Original finding aid
Folder 1	Introductory material
	1773-1799
Folder 2	1802-1810
Folder 3	1811-1819
Folder 4	1820-1825
Folder 5	1826-1829
Folder 6	1830-1839
Folder 7	1840-1848
Folder 8	1850-1859, and Undated
Folder 9	1850
Folder 10	1851
Folder 11	1852
Folder 12	1853
Folder 13	1854
Folder 14	1855
Folder 15-20 Folder 15 Folder 16 Folder 17 Folder 18 Folder 19 Folder 20	1856
Folder 21-32 Folder 21 Folder 22 Folder 23 Folder 24 Folder 25 Folder 26 Folder 27 Folder 28 Folder 29 Folder 30 Folder 31 Folder 32	1857
Folder 33-38 Folder 33 Folder 34 Folder 35 Folder 36 Folder 37 Folder 38	1858
Folder 39	1859
Folder 40	1860-1869, Undated
Folder 41	1860
Folder 42-44 Folder 42 Folder 43 Folder 44	1861
Folder 45	1862
Folder 46-47 Folder 46 Folder 47	1863-1864
Folder 48-53 Folder 48 Folder 49 Folder 50 Folder 51 Folder 52 Folder 53	1865-1866
Folder 54-56 Folder 54 Folder 55 Folder 56	1867-1868
Folder 57-59 Folder 57 Folder 58 Folder 59	1869
Folder 60	1870s, Undated
Folder 61	1870
Folder 62	1871
Folder 63	1872
Folder 64	1873
Folder 65	1874
Folder 66-76 Folder 66 Folder 67 Folder 68 Folder 69 Folder 70 Folder 71 Folder 72 Folder 73 Folder 74 Folder 75 Folder 76	1875
Folder 77	1876
Folder 78-89 Folder 78 Folder 79 Folder 80 Folder 81 Folder 82 Folder 83 Folder 84 Folder 85 Folder 86 Folder 87 Folder 88 Folder 89	1877
Folder 90-91 Folder 90 Folder 91	1878
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-3808/1	1878
Folder 92-93 Folder 92 Folder 93	1879
Folder 94	1880s, Undated
Folder 95-108 Folder 95 Folder 96 Folder 97 Folder 98 Folder 99 Folder 100 Folder 101 Folder 102 Folder 103 Folder 104 Folder 105 Folder 106 Folder 107 Folder 108	1880
Folder 109-110 Folder 109 Folder 110	1881
Folder 111	1882
Folder 112-121 Folder 112 Folder 113 Folder 114 Folder 115 Folder 116 Folder 117 Folder 118 Folder 119 Folder 120 Folder 121	1883
Folder 122-132 Folder 122 Folder 123 Folder 124 Folder 125 Folder 126 Folder 127 Folder 128 Folder 129 Folder 130 Folder 131 Folder 132	1884
Folder 133	1885
Folder 134-148 Folder 134 Folder 135 Folder 136 Folder 137 Folder 138 Folder 139 Folder 140 Folder 141 Folder 142 Folder 143 Folder 144 Folder 145 Folder 146 Folder 147 Folder 148	1886
Folder 149-165 Folder 149 Folder 150 Folder 151 Folder 152 Folder 153 Folder 154 Folder 155 Folder 156 Folder 157 Folder 158 Folder 159 Folder 160 Folder 161 Folder 162 Folder 163 Folder 164 Folder 165	1887
Folder 166	1888
Folder 167-170 Folder 167 Folder 168 Folder 169 Folder 170	1889
Folder 171	1890s, Undated
Folder 172-188 Folder 172 Folder 173 Folder 174 Folder 175 Folder 176 Folder 177 Folder 178 Folder 179 Folder 180 Folder 181 Folder 182 Folder 183 Folder 184 Folder 185 Folder 186 Folder 187 Folder 188	1890
Folder 189-202 Folder 189 Folder 190 Folder 191 Folder 192 Folder 193 Folder 194 Folder 195 Folder 196 Folder 197 Folder 198 Folder 199 Folder 200 Folder 201 Folder 202	1891
Folder 203-216 Folder 203 Folder 204 Folder 205 Folder 206 Folder 207 Folder 208 Folder 209 Folder 210 Folder 211 Folder 212 Folder 213 Folder 214 Folder 215 Folder 216	1892
Folder 217-230 Folder 217 Folder 218 Folder 219 Folder 220 Folder 221 Folder 222 Folder 223 Folder 224 Folder 225 Folder 226 Folder 227 Folder 228 Folder 229 Folder 230	1893
Folder 231-244 Folder 231 Folder 232 Folder 233 Folder 234 Folder 235 Folder 236 Folder 237 Folder 238 Folder 239 Folder 240 Folder 241 Folder 242 Folder 243 Folder 244	1894
Folder 245-255 Folder 245 Folder 246 Folder 247 Folder 248 Folder 249 Folder 250 Folder 251 Folder 252 Folder 253 Folder 254 Folder 255	1895
Folder 256-268 Folder 256 Folder 257 Folder 258 Folder 259 Folder 260 Folder 261 Folder 262 Folder 263 Folder 264 Folder 265 Folder 266 Folder 267 Folder 268	1896
Folder 269-281 Folder 269 Folder 270 Folder 271 Folder 272 Folder 273 Folder 274 Folder 275 Folder 276 Folder 277 Folder 278 Folder 279 Folder 280 Folder 281	1897
Folder 282-284 Folder 282 Folder 283 Folder 284	1898
Folder 285-300 Folder 285 Folder 286 Folder 287 Folder 288 Folder 289 Folder 290 Folder 291 Folder 292 Folder 293 Folder 294 Folder 295 Folder 296 Folder 297 Folder 298 Folder 299 Folder 300	1899
Folder 301-313 Folder 301 Folder 302 Folder 303 Folder 304 Folder 305 Folder 306 Folder 307 Folder 308 Folder 309 Folder 310 Folder 311 Folder 312 Folder 313	1900
Folder 314-325 Folder 314 Folder 315 Folder 316 Folder 317 Folder 318 Folder 319 Folder 320 Folder 321 Folder 322 Folder 323 Folder 324 Folder 325	1901
Folder 326	1902
Folder 327-339 Folder 327 Folder 328 Folder 329 Folder 330 Folder 331 Folder 332 Folder 333 Folder 334 Folder 335 Folder 336 Folder 337 Folder 338 Folder 339	1903
Folder 340-351 Folder 340 Folder 341 Folder 342 Folder 343 Folder 344 Folder 345 Folder 346 Folder 347 Folder 348 Folder 349 Folder 350 Folder 351	1904
Folder 352-363 Folder 352 Folder 353 Folder 354 Folder 355 Folder 356 Folder 357 Folder 358 Folder 359 Folder 360 Folder 361 Folder 362 Folder 363	1905
Folder 364-376 Folder 364 Folder 365 Folder 366 Folder 367 Folder 368 Folder 369 Folder 370 Folder 371 Folder 372 Folder 373 Folder 374 Folder 375 Folder 376	1906
Folder 377-384 Folder 377 Folder 378 Folder 379 Folder 380 Folder 381 Folder 382 Folder 383 Folder 384	1907
Folder 385	1908
Folder 386-387 Folder 386 Folder 387	1909-1910
Folder 387	1910
Folder 388-392 Folder 388 Folder 389 Folder 390 Folder 391 Folder 392	1911
Folder 393	1912
Folder 394	1913-1914
Folder 395	1915
Folder 396	1916
Folder 397-399 Folder 397 Folder 398 Folder 399	1917-1918
Folder 400	1920-1921
Folder 401	1922-1923
Folder 402	1929-1933
Folder 403	1934
Folder 404	1935-1936
Folder 405	1938-1941

Expand/collapse Series 2. Miscellaneous Series, 1849-1911 and undated

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910

Arrangement: chronological.

Charles H. Cowles was elected Representative of the Eighth District to Congress in 1908 and was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1910. Most of these papers concern the two election campaigns, in the fall of 1908 and 1910. There are a few items written in 1909 while Cowles was in office. Much of the correspondence is written by Henry Reynolds, executive head of the state Republican Congressional Committee, who organized and ran Cowles' campaigns.

Folder 406-413

Folder 406

Folder 407

Folder 408

Folder 409

Folder 410

Folder 411

Folder 412

Folder 413

Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908

Folder 414-415

Folder 414

Folder 415

Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1909

Folder 416-430

Folder 416

Folder 417

Folder 418

Folder 419

Folder 420

Folder 421

Folder 422

Folder 423

Folder 424

Folder 425

Folder 426

Folder 427

Folder 428

Folder 429

Folder 430

Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1910

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Land Papers, undated

Arrangement: geographically when identifiable.

Papers are for North Carolina lands but do not cover all of Cowles' holdings. The papers contain surveys, copies of old grants, bonds for title, maps, and miscellany. Papers pertaining to land holdings that are dated are filed in the Chronological Series.

Folder 431-440 Folder 431 Folder 432 Folder 433 Folder 434 Folder 435 Folder 436 Folder 437 Folder 438 Folder 439 Folder 440	Land papers, Wilkes County, N.C.
Folder 440	Land papers, Yadkin River
Folder 441	Land papers, Elk Creek
Folder 442	Land papers, Rowan County, N.C.
Folder 443-446 Folder 443 Folder 444 Folder 445 Folder 446	Unidentified papers, maps, and surveys

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. The Wilkes Patriot Material, 1908-1911.

Includes bills, receipts, orders for supplies and equipment, and tax statements. Wilkes Patriot correspondence is also filed in the chronological series, from February 1908-December 1910, and concerns material for publication, letters to the editor, subscriptions, and miscellany.

Folder 447-448

Folder 447

Folder 448

Wilkes Patriot

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899.

There are many other materials related to legal cases and lawsuits filed with the chronological series.

Folder 449

Undated legal papers

Folder 450

Legal cases, United States Mint salaries

Includes material related to an action for reimbursement of salaries earned at the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., from 1 July 1875-16 October 1876, by Calvin Josiah Cowles and George B. Hanna.

Folder 451

Cowles & Cowles v. Watts & Watts, 1854-1859

Includes material related to an action for fraud in the Wilkes County, N.C., Superior Court.

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Bills and Receipts, 1850-1906.

Bills and receipts form two separate groups: Calvin Josiah Cowles's bills for household supplies, clothing, and other items, 1873-1906, and accounts due to the firm of J. & C. J. Cowles, 1850s-1905.

Folder 453-460, 519-526

Bills and Receipts

Expand/collapse Subseries 2.6. Miscellaneous and Undated

Arrangement: by type.

Folder 452	Newspaper clippings
Folder 461a	Mercantile circulars
Folder 461b	Business circulars, 1867-1906
Folder 462	Bank notes From the Corporation of Danville, Va.; The Exchange Bank of Virginia, Norfolk; Commercial Bank of Wilmington: 1863 North Carolina ten-cent notes; cancelled counterfeit money; U.S. three-cent piece. See also Miscellaneous Currency (#4672).
Folder 463	Folder number not used
Image Folder PF-3808/1-3 PF-3808/1 PF-3808/2 PF-3808/3	Photographs Chiefly undated and unidentified.
Folder 464a	Mrs. Will (Jetty) Finley papers, 1867-1949
Folder 464b	William H. H. Cowles papers Scattered papers (copies only) of William H. H. Cowles, half-brother of Calvin Josiah Cowles.
Folder 465	Horton papers
Folder 466	Yadkin River development blueprints for railroads, 1890
Folder 467	Poems and memoranda (for speeches?)
Folder 468	"Podczaski's papers" Includes undated papers concern mining and minerals.
Folder 469	Mining papers
Folder 470	Memoranda and miscellaneous
Folder 471	Printed Cowles advertising
Folder 472	Undated correspondence
Folder 473-478 Folder 473 Folder 474 Folder 475 Folder 476 Folder 477 Folder 478	Advertisements for merchandise
Folder 479-482 Folder 479 Folder 480 Folder 481 Folder 482	Medicine advertisements
Folder 483	Investment advertisements
Folder 484	Henry Clews & Co. Weekly Financial Review
Folder 485-487 Folder 485 Folder 486 Folder 487	Investment advertisements
Folder 488-489 Folder 488 Folder 489	Miscellaneous advertisements
Folder 490	L. D. Bass of South Carolina
Folder 491	Expositions advertisements
Folder 492	Gardening, farming, and produce advertisements
Folder 493	Political advertisements
Folder 494	Books, journals, and magazine advertisements
Folder 495	Heavy machines, equipment, building materials, and tools
Folder 496	Natural Science
Folder 497	Publishers
Folder 498	Stamp collecting and other collecting hobbies
Folder 499	Theater programs
Folder 500	Transportation and travel
Folder 501	Miscellaneous business cards and ads
Folder 502	Livestock
Folder 503	Unclassified
Folder 504	United States Government items
Folder 505a-505b	Miscellaneous business
Folder 506	Miscellaneous advertising, Ann Collins
Folder 507	Miscellaneous advertising: 1903
Folder 508	Miscellaneous advertising, Ann Collins, 1904
Folder 509	Miscellaneous business
Folder 510-513 Folder 510 Folder 511 Folder 512 Folder 513	Advertisements from W. L. Spoon
Folder 514	Postcards, 1875-1879
Folder 515	Postcards, 1880-1885
Folder 516	Postcards, 1886-1891
Folder 517	Postcards, 1892-1896
Folder 518	Postcards, 1897-1914

Expand/collapse Series 3. Volumes, 1843-1937 and undated.

Expand/collapse Subseries 3.1. Letterpress Copy Books, 1853-1909.

40 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

All but three of these volumes contain the letters of Calvin Josiah Cowles, written chiefly from Charlotte and Wilkesboro, N.C. Most of the books contain over 600 full pages and a few contain over 1,000 pages. The main subjects of the correspondence are Cowles' extensive and diverse business interests, including railroads, mining, agriculture, retail trade, money exchange, and land sales in several Southern and Midwestern states. There is much correspondence, official and semi-official, while Cowles was assayer at the United States Mint at Charlotte, as well as family and political correspondence. Most books have alphabetical indexes of correspondents in the front.

Folder 527	Volume 1: Letterpress book, Josiah Cowles Junior, 1853-1856
Folder 528	Volume 2: Letterpress book, Joe D. Cowles, 1873-1874
Folder 529	Volume 3: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1877-1878
Folder 530	Volume 4: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1878-1879
Folder 531	Volume 5: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1869-1871 and 1879
Folder 532	Volume 6: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1879-1880
Folder 533	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/7	Volume 7: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1880-1881
Folder 534	Volume 8: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1881-1882
Folder 535	Volume 9: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1882-1883
Folder 536	Volume 10: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1883-1885
Folder 537	Volume 11: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1885
Folder 538	Volume 12: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1885-1886
Folder 539	Volume 13: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1886
Folder 540	Volume 14: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1886-1887
Folder 541	Volume 15: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1887-1888
Folder 542	Volume 16: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1888
Folder 543	Volume 17: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1888-1889
Folder 544	Volume 18: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1889
Folder 545	Volume 19: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1889-1890
Folder 546	Volume 20: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1890
Folder 547	Volume 21: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1890-1891
Folder 548	Volume 22: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1891
Folder 549	Volume 23: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1891-1892
Folder 550	Volume 24: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1892
Folder 551	Volume 25: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1892-1893
Folder 552	Volume 26: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1893
Folder 553	Volume 27: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1893-1894
Folder 554	Volume 28: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1894
Folder 555	Volume 29: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1894
Folder 556	Volume 30: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1894-1895
Folder 557	Volume 31: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1887-1889 and 1895-1896
Folder 558	Volume 32: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1896-1897
Folder 559	Volume 33: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1897-1898
Folder 560	Volume 34: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1898-1899
Folder 561	Volume 35: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1899-1900
Folder 562	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/36	Volume 36: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1901-1902
Folder 563	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/37	Volume 37: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1902-1904
Folder 564	Volume 38: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1904-1905
Folder 565	Volume 39: Letterpress book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1905-1907
Folder 566	Volume 40: Letterpress book, Charles H. Cowles, 1905-1909

Expand/collapse Subseries 3.2. Mercantile and Miscellaneous Volumes, 1943-1937 and undated.

About 130 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

This series includes daybooks containing the daily sales records of Cowles' mercantile business, J. & C. J. Cowles, at Elkville and Wilkesboro, N.C. formatted to include dates, customer names, goods purchased, and amount of sale on a day-to-day basis. Also included in this set of volumes are cash books, customers' accounts, ledgers, and shipping and dealers' accounts containing business transactions of the J. & C.J. Cowles store in general merchandise, roots and herbs, livestock, land, vegetables, and securities.

Folder 567	Volume 41: Inventories, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1840s-1850s
Folder 568	Volume 42: Travel diary, Calvin Cowles, 1843 Describes a trip from Hamptonville to Raleigh, N.C., as a delegate from Surry County, N.C. to the Whig Convention.
Folder 569	Volume 43: Recipe book, Martha Cowles, 1846
Folder 570	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/44	Volume 44: Daybook, 1846-1848
Folder 571	Volume 45: "Index to character," Wilkes County, N.C., 1846
Folder 572	Volume 46: Ledger, 1846-
Folder 573	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/47	Volume 47: Account book, 1847-1851
Folder 574	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/48	Volume 48: Daybook, 1848-1850
Folder 575	Volume 49: Mailing list, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1840-1852
Folder 576	Volume 50: Cash book, 1850-1860
Folder 577	Volume 51: Daybook, M. T. Cowles, 1849-1866
Folder 578	Volume 52: Inventories, 1850-1858
Folder 579	Volume 53: Inventory, undated
Folder 580	Volume 54: Account book, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1850-1866
Folder 581	Volume 55: Credit accounts, 1850s-1860s
Folder 582	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/56	Volume 56: Letter book, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1850
Folder 583	Volume 57: Inventory, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1851
Folder 584	Volume 58: Daybook, 1850-1851
Folder 585	Volume 59: Root accounts, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1851-1858
Folder 586	Volume 60: Root accounts, 1854-1860
Folder 587	Volume 61: Daybook, 1851-1852
Folder 588	Volume 62: Daybook, 1852
Folder 589	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/63	Volume 63: Ledger, 1852
Folder 590	Volume 64: Postmaster accounts, C. J. Cowles, 1852-1857
Folder 591	Volume 65: Root, herb, and seed accounts, J. & C. J. Cowles with Tilden & Co., 1852
Folder 592	Volume 66: Daybook, 1852-1853
Folder 593	Volume 67: Root and herb accounts, 1852-1853
Folder 594	Volume 68: Mailing list, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1852-1854
Folder 595	Volume 69: Receipts, Calvin J. Cowles, 1852-1857
Folder 596	Volume 70: Time books, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1851-1852, 1854-1859, 1868-
Folder 597	Volume 71: Pork books, 1852-1856
Folder 598	Volume 72: Shipping accounts, 1852-1859 and 1865
Folder 599	Volume 73: Barter book, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1853-1856
Folder 600	Volume 74: Daybook, 1853-1854
Folder 601	Volume 75: Accounts and daybook, 1853-1857
Folder 602	Volume 76: Daybook, 1853-1856
Folder 603	Volume 77: Mailing list, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1854-1857
Folder 604	Volume 78: Memoranda, C. J. Cowles, 1854-
Folder 605	Volume 79: Daybook, 1854-1855
Folder 606	Volume 80: Daybook, 1856-1858
Folder 607	Volume 81: Memoranda of travel expenses, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1857
Folder 608	Volume 82: Account book, J. & C. J. Cowles, 1857-1859
Folder 609	Volume 83: Purchases, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1857-1858
Folder 610	Volume 84: Notebook, estate of T. P. Dula, 1858
Folder 611	Volume 85: Postmaster accounts, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1858-1862
Folder 612	Volume 86: Daybook, 1858-1867
Folder 613	Volume 87: Exchange notes and stub receipts, 1858-1868
Folder 614	Volume 88: Ledger, Jacob Rintel, 1860
Folder 615	Volume 89: Memoranda, J. & C. J. Cowles, circa 1860
Folder 616	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/90	Volume 90: Ledger, P. Rintels & Co., 1860-1862
Folder 617	Volume 91: Daybook, 1860-1862
Folder 618	Volume 92: Account book, 1861-1862
Folder 619	Volume 93: Cash book, 1861-1865
Folder 620	Folder number not used
Oversize Volume SV-3808/84	Volume 94: Postmaster accounts, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1861-1867
Folder 621	Volume 95: Accounts, 1862
Folder 622	Volume 96: Root and herb shipments, 1865-1867
Folder 623	Volume 97: Memoranda, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1866-1867
Folder 624	Volume 98: Postmaster accounts, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1866-1869
Folder 625	Volume 99: Daybook, 1867-1868
Folder 626	Volume 100: Daybook, 1868
Folder 627	Volume 101: Store accounts, 1868-1874
Folder 628	Volume 102: Notebook, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1869
Folder 629	Volume 103: Assayer accounts, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1878-1879
Folder 630	Volume 104: Property descriptions, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1892
Folder 631	Volume 105: Memoranda book, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1897-1898
Folder 632	Volume 106: Memoranda, Calvin Josiah Cowles, undated
Folder 633	Volume 107: Timber notes, undated
Folder 634	Volume 108: Travel diary, Calvin Josiah Cowles, 1907
Folder 635	Volume 109: Personal notebook, Charles H. Cowles, 1909
Folder 636	Volume 110: Stock certificates, Charles H. Cowles, 1911-1915
Folder 637a-637c	Volume 111: Pocket memoranda books, 1846-1937
Folder 638	Volume 112: Address book, undated
Folder 639	Volume 113: Scrapbook over account book, undated

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Oversize volumes (SV-3808/7,36,37,44,47,48,56,63,84,90)
Photographs (PF-3808/1-3)
Oversize papers (XOPF-3808/1)

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Collection Number: 03808 Collection Title: Calvin J. Cowles Papers, 1773-1941 (bulk 1875-1907)

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Expand/collapse Series 1. Chronological Series, 1773-1941 and undated.

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Collection Number: 03808

Collection Title: Calvin J. Cowles Papers, 1773-1941 (bulk 1875-1907)