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Size | 4 items |
Abstract | James Hamilton Couper of Glynn County, Ga., was a white manager and part owner of Hopeton, Altama, and Elizafield plantations that were based on a workforce of more than fifty enslaved people. The collection of four volumes documents the names of enslaved people and transactions about them, as well as operations of Hopeton, Altama, and Elizafield plantations. There are names of other enslavers, crop records, and some notes on Couper’s daily life. Additionally, Couper was a scientific agriculturalist and some of the volumes contain extracts from agricultural journals and observations related to the crops grown at the plantations; chiefly cotton, rice, sugar cane, corn, and peas. |
Creator | Couper, J. Hamilton (James Hamilton), 1794-1866. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Buck Beasley and Tim West, June 1990
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, February 2006
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, December 2009; Nancy Kaiser, October 2020
Conscious Editing Work by: Patrick Cullom, July 2020. Updated abstract, subject headings, biographical note, scope and content note, and container list.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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 Hamilton Couper was born 4 March 1794, the son of John and Rebecca Maxwell Couper. His father emigrated from Scotland to Georgia and established Hopeton Plantation along the Altamaha River in Glynn County in 1804.
James Hamilton Couper graduated from Yale University in 1814, and then studied methods of water control and land reclamation in Holland. He returned to Hopeton in 1827 and took over the management of that plantation, as well as of Altama and Elizafield plantations, which he either added to or carved from Hopeton.
James Hamiton Couper is primarily remembered for his application of the scientific method to agriculture. He studied the culture of a number of crops that he wished to introduce to the area or improve. These ranged from such Southern staples as cotton and rice to more exotic possibilities like olives. He was apparently among the first producers of cottonseed oil.
Couper died 3 June 1866.
Back to TopJames Hamilton Couper of Glynn County, Ga., was a white manager and part owner of Hopeton, Altama, and Elizafield plantations that were based on a workforce of more than fifty enslaved people. The collection of four volumes documents the names of enslaved people and transactions about them, as well as operations of Hopeton, Altama, and Elizafield plantations. There are names of other enslavers, crop records, and some notes on Couper’s daily life. Additionally, Couper was a scientific agriculturalist and some of the volumes contain extracts from agricultural journals and observations related to the crops grown at the plantations; chiefly cotton, rice, sugar cane, corn, and peas.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Note that original volume titles have been retained.
Oversize Volume SV-0185/1 |
Ledger A, a record of accounts relating to Hopeton plantation, James Hamilton Couper's household, and other interests of Hamilton, 1826-1853420 pages. Includes names of enslaved people and transactions about them (pp. 166, 288, and 368). Other accounts listed are "Household Expenses," various periodical subscriptions, James Hamilton, estate of James Hamilton, Richard Carnochan, R & W King, Bellevue Mill (Natchez), John Couper, Mitchell and Mure, William Audley Couper, and Francis P. Corbin (Trustee of Isabella H. Corbin). |
Oversize Volume SV-0185/2 |
Journal No. 2, a daybook of Hopeton plantation also relating to plantation and personal accounts, 1838 1854534 pages. Two loose items are filed at the back of the volume: Stock a/c (26 June 1850)/Balance Sheet (26 June 1850) and a page relating to the estate of "J. Hamilton." |
Folder 1 |
Folder number not used |
Folder 2 |
Volume 3: Account of Cotton Picked at Hopeton, 1818-1831This volume consists of yearly records for cotton, rice, sugar cane, corn, peas, and other crops; notes about weather, pests, quality of crops and other matters; and a color coded crop plan map for each year, 1820-1831. The final page carries information on Altama plantation for 1874 and 1876. |
Folder 3 |
Volume 4: Notes on Agricultural and Rural Economy, No. 1, Feb. 182487 pages. This volume contains notes taken from agricultural journals and books, from friends, and from Couper's own experience. Information relates especially to crops which Couper was trying to introduce to the area. Other topics addressed include such matters as gates, curing of bacon, ploughing, canal excavation, and "Virgines? Voltaic Batteries." Some data on Hopeton in the 1840s is included as is (on the final pages) "Plan of Orchard at Lodge, Oct. 1827". |
Reel M-185/1-2
M-185/1M-185/2 |
Microfilm |