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This collection was reprocessed under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990 1992.
Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1,350 items) |
Abstract | Edward Dromgoole was an Irish immigrant who settled in Maryland, ca. 1770; became a Methodist minister, ca. 1772; and, after 1777, was a minister, merchant, and planter in Brunswick County, Va. Also represented are his sons Edward Dromgoole, Jr. (1788-1840), Methodist minister, physician, and planter of Brunswick County and Northampton County, N.C., and George Coke Dromgoole (1797-1847), lawyer, Virginia legislator, militia general, and Democratic U.S. representative. The collection includes chiefly correspondence and other papers, mainly 1840-1848, of Edward Dromgoole and sons Edward, Jr., and George. Pre-1807 papers are mainly letters from other Methodist ministers pertaining to the state of religion in Maryland and Virginia. Included is a letter, 17 September 1783, from John Wesley. From 1807 to 1830, there are family letters concerning religion, land holdings, and plantation business. Included is correspondence from friends who had moved to Ohio with family and regional news, descriptions of the financial prospects there, and exhortations to the Dromgooles to migrate. Later papers are mainly letters to George Dromgoole concerning state and national politics, Democratic Party business, conventions, elections, John C. Calhoun, an 1838 duel, the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, and monetary issues. There are also letters from two generations of college students at various schools and correspondence among the Dromgooles concerning family business. |
Creator | Dromgoole, Edward, 1751-1835. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Tracy K'Meyer, July 1991
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, February 2006
This collection was reprocessed 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.
The Dromgoole family of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, included:
Edward Dromgoole, Sr. (1751-1835), a linen weaver of Sligo, Ireland, who migrated to America in 1770. He converted from Catholicism to Methodism in 1772, becoming a minister soon thereafter, and rode the Brunswick County, Va., and other circuits until 1786. In 1777 he married Rebecca Walton and settled his family on "Canaan," his plantation in Brunswick County. He and Rebecca had five children who lived to maturity, including: Thomas (1779-1817?); Rebecca (1783 1847); Polly (d. 1833); Edward (1788 1840); and George Coke (1797-1847).
Edward Dromgoole, Jr. (1788-1840), a Methodist preacher, physician, and planter in Brunswick County, Va., and Northampton County, N.C. He also, for a time, ran his father's store, Sligo, at Canaan plantation. He married Sarah C. Pelham around 1812 and they had eight children, three of whom lived to maturity, including Peter, who disappeared after migrating west in 1833; Isabella; and Edward III.
George Coke Dromgoole (1797-1847), who attended the University of North Carolina and The College of William and Mary, 1816 1820, before commencing a legal and political career. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1823-1826; was a member and Speaker, of the Virginia State Senate, 1826-1835; and was a Democratic Representative in the U.S. Congress, 1835-1841 and 1843-1847. In addition he was the Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, 1830-1832 (although this is not represented in the papers), and a brigadier general in the Virginia militia, 1835-1838. Dromgoole never married. Later in life he became a planter, was executor of the estates of Edward Dromgoole, Jr., and Sr., and managed family business affairs.
Back to TopChiefly correspondence and other papers, mainly 1840-1848, of Edward Dromgoole, Methodist minister, merchant, and planter of Brunswick County, Va., and sons Edward Dromgoole, Jr., and George Dromgoole. Pre-1807 papers are mainly letters from other Methodist ministers pertaining to the state of religion in Maryland and Virginia. Included is a letter, 17 September 1783, from John Wesley. From 1807 to 1830, there are family letters concerning religion, land holdings, and plantation business. Included is correspondence from friends who had moved to Ohio with family and regional news, descriptions of the financial prospects there, and exhortations to the Dromgooles to migrate. Later papers are mainly letters to George Dromgoole concerning state and national politics, Democratic Party business, conventions, elections, John C. Calhoun, an 1838 duel, the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, and monetary issues. There are also letters from two generations of college students at various schools and correspondence among the Dromgooles concerning family business.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
1775-1806 | Mainly letters to Edward Dromgoole, Sr., from other Methodist ministers describing their work on the circuit, Methodist business and politics, the work of the spirit in the region, and revivals. Prominent correspondents include Francis Asbury, Robert Lindsay, Thomas S. Chew, and John Hagarty. There is one letter, 27 September 1783, from John Wesley (1703-1791) in Bristol, England. (3 folders). |
1807-1815 | Mostly correspondence from friends, mainly members of the Pelham family, who migrated to Ohio to get away from slavery. Their letters urge Edward Dromgoole, Sr., to remove his family to the North, the land of liberty. They contain mostly family news on health and weather, but also include descriptions of social and religious life and customs in their area, including camp meetings and revivals, and occasional remarks on financial prospects in Ohio. Edward Dromgoole, Jr., travelled to Ohio during this period and wrote letters to family members at home. The Dromgoole family was also related to the Davis family and some correspondence deals with the business relationship between the families. Edward Dromgoole, Jr., bought land in Ohio and his father in law, Peter Pelham, took care of it for him; in return, Edward Dromgoole, Jr., was Pelham's lawyer in Virginia and helped him to collect money owed to him there. Interspersed, there are letters from Dromgoole's friend, James H. Key, a plantation owner and fellow Methodist in Virginia, who tried to convince him to remain in the South. Key's letters contain some comment on religion and slavery. (4 folders). |
1816-1829 | Correspondence of Edward Dromgoole, Sr., Edward Dromgoole, Jr., and George Coke Dromgoole on various subjects. There are still some letters to Edward, Sr., from fellow ministers and old friends on personal news and religious conditions. James H. Key continued to be a regular correspondent. Also, there are letters from the Pelhams and members of other families in Ohio regarding the Dromgoole land there and family news. Edward, Sr., also received reports from his son, George Coke Dromgoole, and grandson, A. D. Sims, on their progress at school. Much of the the family and business correspondence is directed to Edward, Dromgoole, Jr. There are letters between him and the Pelhams, in particular Peter Pelham, on the Dromgoole lands in Ohio and concerning the Pelhams' business affairs in Virginia. Their letters discuss economics, slavery, and potential land deals. There are also several letters to Edward, Jr., concerning Pelham's will and estate after the latter's death in 1822. In addition there are letters from Dromgoole to his family when he was on several trips to the North to preach, visit, and take care of family land business. After 1824 the bulk of the correspondence is addressed to George Coke Dromgoole. Earlier, there are letters describing his progress at school, his study of law, and his social life. As of December 1823, he was in Richmond, Va., serving as a Democratic State legislator. His correspondence includes comments on legislative and party business, and politics generally. In addition, there is business correspondence with his nephew, A. D. Sims, and with his brother, Edward Dromgoole, Jr., whom he accompanied on trips to Ohio. Throughout the period there is much correspondence among the Dromgooles on health, politics, religion, and family business matters. (5 folders). |
1830-1840 | Primarily correspondence with George Coke Dromgoole on state and national politics; conventions, including the Free Trade convention of 1831; Democratic Party matters; constituents' requests; and occasionally on his business with his plantation and the family lands in Ohio. Of special interest is a duel which he fought in 1838, which he won but which hurt him politically. There is additional correspondence with his brother concerning their yearly trips to Ohio and on plantation business. Also included are a few letters on the Dromgooles' view that Methodism needed to be reformed, and letters to George from various nephews on their progress at school. Edward Dromgoole, Jr., died in September 1840, and there is some material on his accounts and estate. (7 folders). |
1840-1871 | Much of this is George Coke Dromgoole's correspondence regarding the estate of Edward Dromgoole, Jr., plantation business, land in Ohio, the collection of debts, and his guardianship of his brother's infant son. The political material decreases but there are letters on John C. Calhoun; the annexation of Texas; party politics, particularly in 1843 1844; the Mexican War; and, in early 1847, the question of whether Dromgoole should run for office again. Interspersed are letters of cousins W. Simpson, R. Sims, R. Jones, and Edward Dromgoole III, on college and post graduation plans. George Coke Dromgoole died in 1847 and there are a few letters to R. Sims and Edward Dromgoole III as executors of the estate. (10 folders) |
Folder 1 |
1775-1787 |
Folder 2 |
1788-1798 |
Folder 3 |
1802-1806 |
Folder 4 |
1807-1808 |
Folder 5 |
1809-1810 |
Folder 6 |
1811-1813 |
Folder 7 |
1814-1815 |
Folder 8 |
1816-1818 |
Folder 9 |
1819-1820 |
Folder 10 |
1821-1823 |
Folder 11 |
1824-1828 |
Folder 12 |
1829-1830 |
Folder 13 |
1831-1832 |
Folder 14 |
1833-1835 |
Folder 15 |
1836-1837 |
Folder 16 |
1938 |
Folder 17 |
1939 |
Folder 18-19
Folder 18Folder 19 |
1840 |
Folder 20 |
1941 |
Folder 21 |
1942 |
Folder 22 |
1943 |
Folder 23 |
1944 |
Folder 24 |
1945 |
Folder 25 |
1946 |
Folder 26 |
1947 |
Folder 27 |
1848; 1862; 1871; undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
1766; 1778-1830 | Financial and legal documents, mainly of Edward Dromgoole, Sr. Dromgoole was the executor of several estates, including those of John Walton and Thomas Watson, and there are bills and receipts related to the settlements. In addition there are a number of marriage licenses from the 1790s, lists of taxes on land and slaves, and assorted receipts, deeds, and indentures. |
1831-1862 | Most of the material for this period consists of the papers of George Coke Dromgoole and Edward Dromgoole, Jr., including materials concerning the estate of their brother, Thomas, and their father. There are also assorted tax sheets, as well as an oath of loyalty to the Confederate States of America, and a pass to travel outside of the Confederacy. |
Folder 28 |
1766; 1778-1799 |
Folder 29 |
1800-1862 and undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Various writings, many undated and unsigned, including: poetry, student essays, and transcriptions of extracts from church histories. Also included are clippings; notes on political meetings, one in 1815 and one in 1840; and some genealogical material. In addition, there is an essay entitled "War Record of Gov. Z. B. Vance."
Folder 30 |
1793-1845 and undated |
Folder 31 |
"The War Record of Governor Z. B. Vance" |
5 items.
Reel M-230/1-5: Microfilm