Fisher Family Papers, 1758-1896

Summary

Creator:

Fisher (Family : Salisbury, N.C.)

Abstract:

Members of the Fisher and Beard families of Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C., included Lewis Beard (1754-1820), plantation owner, merchant and county and state official; his son-in-law Charles Fisher (1789-1849), representative to the United States Congress and the North Carolina House of Commons and plantation and gold mine owner; and Charles's son Charles F. Fisher (1816-1861) (Charles Frederick), who was, among other things, president and contractor for the North Carolina Railroad, for whom Fort Fisher, N.C. was named. Charles F. Fisher's daughter Frances married J. M. Tiernan, who was involved in the mining business. She wrote novels under the pen name of Christian Reid.

Collection consists mainly of correspondence, legal and financial materials, and other items of Charles Fisher, Charles F. Fisher, and other members of the Fisher and related families. Charles Fisher's correspondence discusses both national and North Carolina politics, especially John C. Calhoun, his presidential aspirations, and the Whig Party; gold mining; his Smith County, Miss., plantation; land speculation in Choctaw Indian territory in Mississippi; and a controversy involving the Bank of Salisbury. Charles F. Fisher's correspondence concerns mining interests, business investments, and work as president of the North Carolina Railroad. In the 1880s and 1890s, there is also correspondence of writer Frances Fisher Tiernan (Christian Reid) from her French editor and from her husband, describing his experiences managing a mine in the state of Durango, Mexico. Financial and legal papers consist of indentures; land grants and surveys; receipts; lists of tools, supplies, and purchases; and work records, contracts, and stock certificates, mostly relating to gold mining in North Carolina, Charles Fisher's Mississippi plantation, construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, the Choctaw Indian Nation's land claims against the United States government (which Charles Fisher supported), and Charles F. Fisher's procurement of provisions, clothing, and equipment for the 6th North Carolina Regiment during the Civil War. Some of the work records relate to hiring of slave labor to for mining and railroad work. There are also political writings; materials relating to the Western Carolinian, a political journal that Charles F. Fisher co-published; and part of a Christian Reid story. Volumes include account books for the Yadkin toll bridge, Lewis Beard's general store, iron foundries, and blacksmith work; Charles Fisher's scrapbooks on politics and economics and account books for his travel on plantation and Choctaw land claims business; and Charles F. Fisher's diary of a trip through northeastern Georgia in 1833, account books, Western Carolinian subscriber lists, and record books of the Western North Carolina Railroad.

Extent:

4,050 items (7.0 linear feet)

Language:

Materials in English

Library Catalog Link:

View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Among members of the Beard and Fisher families of Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C., was Lewis Beard (1754-11 December 1820), who was born in Salisbury, son of John Lewis and Christine Snapp Beard. He was a prosperous businessman, owning almost 15,000 acres in Rowan, Montgomery, and Burke counties, some containing valuable mineral deposits. He operated a large store in Salisbury, as well as two large plantations on the Yadkin River. As a leading citizen of Salisbury, he served as assessor of town lands, public treasurer of Rowan County, high sheriff of Rowan, director of the Salisbury branch of the Bank of Cape Fear, and member of the North Carolina House of Commons, 1791-1792, and the North Carolina Senate, 1793.

Lewis Beard's daughter Christine married Charles Fisher (20 October 1789-May 1849), a prominent politician and businessman of Salisbury. Fisher studied law, but never practiced the profession. Fisher was elected to the state Senate in 1818 and, in 1819, was elected to fill the congressional seat of George Mumford upon Mumford's death in office. Fisher served two terms in Washington, becoming an ardent supporter of John C. Calhoun. Fisher returned to North Carolina after declining to seek a third term in Congress. In 1828, Fisher presented a lengthy "Report on the Establishment of Cotton and Woolen Manufacturers" to the North Carolina State Assembly. This report was reprinted in full by the American Farmer within a month and was circulated widely throughout the South. Fisher was then elected to the North Carolina House of Commons seven times, serving as speaker in 1830 and 1831. He became a leader of the western half of the state, and worked for a constitutional convention in North Carolina to give more power to the western counties. In North Carolina, he continued to work on behalf of Calhoun's presidential aspirations, taking Calhoun's part on many issues, such as the tariff, the national bank, and nullification.

Charles Fisher was involved in many business activities. He was a partner in several gold mining companies in western North Carolina, some of which were located on property inherited from Lewis Beard. He owned half interest in a plantation in Smith County, Miss., and dabbled in land speculation in that state, which led to his involvement in the resettlement of the Choctaw Indian Nation.

Fisher died in 1849, and his business interests were taken over by his son, Charles F. Fisher (26 December 1816-21 July 1861) (Charles Frederick). Charles F. Fisher attended Yale University in 1835, but returned to Salisbury after one semester. He worked in his father's mining companies and became co-publisher of the Western Carolinian, a political newspaper supporting the philosophy of John C. Calhoun. In 1855, he was elected president of the North Carolina Railroad. While serving as president, he received a contract for construction of part of the western route of the railroad. This action angered some of the stockholders, but Fisher was reelected president in 1859 without incident. Fisher volunteered for the Confederate army and was elected colonel of the 6th North Carolina Regiment. He was killed in the Battle of First Manassas. His close friend, S. L. Fremont, named Fort Fisher on the Cape Fear River in his honor.

Charles F. Fisher and his second wife, Fanny Alexander Caldwell Fisher, had three children, including Frederick C. Fisher and Frances C. Fisher. Frances married J. M. Tiernan, who was involved in the mining business. She wrote novels under the pen name of Christian Reid.

Scope and content:

Chiefly political, business, and financial correspondence of Charles Fisher and his son, Charles F. Fisher, of Salisbury, N.C. Charles Fisher's correspondence discusses both national and North Carolina politics, especially John C. Calhoun and his presidential aspirations. Charles Fisher's business correspondence concerns gold mining; his Smith County, Miss., plantation; land speculation in Choctaw Indian territory in Mississippi; and a controversy involving the Bank of Salisbury. Charles F. Fisher's correspondence concerns his mining interests, including letters from stockholders and overseers, his business investments, and his work as president and contractor of the North Carolina Railroad. After his death, correspondence relates to the settlement of his estate. In the 1880s and 1890s, writer Frances Fisher Tiernan (Christian Reid) received letters from her French editor and from her husband, describing his experiences managing a mine in the state of Durango, Mexico.

Financial and legal papers for members of the Beard family and Fisher family, especially Lewis Beard, Charles Fisher, and Charles F. Fisher, consist of indentures; land grants and surveys; receipts; lists of tools, supplies, and purchases; and work records, contracts, and stock certificates, mostly relating to gold mining in North Carolina, Charles Fisher's Mississippi plantation, construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, the Choctaw Indian Nation's land claims against the United States government, and Charles F. Fisher's procurement of provisions, clothing, and equipment for the 6th North Carolina Regiment during the Civil War.

Other papers include political writings and notes of Charles Fisher and Charles F. Fisher, including drafts and notes for speeches, a lecture on steam-powered boats, and reports on gold mines. There is also part of a story by Frances F. Fisher. Also included are many documents relating to the land claims of the Choctaw Indian Nation in Mississippi, descriptions of patents for improved farm machinery, and military papers, including enlistments for the 6th North Carolina Regiment.

There are 57 volumes, including account books for the Yadkin toll bridge, Lewis Beard's general store, iron foundries, and blacksmith work; Charles Fisher's scrapbooks on politics and economics, and account books for his travel on plantation and Choctaw land claims business; Charles F. Fisher's diary of a trip through northeastern Georgia in 1833, account books, lists of subscribers for the Western Carolinian, and record books of the Western North Carolina Railroad; and a penmanship book of Frederick C. Fisher.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Christine Fisher of Salisbury, N.C., before 1939; Archibald Henderson of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1963 and 1973; Mary Henderson of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1963 and 1964; and the John Steele Henderson family in 1964-1965.

Processing information:

Processed by: Elizabeth Pauk, April 1993

Encoded by: Eben Lehman, May 2007

Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2020

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.

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.

Related

Separated material:

Oversize volumes (SV-258/17, 18, 21, 22)

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Choctaw Indians--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 6th.
Families--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Farm equipment--History--19th century.
Gold mines and mining--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Legislators--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Merchants--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Miners--Mexico--History--19th century.
Mineral industries--Mexico--History--19th century.
Mineral industries--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Newspaper publishing--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Plantations--Mississippi.
Politicians--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Railroads--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Real property--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Real property--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Slavery--Mississippi.
Slavery--North Carolina.
United States--Politics and government--1775-1783.
United States--Politics and government--1784-1865.
Women authors, American--North Carolina.
Account books.
Diaries.

Names:

North Carolina Railroad Company.
Western Carolinian.
Western North Carolina Railroad Company.
Whig Party (U.S.)
Beard family.
Fisher family.
Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850.
Fisher, Charles, 1789-1849.
Fisher, Charles Frederick, 1816-1861.
Reid, Christian, 1846-1920.

Places:

Durango (Mexico : State)--Economic conditions.
Georgia--Description and travel.
Mexico--Description and travel.
North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
North Carolina--Politics and government--1775-1865.
Rowan County (N.C.)--History.
Salisbury (N.C.)--History.
Smith County (Miss.)--History.

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

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 Fisher Family Papers #258, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:

Southern Historical Collection

Louis Round Wilson Library

200 South Road

Chapel Hill, NC 27515

Contact:

(919) 962-3765

wilsonlibrary@unc.edu