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 | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items) |
Abstract | Members of the Gillespie and Wright family, included James Gillespie (1747?-1805), planter, North Carolina state legislator, 1779-1786, and U.S. congressman, 1793-1799 and 1803-1805. Gillespie was married to Dorcas Mumford Gillespie (1750-1801). Their daughter, Jane (1785-1858), married planter Isaac Wright (1780-1865). The Gillespie and Wright families owned thousands of acres of land and significant numbers of slaves in the lower Cape Fear region of North Carolina, especially in Duplin County. The collection is chiefly legal and financial Papers, 1735-1845, of Gillespie and Wright family members, including land records, deeds, plats, and surveyor's notes; tax records; slave bills of sale and other tiems relating to slaves and slavery; accounts, bills, and receipts; papers relating to business dealings with various Duplin County tenants of Isaac Wright; wills and property inventories; and documents relating to the settlement of the estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?), for which Isaac Wright and Hinton James (1776-1847) acted as executors. There are also some personal Papers, mostly 1790-1830, of family members. In addition, there are two acrostics by black poet George Moses Horton (circa 1797-circa 1883); a handwritten version of Jeb Stuart's "Ode to his Favorite War Horse 'Maryland'"; and a 1990 Gillespie family tree and short family history. The papers contain few references to political and national events; they are chiefly concerned with business and family matters. |
Creator | Gillespie family.
Wright family. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Scott Philyaw, February 1992
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, December 2009
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.
There is some uncertainty about the birthplace of James Gillespie (1747?-1805), planter, North Carolina state legislator, 1779-1786, and U.S. congressman, 1793-1799 and 1803-1805. The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography says that he was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, while the Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress gives his birthplace as Duplin County, N.C. Gillespie was married to Dorcas Mumford Gillespie (1750-1801). Their daughter, Jane (1785-1858), married planter Isaac Wright (1780-1865).
The Gillespie and Wright families owned thousands of acres of land and significant numbers of slaves in the lower Cape Fear region of North Carolina, especially in Duplin County. Besides the political endeavors of James Gillespie, the men of the family tended to be active in local community affairs.
Back to TopChiefly legal and financial Papers, 1735-1845, of Gillespie and Wright family members, including land records, deeds, plats, and surveyor's notes; tax records; slave bills of sale and other items relating to slaves and slavery; accounts, bills, and receipts; papers relating to business dealings with various Duplin County tenants of Isaac Wright; wills and property inventories; and documents relating to the settlement of the estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?), for which Isaac Wright and Hinton James (1776-1847) acted as executors. There are also some personal Papers, mostly 1790-1830, of family members. In addition, there are two acrostics by black poet George Moses Horton (circa 1797 circa 1883); a copy of Jeb Stuart's "Ode to his favorite War Horse 'Maryland'"; and a 1990 Gillespie family tree and short family history. The papers contain few references to political and national events; they are chiefly concerned with business and family matters.
Many of the early deeds and plats were apparently gathered by Isaac Wright as background information for an 1820s land dispute (see Subseries 1.1, folder 7). They may also have belonged to an unidentified Mr. Gillespie who worked as a surveyor around 1798.
Back to TopChiefly legal and financial Papers, including land records, deeds, plats, and surveyor's notes; tax records; slave bills of sale and other items relating to slaves and slavery; accounts, bills, and receipts; wills and property inventories; documents relating to the settlement of James Moorhead's estate; and other papers.
Most of the early deeds and plats were apparently gathered by Isaac Wright as background for an 1820s land dispute (see folder 7). Some of them may also be connected with an unknown member of the Gillespie family, who a document dated 3 November 1798 called, "Mr. Gillespie a young man ... acting as surveyor." Mortgages and deeds of trust, not always denoting actual conveyance, as well as court cases involving real property and rental agreements are located in Subseries 1.4. There are large gaps in the later years of this series.
Folder 1 |
1735-1745 |
Folder 2 |
1746-1775 |
Folder 3 |
1776-1799 |
Folder 4 |
1800-1802 |
Folder 5 |
1803-1806 |
Folder 6 |
1807-1819 |
Folder 7 |
1820-1870 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder X-OPF-275/1 |
Oversize land grants, deeds, and plats, 1735-1870 |
Inventories of Isaac Wright's property for tax purposes, chiefly 1822-1829 and 1839-1845. Lists typically include acreage amounts and number of slaves per plantation (see also Subseries 1.3 for largely non-tax related slave documents).
Folder 8 |
Tax records, 1801-1845 and undated |
Bills of sale and receipts, chiefly 1824-1839; inventories of slaves; papers relating to a court case involving two slaves who stole a pig, 29 January 1825; and a note, dated 23 November 1861, giving the average value of slaves in Cumberland and Sampson counties, N.C.
Folder 9 |
Slave documents, 1802-1861 and undated |
Accounts for lumber sales, with information about harvesting; store accounts; receipts for purchases of clothing and other dry goods; tuition bills; documents relating to the settlement of the estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?), of which Isaac Wright and Hinton James (1776-1847) were executors; wills and property inventories; postal receipts; rental agreements; and court briefs concerning title disputes and suits for nonpayment of rent. For other non-litigious property transfers and descriptions, see Subseries 1.1.
Other items include: a North Carolina census, circa 1808-1822; a document describing the 1827 legislative session and treasury shortage of $70,000.00, 1 December 1827; two wills, dated 4 August 1842 and November 1853, of Isaac Wright's son, Moorhead (fl. 1842-1853); and an inventory of Jane Wright's bedclothing, 14 July 1858.
Folder 10 |
1796-1807 |
Folder 11 |
1808-1810 |
Folder 12 |
1811-1826 |
Folder 13 |
1827-1829 |
Folder 14 |
1830-1877 |
Folder 15 |
Undated |
Personal papers and correspondence, chiefly 1798-1835, of James Gillespie, Dorcas Gillespie, Jane Gillespie Wright, Isaac Wright, and others, largely about family and social life. There are also two undated acrostics by black poet George Moses Horton; the subjects are Lucy G. Wright and Jane McIver. There is also a handwritten version of Jeb Stuart's undated "Ode to his favorite War Horse 'Maryland.'" Large gaps exist between documents in the later years of this series.
Folder 16 |
1798-1865 |
Folder 17 |
Undated |
A 1990 genealogical chart and an undated short history of the Gillespie family.
Folder 18 |
Genealogical Papers, 1990 and undated |