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Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 200 items) |
Abstract | William Lea (1777?-1873), was a merchant of Leasburg, N.C. He had three sons: Willis M., who became a physician and settled in Mississippi; Lorenzo, Methodist minister and teacher in Tennessee and Mississippi; and Solomon (1807-1897), Methodist minister and schoolmaster at Boydton, Greensboro, and Leasburg. Solomon's six daughters included Adeline, Lilianne, Eugenia, and Wilhelmina (1843-1936). The collection includes letters, 1812-1820s, consisting of family correspondence of William Lea (1777?-1873) and his brothers, Vincent and James, all merchants, writing from Leasburg, N.C., Petersburg and Norfolk, Va., and New York City, chiefly about business matters, prices, economic conditions, debts, current news, and other topics. Letters, 1820s-1850s, are chiefly between William Lea and his children and among the children. Willis M. Lea wrote from Philadelphia, where he was studying medicine, and later from Holly Springs, Miss. Solomon Lea was a student at the University of North Carolina and later lived at Boydton, Farmville, and Greensboro, N.C. Letters from 1861 onwards are chiefly correspondence of the daughters of Solomon Lea, most written by Wilhelmina from the various places where she taught school, including Louisburg, Olin, and other places in North Carolina and Murfreesboro, Tenn., and at the Marshall Institute in Mississippi. Volumes are ledgers, 1797-1803, of William Lea (1751-1806), merchant of Leasburg and uncle of William (1777?-1873); school accounts, 1853-1862, of Solomon Lea, who taught at Somerville Seminary and founded Somerville Female Institute in Leasburg and was president of Greensboro College, 1846-1857; and reminiscences and a 19-volume diary, 1872-1934, of Wilhelmina Lea. |
Creator | Lea (Family : Leasburg, N.C.) |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English |
Processed by: Manuscripts Department Staff, February 1962
Encoded by: Mara Dabrishus, April 2005
Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the encoding of this finding aid.
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.
William Lea (1777?-1873), merchant at Leasburg, N.C., was the son of Gabriel Lea (1756-1834). Gabriel also had a brother William who was a merchant.
William Lea (1777?-1873) had three sons: Willis M., who became a physician and settled in Mississippi; Lorenzo, Methodist minister and teacher in Tennessee and Mississippi; and Solomon (1807-1897), Methodist minister and schoolmaster at Boydton, Greensboro, and Leasburg. Solomon was president of Greensboro Female College, 1846-1847, and operated the Somerville Female Institute at Leasburg from its founding in 1848 until 1892. William Lea, Jr., was a merchant at Petersburg, Va.; Addison was also a Methodist teacher and preacher, mostly in Tennessee; William's daughter Anness was the wife of Yancey Wiley of Oxford, Miss.
Solomon's six daughters, including Wilhelmina (1843-1936). The other daughters were: Anness Sophia, who married Leon Richmond; Henrietta, who married M. C. Thomas; Adeline, who married B. L. Arnold); Lilianne, who married T. C. Neal; and Eugenia, who married Calvin G. Lea. One son died in infancy and one son never married. Three of Eugenia and Calvin G. Lea's daughters married Dunlaps.
Back to TopThe Lea family papers includes letters, 1812-1820s, consisting of family correspondence of William Lea (1777?-1873) and his brothers, Vincent Lea and James Lea, all merchants, writing from Leasburg, N.C., Petersburg, Va., Norfolk, Va., and New York, N.Y., chiefly about business matters, prices, economic conditions, debts, current news, and other topics. Letters, 1820s-1850s, are chiefly between William Lea and his children and among the children. Willis M. Lea wrote from Philadelphia, where he was studying medicine, and later from Holly Springs, Miss. Solomon Lea was a student at the University of North Carolina and later lived at Boydton, N.C., Farmville, N.C., and Greensboro, N.C. Letters from 1861 onwards are chiefly correspondence of the daughters of Solomon Lea, most written by teacher Wilhelmina Lea from the various places where she taught school, including Louisburg, Olin, and other places in North Carolina and Murfreesboro, Tenn., and at the Marshall Institute in Mississippi. Volumes are ledgers, 1797-1803, of William Lea (1751-1806), merchant of Leasburg and uncle of William (1777?-1873); school accounts, 1853-1862, Solomon Lea, who who taught at Somerville Seminary and founded Somerville Female Institute in Leasburg and was president of Greensboro College, 1846-1857; and reminiscences and a 19-volume diary, 1872-1934, of Wilhelmina Lea.
Back to TopNote that there is a gap in the materials between 1880 and 1930.
Folder 1-3
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1812-1880Letters, 1812-1820s, are family correspondence of William Lea (1777?-1873) and his brothers Vincent and James, all in the merchandizing business. William was at Leasburg in Caswell County, N.C., and his brothers wrote from Petersburg, Norfold, and New York, chiefly about business matters, prices, economic conditions, debts, current news, and other topics. Letters, 1820s-1850s, are chiefly correspondence of William Lea with his children and correspondence among the children. There are letters from Willis M. Lea studying medicine at Philadelphia in 1826, and practicing medicine at Holly Springs, Miss., in the 1840s; letters from Solomon Lea as a student at the University of North Carolina, 1829 and 1832, and later letters from Boydton, Farmville, and Greensboro; letters from Addison Lea at college in Boydton, 1836; and letters written at Jackson, Tenn., and Aberdeen, Miss. There is a letter from Peter Doub in Greensboro, 17 March 1848, and one from E. F. Rockwell in Statesville, N.C., 19 April 1847. Letters from 1861 onwards are chiefly correspondence of the daughters of Solomon Lea, most written by Wilhelmena ("Miss Willie") at the various places where she taught school, usually for only a few months at a time: Louisburg, N.C., 1866-1867; Olin, N.C., 1868; home, 1870 and 1880; Soule Female College in Murfreesboro, Tenn., 1871; Marshall Institute in Mississippi, 1871.
Digital version: Letter from Solomon Lea to Lorenzo Lea, 1 September 1829
Digital version: Letter from Solomon Lea to William Lea, 14 September, 1832 |
Folder 4 |
Correspondence, 1930 and 1934 and undatedTwo family letters, 1930 and 1934, and 18 undated latters or letter fragments. There are also fragemtns of a famiy record and an obituary for a cat. |
Folder 5 |
Writings of Solomon LeaLoose pages from the writings of Solomon Lea including his reminiscences of distinguished preachers and places written for the Advocate and articles on tobacco and whiskey. |
Folder 6 |
Clippings, 1914-1915Albert Payson Terhune's columns on historical matters for various newspapers. |
Folder 7 |
ClippingsLea family genealogy. |
Folder 8 |
Volume 1, 1797-1800Ledger with accounts for clothes, personal supplies, etc., probably of William Lea (1751-1806), merchant of Leasburg, N.C., who was a brother of Gabriel Lea. |
Folder 9 |
Volume 2, 1798-1803Ledger with accounts for clothes, whiskey, cash, supplies, blankets, etc., probably of William Lea (1751-1806), merchant of Leasburg, N.C., who was a brother of Gabriel Lea. |
Folder 10 |
Volume 3, 1853-1854Somerville Institute, Leasburg, N.C., pupils' accounts for board, tuition, and supplies, probably of Solomon Lea (1807-1897), who taught school at Leasburg, was president of Greensboro College, 1846-1847, and founded Somerville Female Institute at Leasburg. |
Folder 11 |
Volume 4, 1860-1862School register with names of pupils, their parents, addresses, and date of entering school, probably of Solomon Lea (1807-1897), who taught school at Leasburg, was president of Greensboro College, 1846-1847, and founded Somerville Female Institute at Leasburg. |
Folder 12 |
Volume 5, 1842-1862Ledger and other accounts of the Somerville Seminary at Leasburg, accounts at Greensboro, accounts of purchases of books and other supplies at Philadelphia, and other accounts, probably of Solomon Lea (1807-1897), who taught school at Leasburg, was president of Greensboro College, 1846-1847, and founded Somerville Female Institute at Leasburg. |
Folder 13 |
Volume 6: "Reminiscences" of Wilhelmina Lea. Typescript, 19 pagesMostly a narrative account of her family, with biographical data, dates, and relationships, written in the 1930s. Typescript was made in 1943 from a manuscript lent by Mrs. W. S. Dixon. |
Folder 14 |
Volume 7: "The Lea Family Tree." Typescript, 19 pages.Genealogical tables showing names with very few dates. Typescript was made from a manuscript lent by Mrs. W. S. Dixon. |
Folder 15-33
Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33 |
Diary of Wilhemmina Lea written intermittently in composition books, tablets, and other small notebooks15: Volume 8, 1872 #00419, Folder 1516: Volume 9, 1885-1886 #00419, Folder 1617: Volume 10, 1887-1889 #00419, Folder 1718: Volume 11, 1890-1893 #00419, Folder 1819: Volume 12, 1894-1895 #00419, Folder 1920: Volume 13, 1896-1899 #00419, Folder 2021: Volume 14, 1900-1901 #00419, Folder 2122: Volume 15, 1902-1903 #00419, Folder 2223: Volume 16, 1904-1907 #00419, Folder 2324: Volume 17, 1908 #00419, Folder 2425: Volume 18, 1909 #00419, Folder 2526: Volume 19, 1910 #00419, Folder 2627: Volume 20, 1914-1917 #00419, Folder 2728: Volume 21, 1923-1924 #00419, Folder 2829: Volume 22, 1925 #00419, Folder 2930: Volume 23, 1926-1927 #00419, Folder 3031: Volume 24, 1928-1931 #00419, Folder 3132: Volume 25, 1932-1933 #00419, Folder 3233: Volume 26, 1934, including lists of family birth and death dates #00419, Folder 33 |