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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 300 items) |
Abstract | The collection consists of single or very small groups of unrelated letters, many from the 19th century, to and from various persons, almost entirely white southerners, some of whom were prominent in the literary and political areas. Topics include family life; travels in North Carolina and other parts of the South; social life and customs; plantation life for enslaving families; slavery and trafficking of enslaved people through sales and hiring out in North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, and Alabama; local and national politics; the Civil War, both military action and the homefront in Louisiana, North Carolina (including blockading the coast and attacking Fort Fisher), Mississippi, and other parts of the South; the University of North Carolina; World War I; literature; and other topics. Among the correspondents are Abiel Abbott, Henry Ward Beecher, Alfred Holt Colquitt, Sherman Converse, Peter Early, Frank Porter Graham, Sam Houston, Washington Irving, Andrew Jackson, Laura Riding Jackson, North Carolina governor Samuel Johnston, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Milledge, Margaret Mitchell, Wilson Cary Nicholas, North Carolina writer William S. Pearson, Isaac F. Shepard, Edward Stanly, Edward Telfair, Albion W. Tourgée, Martin Van Buren, Abraham Bedford Venable, and Daniel Webster. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Southern Historical Collection Staff, 1957-2005
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, March 2007
Updated by: Benjamin Bromley, 2009; Kathryn Michaelis, April 2011; Nancy Kaiser, December 2022
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.
Conscious Editing updates by Nancy Kaiser, December 2022: abstract, subject headings, scope and content, and container list.
Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.
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 collection consists of single or very small groups of unrelated letters, many from the 19th century, to and from various persons, almost entirely white southerners, some of whom were prominent in the literary and political areas. Topics include family life; travels in North Carolina and other parts of the South; social life and customs; plantation life for enslaving families; slavery and trafficking of enslaved people through sales and hiring out in North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, and Alabama; local and national politics; the Civil War, both military action and the homefront in Louisiana, North Carolina (including blockading the coast and attacking Fort Fisher), Mississippi, and other parts of the South; the University of North Carolina; World War I; literature; and other topics. Among the correspondents are Abiel Abbott, Henry Ward Beecher, Alfred Holt Colquitt, Sherman Converse, Peter Early, Frank Porter Graham, Sam Houston, Washington Irving, Andrew Jackson, Laura Riding Jackson, North Carolina governor Samuel Johnston, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Milledge, Margaret Mitchell, Wilson Cary Nicholas, North Carolina writer William S. Pearson, Isaac F. Shepard, Edward Stanly, Edward Telfair, Albion W. Tourgee, Martin Van Buren, Abraham Bedford Venable, and Daniel Webster.
Back to TopArrangement: Folders 1-84 are in chronological order; beginning with folder 85, materials are filed in order as received.
Folder 1 |
Letter from James Jackson, Savannah, Ga., to unknown recipient, 1 June 1786 |
Letter from B. Dickson, Williamsburg, Va., to William Nelson, Richmond, Va., 3 April 1786 |
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Letter from Daniel Morgan to David Allison, Falmouth, Va., 28 June 1786 |
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Folder 2 |
Letter from Samuel Johnston, governor of North Carolina, to the public treasurer, 3 August 1788 |
Folder 3 |
Letter from Alexander Martin, Danbury, N.C., to Francis Child, 18 April 1790 |
Letter from Joseph Williams, Surry, to Francis Child, Fayetteville, N.C., 27 November 1790 |
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Folder 4 |
Letter from Noble Wimberly Jones, Lambeth near Savannah, Ga., to Dr. George Jones, Savannah, 22 April 1797 |
Folder 5 |
Letter from John Steele, Hawkins Court House, Tenn., to Edward Carrington, Richmond, Va., 6 May 1798 |
Folder 6 |
Letter from Nathaniel Macon, Philadelphia, Pa., to William P. Little, Warrenton, N.C., 17 February 1800 |
Folder 7 |
Letter from Edward Telfair, Savannah, Ga., to Governor John Milledge, 1 February 1803Topics include Telfair's belief that acceptance by the United States Senate of a treaty with the Creek peoples, which would result in a transfer of lands from the Creeks to the State of Georgia, would necessitate a session of the Georgia legislature. |
Letter from Lieutenant J. Fergus, Fayetteville, N.C., to William Linnard, Philadelphia, Pa., 18 April 1803 |
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Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Constant Freeman, Fort Johnson, S.C., to William Linnard, Philadelphia, Pa., 9 August 1803 |
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Folder 8 |
Letter from Timothy Bloodworth, Wilmington, N.C., to Governor James Turner, Raleigh, N.C., 17 June 1805 |
Letter from J. Hawley, Fayetteville, N.C., to John E. Hawley, Bradalben, N.Y., 11 August 1805Acquisition Information: Accession 91041 Chiefly about family news and the state of the nation. |
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Folder 9 |
Letter from Seaborn Jones, Princeton, N.J., to William Hart Jr., Mill Haven, Ga., 30 September 1806Jones wrote to his cousin about young women in Augusta, Ga. |
Folder 10 |
Letter from Thomas Goode, Philadelphia, Pa., to Samuel Johnston, Louisburg, N.C., 4 December 1807 |
Letter from Abraham Bedford Venable, Richmond, Va., to Wilson Cary Nicholas, Washington, D.C., 5 December 1807 |
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Folder 11 |
Letter from Peter Early, Greene County, Ga., to John Milledge, 14 September 1808 |
Folder 12 |
Letter from William B. Sprague, Woodlawn Plantation, Mount Vernon, Va., to Reverend Abiel Abbot, 2 March 1816Sprague described his trip through New York and Baltimore to Virginia; nearby Mount Vernon and its owner Bushrod Washington; Lawrence Lewis and Eleanor Parke Curtis Lewis and their family for which Sprague was a tutor; Washington and its society, especially John Randolph and Dolly Madison; and an earlier visit by Boston Unitarian minister Eucote and its effect on Dr. James Muir of Alexandria. He also discoursed at length on the state of enslaved people and the effect of slavery on Southern society and standards. |
Folder 13 |
Letter from John Holloway, Williamson County, Tenn., to James Leigh, Durant's Neck, Perquimans County, N.C., 10 September 1817 |
Folder 14 |
Letter from Rev. Abiel Abbot, St. James Parish, S.C., to John Abbot, Brunswick, Maine, 15 December 1818Letter includes description of the geography, crops, livestock, birds, wildlife, and discusses the possibility of acquiring an alligator for John Abbot's museum. |
Folder 15 |
Letter from J. N. Saul, New Orleans, La., to Captain Tichener, Natchez, Miss., 15 May 1819 |
Letter from John Rodgers, Washington, D.C., to Charlotte Bullis, 20 January 1819 |
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Letter from Rev. Artemas Boies, Wilmington, N.C., to Joseph Boies, Greeenwich, N.Y., 7 April 1819 |
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Folder 16 |
Letter from Sam Houston to Maj. R. J. Eisler, 1 October 1820Houston wished Eisler good luck on his journey to the East and assured Eisler of his enduring friendship. |
Letter from Arnold Mallinchrod, Elberfeld, Germany, to Dr. Kenan, Sampson County, N.C., 5 October 1820Mallinchrod inquired after old friends, especially Alex Martin, and gave news of himself, apparently after many years' absence. |
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Folder 17A |
Letter from Robert Abbott, Richmond Va., to Edward A. Russell, Petersburg, Va., July 1821 |
Folder 17B |
Letter from 16 April 1822, Andrew Jackson to Richard Keith Call. |
Folder 18 |
Letter from Marcus Brutus Osborn, Plymouth, N.C., to Frances Smith, Petersburg, Va., 28 February 1823 |
Folder 19 |
Letter from Sarah G. Sawyer, Elizabeth City, N.C., to Samuel E. Foote, New York City, 9 April 1825 |
Letter from Ann M. Phelps, Fayetteville, N.C., to her cousin, Connecticut, 18 April [1825?] |
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Folder 20 |
Letter from Martin Shive, Cabarrus County, N.C., to Lewis Shive, York Borough, Pa., 3 June 1826 |
Letter from Samuel Randall, Montevallo, Shelby County, Ala., to John Turner, Colchester, Conn., 19 July 1826Randall reported on the cost of enslaved labor in comparison to cotton, and how he might come to be the enslaver of a girl and boy because of a financial debt of their enslaver. He also described using a scythe to mow oats and grass, how the people fed their stock, his dairy, possibilities for speculation, property he hoped to buy, and hunting deer and turkey. |
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Folder 21 |
Letter from Augustus B. Longstreet, Augusta, Ga., to John Cumming, Savannah, Ga., 23 December 1829 |
Folder 22 |
Letter from Sarah G. Sawyer, Elizabeth City, N.C., to Samuel E. Foote, Cincinnati, Ohio, 18 January 1833Sawyer expressed a desire to emigrate to a non-enslaving state as a consequence of the rebellion of enslaved people led by Nat Turner in 1831. |
Letter from Robert Young Hayne, Charleston, S.C., Benjamin Silliman, New Haven, Conn., 7 June 1833 |
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Folder 23 |
Letter from J. V. Grigg, Wayne County, Ind., to Charles Banner, Germanton, Stokes County, N.C., 30 September 1834 |
Folder 24 |
Letter from Thomas Bennett, Charleston, S.C., to Thomas Ustick Walter, Philadelphia, Pa., 3 February 1836 |
Letter from M. Bedford, Mount Hope, to unknown recipient, 18 February 1836 |
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Folder 25 |
Letter from William T. Gould, August, Ga., to his wife, Litchfield, Conn., 11 July 1838; Letter from Mrs. Bossieux, Richmond, Va., to John M. Bossieux, Fayetteville, N.C., 19 July 1838; Letter from Mrs. Bossieux, Richmond, Va., to John M. Bossieux, Augusta, Ga., 8 September 18383 letters |
Folder 26 |
Letter from W. N. Todd, Fayette, Miss., to Elizabeth Todd, Carrolton, Carrol County, Ky., 4 February 1839 |
Folder 27 |
Letter from Leonard Perry, Baltimore, Md., to Thomas B. Evans, 1847 |
Letter from Richard Mentor Johnson, Sante Chamber, to an unspecified committee, 12 February 1840 |
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Letter from James Erwin to Martin & Pepper, April 1957Letter concerns ordering from merchants in Philadelphia. |
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Letter from Bluford R. Eddings, Rose Hill, Greene County, Va., to Charles T. Graves, Barboursville, Orange County, Va., 15 July 1840 |
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Letter from A. M. Graham, Talladega, Ala., to John Were, Muddy Fork, Lincoln County, N.C., 18 November 1840 |
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Vote count for Alex McCorkle, Jonas Bost, and Eli Hoyle, circa 1840 |
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Folder 28 |
Letter from Susan Allibone to Lucy Byrd, 7 February 1841 |
Letter from Washington Irving, Tarrytown, N.Y., to Messrs. Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia, Pa., 9 August 1841 |
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Folder 29 |
Letter from Elizabeth Hemphill Jones Pope, Oak Grove, near Memphis, Tenn., to Maria Bush, Wilmington, Del., 28 February 1842 |
Letter from J. G. Warriner, Mobile, Ala., to Edward A. Greene, Providence, R.I., 13 March 1842 |
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Letter from Anna M. Harrison, Canton, Miss., to Mrs. Stannard, Jackson, Miss., 24 July 1842 |
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Letter from William L. Martin, Lebanon, Tenn., to Dr. Syd Smith, Spring Hill, Marengo County, Ala., 20 October 1842 |
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Folder 30 |
Letter from Martin Van Buren, Kinderhook, N.Y., to Harmanus Bleecker, Albany, N.Y., 22 July 1843 |
Folder 31 |
Letter from Frederick Fitzgerald, Somerset Place, N.C., to Samuel Farmer Jarvis, Jr., Washington College, Hartford, Conn., January 1844Fitzgerald commented on the plantation of Josiah Collins, one of the largest plantation owners and enslavers in the area of Edenton, N.C. |
Letter from James S. Ward, Arkadelphia, Clark County, Ark., to Hon. John T. Jones, Helena, Ark., 30 May 1844 |
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Letter from William Dedman, Rutherfordton, N.C., to Silvanus Dedman, Ruckersville, Ga., 8 August 1844 |
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Letter from Junius Wheeler, Raleigh, N.C., to Sarah C. Southall, Columbus, Miss., 14 August 1844 |
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Letter from John Christoph Bluch Ehringhous, Elizabeth City, N.C., to an unknown recipient, 10 October 1844 |
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Letter from Matthais H. Welles, Mobile, Ala., to Charles and George Welles, 31 December 1844Matthias H. Welles described his recent voyage to Cuba and his life in Mobile. |
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Folder 32 |
Letter from Matthias H. Welles, Mobile, Ala., to Charles and George Welles, 8 February 1845Matthias H. Welles described his recent voyage to Cuba and his life in Mobile. |
Letter from Lew W. Berry, Fredericksburg, Va., to Laurence Washington, Westmoreland County, Va., 1 July 1845 |
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Letter from R. G. Lindsay, Asheville, N.C. to his wife, Greensboro, N.C., 22 July 1845 |
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Letter from L. B. Weston[?], South Washington, New Hanover County, N.C., to Eunice E. Pitts, Augusta, Maine, 23 December 1845 |
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Folder 33 |
Letter from Edward S. Bevin, Powhatan Court House, Va., to T. N. Loving, Holly Springs, Miss., 24 April 1846Brown advised Loving that Miss Frank would neither refund money for raising George, a child of 12 or 13 years who was enslaved by Loving, nor travel with him to Mississippi. George had been under Frank's care until he was of age to be hired out. In Virginia, children younger than 10 could not be hired out for support and clothing. At the time of this letter, George had already been hired out for two years. |
Folder 34 |
Letter from H. Felts, Wentworth, N.C., to Alexander Walker, Independence, Mo., 9 January 1847 |
Letter from G. W. Jones to B. W. Jones, Salem, Ala., 21 January 1847G. W. Jones described the Battle of Moneterey, Mexico, 20-24 September 1846. |
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Letter from J. L. Lockhart, N.Y., to John Lockhart, Marion, Perry County, Ala., 23 April 1847 |
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Letter from Elizabeth Taylor, Hayfield, Va., to J. P. Aylett, Montville, King William, Va., 4 May 1847 |
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Letter from W. J. Bingham, Hillsboro, N.C., to Dr. Sydney Smith, Dayton, Ala., 1 July 1847 |
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Letter from Senator Henry Johnson, Senate Chamber, to unknown recipient, 14 December 1847 |
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Folder 35 |
Letter from Jacob F. Holland, Mobile, Ala., to Rev. Evan Roberts, Marengo County, Ala., 3 October 1848 |
Folder 36 |
Letter from John T. Jones, Helena, Ark., to Col. Robert H. McEwen, Nashville, Tenn., 18 January 1849 |
Photocopy of letter from William M. Boyce, Albemarle Sound, N.C., to Joseph Kingsbury, Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pa., 29 January 1849This item not available as of 30 April 1991 |
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Letter from Joseph S. Hartly, Arong, King and Queen County, Va., to Capt. C. H. Bonham, 15 May 1849 |
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Photocopy of letter from John H. Robeson, Sandy Mush, Buncombe County, N.C., to James Lowry, Sandy Mush, Buncombe County, N.C., 5 December 1849Robeson wrote to request permission to marry Harriet M. Cumming, the granddaughter of Lowry. This item not available as of 30 April 1991 |
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Folder 37 |
Letter from Anna, Milledgeville, Ga., to John Henry, Hayneville, Houston County, Ga., 9 March 1850 |
Letter from J. Gardiner, Friedensfeld, St. Croix, to Rev. Vogler, 12 April 1850 |
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Letter from Robert C. Winthrop, Washington, D.C., to the secretary of the navy, 16 September 1850 |
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Folder 38 |
Letter from J. M. Graeber, Salem, Va., to John Fautz, Gold Hill, Rowan County, N.C., 18 January 1851; Letter from Daniel Webster, Washington, D.C., to J. B. Gardiner, 25 January 18512 letters |
Folder 39 |
Letter from Alfred M. Whitsett, Monroeton, Rockingham County, N.C., to George M. Hayes, Thornhill, Grange County, Tenn., 7 October 1852Includes a detailed description of the settlement of the estates of James Whitsett and Milton Whitsett. James Whitsett enslaved 20 people at the time of his death. |
Letter from Washington Irving, Sunnyside, Irvington, N.Y., to George P. Putnam, 27 December 1852 |
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Folder 40 |
Letter from Alfred M. Whitsett, Monroeton, Rockingham County, N.C., to George M. Hayes, Thornhill, Grange County, Tenn., 16 January 1853Includes a detailed description of the settlement of the estates of James Whitsett and Milton Whitsett. James Whitsett enslaved 20 people at the time of his death. Most of the enslaved people had been trafficked by hiring out at the time. |
Letter from George D. Baskerville, W. H. Edwards, and A. W. Venable, Warrenton, N.C., to unknown recipient, 17 April 1853 |
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Folder 41 |
Letter from Charles Ward, Washington, to his mother, 17 May 1854The letter recounts a recent visit to a plantation in Savannah where Ward's uncritical understanding of slavery was shaped by a conversation with an overseer. He also visited Bonadventure Cemetery in Savannah, met with former President Millard Fillmore, and went to Richmond. |
Letter from Daniel Duffy, Salem, Va., to James H. Piper, Wytheville, Va., 21 August 1854Duffy described attempts to reclaim an unnamed enslaved person who had self-emancipated by running away but had been apprehended and put in the jail at Fincastle. Duffy complained that Doc Grant would not release the enslaved person to him. |
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Letter from Thomas F. Keller, Tuscumbia, Ala., to Thomas Warren, New Orleans, La., 24 October 1854Keller asked Warren to procure for him an Irish setter dog and have it sent by boat. He also commented on yellow fever in New Orleans and his belief that a cure could be found, politics, and family news. |
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Folder 42A |
Letter from Sarah E. F. Womble, Caswell County, N.C., to John Womble, Richmond, Va., 5 January 1855 |
Letter from Carroll Spence, Constantinople, Turkey, to Mr. Baker, 26 March 1855Spence, the United States minister to Turkey during the Crimean War, commented on the decline of English influence and the rise of French influence in Turkey, the Russian and English armies, and the impossibility of taking Sevastopol. |
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Folder 42B |
Letter from R. Tillotson at New River, La., to his sister, 1855Acquisitions Information: Accession 86146 The letter describes arriving at his Louisiana plantation during an outbreak of yellow fever, making sugar, and family news. He also reported on the religious practices of the people he enslaved, mentioning that Olivia and Louisa taught a Sabbath School for about 50 people aged 4 to 20 who were enslaved by the family and that the "professing" enslaved people held a prayer meeting every sabbath. He also wrote that they were without a preacher to guide them because abolitionists declined to send someone to preach to enslavers. |
Folder 43 |
Letter from James Dorns, Dorns Mines, near Sleepy Creek, Ga., to J. Slocum, New York City, 6 April 1856Dorns reported on copper and gold mining in Georgia and the new prospectors arriving daily. |
Letter from Henry Ward Beecher, Brooklyn, N.Y., to John J. Foote[?], Hamilton, N.Y., 1 October 1856 |
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Letter from J. Warren Hill, Anderson Court House, S.C., to his mother, Richmond, Va., 12 December 1856 |
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Folder 44 |
Letter from Reuben Nason, Quitman, Clarke County, Miss., to his mother, [Maine?], 3 October 1857 |
Folder 45 |
Letter from A. Zachary, Jackson County, N.C., to his nieces, 1 July 1858Zachary gave news of family, the corn crop, copper mining, a silver-gold lead mine, and other mines in which his brothers Woodford and Jonathan had an interest. |
Letter from Reuben Nason, Quitman, Clarke County, Miss., to his mother, [Maine?], 3 October 1858Includes reminsicences about his childhood and relationship with his mother, accounts of his day-to-day work, and his thoughts on the yellow fever epidemic in Mobile. |
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Folder 46 |
Letter from A. T. B. Merritt, New Orleans, La., to William H. E. Merritt, Lawrenceville, Va., 12 March 1859A. T. B. Merritt reported to his brother that they had been swindled by an agent with regard to their family land and the enslaved people they claimed as property in Virginia. |
Letter from R. P. Lunceford, Smithfield, Johnston County, N.C., to David Lunceford and sister Elizabeth, Fulton, Miss., 19 September 1859 |
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Folder 47 |
Letter from Junius Wheeler, Murfreesboro, Tenn., to Sarah C. Southall, Columbus, Miss., 20 February 1860 |
Letter from Nannie V. Hale to her Cousin Rosa, 11 May 1860Acquisition Information: Added November 1986 Hale described her experiences at boarding school in Jonesville, N.C. The letter mentions examinations, homesickness, outings, and relationships between boys and girls at the school. |
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Letter from T. C. Hanson, Pittsburg, Upshur County, Tex., to John W. and Harriet Hanson, 7 June 1860Account of the 8 week journey from Georgia to Texas through Mississippi and Louisiana and the present news of the family settling in. |
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Letter from James Dorn, Dorns Mines, near Sleepy Creek, Ga., to J. Slocum, New York City, 17 June 1860Dorns reported on copper and gold mining in Georgia. |
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Letter from R. P. Lunceford, Smithfield, Johnston County, N.C., to David Lunceford and his sister Elizabeth, Fulton, Miss., 21 October 1860 |
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Letter from J. L. Seay of Boydsville, Tennessee, to the clerk of the county court of Barber County, N.C., 22 November 1860Acquisitions Information: Added April 1991 Seay wrote concerning the property of Winney Watford Morris. |
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Letter from R. P. Lunceford, Smithfield, Johnston County, N.C., to David Lunceford and his sister Elizabeth, Fulton, Miss., 25 November 1860 |
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Letter from D. W. Hilsabeck, Washburn, Woodford County, Ill., to his brother, 29 December 1860 |
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Letter from R. P. Lunceford, Smithfield, Johnston County, N.C., to David Lunceford and his sister Elizabeth, Fulton, Miss., 31 December 1860 |
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Folder 48 |
Letter from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Cambridge, Mass., to Mr. Wilhelm, Milwaukee, Wisc., 27 January 1863 |
Letter from Edmund Clarence Stedman in New York, to Edwin P. Whipple in Boston, 18 November 1863.Acquisitions Information: Added April 1991 Stedman's letter thanks Whipple for his many kind comments about his poetry. |
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Folder 49 |
Letter from W. H. McRary and Co., Wilmington, N.C., to J. R. Hargrave, Wadesboro, N.C., 19 January 1864 |
Letter from Rebecca, Hillsboro, N.C., to her daughter, 9 March 1864 |
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Letter from Philip, Thibodaux, La., to his friends, Philadelphia, Pa., 31 October 1864 |
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Folder 50 |
Letter from Ellen Brown, Tuskegee, Ala., to her friends, 16 May 1865 |
Letter from Dr. William Caldwell Tate, Morganton, N.C., to Catherine Powe, 27 August 1865Tate wrote to his daughter about local news and of his impoverished and desperate condition at that time. Typed transcription of the letter and a brief biographical sketch are included. |
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Folder 51 |
Letter from Dr. William Caldwell Tate, Morganton, N.C., to Catherine Powe, 11 January 1866Tate wrote to his daughter about local news and of his impoverished and desperate condition at that time. Typed transcription of the letter and a brief biographical sketch are included. |
Letter from Solomon Pool, Chapel Hill, N.C., to Sidney Hayden, Sayre, Pa., 27 January 1866Pool, a former president of the University of North Carolina, urged Hayden to use his influence among Pennsylvania Masons in support of a proposed national Masonic university. |
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Letter from Kate [Mrs. Hiram H. Yale?], Richmond, Va., to Nellie E. Welles, Wethersfield, Conn., 19 May 1866Includes description of Kate's impressions after attending services at a Black church with 2000 members. |
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Letter from Charles B. Yale, Richmond, Va., to Hiram H. Yale, Meriden, Conn., 20 June 1866 |
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Typescript copy of letter from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord, Mass., to Robert W. Barnwell, 6 July 1866Emerson expressed affectionate regard for his classmates at Harvard, 1817-1821. This item not available as of 30 April 1991 |
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Letter from Bayard Taylor, Kennett Square, Pa., to unknown recipient, 8 November 1868 |
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Folder 52 |
Letter from Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber, Chelsea, Mass., to John William Orr, 10 May 1869 |
Letter from Salmon Portland Chase, Goldsboro, N.C., to Mr. H., 8 June 1869 |
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Letter from M. I. Griffith, Cedar Falls, Iowa, to a niece, near Greenville, S.C., 6 August 1869Griffith described the journey from Alexandria to Cedar Falls and compared Iowa with North Carolina and Virginia. |
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Folder 53 |
Letter from G. W. Quinan, Portersville, Tenn., to W. D. Knox, Davidson College, N.C., 13 October 1870Letter mentions the cotton crop, land prices, emigration to Arkansas and Texas, a Masonic funeral, protracted meetings and camp meetings and misbehavior, a recent synod meeting at Porter, and a cotton cultivating tool he had recently invented. |
Folder 54 |
Letter from Oliver Otis Howard, Howard University, Washington, D.C., to William Still, 29 February 1872Letter commends Still on preparing a book on the Underground Railroad, which had been sent to Howard, a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army and Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. |
Folder 55 |
Letter from unknown writer, Taylor Springs, Va., to unknown recipient, 10 August 1873Fragment of a letter from a woman touring the Virginia resorts with "Jeanie," who was giving readings. She wrote of their success or lack of it in Virginia, Maryland, Carolina, and Georgia. She also mentioned meeting James Ryder Randall in Augusta. |
Letter from Lyman C. Draper, Madison, Wis., to Hon. James Chesnut, Camden, S.C., 6 September 1873 |
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Folder 56 |
Letter from John D. Pemberton, Wadesboro, N.C., to Miss Sallie, 3 September 1875 |
Folder 57 |
Letter from H. A. Lilly, Jacksonville, Fla., to Mrs. Billings, 5 March 1876Letter is from perspective of a northern white woman who had gone south for her health and includes her commentary on and criticism of vegetation, roads, the labor of Black people, the price of oranges, root tea, the climate, her own health, and other topics. |
Folder 58 |
Letter from 128 C. M. Cooke, Raleigh, N.C., to "My Dear General," 25 January 1879 |
Folder 59 |
Letter from H. Church to the Rev. Wm. H. Fremantle, 2 and 24 March 1882Acquisitions Information: Added April 1991 Church discussed a book by Professor Goldwin Smith, which Fremantle had lent to him. |
Letter from Porter Graves, Mebanville, N.C., to Jesse Franklin Graves, 1882Letters describe daily life while a student at Bingham School. |
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Folder 60 |
Letter from J. G. Foster, Greensboro, N.C., to B. F. Hall, 8 November 1883Letter concerns the possibilities of mining gold and copper profitably in the slate region of North Carolina and mining machinery. Typed transcription of the letter is included. |
Letter from H. W. Eno, Ocala, Fla., to Frank, 23 December 1883The letter is written from the perspective of a white northern visitor to Ocala, with observations on the difficulty of travel by railroad, the activities of local population of Black people, the springs, orange groves, and other topics. |
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Folder 61 |
Letter from Belton O'Neall Townsend, Florence, S.C., to Francis Warrington Dawson, 10 May 1884 |
Folder 62 |
Letter from Jesse C. Green, West Chester, Pa., to Frederick H. Winston, 31 October 1885 |
Letter from Corydon C. Merriman to W. Martin Jones, 9 August 1885[?] |
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Folder 63 |
Letter from Alfred Holt Colquitt, Washington, D.C., to George M. Thornton, Flemington, N.J., 14 June 1886Letter is in response to an invitation to lecture and concerns not taking a partisan stand in regard to Prohibition candidates in the temperance reform. |
Folder 64 |
Letter from Albion W. Tourgee, Mayville, N.Y., to Joshua Nathaniel Steed, 30 April 1888 |
Letter from William Lawrence Scott, Washington, D.C., to B. H. Warren, West Chester, Pa., 2 May 1888 |
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Folder 65-66
Folder 65Folder 66 |
Letter from J. Wilder, Bristol, Tenn., and Virginia to Thomas H. Canfield, 8 November 1890 and 26 May 1895Letters are written from the perspective of a white northerner who is critical of the South and southerners. |
Folder 67 |
Letter from George A. Hough, Rutherfordton, N.C., to Capt. Caleb Witcher Watkins and others, 21 November 1896 |
Folder 68 |
Letter from Augusta Jane Evans Wilson, Mobile, Ala., to Samuel Spencer, 10 February 1897[?] |
Folder 69 |
Letter from Jane E. Ward, London, England, to Margaret Ward, Raleigh, N.C., 30 July 1907 |
Folder 70 |
Letter from Gilbert Dalziel to Frank Redway dated 11 July 1912Acquisitions Information: Added April 1991 Dalziel discussed two letters from W.S. Gilbert, which he was sending Redway, in which Gilbert talked about his "Bal Ballads." |
Folder 71 |
Letter from Mary, Manatee County, Fla., to her friends, 30 December 1914 |
Folder 72 |
Letter from C. A. Brown of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of North Carolina to G. F. McAllister of Mt. Pleasant, N.C., 21 January 1918The letter concerns the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod. |
Letter from George Edward Woodberry, Berkeley, Cal., to Miss Crogland[?], 25 June 1918 |
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Letter from Clark Griffith, Washington, D.C., to Frank Daniels, 3 July 1918 |
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Folder 73 |
Letter from John Sharp Williams, Cedar Grove, near Yazoo City, Miss., to Cecil Johnson, University of Virginia, 14 December 1923Williams declined to give an interview to Johnson but commented fully on what the Populist Party "stood for." Typed transcription of letter is included. |
Folder 74A-74B |
Letter from Frederick Augustus III, to John Gotthold Kuntsmann, 29 May 1929 and 31 May 1930Letters are in German. |
Folder 75 |
Letter from Col. Harrison Howell Dodge, Mount Vernon, Va., to Margaret Busbee Shipp, 22 February 1933 |
Image P-516/1 |
Photograph of Harrison Howell Dodge at Mount Vernon, 1933 |
Folder 76 |
Letter from Col. Harrison Howell Dodge, Mount Vernon, Va., to Margaret Busbee Shipp, 16 September 1933 |
Letter from Thomas Dixon to Isaac M. Meekins, 12 November 1936 |
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Folder 77 |
Letter from Margaret Mitchell, Atlanta, Ga., to Miss Martin, 17 February 1932 |
Folder 78 |
Letter from Laura Riding Jackson to G. Van Keuren, 1939 |
Folder 79 |
Letter from unknown writer to W. A. Abernathy, Shelby, N.C., 22 June 1939 |
Letter from Portia, Durham, N.C., to William E. Payne, Iowa City, Iowa, 24 September 1939Portia, a Black woman, wrote to her sweetheart, who was studying physical education, about her daily life, her studies, and their mutual friends in Durham. She mentioned Hillside High School and North Carolina College for Negroes (later North Carolina Central University). |
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Folder 80 |
Letter from J. H. Simmons, Gainesville, Ga., to Dr. Charles Lee Smith, Raleigh, N.C., 20 October 1940 |
Folder 81 |
Letter from Wilbur Daniel Steele, Old Lyme, Conn., to Lester[?] Roberts, 21 March 1945 |
Letter from Marian Sims, Charlotte, N.C., to Lester[?] Roberts, 3 June 1947 |
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Folder 82 |
Letter from John Taylor Manning[?], Chapel Hill, N.C., to Benjamin Warren Spaulding, Jr., Chapel Hill, N.C., 17 December 1963Letter gives notice to Spaulding, a Black Civil Rights activist and student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, that he was forbidden from trespassing on the property of The Pines Restaurant under threat of legal action against him. |
Folder 83 |
Letter from Chase Howard Webb, Silver City, N.M., to Alexander Lee Smoot, Greensboro, N.C., 23 January 1982 |
Folder 84 |
Letter from H. G. Leigh to cousin, no date |
Folder 85 |
Letter from Archibald Henderson to Hilde and Alfred T. Brauer, 1 June 1942Acquisitions Information: Accession 92119 Henderson, of the Mathematics Department at the University of North Carolina, wrote about Alfred Brauer's appointment in the department. |
Letter from Archibald Henderson to Hilde and Alfred T. Brauer, 11 June 1942Acquisitions Information: Accession 92119 Henderson, of the Mathematics Department at the University of North Carolina, wrote about Alfred Brauer's appointment in the department. |
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Letter from Archibald Henderson to Hilde and Alfred T. Brauer, 28 June 1947Acquisitions Information: Accession 92119 Henderson, of the Mathematics Department at the University of North Carolina, wrote in response to birthday greetings from the Brauers. |
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Letter from Betty Smith to Hilde Brauer, undatedAcquisitions Information: Accession 92119 Smith wrote in regard to sale of a stoker. |
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Folder 86 |
Letter from William Herbert, Wilmington, N.C., to W. H. Hope, Williamsboro, N.C., 23 November 1888Acquisitions Information: Added October 1992 Herbert wrote concerning a real estate deal. |
Folder 87 |
Letter from George B. Hanna, the United States Assay Office in Charlotte, N.C., to Stephen B. Weeks, Trinity College, N.C., 20 October 1891Acquisitions Information: Added October 1992 Hanna inquired about securing a copy of a book on western North Carolina. |
Folder 88 |
Letter from Frank Porter Graham to Mary Brevard Howell, 1928Acquisitions Information: Accession 92159 Graham wrote on general topics. |
Postcards (3) from Frank Porter Graham to Mary Brevard Howell, 1951-1953Acquisitions Information: Accession 92159 Graham wrote on general topics. |
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Folder 89 |
Photocopies of letters (2) of William E. Dunstan, apparently addressed to his son Fleetwood, 30 December 1926Acquisitions Information: Accession 93017 Typed transcription of the letter is included. William E. Dunstan was a realtor in Elizabeth City, N.C. The letter is about his father Edmund Fleetwood Dunstan (1814-1864). |
Photocopy of letter from William E. Dunstan to his son Fleetwood, 10 January 1927Acquisitions Information: Accession 93017 Typed transcription of the letter is included. William E. Dunstan was a realtor in Elizabeth City, N.C. The letter is about his father Edmund Fleetwood Dunstan (1814-1864). |
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Folder 90 |
Letters (17) from John H. Smith in training at Camp Greene, Charlotte, N.C., to his mother, Annie Alice Smith, in Roxbury, Mass., and his aunt and uncle, Belinda and James Coughlin, in Ashfield, Mass., 1918Acquisitions Information: Accession 93032 Smith discussed army camp life, including his regular attendance at Catholic masses; told of his introduction to trench digging and gas masks; and, occasionally, offered his opinions on life around Charlotte. |
Folder 91 |
Photocopy of typed copy of letter from R. K. Call in Washington, D.C., to "Sir," 9 May 1824Acquisitions Information: Accession 94020 The letter refutes charges against General Jackson. |
Folder 92 |
Letters (5) and letter fragments from Confederate soldiersAcquisitions Information: Accession 94074 The letters are all apparently related in some way to the Griswold family, at camps and hospitals in Georgia and Virginia, 1862-1864, and one 1889 letter from H. Griswold in Ravenna, Kan., about planting. |
Folder 93 |
Letter and telegram to Samuel H. Wiley, 1886Acquisitions Information: Accession 95087 Concerning land in Salisbury, N.C. |
Folder 94 |
Letters (3) to Walter J. Norwood of Raleigh, N.C.Acquisitions Information: Accession 95087 Letters are from politicians thanking him for his support. |
Folder 95 |
Letter from [C. A.?] Carpenter in New Berlin, Pa., to James T. Green, physician of Strabane, N.C., 1840Acquisitions Information: Accession 95087 The letter renews the friendship and describes life in Pennsylvania. |
Folder 96 |
Letter from Joseph Johnson, Charleston, S.C., to Benson J. Lossing, New YorkAcquisitions Information: Accession 97002 Johnson, a physician and author, wrote to Lossing, an historian, to discuss the oldest churches in South Carolina. |
Folder 97 |
Letter to William Bland, Rutherford County, N.C., from his son and daughter-in-law, Gwinnett County, Ga., 17 December 1850Acquisitions Information: Accession 97192 The letter discusses crop prices and family life. |
Folder 98 |
Letter from U. J. Jones, Rocky Mount, N.C., to T. G. Spear, Philadelphia, Pa., 16 December 1841Acquisitions Information: Accession 98171 The letter describes Jones's voyage to North Carolina and experiences in "the sunny South, the land of sweet potatoes, sand and turpentine." Jones was apparently in North Carolina with a theatrical company that played in Wilmington and New Bern and planned to play in Raleigh. Although he professed to like the manners and customs of the people, Jones complained of the high prices and referred to North Carolinians as "piney wood Hoosiers." |
Folder 99 |
Letter from from Edward Stanly, New Bern, N.C., to U. H. Wheeler, Washington, N.C., 8 February 1863Acquisitions Information: Accession 98477 Stanly was a native of New Bern who had practiced law in Washington, N.C., and had been a Whig member of Congress from North Carolina in 1837-1843 and 1849-1853 and of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1844-1849. He moved to California in 1853 and practiced law in San Francisco. Stanly was appointed Union military governor of North Carolina in 1862. This letter was written after Stanly had resigned as governor in January 1863. Stanly wrote to Wheeler that he had resigned because he had told people that the government would restore the property of loyal men and protect their Constitutional rights, but he did not believe that to be true after the Emancipation Proclamation. He also speculated about what kind of successor would be appointed and wrote about his hopes to see some of his friends in Washington after he was no longer governor. |
Folder 100 |
Letter from William S. Pearson, Chapel Hill, N.C., 25 May 1868Acquisitions Information: Accession 98665 Pearson was a student at the University of North Carolina. He wrote to request money to settle an outstanding tuition bill. He indicated that he had been experiencing financial difficulties and would not be able to receive his diploma at graduation the next week unless he received help. Pearson went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina and serve as a member of the University's Board of Trustees, 1905-1097. He published several books about North Carolina. |
Folder 101 |
Letter from M. P. Robinson to his family, 28 September 1861Acquisitions Information: Accession 98710 The letter describes his family's health, a recent revival meeting he attended, and his work. Included is a forwarded letter on the same paper, 3 July 1861, from Sallie Miller of Currituck County, N.C., describing her family's health, the raising of volunteers for the Civil War, and her hopes for peace. |
Folder 102 |
Letter from Enoch Rust, Wilmington, N.C., to Messrs. William Walter and Co., 1 July 1811Acquisitions Information: Accession 98763 The letter discusses his shipping business, including a planned trip to Cuba. |
Folder 103 |
Letter from Joseph Boles, Raleigh, N.C., to Edwin Keiger, Kinston, N.C., 8 March 1863Acquisitions Information: Accession 98932 The letter describes the inflated prices for food, horses, and other goods during the Civil War. Included is discussion of why Boles was not serving in the army; his plan to visit Keiger; and his faith. The letter also has a postscript describing food and other items sent to Keiger by Eliza. |
Folder 104 |
Letter from Sallie, Charlotte, N.C., to her sister Pamela Bolling West, Frederick, Md., 7 August 1865Acquisitions Information: Accession 99712 The letter primarily discusses the whereabouts and activities of family and friends. There is also a brief allusion to the Civil War. Sallie mentioned an ill Captain Pope who delivered "Pa's" letter; the refugees in Charlotte; and the relative quiet of the city, which received little news. |
Folder 105 |
Letter from Sherman Converse, Tuckahoe, N.C., to William Flanders, Woburn, Mass., 12 December 1839Acquisitions Information: Accession 99929 Converse, originally from Massachusetts, moved to North Carolina to teach school. He lived on the plantation of Colonel Cox and wrote about his impressions of plantation life and described the ways in which enslaved people waited upon him and other conditions of slavery. At the time of the letter, Cox enslaved 30 people. Converse mentioned another nearby plantation of Mr. Shines, who enslaved 75 people, and one of his students who was an enslaver by virtue of inheriting 30 people who had been claimed as property by an uncle now deceased. |
Folder 106 |
Letter from Isaac F. Shepard (1816-1889) to Major T. S. Bowers, 18 August 1863Acquisitions Information: Accession 99930 Shepard wrote from the Headquarters of the United States Colored Troops, Goodrich Landing. The letter is an intelligence report about the movements of the Confederate Army and its plans to enter Mississippi. |
Folder 107 |
Commutation Receipt for Louis Clairmont, 30 December 1863Acquisitions Information: Accession 99945 Receipt indicating that Clairmont paid 300 dollars to be discharged from the army draft in Wisconsin. |
Letter from Charles Gard[iefe?] from Memphis, Tenn. (written by Benedict Gibson), to his sister "Mrs. Clarmont," wife of "Gov. Clarmont," 11 March 1863Acquisitions Information: Accession 99945 Gard[iefe?] served in the United States Army during the Civil War and wrote about troop movements related to Vicksburg, Miss. He mentioned Wisconsin. |
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Letter from C. B. Culver of the United States Navy on the United States steamer Britannica of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, to his brother, 21 February 1864 and 20 January 1865Acquisitions Information: Accession 99945 Culver wrote in detail about the movements of the ship in preparation for the blockade run, his job onboard the ship, and the attacks on Fort Fisher, N.C. |
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Folder 108 |
Letter from Sarah Holland to her uncle, K. K. Chapman, New Bern, N.C., 6 September 1934Acquisitions Information: Accession 100010 The letter consoles Chapman on the recent death of Ease, probably his wife |
Letters to Margaret Chapman, Chapel Hill, N.C., 18 November 1945-1948Acquisitions Information: Accession 100010 Pauline, Washington, D.C., wrote about family, commented extensively on the poetry of a family member or close friend, and made references to Margaret working at the University of North Carolina. Other letters to Chapman concern friends planning to visit or move to Chapel Hill, N.C., Christmas cards from 1948, and a wedding photograph. |
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Folder 109 |
Letter from S. G. Husband to Thomas Scott, Bell Air, Md., 10 November 1831Acquisitions Information: Accession 100098 S. G. Husband wrote Scott, an attorney, on behalf of her friend Tommy Brown, who was the enslaver of Rachel, who had been hired out to Husband's mother. Rachel was about to be sold to Mr. Bradford, who intended to emancipate her. Mary Brown, who was married to Tommy Brown, apparently supported this plan. According to Husband, this sale was ill-advised and was against the wishes of Tommy Brown. The letter is written on paper on which someone had previously written two poems. |
Folder 110 |
Bill of sale for Hanah, an enslaved person (about 45 years) who was sold by Dorothy Hall of Onslow County, N.C., to William Hubbard of Duplin County, N.C., 19 November 1791Acquisitions Information: Accession 100165 Dorothy Hall was the widow of William Hall. The bill of sale also includes a note tracing the owner of the bill from Mr. Fray, Jefferson County, Ga., in 1887, to J. Brannen, Statesboro, Ga. |
Photograph (P-516/1)
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