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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. The inventory was revised with support from the Randleigh Trust Foundation in 1996.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 130 items) |
| Abstract | Person family members included Thomas Person (1733-1800), North Carolina Revolutionary leader, born in Brunswick County, Va., but resident from infancy in Granville County, N.C. He became a surveyor for Lord Granville, and, over the years, he acquired a large estate in North Carolina and Tennessee. He became a justice of the peace in 1756, sheriff in 1762, and was representative in the Assembly in 1764 and frequently thereafter. When the Revolution began, he was elected a general of militia and again made a justice of the peace in 1776. He was a member of the House of Commons from 1777 to 1786, 1788 to 1791, 1793 to 1795, and in 1797 and a member of the Senate in 1787 and 1791. In 1760, Thomas Person married Johanna Thomas of Granville County. They had no children. Thomas Person's brother was William Person Jr. Eliza Person Mitchell, wife of Warrenton, N.C., merchant Peter Mitchell, was probably his granddaughter. The collection includes letters, bills, receipts, deeds, and other papers, chiefly 1800-1825, of the Person family, large landowners and political leaders of Granville County, N.C., and nearby counties. Included are land grants, deeds, and other papers, 1739-1800, of William Person and his son, Thomas Person, pertaining to the surveying and sale of land in North Carolina and Tennessee; papers, 1801-1807, concerning Thomas Person's estate; letters, 1801-1804, from Thomas Dillon to William Person, regarding the administration of lands in Tennessee; deeds and indentures, 1798-1827, of William and Benjamin Eaton Person; and accounts, 1821-1824, of William Person with the general merchandise firm of Mitchell and White. Also included are school reports, 1810-1812, of Eliza A. Person and Benjamin Person; the wills, 1803 and 1820, of Benjamin Eaton Person, son of Thomas Person's brother William, and Thomas H. Person, William's grandson; Richard I. Person's 1825 license to practice law in Tennessee; scattered papers, 1796, 1801, and 1822, pertaining to the sale and hiring out of slaves; papers, 1847-1851, concerning the estate of Peter Mitchell; and a letter, 1907, from R. C. Person to Laura Mitchell. Also included are two albums, probably of Eliza A. Person Mitchell in Warren County, N.C., 1820-1824 and 1831-1839, with poems copied from various sources and two housekeeping books, 1833-1857 and 1885, containing recipes, records of dyeing wool and other household tasks, slave birth records, records of clothes and blankets given to slaves, and other activities. |
| Creator | Person (Family : Person, Thomas, 1733-1800) |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The 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.
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Biographical Information
Thomas Person (1733-1800), North Carolina Revolutionary leader, was probably born in Brunswick County, Va., but lived from infancy in Granville County, N.C. His parents, William (1700-1778) and Ann Person, arrived in North Carolina about 1740.
Thomas Person became a surveyor for Lord Granville, and, over the years, he acquired an estate of more than 82,000 acres lying in Granville, Halifax, Warren, Franklin, Orange, Caswell, Guilford, Rockingham, Anson, and Wake counties in North Carolina and in Davidson, Sumner, and Green counties in Tennessee. He became a justice of the peace in 1756, sheriff in 1762, and was representative in the Assembly in 1764 and frequently thereafter. When the Revolution began, he was elected a general of militia and again made a justice of the peace in 1776. He was a member of the House of Commons from 1777 to 1786, 1788 to 1791, 1793 to 1795, and in 1797 (17 years in all) and a member of the Senate in 1787 and 1791.
In 1760, Thomas Person married Johanna Thomas of Granville County. They had no children.
Thomas Person's brother was William Person Jr. Eliza A. Person Mitchell, wife of Warrenton, N.C., merchant Peter Mitchell, was probably the granddaughter of William Person Jr.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes letters, bills, receipts, deeds, and other papers, chiefly 1800-1825, of the Person family, large landowners and political leaders of Granville County, N.C., and nearby counties. Included are land grants, deeds, and other papers, 1739-1800, of William Person and his son, Thomas Person, pertaining to the surveying and sale of land in North Carolina and Tennessee; papers, 1801-1807, concerning Thomas Person's estate; letters, 1801-1804, from Thomas Dillon to William Person, regarding the administration of lands in Tennessee; deeds and indentures, 1798-1827, of William and Benjamin Eaton Person; and accounts, 1821-1824, of William Person with the general merchandise firm of Mitchell and White. Also included are school reports, 1810-1812, of Eliza A. Person and Benjamin Person; the wills, 1803 and 1820, of Benjamin Eaton Person, son of Thomas Person's brother William, and Thomas H. Person, William's grandson; Richard I. Person's 1825 license to practice law in Tennessee; scattered papers, 1796, 1801, and 1822, pertaining to the sale and hiring out of slaves; papers, 1847-1851, concerning the estate of Peter Mitchell; and a letter, 1907, from R. C. Person to Laura Mitchell. Also included are two albums, probably of Eliza A. Person Mitchell in Warren County, N.C., 1820-1824 and 1831-1839, with poems copied from various sources and two housekeeping books, 1833-1857 and 1885, containing recipes, records of dyeing wool and other household tasks, slave birth records, records of clothes and blankets given to slaves, and other activities.
Some oversize papers are housed separately (see Digitized Oversize Containers below).
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Person Family Papers, 1728-1907.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Rebecca Hollingsworth and Suzanne Ruffing, August 1992 and February 1996
Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, March 2007
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. The inventory was revised with support from the Randleigh Trust Foundation in 1996.
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