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Collection Number: 00903

Collection Title: Blanche Baker Papers, 1669-1937 (bulk 1825-1937).

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 and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

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Size 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 800 items)
Abstract The Bakers and related families lived primarily in Virginia and North Carolina from the 17th century to the 1930s. This collection contains chiefly correspondence, compilations, and copies of wills, letters, and other papers concerning the history of the Baker and numerous related lines, including the Allen, Ballard, Bray, Brownrigg, Cooper, de Graffenreid, Gregory, Iredell, Johnson, Jones, Keeling, Norworthy, Pipkin, Pugh, and Wiles families, collected by Blanche Baker, 1890s to 1930s. Original items include antebellum family correspondence of her father, William J. Baker (fl. 1830-1889) of Gates County, N.C.; and his letters home, 1862-1865, while a Confederate officer in Virginia. Also included are two letters in diary form. One, July 1841, is that of a young girl, probably Sarah Collins (fl. 1830-1882), later wife of William J. Baker, addressed to William, describing her daily activities. The other, June 1841, was kept by William J. Baker for Sarah, while he was studying law in Richmond, Va., and describes his studies and social activities.
Creator Baker, Blanche, 1855-1943.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
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 Blanche Baker Papers, #903, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Mrs. L. G. Y. Baker, 1944.
Additional Descriptive Resources
A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.
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.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Adam Fielding, Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, October 2010

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

The Bakers and related families lived primarily in Virginia and North Carolina from the 17th century to the 1930s. Related lines include the Allen, Ballard, Bray, Brownrigg, Cooper, de Graffenreid, Gregory, Iredell, Johnson, Jones, Keeling, Norworthy, Pipkin, Pugh, and Wiles families. Blanche Baker was the daughter of William J. Baker (fl. 1830-1879) and Sarah Collins (1830-1882), and researched and gathered the majority of the genealogical information in this collection.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

This collection contains chiefly correspondence, compilations, and copies of wills, letters, and other papers concerning the history of the Baker and numerous related lines, including the Allen, Ballard, Bray, Brownrigg, Cooper, de Graffenreid, Gregory, Iredell, Johnson, Jones, Keeling, Norworthy, Pipkin, Pugh, and Wiles families, who lived in Southside Virginia and northeastern North Carolina from the 17th century, collected by Blanche Baker, 1890s to 1930s. Original items include antebellum family correspondence of her father, William J. Baker (fl. 1830-1889) of Gates County, N.C.; and his letters home, 1862-1865, while a Confederate officer in Virginia. Also included are two letters in diary form. One, July 1841, is that of a young girl, probably Sarah Collins (fl. 1830-1882), later wife of William J. Baker, addressed to William, describing her daily activities. The other, June 1841, was kept by William J. Baker for Sarah, while he was studying law in Richmond, Va., and describes his studies and social activities.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Blanche Baker Papers, 1669-1937 (bulk 1825-1937) and undated.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

1825-1859

Folder 2

1862-1867

Folder 3

1876-1889

Folder 4

1891-1899

Folder 5a

1904-1937

Folder 5b

Undated letters

Folder 6

Wills, undated; indentures, 1675-1777, and Baker family manuscripts, undated

Folder 7

Letters of Col. William L. Sanders, undated

Folder 8

Baker wills, 1669-1801

Folder 9

Wills, 1742-1778

Folder 10

Baker family tree (see oversized papers)

Folder 11

Land bounty 1854

Folder 12-13

Folder 12

Folder 13

Letters, undated

Folder 14-15

Folder 14

Folder 15

Crocker papers, undated

Folder 16-17

Folder 16

Folder 17

Miscellaneous family papers, undated

Folder 18

Genealogy materials, undated

Folder 19

Papers, news clippings, undated

Folder 20-23

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Folder 23

Notes in which appear family references, undated

Folder 24

Copies of land registers, undated

Folder 25

Documents relating to admissions to societies including Colonial Dames, Children of the American Revolution, and Sons of Revolution, undated

Folder 26

Indentures, 1675-1923

Folder 27

Papers, undated

Folder 28

Volume 1

Genealogy of the Latham, Hill, Montfort, Littlejohn, McCulloch, Campbell, and Brownrigg families by William H. Bailey.

Folder 29

Volume 2: Letter book and wills

Folder 30

Volume 3: Genealogy and letters

Folder 31

Volume 4: Genealogy and letters

Folder 32

Volume 5: Genealogy

Folder 33

Volume 6: Genealogy, Jones and Burges families

Folder 34

Volume 7: Copied notes from History and Critical Dictionary

Folder 35

Volume 8: Copies of letters

Folder 36

Volume 9: Copies of letters

Folder 37

Volume 10: Copies from various sources

Folder 38

Volume 11: Baker genealogy

Folder 39

Volume 12: Bray genealogy and letters

Folder 40

Volume 13: Baker genealogy

Includes inserted papers of Bray, Allen, Woodhouse, Keeling, and allied families.

Folder 41

Volume 14: Dr. Richard Baker, Book II

Folder 42

Volume 15: Miss Claire de Graffenreid

Folder 43

Volume 16: Exhibit of National Society of Colonial Dames, Jamestown Exposition

Folder 44

Volume 17: Diary, 9 July-28 July 1841

Diary is likely by Sarah Collins of Virginia.

Folder 45

Volume 18: Diary, June 1841

Diary is likely by William J. Baker of Gates County, N.C., and covers preparations to take the bar examination in Raleigh, N.C.

Folder 46

Volume 19: Book of wills, letters, and family histories

Folder 47

Volume 20: "A Paper on the Pugh Family of Nansemond County, Virginia"

Folder 48

Volume 21: "Useful Gleanings"

Folder 49

Volume 22: Family Record of Joseph Antonio Bilisoly and His Descendants, 1799-1935

Oversize Paper OPF-903/1b

Baker and Brownrigg family materials

Extra Oversize Paper XOPF-903/1a

Baker and Brownrigg family materials

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