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Collection Number: 01112

Collection Title: Goelet and Buncombe Family Papers, 1712-1932.

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 Buncombe family, Goelet family, Rogers family, and Smith family lived in North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana, dating from the colonial period to the 20th century. The collection includes family correspondence, some business papers, and genealogical materials pertaining to the families; the bulk of the collection consists of the personal correspondence and genealogical materials of Elizabeth (Goelet) Rogers (1843-1924) of New Orleans, La., with some papers of her husband, Walter Henry Rogers, judge and Louisiana attorney general. Also included are papers of the Goelet and Buncombe families of Washington County, N.C., from the colonial period through the Civil War; after 1857, family correspondence of Jane (Smith) Goelet, mother of Elizabeth (Goelet) Rogers, and her Smith relatives of Mobile and Demopolis, Ala., including Civil War letters; and other items. Volumes include a record book, 1756, kept by Francis Goelet at St. Eustatius, West Indies (now Netherlands Antilles), of goods shipped to his family; a book of home remedies, 1850-1860; and a photograph album of Confederate military officers and government officials.
Creator Buncombe (Family : Washington County, N.C.)



Goelet (Family : Washington County, N.C.)
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 Goelet and Buncombe Family Papers, #1112, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mrs. Matthew Brewster, 1946. Loaned by Dr. W. R. Brewster of New Orleans, La., April 1959.
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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Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, March 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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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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John Edward Buncombe Goelet (1807-1857) of Washington County, N.C., was the son of Elizabeth Buncombe and John Goelet and was the grandson of Colonel Edward Buncombe (1742-1777), who came from the Isle of St. Kitt's about 1768 to Tyrrell County, N.C., built Buncombe Hall, and was a patriot in the American Revolution. John Edward Buncombe Goelet was married to Jane Yates Smith (1811-1867), who after her husband's death moved with her children to Demopolis, Ala. Their children were Robert Smith Goelet (born 1832); John Buncombe Goelet (1836-1862), who was killed in Confederate service; Major Edward Buncombe Goelet (1840-1914), who served throughout the Civil War in the Army of Tennessee; Elizabeth (1843-1924), who married Walter H. Rogers, judge and Louisiana attorney general, of New Orleans, La., in 1867; Francis Heath Goelet (born 1846), who also served in the Confederate Army; and Joseph Gregory Goelet (born 1853).

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The collection includes family correspondence, some business papers, and genealogical materials pertaining to the related Buncombe, Goelet, Rogers, and Smith families of North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana, dating from the colonial period to the 20th century.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Goelet and Buncombe Family Papers, 1853-1927 and undated.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly the correspondence of Elizabeth Goelet of Demopolis, Ala. Many of the letters are from Goelet's mother, Jane Yates Smith Goelet, and other members of the Goelet family in North Carolina and Alabama, including Edward Buncombe Goelet; Francis Heath Goelet, John Buncombe Goelet, Robert Smith Goelet, and Robert H. Smith. During the Civil War, there are many letters from soldiers, including her future husband, Walter H. Rogers. There is also a group of letters from Elizabeth Goelet Rogers's daughters, Jane Grey, Julia Buncombe, and Elizabeth. The series also includes biographical sketches and historical reminiscences, printed materials, and two volumes, including a pocket diary, 1852, and a notebook with accounts, 1863-1864, of Elizabeth Goelet.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

1853-1860

Folder 2

1861

Folder 3

1862

Folder 4

1863

Folder 5-7

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

1864

Folder 8

1865

Folder 9-10

Folder 9

Folder 10

1866-1883

Folder 11

1884-1891

Folder 12

1892-1893

Folder 13

1894-1897

Folder 14

1902-1927

Folder 15-17

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

Undated

Folder 18

Biographical sketches and reminiscences

Folder 19

Clippings and broadsides

Folder 20

Poetry

Folder 21

Miscellaneous

Folder 22

Cures

Folder 23

Volume 1: Pocket diary, 1852

Folder 24

Volume 2: Notebook of accounts, Elizabeth Goelet, 1863-1864

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Arrangement: chronological.

Includes material, 1712-1932, chiefly personal correspondence and genealogical materials of Elizabeth Goelet Rogers, with some papers of her husband, Walter Henry Rogers, judge and Louisiana attorney general. The earliest papers, 1712-1846, include copies of wills and deeds from England, the West Indies, and North Carolina. There is also an undated letter from Edward Buncombe to General George Washington and notes, receipts, and miscellaneous items of that period relating to the business of Edward Buncombe and Clement Crooke in Tyrrell County, N.C. Papers, 1852-1859, are chiefly of Jane Smith Goelet and include letters from her brother J. Little Smith, who was studying law in Paris, France, and items relating to the death of John Edward Buncombe Goelet. Papers, 1861-1864, include 48 letters to Jane Goelet and her daughter Elizabeth Goelet, chiefly from Jane's three sons in the Confederate Army serving in North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia. Papers, 1867-1917, includes scattered business and personal correspondence of Walter H. Rogers and Elizabeth Goelet Rogers. After 1900, papers are chiefly genealogical in nature and include correspondence with various record keepers and relatives in the United States and abroad. Volumes include a record book, 1756, kept by Francis Goelet at St. Eustatius, West Indies (now Netherlands Antilles), of goods shipped to his family; a book of home remedies, 1850-1860; and a photograph album of Confederate military officers and government officials.

Folder 25

1712-1762

Folder 26

1776-1846

Folder 27

1852-1859

Folder 28

1861-1862

Folder 29

1863-1864

Folder 30

1865-1881

Folder 31

1890-1899

Folder 32

1900

Folder 33

1901

Folder 34

1902-1917

Folder 35

1922

Folder 36

1923-1932

Folder 37

Undated

Folder 38

Genealogy: Goelet, Cannon, and other lines

Folder 39

Genealogy: Buncombe

Folder 40

Genealogy: Goelet

Folder 41

Goelet records from Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Folder 42

Genealogical charts

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-1112/1

Genealogical charts

Folder 43-45

Folder 43

Folder 44

Folder 45

Clippings

Folder 46

Volume 1: Diary, Francis Goelet, 1756

Folder 47

Volume 2: Remedies for diseases, 1850-1860

Folder 48

Volume 3: Scrapbook of poems and riddles, 1850-1860

Folder 49

Volume 4: Recipes and remedies for diseases, 1850-1860

Folder 50-52

Folder 50

Folder 51

Folder 52

Printed material

Image P-1112/1

Elizabeth Taylor Buncombe, circa 1780-1790

Image P-1112/2

St. Paul's Church, Edenton, N.C., circa 1895-1915

Image P-1112/3

Court House, Plymouth, N.C., circa 1900-1910

Image P-1112/4

Episcopal Church, Plymouth, N.C., circa 1900-1915

Image P-1112/5

Exeter Cathedral, Great Britain, circa 1915

Image P-1112/6

Robert Goelet, circa 1870-1880

Image P-1112/7

Beatrice Goelet as a small child

Image P-1112/8

Unidentified young man, circa 1850-1860

Photograph Album PA-1112/1

Photograph album

Chiefly includes images of Confederate officers, circa 1860-1870, including Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, John Wilkes Booth, P. G. T. Beauregard, James Longstreet, Jubal Early, Braxton Bragg, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Richard S. Ewell, and many others. Most are cartes-de-visite.

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