Collection Number: 01190-z

Collection Title: Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard Papers, 1829-1899.

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.

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Size 23 items
Abstract The collection includes the diary of Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard of New Orleans, detailing a trip from New Orleans to England and Scotland in 1829, and correspondence and legal papers, 1887-1899, about a claim against the United States government for property damages suffered during the Civil War. The diary includes details of the voyage aboard the ships "Tally Ho" and "Jane", and descriptions of Liverpool and London, and of life with Pritchard's relatives and friends at Meole, England. A few entries were written by Catherine's husband, George Worthington Pritchard (d. 1860). The claim, pressed by Catherine and her daughters, Catherine Mary Pritchard Rogers, Cora Rosine Pritchard, and Georgine Pritchard Rainey, involved purported damages caused by Union troops during their occupation of the Pritchard's house in New Orleans, 1863-1865.
Creator Pritchard, Catherine McAlpin Wray, 1811-1888.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
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 Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard papers #1190-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcription of diary available.
All or part of this collection is available on microfilm from University Publications of America as part of Southern women and their families in the 19th century, Series A.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Catherine R. Moore, New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1946.
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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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

Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard (1811-1888) was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana. She married George Worthington Pritchard (d. 1860) sometime before mid-1829. The Pritchards travelled to England, where George had relatives, and to Scotland from July to December 1829.

During the Civil War, Catherine remained in New Orleans. After the war, she filed a war claim, petitioning the U.S. Government for payment of damages caused by elements of the U.S. army during their occupation of her house from 1863 to 1865. Her daughters, Catherine Mary Pritchard Rogers (fl. 1842-1899), Cora Rosina Pritchard (fl.1899), and Georgine Pritchard Rainey (fl. 1845-1899), continued with the petition after Catherine's death.

Other persons mentioned in connection with the Pritchard war claim include John G. Dougherty, assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice at New Orleans and Memphis; Frank McGloin, a New Orleans judge; and Alexander Porter Morse, a Washington, D.C., attorney.

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This collection consists of Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard's diary account of a trip from New Orleans to England and Scotland in the summer and fall of 1829, which also includes occasional entries written by her husband, George Worthington Pritchard; and correspondence and legal papers relating to the war claim of Catherine and her daughters against the U.S. government, 1888-1899.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard Papers, 1829-1899.

Folder 1

Correspondence, 1892-1899. Letters, 1892-1899, concerning the claim of Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard and her daughters Catherine Mary Pritchard Rogers, Cora Rosina Pritchard, and Georgine Pritchard Rainey, against the U.S. government for property damages suffered in New Orleans during the Civil War. Correspondents include U.S. representatives Adolph ("Ad") Meyer (6 February 1892) and Robert Charles Davey (14 February 1898). Included is a letter from Alexander Porter Morse to judge Frank McGloin, and a letter to McGloin from attorney John C. Dougherty at Memphis, 19 September 1899. #01190-z, Series: "Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard Papers, 1829-1899." Folder 1

Folder 2

Legal Papers, 1887-1899. Documents, 1887-1899, relating to the claim of Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard and her daughters, against the U.S. government, for property damages suffered in New Orleans during the Civil War, including: eight sworn affidavits in support of the claim; a brief by Alexander Porter Morse given to the U.S. House of Representatives Commission on War Claims, 19 January 1888; a petition to the Senate and House, circa 1888; and printed court of claims and congressional documents. Damage included destruction of a grove of live oak trees on Catherine's the property, corner of Camp and Thalia streets. #01190-z, Series: "Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard Papers, 1829-1899." Folder 2

Folder 3-4

Folder 3

Folder 4

Diary of Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard, 1829 (original). Diary, 39 pages, dated 1 July-24 December 1829, written by Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard, with occasional entries by her husband, George Worthington Pritchard, concerning a trip to England and Scotland. Details include descriptions of the sea passage from New Orleans to Liverpool on board the ship Tally Ho; brief descriptions of the Irish coast, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Oxford, Glasgow, and Edinburgh; fuller descriptions, including references to social life and customs, especially of friends and relatives, at Meole in Shropshire and London; and the return home on board the ship Jane. Entries include notes about the weather and, during the sea voyages, the location of ship by longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. A typed transcription (45 pages) of the Pritchard diary, made by staff of Southern Historical Collection, circa 1948, also is included. #01190-z, Series: "Catherine McAlpin Wray Pritchard Papers, 1829-1899." Folder 3-4

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Processing Information

Processed by: Erik D. France, December 1990

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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