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Collection Number: 01737-z

Collection Title: Mary Jeffreys Bethell Diary, 1853-1873

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.

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Size 2 items
Abstract The collection is the personal diary of Mary Jeffreys Bethell of Rockingham County, N.C. The first part of the book contains short reminiscences of her immediate family. After her marriage in 1840, the diary contains entries relating to her home, neighborhood, the Methodist Church, constant religious activities including camp-meetings, her children, several of whom died young, and the Torian children, whom she referred to as nieces and nephews, and who lived in the Bethell household for years. There is frequent mention of journeys with her husband to Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas, with the possible intention of moving the family, and her negative reaction to the idea. During the Civil War, there is mention of her sons Willie and George entering the Confederate Army, and of news and visits from them. George, in the 55th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, was captured and imprisoned at Johnsons Island. Mary's husband entered the army in 1864 and she wrote of the difficulties at home after he left, including the departure of slaves. There are also reports of rumors and news of the fighting. After the war there are references to social conditions, difficulties with servants, etc.
Creator Bethell, Mary Jeffreys, b. 1821.
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.
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 Mary Jeffreys Bethell Diary #1737-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcript and microfilm of transcript copies available.
Additional microfilm: of this collection is also available on microfilm from University Publications of America as part of the Records of ante-bellum southern plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Mrs. Bonsall Rhodes of Asheville, N.C., in 1952.
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: Roslyn Holdzkom, August 1992

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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.

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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 Scope and Content

The collection is the personal diary of Mary Jeffreys Bethell of Rockingham County, N.C. The first part of the book contains short reminiscences of her immediate family. After her marriage in 1840, the diary contains entries relating to her home, neighborhood, the Methodist Church, constant religious activities including camp-meetings, her children, several of whom died young, and the Torian children, whom she referred to as nieces and nephews, and who lived in the Bethell household for years. There is frequent mention of journeys with her husband to Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas, with the possible intention of moving the family, and her negative reaction to the idea. During the Civil War, there is mention of her sons Willie and George entering the Confederate Army, and of news and visits from them. George, in the 55th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, was captured and imprisoned at Johnsons Island. Mary's husband entered the army in 1864 and she wrote of the difficulties at home after he left, including the departure of slaves. There are also reports of rumors and news of the fighting. After the war there are references to social conditions, difficulties with servants, etc.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Mary Jeffreys Bethell Diary, 1853-1873.

Folder 1

Original

Folder 2

Typed transcription

Reel M-1737/1

Microfilm

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