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 John Manning Papers #1970, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Memorial resolution from former law students accessioned 1944. Volumes from North Carolina Room 1952. 1957 addition from John T. Manning. 1958 addition from John T. Manning through Lawrence London. 1970 addition from John R. Woodard. 1986 addition from Lawrence London. 1987 addition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law Library.

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.

Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, September 1986

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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.

• Confederate States of America--Politics and government.
• Law--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Lawyers--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Manning, John, 1830-1899.
• Manning, Louise Hall.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Faculty--History--19th century.

John Manning was born on 30 July 1830, at Edenton, North Carolina, the son of United States naval captain, John Manning. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1850, was licensed to practice law in 1853, and settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where he married Louisa J. Hall in 1856. While serving as first lieutenant of the "Chatham Rifles" in 1861, Manning was elected delegate to the Secession Convention; he was appointed as a receiver of the Confederate States of America later that year.

In 1870, Manning was elected to the 41st Congress to complete the unexpired term of John T. Deweese. In 1880, he served in the state legislature, where he introduced the first bill to provide an annual state appropriation for the University of North Carolina. In 1881, Manning was elected professor of law at the University, a position he held, while maintaining a private law practice, until his death in 1899.

Among his seven children were: Issac Hall Manning, Dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School, 1905-1933, and James Smith Manning, N. C. Attorney General and Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court.

Most of the collection consists of correspondence. Several letters are addressed to persons other than John Manning. These persons are sometimes, but not always, members of the Manning family. After 1899, the correspondence becomes almost exclusively letters from family members and merchants to Louisa Manning.

Several legal and financial items touch on slavery matters, while others are related to Manning's position as a receiver for the Confederate States of America.

The material on the University of North Carolina consists primarily of drafts and copies of letters, articles, and speeches by Manning refuting attacks on state funding for the University. There are also some items pertaining to the early days of the Law School.

The volumes contain Manning's commentaries on Blackstone, which were used in his law classes.