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.
Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items) |
Abstract | William Harris Garland (born circa 1811) was an itinerant mechanic for railroad shops, sawmills, and steamboats in towns from North Carolina to Florida. The collection includes personal correspondence, from 1836, of Garland. Letters are to and from members of his family and friends, written in Beaufort, S.C., Savannah, Ga., Laurinburg, N.C., and Wilmington, N.C., Fernandina, Fla., and many other towns, and are largely concerned with the uncertainties of earning a livelihood without capital. Also included is correspondence before and after 1836 of the Garland family at Beaufort with their relatives in England. |
Creator | Garland, William Harris, b. ca. 1811. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, August 2009
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.
Back to TopThe 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.
William Harris Garland (born circa 1811) was an itinerant mechanic for railroad shops, sawmills, and steamboats in towns from North Carolina to Florida. He was married to Harriet B. Garland, and later apparently to Maria Garland. His son was Willie Garland.
Back to TopThe collection is chiefly business, personal, and family papers of William Harris Garland. Papers, 1836-1853, relate to his employment in Savannah, Ga., and on riverboats, and for a few months in Beaufort, S.C., at a sawmill and also to his connections with railroad shops, ship shops, and his own iron work shop in Savannah. There are letters from female relatives in Beaufort and Charleston, S.C., and from scattered ex-shopmates in other cities. Many letters discuss economic hardships and migration across the Southeast in search of employment. Papers, 1870-1872, are chiefly correspondence of Garland and his son, William, and daughter-in-law, Anna Garland, in Savannah, Ga.; Laurinburg and Wilmington, N.C.; Fernandina, Fla.; and elsewhere, relating to difficulties securing employment and financial troubles. The earliest papers, 1819-1829, are chiefly family letters and other papers of Thomas Harris of London, England, relating to family matters, transatlantic voyages, and economic hard times.
Back to TopFolder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1819-1820 |
Folder 2 |
1821-1823 |
Folder 3 |
1825-1829 |
Folder 4 |
1836-1840 |
Folder 5-6
Folder 5Folder 6 |
1841 |
Folder 7-8
Folder 7Folder 8 |
1842 |
Folder 9 |
1843-1844 |
Folder 10 |
1845-1846 |
Folder 11 |
1847 |
Folder 12 |
1848-1851 |
Folder 13 |
1852 |
Folder 14 |
1853 |
Folder 15 |
1859-1870 |
Folder 16-17
Folder 16Folder 17 |
1871 |
Folder 18-19
Folder 18Folder 19 |
1872-1877 |
Folder 20 |
Undated |