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 Weldon Nathaniel Edwards Papers, #3381-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased 1958.

Received from Sylbert Pendleton of Raleigh, N.C., February 1971.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.

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: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, June 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.

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.

• Buchanan, James, 1791-1868.
• Democratic Party (U.S.)--History--19th century.
• Edwards, Weldon Nathaniel, 1788-1873.
• Randolph, John, 1773-1833.
• Ruffin, Thomas, 1787-1870.
• United States--Politics and government--1815-1861.
• United States. Congress--History--19th century.

Weldon Nathaniel Edwards (1788-1868) of Northampton County, N.C., was a planter; member of Congress, 1815-1827; North Carolina state senator, 1833-1834 and 1850-1852; and active secessionist.

The collection includes political and personal correspondence of Weldon Nathaniel Edwards, including letters from many prominent politicians, especially John Randolph (1773-1833), Thomas Ruffin (1787-1870), and James Buchanan. Other correspondents include John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren, Francis Scott Key, Bedford Brown, Henry Atkinson, Edward Everett, John W. Ellis, and Louis McLane. Topics addressed range widely and include congressional events of the late 1820s, Democratic Party affairs of the 1840s, and personal matters. There are also a few letters of recommendation and requests for appointments to government and military positions. There are no papers relating to Edwards's activities as a member of the North Carolina constitutional convention of 1835, or to his service as president of the state secession convention, 1861-1862.