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 Bagley Family Papers #3457, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Jonathan Daniels of Raleigh, N.C., in 1960 and 1968 and from Worth Daniels in 1968.

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: Timothy A. Long, December 1992

Encoded by: Eben Lehman, January 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, July 2010

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.

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.

• Bagley family.
• Bagley, Adelaide Worth, 1842-1926.
• Bagley, William Henry, 1833-1836.
• Bagley, William Henry, Jr., 1877-1936.
• Bagley, Worth, 1874-1898.
• Baptists--Missions--China--History--20th century.
• Courtship--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Daniels family.
• Daniels, Adelaide Worth Bagley, 1869-1943.
• Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948.
• Diplomatic and consular service, American--Mexico.
• Families--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Havana (Cuba)--Description and travel.
• Journalists--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Mexico--Politics and government.
• Mexico--Social life and customs--20th century.
• Missionaries--China--History--20th century.
• North Carolina--Politics and government--19th century.
• Presbyterian Church--Missions--China--History--20th century.
• Raleigh (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• United States Naval Academy--Students--History--19th century.
• United States. Navy--History--Spanish-American War, 1898.
• Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Worth family.
• Worth, George C. (George Clarkson), 1867-1937.

• Josephus Daniels Papers (#203), Elvira Evelyna Moffit Papers (#519), Jonathan Worth Papers (#802), Jonathan Worth Daniels Papers (#3466) at the Southern Historical Collection
• Bagley Family Papers, Jonathan Worth Papers at the North Carolina Department of Archives and History

William Henry (W. H.) Bagley, 1833-1886, was the son of Colonel Willis H. Bagley of Perquimans County, N.C. Willis Bagley was, for many years, the sheriff of Perquimans County and was active in politics there. W. H. Bagley obtained his education at the Hertford Academy. After graduation, he edited the Elizabeth City Sentinel, then studied law, and was licensed in 1859. He originally opposed secession, but joined the 8th Regiment, North Carolina Troops at the start of the war. After being captured and released, he was promoted to Major of the 68th Regiment, North Carolina Troops. He served in that capacity until 1864. During the war, the voters of Perquimans and Pasquotank counties twice elected him to represent them in the North Carolina Senate. After the war, he became the private secretary of Governor Jonathan Worth, a position he held until he was elected Clerk of the State Supreme Court in 1868. He remained clerk until his death in 1886.

In 1866, W. H. Bagley married Adelaide Worth, daughter of Governor Jonathan Worth. They lived in Pittsboro, Chatham County, N.C., and, during legislative or court sessions, in Raleigh, N.C. They had six children: Adelaide Worth (1869-1943); Belle (1872-1936); Worth (1874-1898); Ethel (1875-1939); William Henry Jr. (1877-1936); and David (b. 1883).

Adelaide Worth Bagley lived her early life in Pittsboro and Raleigh and received her education at Peace College in Raleigh. In 1888, she married Josephus Daniels, who was editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson, and ambassador to Mexico under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Adelaide Bagley Daniels was active throughout her life in benevolent organizations and served on the board of directors at Rex Hospital in Raleigh in the 1920s and 1930s.

Belle and Ethel Bagley both received their early education in Raleigh. They lived together much of their lives and settled in Washington, D.C., where they were employed by the federal government. They lived on Dupont Circle for much of their time in Washington and were active in church and social activities in the city.

Worth Bagley received his early education at Centennial Graded School and the Raleigh Male Academy until, at age 15, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. After leaving for academic reasons in 1892, he was reappointed and graduated in 1896. He served on several vessels in the Atlantic until the start of the Spanish-American War, when his ship was sent to Cuba. On 11 May 1898, Ensign Bagley was killed at Cardenas, Cuba, the only American naval officer killed during the war. His body was returned to Raleigh and a monument to him was erected on the Capitol grounds.

W. H. Bagley Jr. received his education at a private academy in Mebane, N.C. For much of his life he worked as a reporter for newspapers around the country. He also assisted his brother-in-law, Josephus Daniels, with business aspects of the News and Observer.

David Bagley received his early education in North Carolina, then was appointed to the United States Naval Academy. After graduation, he became an officer in the Navy and served in the two world wars, rising to the rank of admiral.

(Sources: John H. Wheeler, Reminiscences and Memoirs of North Carolina (1884) and Grady Lee Ernest Carroll Sr., The City of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Civil War Experience (1979).)

The collection is primarily letters about family, personal, and social life received by William Henry Bagley and his wife Adelaide Bagley, including letters written by Adelaide Bagley to her future husband, 1864-1866, and correspondence of other members of the Worth family and Bagley family in North Carolina. Other correspondence includes letters from the Bagley children and their families, chiefly 1889-1898. Represented are Worth Bagley; William Henry Bagley at Havana, Cuba, in 1899 and as a newspaper executive in Raleigh, N.C., 1900-1915; Adelaide Bagley Daniels and Josephus Daniels, including letters from Washington, D.C., while Josephus Daniels was secretary of the Navy, and from Mexico, 1933-1939, while he was United States ambassador; and letters, 1931-1936, from George C. Worth (1867-1937) in China, which contain descriptions of the Japanese invasion.

• Oversize paper (OP-3457/1)