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 | 8.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4,725 items) |
Abstract | L.L. (Leonidas La Fayette) Polk (1837-1892) of Anson County, N.C., was a white farmer; editor; merchant; Confederate officer in the 26th and 43rd North Carolina infantry regiments; Democrat and Populist; first North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 1877-1880; founder of the Progressive Farmer; and vice president and president of the National Farmers' Alliance, 1887-1892. The collection can be divided into the following time periods: correspondence and other items, 1862-1864, relating to events leading up to Polk's two courts-martial during the Civil War, plus his small diary; letters, 1865, from Raleigh, N.C., where he was serving in the North Carolina legislature; papers documenting the years Polk and his family lived in Anson County, N.C., 1870-1877, where he operated a general merchandise store; papers concerning Polk's term as North Carolina's first Commissioner of Agriculture, 1877-1880; papers concerning various business ventures, 1880-1885, including efforts to sell a diphtheria cure in Boston, Mass., and New York, N.Y.; papers, 1886-1892, dealing with the founding of the Progressive Farmer, Polk's work with the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, his election to national offices of the Union, and his death; and papers, 1892-1919, of Polk's son-in-law, James W. Denmark, and of Clarence Poe relating to the Progressive Farmer and Poe's ultimate purchase of the paper in 1903, and a few Denmark family items. Also included are photographs of Polk and others. Additions to the collection consist of materials on similar topics, especially relating to the Populist Party and North Carolina politics in 1892, the Progressive Farmer, and Polk's court martial. Included are several 1892 letters that concern the election of Marion Butler as president of the National Farmers' Alliance. Other materials include tintype and cartes de visite portraits of L.L. Polk, Sally Gaddy Polk, James W. Denmark, and the Polk family, and a small number of genealogical notes and clippings. |
Creator | Polk, L. L. (Leonidas La Fayette), 1837-1892. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: SHC Staff; updated because of additons by Jennie Clements, 2011; Meaghan Alston and Nancy Kaiser, 2021
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, April 2010
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.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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.
L.L. (Leonidas La Fayette) Polk (1837-1892) of Anson County, N.C., was a white farmer; editor; merchant; Confederate officer in the 26th and 43rd North Carolina infantry regiments; Democrat and Populist; first North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 1877-1880; founder of the Progressive Farmer; and vice president and president of the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, 1887-1892. He was influential in founding the North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts at Raleigh (now North Carolina State University) and the Baptist Female College (now Meredith College). Polk was the son of Andrew and Serena Autry Polk. He married Sarah Pamela Gaddy of Anson County in 1857 and they had one son, who died in infancy, and six daughters.
Back to TopThe collection is primarily correspondence and other papers and financial volumes of L.L. Polk. Items, 1862-1864, chiefly relate to events leading up to L.L. Polk's two courts-martial during the Civil War. Polk was serving in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania as a sergeant major of the 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and then as 2nd lieutnant of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, Company I, in the Confederate Army. Letters describe troop movements, military campaigns, and battle experiences and comment on superior officers and military and political conditions. There is also a small diary that was kept by Polk during the war. Letters, 1865, are from Raleigh, N.C., where Polk was serving in the North Carolina legislature. Papers, 1870-1877, document the years Polk and his family lived in Anson County, N.C., where he operated a general merchandise store. Papers, 1877-1880, concern Polk's term as North Carolina's first Commissioner of Agriculture and include official correspondence and reports as well as many letters from farmers thoughout the state on various topics including economic and agricultural hardships, the North Carolina State Grange, fertilizer, fisheries, and grape culture. Papers, 1880-1885, concern various business ventures, including efforts to sell a diphtheria cure in Boston, Mass., and New York, N.Y. Papers, 1886-1892, deal with the founding of the Progressive Farmer, Polk's work with the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, his election to national offices of the Union, and his death. Papers, 1892-1919, are of Polk's son-in-law, James W. Denmark, and of Clarence Poe relating to the Progressive Farmer and Poe's ultimate purchase of the paper in 1903, and a few Denmark family items. Some correspondence of James W. Denmark relates to the Student Aid Fund at Wake Forest College. Also included are photographs of Polk and others.
Additions to the collection consist of materials on similar topics, especially relating to the Populist Party and North Carolina politics in 1892, the Progressive Farmer, and Polk's court martial. Included are several 1892 letters that concern the election of Marion Butler as president of the National Farmers' Alliance. Other materials include tintype and cartes de visite portraits of L.L. Polk, Sally Gaddy Polk, James W. Denmark, and the Polk family, and a small number of genealogical notes and clippings.
Back to TopThe collection is primarily correspondence and other papers of L.L. Polk. Items, 1862-1864, chiefly relate to events leading up to L.L. Polk's two courts-martial during the Civil War. Polk was serving in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania as a sergeant major of the 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and then as 2nd lieutnant of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, Company I, in the Confederate Army. Letters describe troop movements, military campaigns, and battle experiences and comment on superior officers and military and political conditions. There is also a small diary that was kept by Polk during the war. Letters, 1865, are from Raleigh, N.C., where Polk was serving in the North Carolina legislature. Papers, 1870-1877, document the years Polk and his family lived in Anson County, N.C., where he operated a general merchandise store. Papers, 1877-1880, concern Polk's term as North Carolina's first Commissioner of Agriculture and include official correspondence and reports as well as many letters from farmers thoughout the state on various topics including economic and agricultural hardships, the North Carolina State Grange, fertilizer, fisheries, and grape culture. Papers, 1880-1885, concern various business ventures, including efforts to sell a diphtheria cure in Boston, Mass., and New York, N.Y. Papers, 1886-1892, deal with the founding of the Progressive Farmer, Polk's work with the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, his election to national offices of the Union, and his death. Papers, 1892-1919, are of Polk's son-in-law, James W. Denmark, and of Clarence Poe relating to the Progressive Farmer and Poe's ultimate purchase of the paper in 1903, and a few Denmark family items. Some correspondence of James W. Denmark relates to the Student Aid Fund at Wake Forest College.
Folder 1a |
Original finding aidIncludes partial index to the correspondence of L.L. Polk, James W. Denmark, and Clarence H. Poe. |
Folder 1 |
1857-1858 |
Folder 2a-2m |
1861-1865 |
Folder 3 |
1866-1872 |
Folder 4 |
1873 |
Folder 5-9
Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9 |
1874 |
Folder 10-14
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14 |
1875 |
Folder 15-18
Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18 |
1876 |
Folder 19-23
Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23 |
1877 |
Folder 24-29
Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29 |
1878 |
Folder 30-40
Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40 |
1879 |
Folder 41-48
Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48 |
1880 |
Folder 49-53
Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53 |
1881 |
Folder 54-59
Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59 |
1882 |
Folder 60-64
Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64 |
1883 |
Folder 65-70
Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70 |
1884 |
Folder 71-78
Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76Folder 77Folder 78 |
1885 |
Folder 79-87
Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82Folder 83Folder 84Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87 |
1886 |
Folder 88-92
Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90Folder 91Folder 92 |
1887 |
Folder 93 |
1888 |
Folder 94-96
Folder 94Folder 95Folder 96 |
1889 |
Folder 97 |
1890 |
Folder 98-99
Folder 98Folder 99 |
1891 |
Folder 100-106
Folder 100Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105Folder 106 |
1892 |
Folder 107 |
1893-1894 |
Folder 108-109
Folder 108Folder 109 |
1895 |
Folder 110 |
1896 |
Folder 111 |
1897 |
Folder 112 |
1898-1900 |
Folder 113-114
Folder 113Folder 114 |
1901 |
Folder 115 |
1902 |
Folder 116-118
Folder 116Folder 117Folder 118 |
1903 |
Folder 119 |
1904 |
Folder 120 |
1905 |
Folder 121 |
1906 |
Folder 122 |
1907-1919 |
Folder 123-130
Folder 123Folder 124Folder 125Folder 126Folder 127Folder 128Folder 129Folder 130 |
Undated |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101335
Folder 225-227
Folder 225Folder 226Folder 227 |
Correspondence, 1862-1944Chiefly letters of L.L. Polk and his son-in-law James W. Denmark, relating to politics and the Progressive Farmer. There are several 1892 letters that concern the election of Marion Butler as president of the National Farmers' Alliance; the necessity of editorial prudence of Progressive Farmer; North Carolina politics, especially the unlikelihood of a fusion of the Populist Party and Democratic Party politics; and press coverage of the Populist Party. Other letters concern family history research; family news, the sale of family lands, and the impact of economic conditions on farmers, particularly with regard to crops; travel and speech-making aspects of Polk's work as Commissioner of Agriculture; the death of L.L. Polk in 1892; and the inclusion of L.L. Polk in Josephus Daniels's book about "men and things in North Carolina." There is also a letter of introduction for L.L. Polk from North Carolina Governor Thomas J. Jarvis, Raleigh mayor William H. Dodd, and other public figures, and correspondence of Clarence Poe, who purchased and continued to publish the Progressive Farmer, relating to the legacy of L.L. Polk. |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-3708/1 |
Deeds, 1886-1890Wake County, N.C., land purchased by A. M. Thompson in 1886 and by Sarah P. Polk in 1890 |
Folder 228 |
Financial materials, 1887-1901Bonds and other accounting letters, possibly relating to founding of the Progressive Farmer; letter concerning advertising. |
Folder 229 |
Printed materials, 1911 and undatedThe Student Loan Funds of Wake Forest College, including a description of the James W. Denmark loan fund; Meredith College School of Art exhibit pamphlet, including works by Leonita Denmark; A Brief History of Progressive Farmer. |
Folder 230 |
Polk and Denmark genealogical materials, undated |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101876
Advertisement, undated, from The Polk Chemical Company for a solution to treat Diptheria; review of Leonidas Lafayette Polk: A Study in Agrarian Leadership (1949) by Stuart Noblin; letter from Polk to Colonel Zebulon Vance, 25 July 1862, in which he defended himself against a rumor that he fled from a battle; and a letter, 6 October 1882, testifying to Polk's good character.
Folder 232 |
Papers, 1862-1949 |
Clippings primarily document current events and items related to L.L. Polk's business interests.
Folder 131 |
Diptheria clippings |
Clippings, 1880s |
|
Folder 132 |
Clippings, 1879-1887 |
Folder 133 |
Clippings, 1889 |
Folder 134 |
Clippings, 1890 |
Folder 135 |
Clippings, 1891 |
Folder 136 |
Clippings, 1892 |
Folder 137-139
Folder 137Folder 138Folder 139 |
Obituaries, June 1892 |
Folder 140 |
Clippings, 1896-1905 |
Folder 141 |
Clippings, undated |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101335
Folder 231 |
Clippings, 1892-1965A June 1892 issue of The Special Informer devoted to the death of L.L. Polk; two clippings with brief histories of the life of L.L. Polk; and an article about the Polks in the "Prominent American Families" series of Munsey's Magazine |
A majority of the volumes document L.L. Polk's business ventures and finances, and there are numerous sales, account, and record books. There is also a diary of L.L. Polk kept during the Civil War and a small number of copy books of James W. Denmark, son-in-law of Polk.
Materials in this series include one photograph of L.L. Polk and additional photographs of unidentified individuals.
Image P-3708/1 |
Polk, L.L. and 13 others, circa 1889-1892 |
Image P-3708/2 |
Parker, T.P., circa 1867-1870Photographer: James W. Jones, Goldsboro, N.C. |
Image P-3708/3 |
Group of about 65 men dressed formally, circa 1875-1890Photographer: T.W. Moore, Mebane, N.C. |
Image P-3708/4 |
Bearded man in profile, circa 1880-1890Photographer: Holcombe & Alvord, Detroit, Mich. |
Image P-3708/5 |
Advertisement for a magazine called Texas Siftings, circa 1870-1880 |
Image P-3708/6 |
Unidentified older man, circa 1910-1920 |
Oversize Image OP-P-3708/7 |
Polk, L.L. circa 1880-1890 |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101335
Image Folder PF-3708/2 |
Photographs, circa 1850-1890, 1920Portraits of L.L. Polk, Sally Gaddy Polk, James W. Denmark, the Polk family, and an unidentified group sitting in a truck bed; includes cartes de visite |
Special Format Image SF-P-3708/1-3
SF-P-3708/1SF-P-3708/2SF-P-3708/3 |
Tintypes of Sarah Gaddy Polk, circa 1850 |