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.
Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 750 items) |
Abstract | The Davis and Walker families were residents of Wilmington, N.C. Prominent family members included George Davis (1820-1896), lawyer, attorney-general of the Confederacy, and well-known orator; and his son, Junius (1845-1916), who practiced law with his father and shared his interests in local and family history. Junius married Mary Orme Walker, daughter of Thomas Davis Walker (1822-1865), president of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad during the Civil War, and Mary Vance (Dickinson) Walker (1821-1900). Also represented is Platt Dickinson Walker, son of Thomas D. Walker and Mary V. D. Walker, associate justice of the North Carolina supreme court, 1903-1923. The Davis family series consists primarily of scattered family correspondence, 1864-1891; addresses and essays; and biographical, genealogical, and local history material relating to the Lower Cape Fear River region. Correspondence of George Davis includes three letters written from federal captivity. In addition, there are a few documents relating to his work with state-owned railroads and some political and financial items. There are three Civil War letters from Junius Davis and three copies of twentieth-century letters by him, one of which, 1916, contains reminiscences about Civil War-era songs. The bulk of the correspondence is letters to Junius from family and friends. Other items of interest include a contemporary set of caricatures of locally prominent Revolutionary War-era figures; and letters by Emily and Rebecca Evaline Polk reflecting the social conditions in south-central Tennessee and central Louisiana during Reconstruction. The Walker family series is primarily family correspondence between Thomas Davis Walker and Mary Vance (Dickinson) Walker and their family, July-December 1862 and December 1864-February 1865, while Mary was refugeeing in Raleigh, N.C., and her husband was in Wilmington. Topics include the yellow fever epidemic in 1862 and family and social life in Raleigh. Walker's letters describe his efforts to manage the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad under Union occupation. Among other family letters are several from daughter Mary Orme Walker attending the Nash-Kollock School in Hillsborough, N.C., and son Platt Dickinson Walker at James H. Horner's school in Oxford, N.C., and at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. There is also a letter, 1862, written from one family slave to another, and some Walker family slave lists. |
Creator | Davis (Family : Wilmington, N.C.)
Walker (Family : Wilmington, N.C.) |
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: Kathryn Michaelis, September 2010
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.
The Davis and Walker families were residents of Wilmington, N.C. Prominent family members included George Davis (1820-1896), lawyer, attorney-general of the Confederacy, and well-known orator; and his son, Junius (1845-1916), who practiced law with his father and shared his interests in local and family history. Junius married Mary Orme Walker, daughter of Thomas Davis Walker (1822-1865), president of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad during the Civil War, and Mary Vance (Dickinson) Walker (1821-1900). Also represented is Platt Dickinson Walker, son of Thomas D. Walker and Mary V. D. Walker, associate justice of the North Carolina supreme court, 1903-1923.
Back to TopThe Davis family series consists primarily of scattered family correspondence, 1864-1891; addresses and essays; and biographical, genealogical, and local history material relating to the Lower Cape Fear River region. Correspondence of George Davis includes three letters written from federal captivity. In addition, there are a few documents relating to his work with state-owned railroads and some political and financial items. There are three Civil War letters from Junius Davis and three copies of twentieth-century letters by him, one of which, 1916, contains reminiscences about Civil War-era songs. The bulk of the correspondence is letters to Junius from family and friends. Other items of interest include a contemporary set of caricatures of locally prominent Revolutionary War-era figures; and letters by Emily and Rebecca Evaline Polk reflecting the social conditions in south-central Tennessee and central Louisiana during Reconstruction. The Walker family series is primarily family correspondence between Thomas Davis Walker and Mary Vance (Dickinson) Walker and their family, July-December 1862 and December 1864-February 1865, while Mary was refugeeing in Raleigh, N.C., and her husband was in Wilmington. Topics include the yellow fever epidemic in 1862 and family and social life in Raleigh. Walker's letters describe his efforts to manage the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad under Union occupation. Among other family letters are several from daughter Mary Orme Walker attending the Nash-Kollock School in Hillsborough, N.C., and son Platt Dickinson Walker at James H. Horner's school in Oxford, N.C., and at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. There is also a letter, 1862, written from one family slave to another, and some Walker family slave lists.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Primarily scattered family correspondence, with a few business-related items.
Folder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1755-circa 1776 |
Folder 2 |
1833, 1837-1842, 1854 |
Folder 3 |
1861-1865 |
Folder 4 |
1866 |
Folder 5 |
1867-1868, 1872-1876 |
Folder 6 |
1877-1879 |
Folder 7 |
1880-1887 |
Folder 8 |
1888-1893 |
Folder 9 |
January-February 1896 |
Folder 10 |
March 1896, 1901-1902, 1906-1907 |
Folder 11 |
1909, 1914 |
Folder 12 |
1915-1918, 1929, 1939-1940 |
Folder 13 |
1943, 1946-1948, 1958-1962 |
Folder 14 |
Undated |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4172/1 |
Miscellaneous oversize Davis family papers |
Image Folder PF-4172/1 |
Davis family photographsMostly portraits of various family members, including several of George Davis. Also included is a photograph of a certificate, dated 4 January 1864 and signed by Jefferson Davis, appointing George Davis attorney general of the Confederate States of America. |
Arrangement: by author.
Folder 15 |
"Oration..." by Thomas Gilchrist Polk |
Folder 16 |
Works by George Davis, 1852; 1856; 1857 |
Folder 17 |
Works by George Davis, 1860 |
Folder 18 |
Works by George Davis, 1873; 1879; 1890; undated |
Folder 19 |
"Mayor John 'Jack' Walker" by Junius Davis, 1909 |
Folder 20 |
"Locke's Fundamental Constitutions" by Junius Davis |
Folder 21 |
Works concerning James Iredell by Junius Davis |
Folder 22 |
"Some Facts About John Paul Jones" by Junius Davis, 1905 |
Folder 23 |
Miscellaneous works by Junius Davis |
Arrangement: by subject.
Contains biographical materials relating to members of the Davis family and related families. Also included are local and family history materials.
Folder 24-27
Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27 |
George Davis |
Folder 28 |
Junius Davis |
Folder 29 |
Thomas Walker Davis |
Folder 30-33
Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33 |
Davis family |
Folder 34 |
Devane family |
Folder 35 |
Eagles family |
Folder 36 |
Hall family |
Folder 37 |
Harvey family |
Folder 38 |
Hooper family |
Folder 39 |
Jones family |
Folder 40 |
Lillington family |
Folder 41-43
Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43 |
Moore family |
Folder 44 |
Poisson family |
Folder 45 |
Polk family |
Folder 46 |
Quince family |
Folder 47 |
Rowan family |
Folder 48 |
Smith family |
Folder 49 |
Yeamans family |
Folder 50 |
Miscellaneous families |
Folder 51 |
County court minutes, 1736-1778 |
Folder 52 |
County court minutes, 1779-1805 |
Folder 53 |
Superior court minutes |
Folder 54-55
Folder 54Folder 55 |
Lower Cape Fear |
Folder 56 |
Davis family clippings |
Folder 57 |
Folder number not used |
Arrangement: chronological.
Some correspondence between family members, as well as letters from Walker family friends and extended family members. Also includes financial papers and a few miscellaneous other items.
Folder 58 |
1819, 1825-1826, 1833-1839 |
Folder 59 |
1845-1846, 1850-1856 |
Folder 60 |
1857-1860 |
Folder 61 |
1861-July 1862 |
Folder 62 |
August 1862 |
Folder 63 |
1-20 September 1862 |
Folder 64 |
21-31 September 1862 |
Folder 65 |
1-8 October 1862 |
Folder 66 |
9-17 October 1862 |
Folder 67 |
18-30 October 1862 |
Folder 68 |
1-10 November 1862 |
Folder 69 |
11 November-31 December 1862 |
Folder 70 |
1863 |
Folder 71 |
1864 |
Folder 72 |
January 1865 |
Folder 73 |
February-March 1865 |
Folder 74 |
April-July 1865 |
Folder 75 |
August-December 1865 |
Folder 76 |
1866-1868 |
Folder 77 |
1869-1872 |
Folder 78 |
1876-1880, 1895, 1900 |
Folder 79 |
Undated |
Folder 80 |
Addresses by Thomas Davis Walker |
Folder 81 |
Dickinson family |
Folder 82-83
Folder 82Folder 83 |
Walker family biographical materials |
Folder 84 |
Walker family clippings |
Folder 85 |
Folder number not used |
Image Folder PF-4172/2 |
Davis and Walker family photographs |
Image Folder PF-4172/3 |
Portrait of Thomas Davis Walker, undated |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4172/1 |
Miscellaneous oversize papers |