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Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1400 items) |
Abstract | The Parks family, like many other Scotch-Irish dissenters, made their way to the North Carolina Piedmont, settling in Rowan County. There, William Parks (1770-1842) was born. He married Mary Beaty (1778-1846) in 1795, and the two had ten children, among them a son, John L. Parks (1822-1906). John Parks married his first wife, Margaret McDowell, in 1848. Following two other marriages and service as a Confederate private, Parks moved to the Hopewell area, near Huntersville in Mecklenburg County, NC, in 1868. There he owned a substantial farm and cotton gin. One of his sons, William Beaty Parks (1851-1929), also became a farmer and was the owner of a general store. W. B. Parks married Nancy Alice Gluyas in 1873. They had three sons, one of whom was the Thomas Parks (1889-1980) who collected this material. The McElraths were related to the Parks by marriage. David McElrath left Scotland for America in 1730, and a son, also David, moved to Burke County, NC. Two of his sons, Robert (1770-1814) and John, married into the McDowell family. The collection includes correspondence, financial and legal items, photographs, and other material relating to ancestors and other relatives of Thomas Parks (1889-1980). Parks collected the material in an effort to document his genealogy, and much of the material concerns the Parks family of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The bulk of the other material concerns the McElrath family of Burke County, North Carolina. |
Creator | Parks, Thomas, 1889-1980, collector. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: John Beam, October 1986
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, January 2022
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 Parks family, like many other Scotch-Irish dissenters, made their way to the North Carolina Piedmont, settling in Rowan County. There, William Parks (1770-1842) was born. He married Mary Beaty (1778-1846) in 1795, and the two had ten children, among them a son, John L. Parks (1822-1906).
John Parks married his first wife, Margaret McDowell McElrath, in 1848. Following two other marriages and service as a Confederate private, Parks moved to the Hopewell area, near Huntersville in Mecklenburg County, NC, in 1868. There he owned a substantial farm and cotton gin. One of his sons, William Beaty Parks (1851-1929), also became a farmer and was the owner of a general store. W. B. Parks married Nancy Alice Gluyas in 1873. They had three sons, one of whom was the Thomas Parks (1889-1980) who collected this material.
The McElraths were related to the Parks by marriage. David McElrath left Scotland for America in 1730, and a son, also David, moved to Burke County, NC. Two of his sons, Robert (1780-1814) and John, married into the McDowell family.
Robert McElrath and his wife Margaret McDowell (1819-1854) had at least four daughters and a son. One daughter, Margaret (1819-1854), married John Lindsay Parks (1822-1906). The son, Robert Jackson (1832-1898), married F. Emily Dobson (1832-1907), and owned a large farm in Silver Creek Valley, Burke County, NC.
A notable episode in Robert J. McElrath's life was his participation in the California gold rush. In 1851, McElrath sent several slaves to Tuolumne County, California, under the supervision of a son-in-law, G. D. Dodson, to work in placer mines there. Most of the gold was to go towards substantial debts incurred by McElrath, but the slaves were allowed to keep the earnings from their sixth day of labor each week (see sub-collection 2, folders 2 and 22).
Robert and Emily McElrath had a daughter, Lillie (1868-1897), and a son, John, who worked as a railroad foreman.
The family charts that follow provide additional information.
Parks Family
William Parks (1770-1824) + Mary Beaty (1778-1846)
William B. Parks (1814-1868) + Harriet F. Gibbs
John L. Parks (1822-1906) + (1) Margaret McElrath (1819-1854)
(2) Sarah Alexander (1823-1858)
(3) Sarah Butler (d. 1876)
(4) Elizabeth Williams (1827-1904)
Mary Ann Parks (1849-1950)
William B. Parks (1851-1929) + Nancy Alice Gluyas (1853-1925)
John L. II (1874-1956)
Walter Beaty (1896-1971)
Thomas (1889-1980) + Minnie Brice Ranson (1886-1969)
McElrath Family
David McElrath (fl. 1730)
David + Catherine Averharte
Robert (1780-1854) + Margaret McDowell (1787-1874)
Robert Jackson (1832-1898) + F. Emily Dobson (1832-1907)
Lillie (1868-1897)
John McDowell (1863-1939)
Elisa
Mira
Margaret (1819-1854) + John L. Parks (1822-1906)
Mary Ann (1849-1950)
William Beaty (1851-1929) + Nancy Alice Guyas (1853-1925)
Thomas (1889-1980) + Minnie Brice Ranson (1886-1969)
Florence Vivian (b. 1916) + Philip L. Johnston (b. 1914)
Matilda + G. D. Dodson
John + Elizabeth McDowell
McDowell Family
Joseph McDowell (b. 1715) + Margaret O'Neale
Joseph
Charles
John
Margaret (1787-1874) + Robert McElrath (1780-1854)
Robert Jackson (1832-1898) + F. Emily Dobson (d. 1906)
Elisa
Margaret (1819-1854) + John L. Parks (1822-1906)
Mary Ann (1849-1850)
William Beaty (1851-1929) + Nancy Alice Gluyas (1853-1925)
Thomas (1889-1980) + Minnie Brice Ranson (1886-1969)
Florence Vivian (b. 1916) + Phillip L. Johnston (b. 1914)
Elizabeth + John McElrath (1810-1842)
Hugh
Elizabeth
Hannah
This chart includes only those individuals featured in or important for understanding these papers. Thus, only selected children and marriages are noted. For more detailed genealogical information, see subcollection 1, folder 51.
Back to TopThe bulk of these papers consists of correspondence and financial and legal documents relating to the Parks and McElraths. The collection reflects the genealogical interests of Thomas Parks, as indicated by many notes on family history included in the correspondence. There is also some specifically genealogical material in the collection, including printed and typescript materials relating to Parks genealogy. Various writings, photographs, and account books round out the collection.
In order to facilitate the use of this collection, it has been divided into two subcollections, one containing items related largely to the Parks family and the other related largely to the McElraths.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Correspondence of the Parks family, most with various relatives and friends (including correspondence from the McElraths-folder 7), and some letters to business and legal contacts. Notable items include letters from John L. Parks to his wife and brother during an 1852 trip to Texas (folder 1) and two letters of the Civil War era (folder 3). Matters discussed consist almost entirely of genealogy, farming, and routine business and family affairs.
Folder 1 |
1852 |
Folder 2 |
1854-1855 |
Folder 3 |
1862 |
Folder 4 |
1875 |
Folder 5 |
1877 |
Folder 6 |
1878-1879 |
Folder 7 |
1880-1900 |
Folder 8 |
1902-1904 |
Folder 9 |
1904-1907 |
Folder 10 |
1912-1921 |
Folder 11 |
1938-1981 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Deeds and indentures tracing land dealings of the Parks family and the history of their tract of land in Mecklenburg County.
Folder 12 |
1777-1821 |
Folder 13 |
1860-1863 |
Folder 14 |
1870-1872 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4464/1a |
Indenture between R. M. White and Elam King, Mecklenburg County, N.C., 5 November 1870 |
Folder 15 |
1876-1885 |
Folder 16 |
1920-1929 |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4464/1b |
Oversize deeds and indentures |
Arrangement: chronological.
Wills and various related items (such as property inventories) relating to the Parks family.
Folder 17 |
1846-1869 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4464/1a |
Division of the estate of David McElrath, 1869 |
Folder 18 |
1872-1896 |
Folder 19 |
1905 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Two bills of sale for slaves and a physician's bill for treatment of slaves of John L. Parks.
Folder 20 |
Slave documents, 1853-1857 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Receipts, promissory notes, and account sheets tracing Parks family agricultural and business activities. Many of the receipts are for state, local, and national taxes, and insurance payments.
Folder 21 |
1825-1849 |
Folder 22 |
1850-1859 |
Folder 23 |
1860-1865 |
Folder 24 |
1866-1869 |
Folder 25 |
1870-1873 |
Folder 26 |
1874-1875 |
Folder 27 |
1876-1879 |
Folder 28 |
1880 |
Folder 29 |
1881 |
Folder 30 |
1882-1883 |
Folder 31 |
1884-1885 |
Folder 32 |
1886 |
Folder 33 |
1887-1889 |
Folder 34 |
1890-1899 |
Folder 35 |
1900-1904 |
Folder 36 |
1905-1907 |
Folder 37 |
1908-1909 |
Folder 38 |
1910-1919 |
Folder 39 |
1920-1929 |
Folder 40 |
1938-1940, Undated |
A manuscript copy of a poem by John L. Parks as a child, a hand-written shape-note tune-book, and a collection of ballads.
Folder 41 |
Ballads and poems, 1829 |
Two "matrimonial catalogs" and two advertisement sheets for matrimonial agencies of the early 1900s, apparently utilized by one of the Parks or McElrath's in his search for a wife.
Folder 42 |
Matrimonial advertisements, 1909, 1917, and undated |
Various advertisements, newspapers and newspaper articles, obituaries, church publications, and other printed materials that reflect the daily life and interests of the Parks family.
Folder 43 |
1840-1898 |
Folder 44 |
1906-1907 |
Folder 45 |
1910-1913 |
Folder 46 |
1916-1963 |
Folder 47 |
1964-1979, undated |
A substitute's certificate from the Revolutionary War, some records (mostly photocopies) documenting John L. Parks's service in the Confederate Army, and other items.
Folder 48 |
Military documents, 1781-1864 |
A diagram of a fluid pump and storage device, two blueprints of proposed additions to the Hopewell Presbyterian Church graveyard (where many of the Parks family are buried), and two surveyor's drawings of Parks property.
Folder 49 |
1905, 1920, undated |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4464/1a |
Proposed additions to the Hopewell Presbyterian Church graveyard |
Typescript, manuscript, and photocopied material related to the history and genealogy of the Parks family.
Folder 50-51
Folder 50Folder 51 |
Genealogical/historical material, 1950s-1960s |
Arrangement: chronological.
Account books used by the Parks family in their business and farming activities.
Black and white photographs relating to the Parks family.
Image P-4464/1 |
Roxanna Parks Bradford, circa 1860. |
Image P-4464/2 |
Peacock at "Uncle Gluyas," 1955. |
Image P-4464/3-4a |
Home of John L. Parks, 1955. |
Image P-4464/4b |
Cotton press owned by John L. Parks, circa 1900. |
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence of the McElrath family, with relatives, friends, and business and legal contacts, including some letters from members of the Parks family (folders 2, 4-6). Many of the letters discuss religious activities, genealogy, and agriculture, but most deal with routine family matters.
Notable items include correspondence from James McElrath, G. P. Dodson, and W. P. Robinson, all three of whom oversaw the working of a claim during the California gold rush from 1851 to 1852. The three North Carolinians sent letters to friends and family back home, describing the daily life of those working the claims and mentioning the use of slaves in the mines (see folders 2 and 13 and related financial items in folder 22). Another notable letter, received by the McElraths from a relative in Tennessee, mentions action taken to avert a slave insurrection in 1860 (folder 5).
Folder 62 |
1820-1849 |
Folder 63 |
1850-1852 |
Folder 64 |
1853 |
Folder 65 |
1854-1859 |
Folder 66 |
1860-1869 |
Folder 67 |
1870-1879 |
Folder 68 |
1883-1887 |
Folder 69 |
1888-1889 |
Folder 70 |
1890-1894 |
Folder 71 |
1895-1899 |
Folder 72 |
1900-1905 |
Folder 73 |
1905-1909 |
Folder 74 |
1910-1969 |
Deeds and indentures recording land transactions of various members of the McElrath and related families.
Folder 75 |
1779-1816 |
Folder 76 |
1825-1907 |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4464/1b |
Oversize deeds and indentures |
Two bills of sale, a deed granting a slave to a physician (probably in consideration of services), and a physician's bill for a visit to one of the McElrath slaves.
Folder 77 |
Slave documents, 1827-1857 |
Receipts, promissory notes, and other items tracing the business and farming activities of the McElraths and their relatives. Notable items are a receipt for gold dust from the Brindletown mine, Burke County, North Carolina, dated 24 April 1835, and items related to the McElraths gold prospecting activities in California, including a record of the slaves' share of the gold (folder 22).
Folder 78 |
1777-1809 |
Folder 79 |
1810-1819 |
Folder 80 |
1820-1829 |
Folder 81 |
1830-1839 |
Folder 82 |
1840-1849 |
Folder 83 |
1850-1859 |
Folder 84 |
1860-1869 |
Folder 85 |
1870-1879 |
Folder 86 |
1880-1889 |
Folder 87 |
1890-1899 |
Folder 88 |
1900-1909 |
Folder 89 |
1910-1937 |
A cure, notes, and songs for a July 4 celebration; a penmanship sample; and three articles by F. Emily Dobson, wife of Robert Jackson McElrath.
Folder 90 |
Writings, 1870 and undated |
Advertisements and other printed material, some of which relates to the history of the McElrath and McDowell families.
Folder 91 |
Printed material, 1890-1969 |
Largely typescript and manuscript materials (some copies of newspaper articles) tracing the history of the McElraths and McDowells
Folder 92 |
1859-1893 |
Folder 93 |
1894-1984 |
Account book recording work done by John McElrath and including some genealogical information.
Folder 94 |
Volume, 1909 |
Photographs relating to the McElrath family.
Image P-4464/5 |
John McElrath as a railroad foreman, circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/6 |
"Lewis, Step, and John" - John McElrath ?, circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/7 |
Middle-aged woman, circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/8 |
Young woman, circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/9 |
Young woman, circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/10 |
Young woman, circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/11 |
Mrs. J. M. McElrath (?), circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/12 |
Young man and young woman, circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/13 |
"Katie Lewis, age 15 years", circa 1900, tintype. |
Image P-4464/14 |
Small girl, circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/15 |
Middle-aged woman, circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/16 |
"Miss Ruidie Bingham, Asheville", circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/17 |
Young woman, circa 1900 |
Image P-4464/18 |
World War I group photo. - U. S. Army, unit unknown, individuals identified on verso, circa 1918 |