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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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 435 items) |
| Abstract | Cavin and Leonard family, chiefly farmers and teachers of Iredell County, N.C. Among Arabella Cavin's children was John H. Cavin. John H. and Sarah Cavin's children included John Y. Cavin, who taught school in Texas, and Milas, who taught in North Carolina. Milas and Laura Freeland Cavin's children included Meta; Ida; Wyatt; and Wade, who married Pearle Leonard and lived in Troutman, N.C. Wade and Pearle's children included Robert W. and Wade Leonard Cavin, who served with the U.S. Navy in World War II. Leonard family members included Margaret Bustle, who, after the death of John Bustle, married Martin S. Leonard in 1833. Their children included Robert R. Leonard, father of Pearle Leonard Cavin. Correspondence of the Leonard, Cavin, and related Troutman, Brown, Freeland, Hibbits, and other families, mostly about routine family matters. Included are letters in the 1850s describing John Y. Cavin's teaching activities in Texas. The few letters with references to the Civil War are from Milas Cavin, who served with Confederate forces in 1864. After the turn of the century, there are occasional letters of Wyatt Cavin, who lived in Rocky Mount, N.C., and worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad from around 1890 into the 1930s. In 1906-1907, there are courtship letters to Pearle Leonard from various suitors, and, in 1944, there is a letter of Wade Leonard Cavin detailing his World War II activities. Financial and legal materials include deeds, indentures, wills, receipts, accounting sheets, and estate papers relating to Bustle, Troutman, Leonard, and Cavin family members. Also included are clippings; school materials, including lists of school rules; and family photographs, all of which are unidentified. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Processing Information
Processed by: Jackie Dean and Roslyn Holdzkom, September 1995
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
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Subject Headings
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.
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Biographical Information
Cavin and Leonard family, chiefly farmers and teachers of Iredell County, N.C. Among Arabella Cavin's children was John H. Cavin. John H. and Sarah Cavin's children included John Y. Cavin, who taught school in Texas, and Milas, who taught in North Carolina. Milas and Laura Freeland Cavin's children included Meta; Ida; Wyatt; and Wade, who married Pearle Leonard and lived in Troutman, N.C. Wade and Pearle's children included Robert W. and Wade Leonard Cavin, who served with the U.S. Navy in World War II. Leonard family members included Margaret Bustle, who, after the death of John Bustle, married Martin S. Leonard in 1833. Their children included Robert R. Leonard, father of Pearle Leonard Cavin.
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Scope and Content
Correspondence of the Leonard, Cavin, and related Troutman, Brown, Freeland, Hibbits, and other families, mostly about routine family matters. Included are letters in the 1850s describing John Y. Cavin's teaching activities in Texas. The few letters with references to the Civil War are from Milas Cavin, who served with Confederate forces in 1864. After the turn of the century, there are occasional letters of Wyatt Cavin, who lived in Rocky Mount, N.C., and worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad from around 1890 into the 1930s. In 1906-1907, there are courtship letters to Pearle Leonard from various suitors, and, in 1944, there is a letter of Wade Leonard Cavin detailing his World War II activities. Financial and legal materials include deeds, indentures, wills, receipts, accounting sheets, and estate papers relating to Bustle, Troutman, Leonard, and Cavin family members. Also included are clippings; school materials, including lists of school rules; and family photographs, all of which are unidentified.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1826-1944 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters relating to members of the Leonard, Cavin, and related Troutman, Brown, Freeland, Hibbitts, and other families, chiefly in Iredell County, N.C. Most letters are about routine family matters, mainly daily activities of family members and concern among them about estate settlements and other financial affairs.
In the 1830s and 1840s, many items relate to Martin S. Leonard, Matthew D. Leonard, and Arabella Cavin in Iredell County and to Jacob Troutman in Missouri. In the late 1840s, the focus shifts to Arabella's sons Robert and John H. Cavin and to John's wife Sarah. In the 1850s, many letters are from John Y. Cavin, a teacher in Texas.
The few letters with references to the Civil War are from Milas Cavin, son of John and Sarah, who served with Confederate forces in 1864. In the 1870s, there are a few letters from S. A. Cavin, probably John Y. Cavin's widow, who remained in Texas. In the 1880s, there are several letters from Freeland family relatives to Laura Freeland Cavin, Milas's wife.
After the turn of the century, there are occasional letters relating to R. R. Leonard and Troutman and other family members, but most items relate to Wade Cavin of Troutman, N.C., his wife Pearle Leonard Cavin, and his brother Wyatt, who lived in Rocky Mount, N.C., and worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad from around 1890 into the 1930s.
Particularly in 1906-1907, there are courtship letters to Pearle Leonard from various suitors. Among these are several letters from Thomas M. Young, who broke off his correspondence in a 17 May 1907 letter after seeing Pearle and Wade together, admitting at the same time his engagement to another woman. In 1911, there is a letter from Pearle to Wade, indicating that the couple were married and had a young child.
Of interest is an anonymous letter, dated 20 June 1906, to Lula Daughtridge, urging her to use her influence as Wade Cavin's friend to get him to help his sisters Meta and Ida, who were "living pathetic lives." Wyatt's reaction to that letter is shown in his letter of 24 June 1906: "Anybody who is low enough to write a letter & not sign their name will bear watching."
Also of interest is a 1944 letter of Wade Leonard Cavin, Wade and Pearle's son, from a U.S. Naval Hospital in Australia, where he was recuperating from overexertion. The letter presents a detailed accounting of Cavin's labors and includes an official document commending him and separating him from the Navy because of a "slight tropical illness."
| Folder 1 |
1826-1857 |
| Folder 2 |
1861-1895 |
| Folder 3 |
1900-1905 |
| Folder 4 |
1906-1942 and undated |
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Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials, 1797-1940s and undated.
Arrangement: roughly chronological.
Materials include deeds, indentures, wills, receipts, accounting sheets, and other items relating to Bustle, Troutman, Leonard, and Cavin family members. Early items relate particularly to Arabella Cavin, mother of John H. Cavin, and to John and Margaret Bustle, all of Iredell County, N.C. Of interest in the 1830s are John Bustle's undated will, the 1833 marriage certificate of his widow Margaret Bustle and Martin S. Leonard, and an 1834 document showing the disposition of John's estate in 1834.
Some materials in the 1850s relate to teacher James C. Cavin. In the 1880s and 1890s, there are many items relating to R. R. Leonard, who was often executor of family estates. Included is a power of attorney from the Texas branch of the Leonard family. In the 1900s and 1910s, there are many bills and receipts relating to Wade Cavin's purchase of horses and wagons, and, in 1901, there is a letter from a collection agency to R. R. Leonard. In 1926, there is a legal complaint against Wade and Pearle Cavin, who had failed to make payments. Items in the 1930s and 1940s relate chiefly to Robert W. and Cora Inez Cavin, son and daughter-in-law of Wade and Pearle.
Among the undated materials is Milas A. Cavin's teaching contract.
| Folder 5 |
1797-1820s |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4761/1 |
Land grants and indenture, 1809-1836 |
Folder 6-7
Folder 6Folder 7 |
1830s |
| Folder 8 |
1840s |
Folder 9-10
Folder 9Folder 10 |
1840s |
| Folder 11 |
1850s-1870s |
| Folder 12 |
1880s-1890s |
| Folder 13 |
1900s-1910s |
| Folder 14 |
1920s |
| Folder 15 |
1930s-1940s |
| Folder 16 |
Undated |
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Series 3. Other Materials, 1845-1906 and undated.
| Folder 17 |
Clippings, circa 1870-1930Collected clippings, some relating to Iredell County, N.C. About 20 items. |
| Folder 18 |
School materials, 1845-1852, 1931, and undatedTwo ciphering notebooks, 1845 and 1851, and an 1852 composition about females wearing pants, all probably written by Milas Cavin; a 1931 history notebook belonging to Brasel Lanier (connection with the Cavins and Leonards unknown); and two sets of undated school rules, one written by James B. Cavin. 4 items. |
Folder 19-20
Folder 19Folder 20 |
Miscellaneous materials, 1901-1906 and undatedSeveral poems (one by R. R. Leonard), sermons, prayers, and other collected writings; a few genealogical notes; a small undated and unascribed journal with notes, recipes, etc.; a set of "American Presidential Stamps"; a set of pamphlets from the Dickson School of Memory and Mental Culture, 1901-1906; a partially stitched canvas of a house; and a few calling cards. About 20 items. |
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Series 4. Pictures, 1880s-1940s.
| Image Folder PF-4761/1 |
Photographs of unidentified individuals (20 items) |
| Image Folder PF-4761/2 |
Photographs of groups of people who are probably family members, including some family portraits (8 items) |
| Special Format Image SF-P-4761/1 |
Tintype family portrait (1 item) |
| Image Folder PF-4761/3 |
Photographs of unidentified scenes of hauling lumber; inside a wood shop; and World War II photographs, some taken in Australia (31 items) |
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Items Separated