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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 | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 150 items) |
| Abstract | Educator, attorney, and Confederate officer Joseph Nathaniel Allen (also known as Nat Allen) was born in Warren County, N.C., in 1834 and died in 1917. The collection includes correspondence, writings, genealogical materials, and financial and legal documents of Joseph Nathaniel Allen and his family. Correspondence contains discussions of family and local news, social events, health, religion, and travel. There are detailed accounts of an 1858 Independence Day celebration and an 1890 trip to Charleston, S.C. Also included is a brief sketch by Allen of Confederate General Robert Ransom, whom he served as private secretary during the Civil War. Genealogical materials include a 1967 biographical essay about Allen written by his grandson and a 1953 essay about the Watson family. Financial and legal materials mainly consist of receipts, Confederate bonds, and a North Carolina certificate proclaiming Allen's right to practice law. There are also newspaper clippings from the 1920s about Charles Applewhite Hill's tenure in the North Carolina Senate, 1823-1827. |
| Creator | Allen, Joseph Nathaniel, 1834-1917. |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
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Information For Users
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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
Joseph Nataniel Allen (also known as Nat Allen) was born in 1834 to Edmond and Sallie Park Watson Allen in Warren County, N.C. Allen was educated at the Warrenton Male Academy and, in the 1850s, he read law with Judge Richmond M. Pearson. Although admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1859, it appears that Allen's primary vocation was education and his career culminated with his election to the post of Warren County superintendent of public instruction, in which position he served, 1899-1909.
During the Civil War, Allen served the Confederacy in three different capacities: in November 1861, he served briefly as a captain with the 34th Regiment of the 9th Brigade of the North Carolina Militia; he then served as private secretary to General Robert W. Ransom; and then he was dispatched to Wilmington, N.C., to serve on the staff of the Commissary Department.
Allen was married twice. In 1859, he married Mary Elizabeth Powell; they had two sons, Eugene and Ivey. In 1868, two years after his first wife's death, Allen married Mattie Harper, who was also an educator. They had three surviving daughters: Ida, Edna, and Sallie. Allen died in 1917.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence, writings, genealogical materials, and financial and legal documents of educator, lawyer, and Confederate officer Joseph Nathaniel Allen and his family of Warren County, N.C. Correspondence contains discussions of family and local news, social events, health, religion, and travel. There are detailed accounts of an 1858 Independence Day celebration and an 1890 trip to Charleston, S.C. Also included is a brief sketch by Allen of Confederate General Robert Ransom, whom he served as private secretary during the Civil War. Genealogical materials include a 1967 biographical essay about Allen written by his grandson and a 1953 essay about the Watson family. Financial and legal materials mainly consist of receipts, Confederate bonds, and a North Carolina certificate proclaiming Allen's right to practice law. There are also newspaper clippings from the 1920s about Charles Applewhite Hill's tenure in the North Carolina Senate, 1823-1827.
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Papers, 1808-1967.
Arrangement: by type.
Correspondence, writings, genealogical materials, and financial and legal documents of educator, lawyer, and Confederate officer Joseph Nathaniel Allen and his family of Warren County, N.C. Correspondence contains discussions of family and local news, social events, health, religion, and travel. There are detailed accounts of an 1858 Independence Day celebration and an 1890 trip to Charleston, S.C. Also included is a brief sketch by Allen of Confederate General Robert Ransom, whom he served as private secretary during the Civil War. Genealogical materials include a 1967 biographical essay about Allen written by his grandson and a 1953 essay about the Watson family. Financial and legal materials mainly consist of receipts, Confederate bonds, and a North Carolina certificate proclaiming Allen's right to practice law. There are also newspaper clippings from the 1920s about Charles Applewhite Hill's tenure in the North Carolina Senate, 1823-1827.
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 1852-1859 |
| Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1864-1871 |
| Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1880-1907 |
| Folder 4 |
Correspondence, undated |
| Folder 5 |
"General Robert W. Ransom: A sketch written from memory by his private secretary, Mr. Nat Allen." |
| Folder 6 |
Genealogical materials, 1953-1967 |
| Folder 7 |
Financial and legal materials, 1808-1871 |
| Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-5066/1 |
Three one thousand dollar bonds issued by the Confederate States of America, no. 5062-5064, 4th series, 17 February 1864 |
| Folder 8 |
Newspaper clippings, 1920s |
| Folder 9 |
Miscellaneous |
| Image Folder PF-5066/1 |
Photograph: Carte-des-visite portrait of unidentified young woman |
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Items Separated