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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
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 | About 650 items (4.0 linear feet) |
| Abstract | The Harrison and Smith family of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina included Aristides Spyker Smith (1809-1892), an Presbyterian and Episcopal minister and principal of women's schools in Virginia and Mississippi. Smith's sons were Jonathan Reynolds (Johnnie) Smith (1836-1862) and Leonidas Wilkinson Smith (1835-1864). Also included was Smith's daughter Ellen Alice Smith Harrison (b. 1840), her husband George Harrison (fl. 1852-1875), their daughter Sarah Walton Harrison (1868?-1891) and her husband Paul Garrett (1863-1940), and their son Aristides Smith Harrison (b. 1864) and his wife Katie Wilson Curtis, a daughter of George B. Curtis (1834-1920) of Biddeford, Maine, who traveled to Colorado in search of gold and adventure (ca. 1856), returning east and settling in Enfield, N.C. He opened a general store, and later a bank and a cotton business. The collection consists chiefly of letters. One letter from Johnnie Smith, who died at Malvern Hill, and several from Leonidas Wilkinson Smith, who died in Houston, Tex., are to their father during the Civil War discussing spiritual concerns; Leonidas's work securing ordnance materials; fighting in April 1864 near DeSoto Parish, La.; and extensive observations on the inhabitants and customs of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. There are also letters, 1884-1896, from Sarah Walton Harrison and Paul Garrett to Ellen Harrison about Paul's early business travels as a wine salesman, Sarah's illness, and domestic concerns. Other items include a southern business directory used by Aristides Smith as a scrapbook; tax-in-kind receipts from the Confederate government; receipts for the rental and sale of slaves; notebooks of Aristides Smith on mathematics and astronomy; diaries, 1874-1875, of George Harrison containing brief entries concerning financial transactions and farming; a Garrett and Company catalog; and cabinet cards. Sixteen metal plates, ca. 1857, are engraved with scenes of both actual and planned Washington, D.C., landmarks. The addition of June 2006 includes Smith, Harrison, and Curtis family materials and a number of museum items. Smith family materials include correspondence of Aristides Spyker Smith; a diary and a journal belonging to Jonathan Reynolds Smith; about 300 sermons prepared by Aristides Spyker Smith; land surveys; unidentifed daguerreotypes; and an undated, extensively illustrated cipher book with mathematical content created by Benjamin Spyker, grandfather of Aristides Spyker Smith. Harrison family materials include two diaries, 1868 and 1869, belonging to George Harrison that document activities on the family's farm; a minutes book of Enfield Graded School District, Enfield, N.C., documenting financial activities of the district, 1901-1909; land surveys; and annotated cabinet cards. Curtis family materials are primarily letters from George B. Curtis and Ann Curtis Dunn, sister of George and Wilson Curtis. Letters of George Curtis reflect time spent in Colorado panning for gold (some very detailed) up to his establishment and residence in Enfield, N.C. |
| Creator | Harrison (Family : Harrison, Ellen Alice Smith, 1840-1909)
Smith (Family : Smith, Aristides Spyker, 1809-1892) |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
| Language | English. |
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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
Aristides Spyker Smith (1809-1892) was born in Abindgon, Va. After earning degrees at Yale College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he entered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in 1832. That same year, he married Elizabeth (Eliza) Wilkinson (d. 1855). Smith accepted an invitation to establish a school for young girls in Columbus, Miss., in 1847. Two years later, he opened the Norfolk Female Institute in Norfolk, Va., which he ran until 1861. For nearly two years during the Civil War, Smith rented out the school and served as a Confederate army chaplain with the 11th North Carolina Regiment. When the war was over, he opened a private school in Baltimore, Md. He later served as rector for an Episcopal church in Centreville, Md., and then for another in Ringwood, N.C., beginning in 1873.
Two of the Smiths' seven children were lost early to illness. Norfolk was then hit by an 1855 outbreak of yellow fever, which killed some 2,000 residents of the city, including Eliza Wilkinson Smith, a daughter, and a son. Aristides Spyker Smith and son Jonathan Reynolds (Johnnie) Smith (1836-1862) also fell sick but survived. The war added to the family's losses. Johnnie, serving with the 6th Virginia Regiment, was killed at Malvern Hill on 1 July 1862. His older brother, Leonidas Wilkinson Smith (1835-1864), a Captain of Ordnance, died 22 August 1864 in Houston, Tex., of a disease contracted in camp. Aristides Smith was then left with one surviving child, daughter Ellen Alice Smith (b. 1840).
In December 1863, Ellen Alice Smith married widower George Harrison (fl. 1852-1875) in Petersburg, Va. He was a former captain of the 5th Virginia Battalion, Company A. Harrison had two children, Mary Harrison and H. Spooner (Henry Spooner) Harrison (1852-1937), with his first wife, Sarah Walton Harrison. Ellen had at least four children: Aristides Smith Harrison, George Harrison, Thomas Cramner Harrison, and Sarah Walton Harrison (1868?-1891). The family moved to Ringwood, N.C., from Brunswick County, Va., by 1884, possibly after the death of George Harrison.
On 30 October 1889, Sarah Harrison (1868?-1891) married Paul Garrett (1863-1940), who worked as an apprentice and then salesman for C. W. Garrett and Company, his uncle's Halifax, N.C., wine business. "Sadie," as Garrett referred to his wife, died just over two years later, on 3 December 1891, after a long bout with influenza. For several years, Garrett kept in touch sporadically with his former mother-in-law. In the meantime, he was busy starting his own wine business, Garrett and Company. The operation grew to encompass wineries and vineyards from North Carolina to New York and as far west as California. By the time of his death in 1940, he was a billionaire referred to by some as the "dean of American wine-makers."
George B. Curtis (1834-1920) of Biddeford, Maine, traveled to Colorado in search of gold and adventure ca. 1856, returning east and settling in Enfield, N.C., where his sister, Ann, was living with her husband, Nat Dunn. He opened a general store, and later a bank and a cotton business. Curtis married Frances Zuckerman of Portsmouth, N.H., who died during the birth of their fourth child after bearing three daughters. Curtis then married his deceased wife's adopted sister Clara, of Brooklyn, N.Y. One of George Curtis' daughters, Katie Wilson Curtis, married Dr. Aristides Smith Harrison, grandson of the Reverend Aristides Spyker Smith.
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Scope and Content
Smith family papers consist chiefly of letters written to Aristides Spyker Smith (1809-1892), minister and principal of women's schools in Virginia and Mississippi. One is from son Jonathan Reynolds Smith (1836-1862) (Johnnie) and several are from son Leonidas Wilkinson Smith (1835-1864), who died in Houston, Tex., during the Civil War. Letters are about spiritual concerns in the face of war and death; Leonidas's work securing ordnance materials; fighting in April 1864 near DeSoto Parish, La.; and observations on the inhabitants and customs of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. Other letters discuss supply raids in 1865 by Union soldiers near Petersburg, Va., and the possible mixup of Johnnie's remains with those of another man after their deaths at the Battle of Malvern Hill in 1862 in Virginia. Miscellaneous items belonging to Aristides Smith include notebooks with astronomy lessons and math problems and a southern business directory used as a scrapbook. A small number of newspaper clippings and autobiographical information written for Princeton Theological Seminary and Yale College alumni surveys provide most of the scant references to Aristides Smith's career as an educator. Also included are a cabinet card of Jonathan Reynolds Smith and another of Columbia College president Frederick A. P. Barnard (1809-1889), a friend of Aristides Smith.
Letters addressed to Aristides Smith's daughter, Ellen Alice Smith (b. 1840), who was married to former Confederate Army Captain George Harrison (fl. 1852-1875), make up the bulk of the Harrison family papers. The chief writers were daughter Sarah Walton Harrison (1868?-1891) and her husband Paul Garrett (1863-1940). Garrett's early letters discuss his love for Sarah and life on the road as a salesman for his uncle's wine business. Sarah's letters after her marriage report persistent health problems and domestic matters, such as social calls, the arrival of a new sewing machine, and the search for a cook. Other items include tax-in-kind assessments and receipts from the Confederate government, two years' worth of diaries used by George Harrison to record purchases and crop progress, photographs, and a Garrett and Company catalog.
A set of 16 metal plates of unclear ownership are engraved with scenes of both actual and planned Washington, D.C., landmarks, based on Albert Boschke's 1857 "Map of the City of Washington - Seat of Federal Government".
The addition of June 2006 includes Smith, Harrison, and Curtis family materials and a number of museum items.
Smith family materials include correspondence of Aristides Spyker Smith, among them an 11 September 1855 letter to his daughter, Ellen Alice Smith, informing her of the death of her mother and the grave health of other family members; a wallet with enclosures belonging to Aristides Spyker Smith; a diary and a journal belonging to Jonathan Reynolds Smith; about 300 sermons prepared by Aristides Spyker Smith; land surveys; and other materials. Also included are unidentifed daguerreotypes and an undated, extensively illustrated cipher book with mathematical content created by Benjamin Spyker, grandfather of Aristides Spyker Smith.
Harrison family materials include two diaries (1868, 1869) belonging to George Harrison that document activities on the family's farm; papers from University School in Petersburg, Va., which was attended by Aristides S. Harrison; and a minutes book of Enfield Graded School District (Enfield, N.C.) documenting the financial activities of the district, 1901-1909. Other materials include land surveys and obituaries of William B. Harrison (Billy), 1913-2005, and annotated cabinet cards. Of particular note is a 16mm home movie of an African American baptism that took place in Enfield, N.C. or Weldon, N.C. in Halifax County. The film, which was shot by William B. Harrison's sister circa 1946, includes footage of an African American baptism, as well as scenes of Black men and women posing in front of homes and businesses in Halifax County and footage of Black men, women, and children at a train station.
Curtis family materials are primarily letters from George B. Curtis to his brother Wilson Miles Curtis (Willie). Also included are letters from Ann Curtis Dunn, sister of George and Wilson Curtis and wife of Nat Dunn, to her brothers, husband, and sister-in-law. Letters from George Curtis reflect time spent in Colorado panning for gold up to his establishment and residence in Enfield, N.C. Several letters offer detailed accounts of conditions in Colorado.
Museum items include a graduation sash, levels, and small tools.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886.
Processing note: See also Addition of June 2006.
One letter from Jonathan Reynolds Smith (1836-1862) (Johnnie) and several from Leonidas Wilkinson Smith (1835-1864) to their father Aristides Spyker Smith (1809-1892) during their service in the Civil War. Both sons wrote of religious matters and the possibility of death. Leonidas's letters speak of health problems; purchasing supplies for the manufacture of nitric and sulphuric acid; fighting in April 1864 near DeSoto Parish, La.; and the death of his sweetheart. His letters hold extensive observations on the inhabitants and customs of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.
Other letters mark events of interest in the family, including Aristides Spkyer Smith's 1862 letter of application for a chaplaincy in the Confederate Army. A short note from the captain of the 6th Virginia Regiment, Company G, informs Aristides of his son Johnnie's death on 1 July 1862 at Malvern Hill. Two letters, 1863, of unclear origin and subject matter were apparently written in some form of shorthand. A letter, May 1865, from Aristides Smith to his sister recalls visits to the Petersburg, Va., area by Union soldiers on supply raids.
A letter, 1866, from an unnamed niece living in Geneva to Aristides Smith, relates memories of Leonidas Smith's visit in 1863 to her former home in Louisiana shortly before his death. A group of letters, 1871, from Charles Harris of Giles County, Va., attempt to convince Aristides Smith that the remains of his son Johnnie were mistakenly switched with those of Harris's nephew, Charles H. McPhail, after their deaths at Malvern Hill in 1862. A letter, 1886, from Columbia College president Frederick A. P. Barnard (1809-1889), a former Yale classmate of Aristides Smith, appears with an enclosed cabinet card.
Miscellaneous items belonging to Aristides Spyker Smith include two small notebooks containing astronomy lessons and word problems, a typed copy of a short autobiography written around 1868 for his 40-year Yale class reunion, and a photocopy of Smith's 1877 response to a Princeton Theological Seminary alumni questionnaire. These items provide some of the only, rather brief, references to Smith's professional life as an educator of young women.
Also included is a copy of the 1858-1859 Southern Pictorial Advertiser, which was used by Aristides Spyker Smith as a scrapbook. Newspaper pieces on a range of topics, including General Winfield Scott Hancock's Democratic nomination in 1880 for president, church news, and a sensational Arkansas murder trial, are pasted throughout the book. Many of the directory's original articles, mainly profiles of cities such as Norfolk, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and advertisements, including an ad for Smith's Norfolk Female Institute, remain uncovered. Other newspaper clippings were found loose among the pages of Smith's scrapbook. Articles of direct personal interest, such as a letter to the editor in praise of Smith's Columbus (Miss.) Female Institute, are joined by others on religious matters, speech articulation, farming, and notable figures such as Robert E. Lee. There are also jokes, recipes, and poetry.
Folder 1-2
Folder 1Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1861-1886 #05144, Series: "1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886." Folder 1-2 |
Folder 3-4
Folder 3Folder 4 |
Other materials #05144, Series: "1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886." Folder 3-4 |
| Folder 5 |
Scrapbook #05144, Series: "1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886." Folder 5 |
| Folder 6 |
Scrapbook enclosures #05144, Series: "1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886." Folder 6 |
| Image Folder P-5144/Folder 1 |
Cabinet Cards #05144, Series: "1. Smith Family Papers, 1861-1886." P-5144/Folder 1 |
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Series 2. Harrison Family Papers, 1862-1896.
Processing note: See also Addition of June 2006.
A letter, 10 June 1862, from the surgeon of the 5th Virginia Battalion recommends that George Harrison be discharged due to health reasons. A group of receipts and official assessments for tax-in-kind, receipts for the rental of one slave and the sale of another, and agreements on the housing and care of unserviceable Confederate Army horses are dated 1863-1865.
Two diaries used by George Harrison, dated 1874 and 1875, contain only occasional, brief notations on the arrival or departure of visitors, the sale or purchase of assorted goods, and farming records.
Ellen Alice Smith Harrison was the recipient of the great bulk of letters. She is referred to as either "Ma" or "Mama" by each of the writers, including stepson H. Spooner Harrison (1852-1937) and son George Harrison, who relate stories of leisure activities and social encounters while away on business. Most letters came from Ellen's daughter Sarah Walton Harrison and son-in-law Paul Garrett, who are shown in their wedding photo, October 1889; another photo of Garrett appears to have been taken around the same time period.
Before his wedding, Garrett wrote his future mother-in-law while on C. W. Garrett and Company sales trips across the South, mainly discussing his love for Sarah, whom he called "Sadie." He repeatedly assured Ellen that marriage would not diminish her relationship with her daugher. Once married, Sarah wrote often from her new home in Lillington, N.C., about health problems and domestic matters such as redecorating, the arrival of a new sewing machine, and the search for a cook. A handful of letters from Paul Garrett after Sarah's death in 1891 speak of attempts by Ellen and others to get him to remarry, a filter malfunction that resulted in losses for one of his wineries, and his continued mourning for Sarah. He also passed along instructions for a stove that he was sending to Ellen.
Garrett also appears as the recipient of a letter in 1893 from a New York manufacturer of flavoring extracts, with a recipe for the production of apple cider using the company's products. A Garrett and Company catalog describes its products and lists its winery and vineyard locations. What appears to be a large business card with words to The Song of the Vine was apparently used by Aristides Smith Harrison while working for Garrett.
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Series 3. Engraved Metal Plates, ca. 1857.
A set of 16 metal plates of unclear ownership are engraved with scenes of both actual and planned Washington, D.C., landmarks, based on Albert Boschke's 1857 "Map of the City of Washington - Seat of Federal Government." Some of the structures seen on the plates were never built; others, including the Washington Monument, were realized but with design modifications.
| Folder 12 |
Engraved metal plates #05144, Series: "3. Engraved Metal Plates, ca. 1857." Folder 12 |
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Addition.
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Addition of June 2006 (Acc. 100037 and Acc. 100311).
Processing note: The Addition of June 2006 is arranged in the same way as, but has not been incorporated into, the original deposit of materials.
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Subseries 1. Smith Family Papers, 1855-1896 and undated.
Smith family materials are comprised of correspondence of Aristides Spyker Smith, including an 11 September 1855 letter to his daughter, Ellen Alice Smith, informing her of the death of her mother and the grave health of other family members; a wallet with enclosures belonging to Aristides Spyker Smith; a diary and a journal belonging to Jonathan Reynolds Smith; about 300 sermons prepared by Aristides Spyker Smith; land surveys; and other materials. Also included are annotated photo cards; unidentifed daguerreotypes; and an undated, extensively illustrated cipher book with mathematical content created by Benjamin Spyker, grandfather of Aristides Spyker Smith.
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Subseries 2. Harrison Family Papers, 1866-2005 (bulk 1866-1882).
Processing information: Processing archivists provided the title for film F-5144/1 after reviewing the contents of the film and information provided by Katherine G. Harrison.
Harrison family materials include two diaries, 1868 and 1869, belonging to George Harrison that document activities on the family's farm; papers from University School in Petersburg, Va., which was attended by Aristides S. Harrison; and a minutes book of Enfield Graded School District (Enfield, N.C.) documenting the financial activities of the district, 1901-1909. Other materials include land surveys and obituaries of William B. Harrison (Billy), 1913-2005. Of particular note is a 16mm home movie (F-5144/1) of an African American baptism that took place in Enfield, N.C. or Weldon, N.C. in Halifax County. The film, which was shot by William B. Harrison's sister circa 1946, includes footage of an African American baptism, as well as scenes of Black men and women posing in front of homes and businesses in Halifax County and footage of Black men, women, and children at a train station.
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Subseries 4. Curtis Family Papers, 1857-1897.
Chiefly letters from George B. Curtis to his brother Wilson Miles Curtis (Willie). Also included are letters from Ann Curtis Dunn, sister of George and Wilson Curtis and husband of Nat, to her brothers, husband, and sister-in-law, Maria(?) Curtis. Letters from George Curtis reflect time spent in Colorado panning for gold up to his establishment and residence in Enfield, N.C. Several letters offer detailed accounts of conditions in Colorado and include specific recommendations of items for Willie to bring to Colorado, should he join George.
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Subseries 5. Museum Items, undated.
| Museum Item MU-5144/1 |
Graduation sash #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/1 |
| Museum Item MU-5144/2 |
Levels #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/2 |
| Museum Item MU-5144/3 |
Coin scale #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/3 |
| Museum Item MU-5144/4 |
Slide set #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/4 |
| Museum Item MU-5144/5 |
Small tool #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/5 |
| Museum Item MU-5144/6 |
Small tool #05144, Subseries: "5. Museum Items, undated." MU-5144/6 |
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Items Separated
Cabinet cards (P-5144/Folder 1-2)
Engraved metal plates (P-5144)
Oversize papers (OP-5144/1-7)
Special format images (SF-P-5144/1-5)
Museum items (MU-5144/1-6)
Film (F-5144/1)
Back to TopThe Addition of June 2006 is arranged in the same way as, but has not been incorporated into, the original deposit of materials.
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