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Collection Number: 05206

Collection Title: Sherrod Family Papers, 1802-1967

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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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 250 items)
Abstract The collection documents the white Sherrod family of Franklin County, N.C., including Thomas Sherrod (1730-1818); Jordan R. Sherrod (active 1818-1859); and John M. Sherrod (1828-1914) and Henry H. Sherrod (active 1837-1865), both of whom served in Company E, 15th Regiment North Carolina Infantry during the American Civil War. The collection consists primarily of receipts, warrants, business correspondence, and other financial papers, 1802-1865. These papers provide a record of the Sherrod family's connections to slavery, including people who were enslaved by family members; rent and tax payments; sales of cotton; purchases of goods and services; and transactions conducted to settle the estates of family members. Many of the receipts and warrants from the 1820s through the 1850s concern Jordan R. Sherrod, while most papers from the late 1850s and early 1860s relate to the business of Sherrod and Green of Franklinton, N.C., a partnership that included Henry H. Sherrod and Andrew Green. The collection also contains Confederate documents authorizing a disability discharge for John M. Sherrod and leaves of absence for Henry H. Sherrod. Other items include an 1802 marriage license; a transcription of Thomas Sherrod's 1818 will, which documents trafficking of enslaved people through inheritance; an 1879 school report; and a 1967 letter about family genealogy.
Creator Sherrod (Family : Franklin County, N.C.)
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Sherrod Family Papers #5206, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Edith Sakell of Chester, Md., in April 2005 (Acc. 100057).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Elise Allison, July 2005

Encoded by: Elise Allison, July 2005

Conscious editing by Nancy Kaiser, April 2024: Updated abstract, subject headings, biographical information, scope and content, and contents list.

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

The white Sherrod family resided in Franklin County, N.C., in the 19th century. Thomas Sherrod was born in Northampton, N.C., in 1730. He was a member of North Carolina's Fourth Provincial Congress, which met in Halifax on 4 April 1776, and he fought in the American Revolution, reaching the rank of colonel. He may have been married twice, the second time to Elizabeth, and he had at least seven children: Temperance, Charity, Martha, Penelope, James, Nancy, and Benjamin.

Thomas Sherrod died in 1818, leaving Jordan R. Sherrod as one of the executors of his will. Their relationship is uncertain since the copy of the will in this collection refers to Jordan R. Sherrod as "formerly Jordan R. Steagall." Jordan R. Sherrod was probably born in the 1770s and died in 1859. His children included John, Henry, Lucian, Alphonzo, and Martha.

John M. Sherrod was born around 1828 and during the American Civil War served in Company E, 15th Regiment North Carolina Infantry until he was discharged for disability in June 1863. Henry H. Sherrod was born around 1837 and served in the same regiment. In addition, he was an active partner in the business of Sherrod and Green in Franklinton, N.C., during the early 1860s.

Enslaved people who are documented in this collection include:

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection documents the white Sherrod family of Franklin County, N.C., including Thomas Sherrod (1730-1818); Jordan R. Sherrod (active 1818-1859); and John M. Sherrod (1828-1914) and Henry H. Sherrod (active 1837-1865), both of whom served in Company E, 15th Regiment North Carolina Infantry during the American Civil War. The collection consists primarily of receipts, warrants, business correspondence, and other financial papers, 1802-1865. These papers provide a record of the Sherrod family's connections to slavery, including people who were enslaved by family members; rent and tax payments; sales of cotton; purchases of goods and services; and transactions conducted to settle the estates of family members. Many of the receipts and warrants from the 1820s through the 1850s concern Jordan R. Sherrod, while most papers from the late 1850s and early 1860s relate to the business of Sherrod and Green of Franklinton, N.C., a partnership that included Henry H. Sherrod and Andrew Green. The collection also contains Confederate documents authorizing a disability discharge for John M. Sherrod and leaves of absence for Henry H. Sherrod. Other items include an 1802 marriage license; a transcription of Thomas Sherrod's 1818 will, which documents trafficking of enslaved people through inheritance; an 1879 school report; and a 1967 letter about family genealogy.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Sherrod Family Papers, 1802-1967 (bulk 1802-1865).

About 250 items.

Arrangement: by subject, then chronological.

Folder 1

Confederate documents, 1861-1864

Folder 2

Financial papers, 1802-1819

Records of enslavement:

  • 20 May 1818: Thomas Sherrod in account with Joel King, including charges for cotton for enslaved people.
Folder 3

Financial papers, 1820-1829

Records of enslavement:

  • June 1823: the estate of Leathy Mitchel in account with John Nicholson, including charges for Cuffy, an enslaved person who was trafficked through the hiring out of his labor, skills, and knowledge.
  • 12 January 1829: Jordan R. Sherrod and S. J. Jones in account with Jones Cook, executor of the William Harrison estate, for the trafficking of Charlotte, an enslaved person, through hiring out of her labor, skills, and knowledge.
Folder 4

Financial papers, 1830-1839

Folder 5

Financial papers, 1840-1849

Records of enslavement:

  • 1 January 1848: receipt for Caroline, an enslaved person who was trafficked through the hiring out of her labor, skills, and knowledge by Samuel Johnson, executor Thomas Powell estate, to Jordan R. Sherrod.
Folder 6

Financial papers, 1850-1854

Records of enslavement:

  • 21 January 1852: Jordan R. Sherrod in account with Ballard Harris & Davis, including charges for two blankets for enslaved people.
  • 29 January 1853: Jordan R. Sherrod in account with Ballard Harris & Davis, including charges for blankets for enslaved people.
Folder 7

Financial papers, 1855-1859

Records of enslavement:

  • 26 July 1856: note from George C. Compton to Jordan Sherrod concerning purchase order for bacon and lard. The note and payment were carried by an unidentified person who likely was enslaved.
  • September 1859: inventory of the estate of Jordan R. Sherrod, including Isaac and Sam, who were enslaved people.
Folder 8

Financial papers, 1860-1865

Records of enslavement:

  • 9 March 1861: letter from A. C. Perry, mentioning that the enslaved people sometimes sang in the morning.
  • Circa 1864: receipt for the trafficking of an unidentified enslaved woman through the hiring out of her labor, skills, and knowledge.
Folder 9

Other papers, 1802-1967

Records of enslavement:

  • Undated: typed transcription of 11 July 1818 will of Thomas Sherrod, in which he bequeathed "Old Villet" and Tiller, who were enslaved people, to his wife Elizabeth Sherrod. He also lent Charles and Dick, who also were enslaved people, to Elizabeth for ten years, and subsequently to his daughter Temperance Young should his wife die within that time. After ten years, Thomas Sherrod directed that Charles and Dick be emancipated. He also bequeathed to Temperance Young the following enslaved people: Baldy, Caroline, Mingo, Pleasant, and Pricey. After Elizabeth's death, Villet and Tiller were to be given to Temperance. Thomas Sherrod bequeathed Jack, an enslaved person, to his daughter Charity Richards. Sherrod's will further directed that Vined, Nancy, and Melberry be lent to his daughter Penny Sherrod for the term of her life. After her death, Vined, Nancy, and Melberry were to be divided among his grandchildren William Young, Thomas Young, and Nancy Young. Sherrod bequeathed Rose, an enslaved person, to his daughter Nancy Hayes; Rochester, an enslaved person, to his grandson William Young; Booker, an enslaved person, to his grandson Betsy Pullian; Eton, an enslaved person, to Joseph and John Weaver; and Alfred, an enslaved person, to grandson Thomas Young.
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