Matt W. Ransom Papers, 1845-1914 (bulk 1868-1904)

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Summary

Creator:
Ransom, Matt W. (Matt Whitaker), 1826-1904.
Abstract:

Matt W. Ransom (1826-1904) was a lawyer; planter; state official; Confederate general; Redeemer; Democratic United States senator from North Carolina, 1872-1895; and United States minister to Mexico, 1895-1897. The collection includes materials, chiefly post-Civil War, relating to Matt W. Ransom. Correspondence, chiefly 1868-1904, relates to the political, economic, and racial aspects of Reconstruction in North Carolina, particularly the railroad industry machinations of George William Swepson; to Ransom's plantations in northeastern North Carolina, particularly in regard to cotton marketing and labor; to national and state party politics, 1868-1904; and to Ransom's diplomatic service in Mexico. Much of the collection consists of Ransom's papers as a senator, including correspondence with politicians and constituents covering most of the major issues of the time: race relations; federal actions affecting southern agriculture and industry, including the tariff, the debate over silver-backed currency, and agrarian unrest; women's suffrage; and many others. Correspondents include Susan B. Anthony, Sallie Clay Bennett, Grover Cleveland, Sallie Southall Cotten, F. M. Simmons, George William Swepson, Zebulon B. Vance, Garland H. White, and H. G. Williams. Also included are papers relating to a variety of family and business concerns. Material on Ransom's Civil War career and the first three years of Reconstruction is relatively slight, and there is no material related to his pre-war political career.

Extent:
26,000 items (32.5 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Matthew Whitaker Ransom (1826-1904) was a lawyer, planter, state official, Confederate general, Redeemer, Democratic United States senator from North Carolina, and minister to Mexico. Born on 8 October 1826 in Warren County, N.C., to Robert and Priscilla Whitaker Ransom, Ransom was brother to General Robert Ransom and cousin to fellow Confederate officer Wharton J. Green. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1847, Ransom went on to serve as the North Carolina Attorney General and as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He married Martha "Pattie" Anne Exum in 1853 and moved to her family's plantation, Verona, on the Roanoke River near Weldon, N.C. In 1861, he served as one of the three commissioners selected by the North Carolina state legislature to visit the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Ala. Ransom was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 1st North Carolina Infantry, later served as colonel of the 35th North Carolina Infantry, and was ultimately promoted to brigadier general in 1863. Ransom fought in the battles of Seven Pines, the Seven Days, Antietam, Fredricksburg, Plymouth, Weldon, Suffolk, and the siege of Petersburg, finally surrendering at Appomattox. In 1866, Ransom moved back to Weldon, N.C., and resumed work as a planter and lawyer. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1872, succeeding Zebulon B. Vance, and served until 1895. He was then appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico and served from 1895-1897. Ransom retired in 1897 and returned to private life and farming at his estate, where he died on 8 October 1904.

Scope and content:

The collection includes materials, chiefly post-Civil War, relating to Matt W. Ransom. Correspondence, chiefly 1868-1904, relates to the political, economic, and racial aspects of Reconstruction in North Carolina, particularly the railroad industry machinations of George William Swepson; to Ransom's plantations in northeastern North Carolina, particularly in regard to cotton marketing and labor; to national and state party politics, 1868-1904; and to Ransom's diplomatic service in Mexico. Much of the collection consists of Ransom's papers as a senator, including correspondence with politicians and constituents covering most of the major issues of the time: race relations; federal actions affecting southern agriculture and industry, including the tariff, the debate over silver-backed currency, and agrarian unrest; women's suffrage; and many others. Correspondents include Susan B. Anthony, Sallie Clay Bennett, Grover Cleveland, Sallie Southall Cotten, F. M. Simmons, George William Swepson, Zebulon B. Vance, Garland H. White, and H. G. Williams. Also included are papers relating to a variety of family and business concerns. Material on Ransom's Civil War career and the first three years of Reconstruction is relatively slight, and there is no material related to his pre-war political career.

Acquisition information:

Received from Mrs. Angus A. McKellar of Chapel Hill, N.C., 1951.

Processing information:

Processed by: SHC Staff

Reprocessed by: Jessica Sedgwick, May 2009

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007; updated by Jessica Sedgwick, May 2009

Updated by: Laura Hart, January 2021

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.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Matt W. Ransom Papers, #2615, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu