C. B. Heller Collection, PC.119
Abstract
Papers of the McDowell, Byrne, and Robeson families of Bladen Co., the Carmichael family of Cumberland Co., and miscellaneous papers, mostly from Bladen Co. Examples include papers of Thomas D. S. McDowell (1823-1898), Bladen Co. legislator and Confederate congressman, contain much on Democratic party politics at the local, state, and national levels from 1846 to 1888, especially the 1850s. Robeson family papers (1799-1874) include slave bills of sale; list of taxable property; miscellaneous Civil War papers; letters about society at White Sulphur Springs, Va. (1860); examination of the Bladen Co. militia; and news of Federal raids, slave sales, and blockade-running.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- C. B. Heller Collection
- Call Number
- PC.119
- Creator
- Heller, C. B.
- Date
- 1735-1923
- Extent
- 0.400 cubic feet
- Repository
- State Archives of North Carolina
Collection Overview
Papers of the McDowell, Byrne, and Robeson families of Bladen Co., the Carmichael
family of Cumberland Co., and miscellaneous papers, mostly from Bladen Co. Papers
of Thomas D. S. McDowell (1823-1898), Bladen Co. legislator and Confederate congressman,
contain much on Democratic party politics at the local, state, and national levels
from 1846 to 1888, especially the 1850s, including letters from Rep. James Iver McKay
and his wife in Washington; from John H. Wheeler about his historical work and expansionist
politics; concerning McDowell as national convention delegate (1856) and member of
National Democratic Committee; and about internal improvements, restrictions on sale
of spirits, and politics in the legislatures of 1860-1861 and 1868. Other subjects
of interest are the geological survey; Florida and Alabama in 1850s and 1870s; seminary
in Columbia, S.C. (1855); the McKay estate; Society of Friends in Great Britain and
Ireland, on slavery (1854); Irish laborers (1856); problems of New York reporter in
the South (printed, 1861); suspected trade with northern states in naval stores (Wilmington,
1861); Soldiers Relief societies in Bladen Co.; Union troops in eastern North Carolina;
funeral of President Tyler (1862); conditions in Virginia hospital (1862) and mismanagement
of medical affairs (n.d.); army provisions and rations; educational institutions (1853-1875);
Cape Fear Agricultural Association and its fair (1869-1870); news from former slave
(1871); and earthquake (1886). Papers (1823-1846) of his father, Dr. Alexander McDowell,
include letters from patients, from medical students in the North, and from nephew
in northern Ireland.
Robeson family papers (1799-1874) include slave bills of sale; list of taxable property;
miscellaneous Civil War papers; letters about society at White Sulphur Springs, Va.
(1860); examination of the Bladen Co. militia; and news of Federal raids, slave sales,
and blockade-running. Papers of James Robeson include a few estate papers of Patrick
Kelly, letter from Eliza McKay (1836), and estate papers of Congressman James Iver
McKay (1792-1853), with copy of N.C. Supreme Court decision on his will, list of slaves
and their hire, correspondence with American Colonization Society about transportation
of 106 Negroes to Liberia, and receipts for money sent them there. Among the Byrne
family papers (1827 -1864,1894) are an 1827 militia commission, estate papers of Matthew
Byrne(1841-1843), letter concerning slave's request to be bought (1864). Papers (1816-1906)
of the Carmichael family include Cumberland Co. orphan apprentice indentures (1817,
1829); letter from immigrant to Montreal (1820); commission in Pine Forest Rifle Company
(1857); lumber requirements for Fayetteville Arsenal (1862); and assorted papers relating
to naval stores, the Civil War, and estates. Miscellaneous letters concern life in
Georgia (1848); politics in 1849; boom in pine lands and land title problems involving
married women's rights (1858); Wilmington in Apr., 1861; investments during war; and
a position as governess (1889). The collection also contains Bladen and Robeson county
land papers (1735-1859); a Granville land grant in Rowan Co. (1761); plats of western
Brunswick Co. and division of a Barkesdale estate in Cumberland Co. (n.d.); a slave
bill of sale (1790); Bladen and Robeson county estate papers (1801-1870); Bladen Co.
marriage bond (1846); assorted court records (1760-1869); and typed copies or abstracts
of Bladen Co. grants, deeds, estate papers, and letters. Miscellaneous items include
bond from Wade Hampton to David Caldwell, promising delivery of two slaves (1781);
notice about fugitive slave (1849); printed political speeches and campaign material
(1852, 1859); list of Bladen Co. Guards (1861); petition signed by officers of lst
Regt. NCST; report of the guard, Hillsborough Military Academy (1863); and manuscript
hymn with music (n.d.).