Vault Collection of the State Archives of North Carolina, VC
Abstract
This collection is an artificial grouping of documents pulled from the holdings of
the State Archives of North Carolina. This combination of significant materials was
created to highlight and protect those rare manuscripts that enhance the history of
North Carolina and its citizens.
All the holdings of the State Archives are important, but these described "treasures"
hold a unique place within our institution. They define what North Carolina is and
its diverse citizens and our collection history.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Vault Collection of the State Archives of North Carolina
- Call Number
- VC
- Creator
- North Carolina. Division of Archives and History
- Date
- 1663-1886
- Extent
- 11.370 cubic feet, 139.874 gigabytes
- Repository
- State Archives of North Carolina
Quick Links
- Founding Documents
- John Lawson, "A History of Carolina..., 1714", 1714
- Bertie County Court Manuscript, Revisal, 1715; 1722; 1723; 1729
- Jeremiah Vail, "Plan of Wilmington, 1743", 1743
- Plan of Raleigh, 1792, 1792
- General Robert E. Lee's Special Order 191, 1862
- "Gaelic Charm" [Douglas McFarland Paper, 1750], 1750
- Isaac E. Avery Paper, 1863
- "Early Times in Raleigh: An Address by the Honorable David L. Swain at the dedication of Tucker Hall", 1867
- "Proprietary Concessions Relating to the Lower Cape Fear", 1663
- George Washington, August 26, 1790, to the Governor and Council of State of North Carolina [Letter], 1790
- Unassigned--old call number
- Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 1793
- "Shaffer's New Township Map of North Carolina", 1886
- Appointment of Samuel Tredwell signed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, February 19, 1793, 1793
- Fort Fisher Log Book, 1864, May 20, 1864-November 10, 1864
- Tar Heel Collection
- Letter from George Washington to Governor and Council of State, 1789, 1789
- Unassigned--old call number
- James Iredell, Senior, Diary, 1770; 1773-1774
- Collection of Printed Acts of the U.S. Congress, 1790-1799, 1790-1799
- Letter of Marque issued to "Northampton", 1776
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence Collection
- Presidential Autographs
- "North Carolina Constitutional Reader, Being a Hand Book for Primary Use in One Part", 1903
- Printed Copy of the U.S. Constitution, 1787
- "Journal, of a Young Man of Massachusetts, late a surgeon on board an American Privateer, Who Was Captured at Sea by the British... and was confined first at Melville Island, Halifax, then at Chatham, in England, and last, at Dartmoor Prison", 1816
- "The Cherokee Physician, or Indian Guide to Health, as given by Richard Foreman, a Cherokee Doctor...to which is added a Short Dispensatory", 1849
- Letter from President Jefferson Davis, on May 23, 1861, to Governor John W. Ellis of North Carolina, 1861
- Green wax pendant and bullion braid
- Letter from the United States Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to North Carolina Governor Alexander Martin, Philadelphia, January 26, 1791, 1791
- Proposed U. S. Thirteen Amendment, 13 March 1861: U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward Transmittal document, 13 March 1861; Signed Transmittal letter, 16 March 1861, from President Abraham Lincoln to Governor John W. Ellis, with original Thirteenth Amendment., 1861
- Resolution on Authorizing a Secession Convention, 7 January 1861, 1861
- Letter from C. G. Davenport to Zebulon B. Vance, August 10, 1862, 1862
- Diary of Naval Engineer Lewis C.F.C. Laesch, 1864
- "In the House of Commons 18th April 1777...", 1777
- Aunt Sally: Or, The Cross The Way of Freedom: A Narrative of the Slave-Life and Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams of Detroit, Michigan, 1863
- Two "Bills of Indictment", signed by William Hooper, 1767;1768
- Furlough for Private Moses Kluttz, Company K, Fifty-Seventh North Carolina Troops, January 11, 1865, 1865
- Paintings of Lucie Berthier and Robert Lee Humber Jr./Deeds of Gift
- North Carolina Historical Commission Centennial Documents, 2003
- Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1865
- North Carolina and the Whiskey Rebellion Documents
- "Collection of Private Acts [of the General Assembly], New Bern, December 1794", 1794
- Bond of Felix Kenan, 7 March 1776, 1776
- Lord Proprietors and Albemarle County Records
- Constitutional Documents, 1776, 1789, and 1868, 1776; 1789; 1868
- Constitutional Amendments and Joint Resolutions of Congress
- Confederate Prisoners of War Autographs
- C.S.S. Shenandoah Log Books
- Civil War Military Manuals
Contents of the Collection
1. Founding Documents
Carolina Charter of 1663, 1663
Scope and Content:
The Charter of 1663, composed of four pages, marks the beginning of organized, representative
government in the province of Carolina. In the 1580s, English adventurers had attempted
to colonize the area now called North Carolina, but they had failed. The first permanent
English settlers in the area moved southward around 1650 from the tidewater section
of southeastern Virginia into the Albemarle area of what is now northeast North Carolina.
In England, Charles II returned the Stuart dynasty to the throne in 1660 and proceeded
to reward his loyal supporters.
The king gave the Province of Carolina to eight of them in return for their service
to the royal cause. Known as the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, these men received
a charter in 1663 for the territory stretching from latitudes 31 degrees N to 36 degrees
N and extending east to west from ocean to ocean-land they came to learn had been
previously granted to King Charles I's attorney general, Sir Robert Heath. Furthermore,
the Lords Proprietors learned that the active settlements in the Albemarle region
that had attracted them in the first place, lay primarily a few miles north of the
territory originally granted. Therefore, in 1665 they secured from the king a new
charter extending the territory one-half degree north, close to today's border of
North Carolina-Virginia, and about one hundred miles south of the present Georgia-Florida
line. Even though the Proprietors had substantial power, the colonists were given
rights through the charter that were to have lasting influence on the region's population
and its history.
For example, the charter provided for an assembly that the Proprietors would call,
composed of delegates of the "Freemen of said Province;" there was a provision calling
for religious tolerance; there was assurance that colonists would be guaranteed the
rights of that Englishmen might expect to enjoy, including owning and disposing of
property; and there was authorization for the establishment of various courts in the
Province. In 1670 a settlement began to develop to the south on the Ashley River.
Originally part of Craven County set up by the Lords Proprietors in 1664, this area
became the nucleus of South Carolina. Ultimately, proprietary rule in the Carolinas
proved unsuccessful and most of the entire province was taken back by the Crown in
1728. Within fifty years, North Carolina would join the other colonies in the struggle
for independence and in the next decade adopt the United States Constitution as the
twelfth state to join the Union.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/carolina-charter-of-1663/418673
John Adams, "Thoughts on Government", 1776
Scope and Content:
John Adams on his ideas concerning a plan of government for North Carolina. Before
returning to Halifax in late March for a meeting with Provincial Congress, William
Hooper, and John Penn separately asked Adams's advice. Adams wrote down his thoughts
for Hooper and a somewhat revised version for Penn. Hooper delivered his letter, entitled,
Thoughts on Government, to Thomas Burke, the chairman of the committee to frame a
state constitution. It remained among Burke's papers that were collected for the North
Carolina Historical Society and later came to the State Archives. Although North Carolina
received the first draft of the essay via Hooper, other colonies soon profited from
Thoughts. Adams apparently wrote expanded versions for others before it was published
as a pamphlet in April 1776. Thoughts on Government, considered one of Adam's most
influential Revolutionary writings, is thought to be, in part, the author's response
to Thomas Paine's Common Sense, another influential Revolutionary era treatise published
in January of 1776. Both men agreed that the time had come for independence. Adams,
however, disagreed with Paine's ridicule of the concept of checks and balances in
government, believing firmly in constitutional controls whereby the separate branches
of central government have limiting powers over one another. In 1776, fighting had
already begun, and in May of that year Adams wrote the preamble for a resolution to
encourage the colonies to form their own governments.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/john-adams-thoughts-on-government/411653
North Carolina's Copy of the Bill of Rights, 1789
Scope and Content:
The Bill of Rights is the name given to the first 10 amendments of the United States
Constitution. These amendments are a series of limitations on the power of the United
States Federal government. George Washington commissioned fourteen copies to be given
to the thirteen colonies and federal government. North Carolina's copy was taken from
the State Capitol during the Civil War. The Bill of Rights was missing for nearly
140 years, on August 4, 2005 Governor Mike Easley accepted North Carolina's original
copy during a ceremony in the old Senate Chamber at the State Capitol.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolinas-copy-of-the-bill-of-rights/418670
2. John Lawson, "A History of Carolina..., 1714", 1714
3. Bertie County Court Manuscript, Revisal, 1715; 1722; 1723; 1729
Scope and Content:
The 1715 Revisal was the first codification of the laws in force at a given time in
colonial North Carolina. In addition to the 1715 codification, this manuscript contains
all public acts in force (not private laws affecting specific persons only) from the
sessions of August, 1720, October, 1722, and November, 1723. This manuscript is sometimes
called the 1723 Revisal because of the addition of the 1720-1723 acts. The next revisal
was in 1749 and was printed in 1752 by James Davis. Such revisals were distributed
to the county courts to inform them of current law.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/bertie-county-court-manuscript-revisal/414590
4. Jeremiah Vail, "Plan of Wilmington, 1743", 1743
Scope and Content:
Fear River Agreeable to the Original Survey. This Plan represents the Town of Wilmington
as laid out by the Original Proprietors of the same in the year 1733...." This Wilmington
town plan was drawn by Jeremiah Vail in 1743 and probably based on a survey made ten
years before in 1733. According to Vail's heading, the survey was made at the request
of the original land holders of the area, including a Hugh Blaning who was named in
the document as owning property next to the east bank of the Cape Fear River. One
owner in particular, John Watson, had acquired 640 acres, the original core of the
town. This tract, from which Watson sold acreage to others, appears on a 1733 Edward
Moseley map as the area called Watson. The survey was one of perhaps several, as other
plans of the town had been drawn. These plans resembled the plan of Brunswick, established
earlier on the west bank of the river.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/jeremiah-vail-plan-of-wilmington-1743/418162
5. Plan of Raleigh, 1792, 1792
Scope and Content:
During the colonial period North Carolina's legislature was reluctant to designate
a fixed seat of government. The few times a capital was named, circumstances changed
and the center of population began to shift. New Bern had been the colony's seat of
government between 1766 up to the American Revolution. During the Revolution, however,
the "Palace" was too much associated with royal government; and wary of invasion,
the government once again became migratory. In 1787 the legislature turned the problem
of locating a state capital over to a convention called in Hillsborough for the purpose
of considering the proposed federal constitution. This convention passed a resolution
that the capital be placed within ten miles of Isaac Hunter's tavern in Wake County.
The legislature, however, was given the task of deciding the exact site within the
circle around Hunter's land. No further action was taken during the sessions from
1788 to 1791, thanks to opposition from those who claimed such a site in the wilderness
would never be more than a village.
In early 1792, advocates of the Wake County site finally got enough support to name
a commission to locate the exact site of the capital. The Assembly appointed another
group to oversee the building of a state house in the new capital, to be named in
honor of Sir Walter Raleigh. William Christmas, a senator and a surveyor by profession,
drew the plan for Raleigh. Using a total of 400 acres, Christmas designated the axial
center of the city as Union Square. It was composed of six acres and intended as the
site of the future State House. The map described the square as "a beautiful eminence
which commands a view of the town and fine prospect of the surrounding county." Flanking
the corners of the center square were to be four four-acre squares or parks reserved
for public purposes. These were named Caswell, Nash, Burke, for the state's first
governors and Moore, in honor of Attorney General Alfred E. Moore. The four main streets
were named Halifax, Newbern, Fayetteville, and Hillsborough, judicial districts toward
the north, east, south, and west. These streets ran from the four sides of Union Square
and were to be 99 feet wide; the other 17 streets were to be 66 feet wide and were
named for the remaining judicial districts, the points of the compass, the commissioners
themselves, and several other prominent citizens, including the former owner of the
land.
The remaining 276 acres were marked off in one-acre lots to be sold at public auction,
with the proceeds used to build the capital and other public buildings. The plans
of William Christmas followed those drawn up in 1758 for George City, proposed as
a colonial capital during Governor Arthur Dobb's administration. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and Savannah, Georgia are examples of colonial cities established before Raleigh that
used a gridiron pattern of streets broken by public squares in each directional quadrant.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/plan-of-raleigh-1792/418303
6. General Robert E. Lee's Special Order 191, 1862
Scope and Content:
In early September of 1862, following the Confederate victory at Second Manassas,
the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee moved into Maryland at Frederick.
There General Lee wrote out his plans in great detail. On September 9 Lee issued Special
Order 191 giving strategic information on the division of units at the beginning of
his Maryland campaign. A copy was sent to General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who
in his own hand made a copy that he sent to General D. H. Hill. Hill kept the order
with his papers, which were later deposited in the North Carolina State Archives by
his family. When the Union Army moved into Frederick, an Indiana private found three
cigars wrapped in another copy of Special Order 191, also addressed to General Hill.
Controversy and mystery surround the story of how the orders came to be there.
However, the dispatch was passed through the Union chain of command and gave General
George B. McClellan advance notice of Lee's army's movements. Subsequently, Lee was
defeated and driven back by McClellan's army at Sharpsburg (Antietam), Maryland, September
17, 1862. Later, stories of the "Lost Dispatch" appeared in newspapers, and D. H.
Hill was largely blamed. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Hill carried on an extensive
correspondence to discover the circumstances surrounding the misplaced order. Finally,
in 1885, Hill conceded that "an order from Lee directed to me was lost, I do not now
doubt" but he denied that he had received it. To this day, students of the Civil War,
argue the questions of who lost the Special Order 191, how it happened, and what were
the long-term implications.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/general-robert-e.-lees-special-order-191/418305
7. "Gaelic Charm" [Douglas McFarland Paper, 1750], 1750
Scope and Content:
Written primarily in the Gaelic language, this "charm" was intended to protect the
believer against evil. On its reverse side is written "Dougald McFarland, Moore County
1750." Since Moore County was formed from Cumberland County in 1784, this was probably
written at a later time but may identify the original owner. The writer appears to
have been literate in both Gaelic and English. Scholars have given somewhat varied
translations and interpretations of the substance of the Gaelic charm, which calls
upon the miraculous power of "Calum Cille" assisted by the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
to banish harm. "Calum Cille" is the Gaelic name for Saint Columba. Born around 520
AD in Ireland, Calum Cille is credited with bringing Celtic Christianity to Scotland.
Beginning in 1739, large groups of Scots Highlanders settled in Cumberland County
and other areas along the rivers in the upper Cape Fear Valley. Toward the end of
the eighteenth century, Gaelic was still spoken in the region. Although landing in
North Carolina marked a new life for the Highlanders, certain Highland customs and
beliefs persisted, as shown by this remnant of Celtic Christianity.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/gaelic-charm-dougald-mcfarland-paper-1750/418322
8. Isaac E. Avery Paper, 1863
Scope and Content:
Thirty-five year old Colonel Isaac Erwin Avery was the grandson of Waightstill Avery,
the fiery Revolutionary War hero who served as the first attorney general of North
Carolina. As General Robert F. Hoke's senior colonel, Isaac Avery was thrust in command
of Hoke's brigade at Gettysburg because Hoke had been badly injured and narrowly missed
losing his left arm in the fight near Chancellorsville two months earlier.
As the afternoon of July 2 wore on at Gettysburg, Major General Jubal Early instructed
the small brigades of Hoke and General Harry Hays of Louisiana to attack the heavily
fortified enemy positions on East Cemetery Hill-then considered the most strategic
position for Union General George Meade. From the hill, the Union soldiers could observe
in the twilight the Confederate assault columns as they formed. Avery's three regiments
moved to the right of Hays' Louisiana Tigers.
During the ascent of the hill, Isaac Avery was shot and knocked from his horse; as
he lay bleeding to death, he gathered enough strength to take from his coat a lead
pencil and a scrap of paper. With his writing hand paralyzed, he used his left to
scrawl a note which was addressed to his business partner and aide, Major Samuel McDowell
Tate. Colonel Isaac Erwin Avery's dying message read: "Major: Tell my Father I died
with my face to the enemy. I. E. Avery"
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/isaac-e.-avery-paper/418327
9. "Early Times in Raleigh: An Address by the Honorable David L. Swain at the dedication of Tucker Hall", 1867
Scope and Content:
Speeches by former governor David Swain on the early history of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Under former legislator and governor, David L. Swain, the University of North Carolina
entered a new era in 1835. As college president, Swain popularized the institution
and substantially increased its enrollment, attracting for the first time a number
of students from other states. In 1844 he founded at Chapel Hill the N.C. Historical
Society, which began the collection of documents relating to the history of the state.
In the spring of 1867, President Andrew Johnson attended commencement exercises at
the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Swain welcomed Johnson, a native
North Carolinian, born in Raleigh in 1808.
During his visit, President Johnson and Swain both traveled to Raleigh for a service
dedicating a long-delayed monument to the deceased father of the president. Jacob
Johnson, a humble man, had died following the ordeal of saving two prominent men from
drowning in Walnut Creek during the winter of 1810 or 1811. Swain delivered a lengthy
historical address, ending with a tribute to Jacob Johnson and expressing his own
hopes for the Reconstruction Era. Declaring that the president's late father "had
many friends in every walk of life, and no enemies," Swain spoke of the "crossed swords,
surmounted by the stripes and stars" on top of the monument. He urged that these symbols
"form an appropriate 'Memorial Association' for the Confederate and Union dead...to
promote harmony and restore 'the more perfect Union' designed by the Constitution
of our common country." Less than a year later Johnson was impeached.
Swain delivered a second address during the summer of 1867 at the dedication of Tucker
Hall-thereafter a site for plays, lectures, musical events, and other entertainments.
Both addresses reflected Swain's interest in the early history of the state and North
Carolina's capital city. Rufus S. Tucker then assembled the two speeches and published
them locally under the title Early Times in Raleigh. The volume includes maps of the
City of Raleigh for the years 1792, 1834, and 1847.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/early-times-in-raleigh-an-address-by-the-honorable-david-l.-swain-at-the-dedication-of-tucker-hall/418338
10. "Proprietary Concessions Relating to the Lower Cape Fear", 1663
Scope and Content:
Contains the plans for the earliest settlement of the Carolinas under the proprietorship.
It includes concessions granted by the Lords Proprietors for settlement of Carolina
at the Cape Fear River, which became Clarendon County, August 5, 1663. The "Concessions"
begin with a summary of the charter granted in 1663 by Charles II to the Earl of Clarendon,
the Duke of Albemarle, Anthony Cooper, Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury, and
five other Lords Proprietors. It continues with a series of eight provisions, granting
lands, political privileges, etc., for all persons who would settle there.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/proprietary-concessions-relating-to-the-lower-cape-fear/410769
11. George Washington, August 26, 1790, to the Governor and Council of State of North Carolina [Letter], 1790
Scope and Content:
In a letter dated August 26, 1790, George Washington wrote the Governor (Alexander
Martin) and Council of State congratulating them on the ratification of the Constitution.
In the letter, Washington thanks the governor and council for the "friendly sentiments
entertained by you for my person, as well as for the Government which I have been
appointed by my Countrymen to administer."
In May 1974 this historic letter was offered for sale by Sotheby Parke Bernet of New
York. Since it is clearly a public record from the files of the governor, the state
took legal action to recover it. In an out of court settlement, the letter was returned
to North Carolina and the North Carolina State Archives by an anonymous donor in 1977.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/george-washington-august-26-1790-to-the-governor-and-council-of-state-of-north-carolina/410781
12. Unassigned--old call number
13. Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 1793
Scope and Content:
This document is a Resolution of Congress, passed in 1793, proposing an amendment
to the federal Constitution that would limit the power of the federal judiciary. The
resolution was signed by Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania as Speaker
of the House and by Vice President John Adams of Massachusetts as president of the
Senate. The United States Constitution, Article III, gives Congress the authority
to establish federal courts and to define much of their jurisdiction. To implement
this article, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789. In defining
federal jurisdiction under this act, Congress made state courts and even state legislatures
subordinate to the federal judiciary.
During that period even North Carolina's Federalists, who supported a strong central
government, were generally opposed to such an extension of federal power. North Carolina's
legislature was so provoked with these developments that it voted in 1790 to support
the Edenton Superior Court for refusing to transfer a case to federal district court
as ordered. This resolution to Congress was passed in the same year as the landmark
Supreme Court Case, Chisholm v. Georgia, which affirmed the right of a citizen of
one state to sue another state in federal court. This challenge to state's rights
prompted the dissent of North Carolina's one United States Supreme Court Justice,
James Iredell, Sr.
In a lengthy argument, Iredell described the nature of the Constitution as a compact
between states and the federal government, arguing that states were sovereign except
for those constitutional powers given specifically to the federal government. Support
for Iredell's opinion contributed to the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution. Proposed
in 1794 and ratified the following year, this amendment was significant in restoring
the principle of state's sovereign immunity and was important in future constitutional
tests and developments.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/eleventh-amendment-to-the-u.s.-constitution/418697
14. "Shaffer's New Township Map of North Carolina", 1886
Scope and Content:
In 1886, A. Webster Shaffer published several versions of his New Township Map of
North Carolina. These included a large wall map, 40 in. x 75 in., and a fold-out pocket
version. The latter is held by the State Archives of North Carolina. Inside the map's
hard cover, there are several testimonials, including one by Sidney M. Finger, State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, who claimed that his was the first township
map ever issued in North Carolina.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/shaffers-new-township-map-of-north-carolina/410745
15. Appointment of Samuel Tredwell signed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, February 19, 1793, 1793
Scope and Content:
This document is the appointment of Samuel Tredwell as Collector of Customs for the
District of Edenton, including the port of Edenton (Port Roanoke). It was signed February
19, 1793 by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, as Washington's first Secretary
of State. Born on Long Island, New York in 1763, Tredwell was the nephew of Samuel
Johnston (1733-1816), who served as North Carolina's governor (1787-1789), U.S. senator
(1789-1793), and president of North Carolina's second Constitutional Convention that
adopted the federal Constitution in 1789. Tredwell was also the nephew of Hannah Johnston
Iredell, married to James Iredell, Sr., future United States Supreme Court Justice.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/appointment-of-samuel-tredwell-signed-by-george-washington-and-thomas-jefferson/411284
16. Fort Fisher Log Book, 1864, May 20, 1864-November 10, 1864
Scope and Content:
Over the course of the Civil War, the port of Wilmington held almost to the end as
the main Confederate center of blockade-running. A large factor in Wilmington's strength
was its defense by the powerful Fort Fisher, located at the mouth of the Cape Fear
River. The fort had withstood Union naval attacks in 1862 and 1864, making it impossible
for the northern blockade to stop the transport of supplies to General Lee's army.
Late in 1864, around the time of the termination of this Log Book, the federal leaders
decided to cut off these vital supplies by capturing Fort Fisher and Wilmington. After
a second attack, Fort Fisher fell on January 15, 1865. Five weeks later, the Union
army occupied Wilmington. The fall of Fort Fisher and Wilmington was a major factor
sealing the fate of Lee's army.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/fort-fisher-log-book-1864/411276
17. Tar Heel Collection
Letter from Joseph Adolphus Engelhard, August 28, 1864, 1864
Scope and Content:
Autograph letter, signed, dated August 28, 1864, from Major Jos[eph] A. Engelhard to "Friend Ruf" describing the Battle of Ream's Station, Virginia on August 25, 1864 and referring to the North Carolinians participating in the battle as Tar Heels.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-joseph-adolphus-engelhard-august-28-1864/411500
"Wearin' of the Grey written by Tar Heel", 1866
Scope and Content:
These three pages of sheet music, "Wearin' of the Grey written by Tar Heel" were first
printed in 1866. The attribution to "Tar Heel" is the first known use of the term
in post-Civil War published works. The author, "Tar Heel" is obviously a pseudonym.
Published in Baltimore by William C. Miller, the piece is arranged for the piano forte
with voice and uses the same melody as the Irish tune, "Wearing of the Green."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/wearin-of-the-grey-written-by-tar-heel/411526
Diary of William Lowrance, 1862-1863
Scope and Content:
Diary of William B. A. Lowrance, Nov. 2, 1862-Feb. 6, 1863. The last narrative entry
of this Civil War diary, on February 6, 1863, contains a phrase using the nickname
"Tar Heels" for soldiers of North Carolina. While encamped in what is now Pender County
in the southeastern part of the state, 2nd Lieutenant William B. A. Lowrance wrote,
"I know now what is meant by the Piney Woods of North Carolina and the idea occurs
to me that it is no wonder we are called 'Tar Heels.'" This diary entry is considered
the earliest surviving written use of the term.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/diary-of-william-lowrance/411541
18. Letter from George Washington to Governor and Council of State, 1789, 1789
Scope and Content:
George Washington took his country's presidential oath of office in April of 1789.
Prior to North Carolina's second Constitutional Convention, which ratified the federal
Constitution, President George Washington addressed the this letter to the Governor
(Samuel Johnston) and the Council of the State of North Carolina.
"June 19, 1789 [I am] gratified by the favourable sentiments which are evinced in
your address to me, and impressed with an idea that the Citizens of your State are
sincerely attached to the Interest, the Prosperity and the Glory of America; I most
earnestly implore the Divine benediction and guidance in the councils, which are shortly
to be taken by their Delegates on a subject of the most momentous consequence, I mean
the political relation which is to subsist hereafter, between the State of North Carolina
and the States now in Union under the new general Government."
Delegates to North Carolina's first Constitutional Convention meeting in Hillsborough
in July-August of 1788 had refused to ratify the United State Constitution without
a Bill of Rights. Consequently, North Carolina remained outside the Union for more
than a year. Therefore, when George Washington became first president of the United
States, North Carolina had no voice in his selection. However, most students and scholars
of this period agree that the state had anticipated for sometime becoming a part of
the new nation. After the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution, a new
convention was called in November of 1789 to reconsider the decision not to ratify.
Subsequently, North Carolina to become the twelfth state to join the Union.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p15012coll11/id/124
19. Unassigned--old call number
20. James Iredell, Senior, Diary, 1770; 1773-1774
Scope and Content:
Iredell's diary begins in 1770, the year he read law under Samuel Johnston, the nephew
of a former royal governor, and was successfully licensed at Edenton to practice law
in the inferior courts of North Carolina. The diary ends in early 1773, shortly before
Iredell married Hannah Johnston, one of Samuel Johnston's sisters. The diary itself
reveals a high-minded and ambitious young man, his romantic feelings, and his social
world-one of the few such accounts existing for North Carolina during this period.
It also offers a vivid picture of young Iredell's network of friends and acquaintances
in pre-Revolutionary Edenton, along with his legal study and his thoughts on political
ideas and events at home and abroad. Most powerfully, it offers an intimate glimpse
of his courtship with Hannah, along with his strong feelings about women and his desire
for mutual respect as a basis for marriage.
One passage, dated November 16, 1772, is especially revealing: "Heard in the Course
of the Evening many discharges of Guns on acct. of Horniblow's being married to Nancy
Rainbough---Was told she was averse to the Match, & forced to it by her Father & Mother.
---Is it true? can such cruel Parents exist?---& too easy, too compliant Daughter
with the desire of your Parents in a point they have no right to command...The married
State to Parties whose Minds are in unison with each other, & whose hearts are connected
by the fondest Ties of Affections is the most blissful Situation The Mind of Many
can conceive...Oh! Hannah, I trust We shall be happy---Our Hearts are disposed to
good & Benevolent Actions---Our Wishes formed on no Visionary Basis---& our Affections
cemented by the strongest, dearest Ties of the most tender Attachment.---God grant,
I may have it in some degree in my powers, by a pleasing, unremitting Attention to
make her happy, to succeed in my Endeavors..."
In the year following his marriage, Iredell wrote "To the Inhabitants of Great Britain"
opposing the concept of Parliamentary supremacy over America. This essay helped establish
Iredell as the most influential political essayist in pre-Revolutionary North Carolina.
Also during 1774, McCulloh negotiated the transfer of the collectorship of the Port
of Roanoke to Iredell-a post he held until June 1776 when he irrevocably cast his
lot with the Patriots. Iredell was in Edenton at the time of the Edenton Tea Party
on October 25, 1774, one of the earliest known instances of political activity by
American women. Possibly because of Iredell's official position, Hannah Johnston Iredell
refrained from signing resolutions supporting the First North Carolina Provincial
Congress, which voted to boycott certain British products. However, the names of Hannah's
sisters and her sisters-in-law were on the list.
The London newspapers carried accounts of the event, prompting Iredell's brother Arthur
to write from England the following much quoted letter: "I see by the newspapers the
Edenton ladies have signalized themselves by their protest against tea-drinking. The
name of Johnston [the maiden name of Mrs. Iredell] I see among others; are any of
my sister's relations patriotic heroines? Is there a female Congress at Edenton too?
I hope not for we Englishmen are afraid of the male Congress, but if the ladies, who
have ever since the Amazonian Era, been esteemed the most formidable enemies, if they,
I say should attack us, the most fatal consequence is to be dreaded."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/james-iredell-senior-diary/411687
21. Collection of Printed Acts of the U.S. Congress, 1790-1799, 1790-1799
An Act making Provision for the Debt of the United States. August 4, 1790, 1790
Scope and Content:
Congress of the United States, at the second session, held in the city of New York,
January 4, 1790. An Act making provisions for the debt of the United States, "Whereas
justice and support of public credit require, that provision should be made for fulfilling
the engagements of the United States, in respect to their foreign debt, and for funding
their domestic debt upon equitable and satisfactory terms." One of seven acts and
one resolution of the First Congress, Second and Third Session, 1790-1791. Each is
one of the two certified copies sent to the North Carolina General Assembly as required
by U.S. law, and each was certified by Jefferson as Secretary of State.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-making-provision-for-the-debt-of-the-united-states.-august-4-1790/412331
An Act to provide more effectively for the Settlement of the Accounts between the United States and the Individual states. August 5, 1790, 1790
Scope and Content:
Congress of the United States, at the second session, held in the city of New York,
January 4, 1790. An Act to provide more effectually for the settlement of the accounts
between the United States and the individual States. One of seven acts and one resolution
of the First Congress, Second and Third Session, 1790-1791. Each is one of the two
certified copies sent to the North Carolina General Assembly as required by U.S. law,
and each was certified by Jefferson as Secretary of State.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-to-provide-more-effectively-for-the-settlement-of-the-accounts-between-the-united-states-and-the-individual-states.-august-5-1790/412356
An Act authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to finish the Lighthouse, on Portland-Head, in the District of Maine. August 10, 1790, 1790
Scope and Content:
Congress of the United States, at the second session, held in the city of New York,
January 4, 1790. An act authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to finish the lighthouse,
on Portland-Head, in the district of Maine. One of seven acts and one resolution of
the First Congress, Second and Third Session, 1790-1791. Each is one of the two certified
copies sent to the North Carolina General Assembly as required by U.S. law, and each
was certified by Jefferson as Secretary of State.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-authorizing-the-secretary-of-the-treasury-to-finish-the-lighthouse-on-portland-head-in-the-district-of-maine.-august-10-1790/412364
An Act declaring the Assent of Congress to certain Acts of the States of Maryland, Georgia, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. August 12, 1790, 1790
Scope and Content:
Congress of the United States: at the second session, held in the city of New York,
January 4, 1790. An Act declaring the assent of Congress to certain Acts of the States
of Maryland, Georgia, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. One of seven acts and
one resolution of the First Congress, Second and Third Session, 1790-1791. Each is
one of the two certified copies sent to the North Carolina General Assembly as required
by U.S. law, and each was certified by Jefferson as Secretary of State.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-declaring-the-assent-of-congress-to-certain-acts-of-the-states-of-maryland-georgia-and-rhode-island-and-providence-plantations.-august-12-1790/412372
An Act making certain Appropriations therein mentioned, August 12, 1790, 1790
Scope and Content:
The Congress of the United States, at the second session, begun and held in the city
of New York, on Monday, January 4, 1790 approved the Act to make certain Appropriations.
One of seven acts and one resolution of the First Congress, Second and Third Session,
1790-1791. Each is one of the two certified copies sent to the North Carolina General
Assembly as required by U.S. law, and each was certified by Jefferson as Secretary
of State.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-making-certain-appropriations-therein-mentioned-august-12-1790/412370
An Act for the Admission of the State of Vermont into the Union, February 18, 1791, 1791
Scope and Content:
The Congress of the United States, at the third session, begun and held in the city
of Philadelphia, on Monday December 6, 1790 approved the Act for the Admission of
the State of Vermont into the Union. The State of Vermont had petitioned the Congress
to be admitted a member of the United States, and on March 4, 1791 Vermont would become
the 14 state of the United States. One of seven acts and one resolution of the First
Congress, Second and Third Session, 1790-1791. Each is one of the two certified copies
sent to the North Carolina General Assembly as required by U.S. law, and each was
certified by Jefferson as Secretary of State.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-for-the-admission-of-the-state-of-vermont-into-the-union-february-18-1791/412379
Resolution of the United States Congress. Resolved ... That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be communicated to ... France the peculiar sensibility of Congress to the tribute paid to the memory of Benjamin Franklin ... March 2, 1791, 1791
Scope and Content:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, that the president of the United States be requested to cause
to be communicated to the National Assembly of France the peculiar sensibility of
Congress to the tribute paid to the memory of Benjamin Franklin, by the enlightened
and free representatives of a great nation, in their decree of the eleventh of June,
one thousand seven hundred and ninety. Congress of the United States, third session,
begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, on Monday the sixth of December, one thousand
seven hundred and ninety. Approved, March 2, 1791. George Washington, president of
the United States.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/resolution-of-the-united-states-congress.-resolved-...-that-the-president-of-the-united-states-be-requested-to-cause-to-be-communicated-to-...-france-the-peculiar-sensibility-of-congress-to-the-tribute-paid-to-the-memory-of-benjamin-franklin-...-march-2-1791/412375
An Act repealing, after the last Day of June next, the Duties hereto fore laid upon Distilled Spirits imported from abroad, and laying others in their Stead; and also upon Spirits Distilled within the United States, and for appropriating the same, March 3, 1791., 1791
Scope and Content:
Originally four folios in sixteen printed pages. Now incomplete, and having only two
folios, (A) and D. Pages (1), 2, 3, 13, 14, 15, and 16. Encapsulated. This document
explicates the taxes to be imposed on spirits within the United States. These excise
taxes sparked the Whiskey Rebellion. Approved specifically by George Washington, as
President, John Adams, as Vice President, and Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, as Speaker
of the House of Respresentatives.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-repealing-after-the-last-day-of-june-next-the-duties-hereto-fore-laid-upon-distilled-spirits-imported-from-abroad-and-laying-others-in-their-stead-and-also-upon-spirits-distilled-within-the-united-states-and-for-appropriating-the-same-march-3-1791/412385
An Act for Raising and Adding Another Regiment to the Military Establishment of the United States and for making further Provision for the Protection of the Frontiers, March 3, 1791, 1791
Scope and Content:
An Act for Raising and Adding Another Regiment to the Military Establishment of the
United States and for making further Provision for the Protection of the Frontiers.
Act of the First Congress of the United States, passed at the third session, March
3, 1791.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/an-act-for-raising-and-adding-another-regiment-to-the-military-establishment-of-the-united-states-and-for-making-further-provision-for-the-protection-of-the-frontiers-march-3-1791/412402
The Acts of the Third Session, Fifth United States Congress, December 1798, 1798
Scope and Content:
Acts of the Fifth Congress of the United States, passed at the third session, which
was begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, on Monday,
the third day of December, 1798, and ended on the third day of March, 1799.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-acts-of-the-third-session-fifth-united-states-congress-december-1798/411709
The Acts of the First Session, Sixth United States Congress, December 1799, 1799
Scope and Content:
Acts of the Sixth Congress of the United States, passed at the first session, which
was begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, on Monday,
the second day of December, 1798, and ended on the third day of March, 1801.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-acts-of-the-first-session-sixth-united-states-congress-december-1799/412231
22. Letter of Marque issued to "Northampton", 1776
Scope and Content:
This Letter of Marque was issued by the Continental Congress on October 24, 1776,
to James Powell, commander of the 3-ton schooner, Northampton. It is signed by John Hancock, president of the Congress. A letter of Marque and
Reprisal commissioned a privately owned vessel as a privateer in the service of its
country. It granted to the commander the right during times of war to fit out with
arms in order to plunder or to capture the enemy's ships.
Shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, the Provincial
Congress, forerunner of the Continental Congress, authorized the Colonies to "at your
own expense, make such provisions by armed vessels for the protection of your harbors
and navigation...", thereby allowing the colonies to grant Letters of Marque to private
ships. Without this protection, the commanders and crews of these ships would be treated
as pirates if caught. By April of 1776, the Continental Congress issued its own commissions,
including strict rules about prizes, prisoners, and reporting. Congress also required
that one-third of the crew be landsmen-possibly to protect the fledgling navy from
losing too many enlistees to privateering.
When the bearers of the Letters of Marque sold their prizes, some of the profit went
to Congress. During the Revolution, both sides freely commissioned privateers. Despite
having a large public navy in place, Britain was thought to have employed almost as
many such vessels as did the colonists.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-of-marque-issued-to-northampton/412416
23. Signers of the Declaration of Independence Collection
Letter from William Hooper
Scope and Content:
Autograph letter, dated 1 May from William Hooper to an unidentified correspondent
Holograph will of John Penn, Granville County, 1784, 1784
Scope and Content:
Holograph will of John Penn, Granville County, 1784
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/holograph-will-of-john-penn-granville-county-1784/412431
Inventory of the estate of William Gabbie, 1773
Scope and Content:
"Inventory of the estate of William Gabbie deceased taken March the 12th 1773, containing
what the dec'd possessed of." William Hooper, attorney to James McNeill, administrator
of the estate, signed and attested this document, April 1, 1773.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/inventory-of-the-estate-of-william-gabbie/412419
24. Presidential Autographs
John Tyler Autograph, 1842
Scope and Content:
John Tyler Autograph, Manuscript document, dated September 5, 1842 and signed by John Tyler, appointing James Iredell "a commissioner to adjust and settle certain claims arising under the Treaty with the Cherokees of 1835"
Letter from George Washington, New York, October 2, 1789, to Samuel Johnston, 1789
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: George Washington (1789-1797) Washington transmits a list
of amendments to the Constitution of the United States (The Bill of Rights) to Governor
Johnston and urges North Carolina to ratify the Constitution thereby joining the Union.
North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify at a Convention in Fayetteville
on December 22, 1789.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-george-washington-new-york-october-2-1789-to-samuel-johnston/410983
Letter from John Adams, September 4, 1798, to John Steele, Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury, 1798
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: John Adams (1797-1801). Adams thanks Steele for sending him
various resolutions passed by citizens of Bladen County and comments favorably on
the record election of Archibald Henderson, a Federalist, to Congress.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-john-adams-september-4-1798-to-john-steele-comptroller-of-the-u.s.-treasury/411068
Letter from Thomas Jefferson, Washington, December 10, 1802, to John Steel, 1802
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Jefferson sends regrets that
Steele has found it necessary to resign his appointment as Comptroller of the Treasury.
He praises Steele's service and reiterates his wish that Steele could remain in office.
John Steele, (1764-1815), was appointed Comptroller of the Treasury in 1796 and served
in that capacity until 1802 when he resigned primarily because of illness in his family.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-thomas-jefferson-washington-december-10-1802-to-john-steel/411234
Letter from Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, January 22, 1816, to Nathaniel Macon, 1816
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Jefferson, writing in response
to a request by Macon, United States Senator from North Carolina, for suggestions
about a proposed statue of George Washington, says that only Antonio Canova, the greatest
sculptor alive, should execute the work and only from Italian marble. Canova was chosen
to make the statue which was brought to Raleigh in 1821. When the old State House
burned in 1831, the building's dome fell in on the statue and destroyed it. In the
early twentieth century, Canova's working model for the Washington statue was discovered
in Italy. In May 1970, the state received a marble copy of this model which is on
display in the state Capital rotunda.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-thomas-jefferson-monticello-january-22-1816-to-nathaniel-macon/412446
Letter from James Madison, January 16, 1810, to the North Carolina General Assembly, 1810
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: James Madison (1809-1817) President Madison expresses pleasure
at North Carolina General Assembly's approval of the administration's actions "for
maintaining the rights of the Nation, and the respect due its Government. " Madison
notes the "unyielding injustice of foreign powers " but assures the General Assembly
that the government gains strength from the support and cooperation of the states.
James Madison entered the presidency in 1809 facing problems with France and Great
Britain which had grown steadily during the Jefferson administration. The Embargo,
Enforcement, and Non-Intercourse acts drew strong opposition from many, particularly
in the north, and Madison's support from North Carolina was especially important.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-madison-january-16-1810-to-the-north-carolina-general-assembly/411050
Letter from James Madison, Montpelier, July 15, 1831, to Governor Montfort Stokes, 1831
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: James Madison (1809-1817) A letter from James Madison to informs
Stokes that he is sending his personal copy of John Lawson's The History of Carolina to replace the one destroyed by the fire in the State House. The prized Lawson volume
which was burned in the June 21, 1831 fire which destroyed the State House had been
purchased for the State Library at the November 20, 1821 estate sale of Robert Williams
of Raleigh for $65. The copy donated by Madison remains today as part of the collection
of the State Library of North Carolina.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-madison-montpelier-july-15-1831-to-governor-montfort-stokes/411046
Letter from John Quincy Adams, May 23, 1846, to Charles Phillips, 1846
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: John Quincy Adams (1825-1829). Adams comments on his father's
essay, "Thoughts on Government." He expresses pride in the fact that so many of his
father's ideas had been adopted by North Carolina in the writing of its constitution.
He also discusses the Declaration of Independence which he says "recognizes the duty,
as well as the right, of a Nation's abrogating its established form of Government
to institute another for the protection of the rights of person and property."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-john-quincy-adams-may-23-1846-to-charles-phillips/411086
Letter from Martin Van Buren, July 26, 1830, to Nathaniel Macon, 1830
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) A letter from Martin Van Buren,
to Nathaniel Macon. Van Buren, Secretary of State in the Jackson administration in
1830, informs Macon that he is sending a letter of Macon's which is supportive of
the Jackson administration to the Richmond Enquirer for possible publication. In a later letter to Van Buren, Macon expresses displeasure
at what he considered the impropriety of the public disclosure of a personal letter
and states that Van Buren's act "has not diminished my friendly feelings toward you,
though it may have diminished my confidence."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-martin-van-buren-july-26-1830-to-nathaniel-macon/411101
Letter from John Tyler, May 14, 1861, to Col. J. Johnston Pettigrew, aid-de-camp to Governor Francis W. Pickens of South Carolina, 1861
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: John Tyler (1841-1845), signed this document. As the Civil
War approached, Tyler, as a former president, led efforts at compromise; however,
when he realized that conflict was inevitable, he supported the Confederacy and was
elected from Virginia as a member of the Confederate House of Representatives then
meeting in Montgomery. Pettigrew, a native of Tyrrell County, North Carolina, practiced
law in Charleston, South Carolina and was colonel of the First Regiment of Rifles
of Charleston. Tyler informs Pettigrew that because of the expected long duration
of the war and the change in the method of enrolling volunteers the Confederate War
Department had full authority to appoint officers, including those of Pettigrew's
proposed Rifle Regiment. When Pettigrew's regiment could not enter the Confederate
Army on his own terms, he went to Richmond and enlisted in Hampton's Legion.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-john-tyler-may-14-1861-to-col.-j.-johnston-pettigrew-aid-de-camp-to-governor-francis-w.-pickens-of-south-carolina/411073
James K. Polk Autographs, 1836-1849
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on November 29,
1836
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-november-29-1836/412469
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on April 24,
1838
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-april-24-1838/412482
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on December 16,
1838
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-december-16-1838/412491
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on December 21,
1838
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-december-21-1838/412515
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on January 27,
1839
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-january-27-1839/412532
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on March 30,
1839
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-march-30-1839/412542
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on April 14,
1839
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-april-14-1839/412550
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on November 24,
1840
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-november-11-1840/412580
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on May 6, 1849
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-may-6-1849/412590
Scope and Content:
A letter from James K. Polk to his brother, William H. Polk, written on May 28, 1849
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-james-k.-polk-to-william-h.-polk-may-28-1849/412606
Scope and Content:
A letter from Andrew Johnson to Mrs. William H. Polk, written on July 27, 1867
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-andrew-johnson-to-mrs.-william-h.-polk-july-27-1867/412635
Scope and Content:
James K. Polk, (1845-1849) a native of Mecklenburg County and an 1818 graduate of
the University of North Carolina, declines Swain's invitation to stay at Swain's home
in Chapel Hill when Polk speaks at the upcoming commencement. Polk feels it would
be better for him to stay at a "public house" because of the crowds at such occasions.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p15012coll11/id/207
Order signed by Abraham Lincoln, April 8, 1862, authorizing and directing the Secretary of State of affix the Seal of the United States to a document addressed to the Emperor of Russia announcing the recall of Cassius Clay as American Ambassdor, 1862
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Cassius Marcellus Clay, although
a native of Kentucky, was a fervent abolitionist and strong supporter of the Republican
party and Lincoln's campaign for president in 1860. Clay was appointed as ambassador
to Russia in 1861, but was recalled in 1862 to accept the post of major general in
the United States Army. Clay returned to Russia in 1863 and served as ambassador until
1869.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/order-signed-by-abraham-lincoln-april-8-1862-authorizing-and-directing-the-secretary-of-state-of-affix-the-seal-of-the-united-states-to-a-document-addressed-to-the-emperor-of-russia-announcing-the-recall-of-cassius-clay-as-american-ambassdor/410794
Parole signed by Andrew Johnson dated September 28, 1866 granting Zebulon B. Vance permission to visit any place in the United States subject to the conditions imposed by the parole, 1866
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Parole signed by Andrew Johnson
dated September 28, 1866 granting Zebulon B. Vance permission to visit any place in
the United States subject to the conditions imposed by the parole. Zebulon Baird Vance
served as governor of North Carolina during the Civil War years, 1862-1865. At the
end of the war, Vance was arrested at his home in Statesville and taken to the Old
Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. He was released from prison after federal officials
discovered that he had worked for improvement of conditions for Federal prisoners
at the Confederate prison at Salisbury.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/parole-signed-by-andrew-johnson-dated-september-28-1866-granting-zebulon-b.-vance-permission-to-visit-any-place-in-the-united-states-subject-to-the-conditions-imposed-by-the-parole/410796
Grover Cleveland Autograph, 1885
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: Stephen Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) Dockery,
a North Carolina Republican, had been appointed as consul at Leeds in 1877 by Rutherford
B. Hayes but was recalled by the Democrat Cleveland.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/grover-cleveland-autograph/411002
Letters Patent Signed by President William Howard Taft, 1909
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: William Howard Taft (1909-1913). Appointment of Henry G. Conner
to United District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, signed by President
William Taft.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letters-patent-signed-by-president-william-howard-taft/411253
Jimmy Carter Autograph, 1978
Scope and Content:
Presidential Signature: President Carter consistently signs his name simply as Jimmy
Carter. This card was enclosed in a letter dated February 16, 1978 from Robert W.
Scott, former governor of North Carolina and chairman of the Appalachian Regional
Commission, to then State Archivist Thornton W. Mitchell
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/jimmy-carter-autograph/411057
25. "North Carolina Constitutional Reader, Being a Hand Book for Primary Use in One Part", 1903
Scope and Content:
A scarce African-American imprint by G. Ellis Harris, Principal of a school at Littleton,
with the title: North Carolina Constitutional Reader, Being a Hand Book for Primary Use in One Part (Raleigh: Printing Office, St. Augustine's School, 1903). The volume was designed
to overcome the burden placed on African-American voters by the provisions of the
Permanent Registration Act of 1901 (the "Grandfather Clause") by enabling them to
read and construe any part of the Constitution with which they might be confronted
by poll officials; and, as such, it is an important piece of evidence of the African-American
response to the Act.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolina-constitutional-reader-being-a-hand-book-for-primary-use-in-one-part/412651
26. Printed Copy of the U.S. Constitution, 1787
Scope and Content:
A printed copy of the United States Constitution [Printed by McLean, published by
Dunlap], Philadelphia, 1787. Attested by Charles Thomson.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/printed-copy-of-the-u.s.-constitution/412920
27. "Journal, of a Young Man of Massachusetts, late a surgeon on board an American Privateer, Who Was Captured at Sea by the British... and was confined first at Melville Island, Halifax, then at Chatham, in England, and last, at Dartmoor Prison", 1816
Scope and Content:
A journal, of a young man of Massachusetts, late a surgeon on board an American privateer,
who was captured at sea by the British, in May, Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen, and
was confined first, at Melville Island, Halifax, then at Chatham, in England, and
last at Dartmoor prison.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/journal-of-a-young-man-of-massachusetts-late-a-surgeon-on-board-an-american-privateer-who-was-captured-at-sea-by-the-british...-and-was-confined-first-at-melville-island-halifax-then-at-chatham-in-england-and-last-at-dartmoor-prison/412935
28. "The Cherokee Physician, or Indian Guide to Health, as given by Richard Foreman, a Cherokee Doctor...to which is added a Short Dispensatory", 1849
Scope and Content:
"The Cherokee Physician, or Indian Guide to Health, as given by Richard Forman, a
Cherokee Doctor; Comprising a Brief View of Anatomy, with General Rules for Preserving
Health Without the Use of Medicines. The Diseases of the U. States, With Their Symptoms,
Causes, and Means of Prevention, are Treated on in a Satisfactory Manner. It also
Contains a Description of a Variety of Herbs and Roots, Many of Which are not Explained
in any Other Book, and Their Medical Virtues Have Hitherto Been Unknown to Whites;
to Which is Added a Short Dispensatory by Jas. W. Mahoney." This copy of the book
is a small octavo, bound in brown calf skin. Published in Asheville in 1849 by Edney
& Dedman.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-cherokee-physician-or-indian-guide-to-health-as-given-by-richard-foreman-a-cherokee-doctor...to-which-is-added-a-short-dispensatory/412975
29. Letter from President Jefferson Davis, on May 23, 1861, to Governor John W. Ellis of North Carolina, 1861
Scope and Content:
A letter from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, written in Montgomery, Alabama,
on May 23, 1861, to Governor John W. Ellis of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina,
regarding the armaments of war.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-president-jefferson-davis-on-may-23-1861-to-governor-john-w.-ellis-of-north-carolina/418730
30. Green wax pendant and bullion braid
Scope and Content:
Green wax pendant and bullion braid used to fasten together the four sheets of vellum containing the exemplification of the Carolina Charter of 1663.
31. Letter from the United States Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to North Carolina Governor Alexander Martin, Philadelphia, January 26, 1791, 1791
Scope and Content:
Letter from the United States Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to North Carolina
Governor Alexander Martin dated Philadelphia, January 26, 1791 regarding notification
of the passage of various acts during the first session of the United States Congress.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-the-united-states-secretary-of-state-thomas-jefferson-to-north-carolina-governor-alexander-martin-philadelphia-january-26-1791/413638
32. Proposed U. S. Thirteen Amendment, 13 March 1861: U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward Transmittal document, 13 March 1861; Signed Transmittal letter, 16 March 1861, from President Abraham Lincoln to Governor John W. Ellis, with original Thirteenth Amendment., 1861
Scope and Content:
Proposed U. S. Thirteen Amendment, 13 March 1861: U. S. Secretary of State William
H. Seward Transmittal document, 13 March 1861; Signed Transmittal letter, 16 March
1861, from President Abraham Lincoln to Governor John W. Ellis, with original Thirteenth
Amendment.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/proposed-u.-s.-thirteen-amendment-13-march-1861-u.-s.-secretary-of-state-william-h.-seward-transmittal-document-13-march-1861/413645
33. Resolution on Authorizing a Secession Convention, 7 January 1861, 1861
Scope and Content:
Four resolutions of the General Assembly submitted to the Senate and/or referred to
Senate committee in early January 1861. One resolution states that "unless by the
4th day of March next, the lust of exclusive Northern sectional domination shall be
quenched and a reaction in public sentiment at the North upon the subject of slavery
shall have taken place...it will be the duty of North Carolina, making common cause
with her sister states of the South, to seek safety out of the Union." A second resolution
refers the governor's message on "the recruiting of solders among the several counties"
to the committee on Military Affairs. A third resolution requests that the governor
"inform the Senate if any portion of the citizens of North Carolina have consulted
with him upon the propriety of taking possession of the United States forts in North
Carolina." A note on the verso side indicates that this resolution was tabled on 7
January 1861 and a separate note from the reporter requesting to be discharged from
further consideration of the subject.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/resolution-on-authorizing-a-secession-convention-7-january-1861/413656
34. Letter from C. G. Davenport to Zebulon B. Vance, August 10, 1862, 1862
Scope and Content:
A letter dated August 10, 1862 from C. G. Davenport of Co. F, 11th North Carolina
Regiment, which was penned at Camp Lamb, near Wilmington and addressed to Governor-elect
Zebulon Vance. The letter congratulates Vance on his election as governor of North
Carolina, commenting on the large margin of his election, and recommending that a
friend, Dr. Edward Warren, be appointed Surgeon General of North Carolina. This letter
was written a little less than a month prior to Vance taking office as Governor.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-c.-g.-davenport-to-zebulon-b.-vance-august-10-1862/413729
35. Diary of Naval Engineer Lewis C.F.C. Laesch, 1864
Scope and Content:
This is the Naval Diary of Naval Engineer Lewis C.F.C. Laesch, who served aboard the
U.S.S. Pequot, during the first half of 1864, and kept a daily diary of activities, from January
1, 1864, until May 20, 1864. Lewis Laesch was born in the German State of Mecklenburg
in 1844, immigrated to the United States with his father (Louis or Lewis, possibly
originally Ludwig), settled in Philadelphia and was educated at Pennsylvania Polytechnic
College. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 19, and was assigned to duty aboard the U.S.S. Pequot.
The diary recounts his observations near Boston, Massachusetts, Portsmouth, Virginia
and near the ports of Beaufort and Wilmington, North Carolina. A very bad sore on
his left foot impeded him from certain duties, and his resignation from the Navy was
accepted on May 24, 1864. The diary is a pocket diary, with leather covers, on ruled
paper, covering three days per page. Closed it measures approximately 7" by 3." At
the beginning of the diary there is interest calculation information, the 1860 Census
information showing the population of different states and territories, the moon phases
for the year, information in regards to the solar eclipse that will take place in
1864 as well as information as to postage rates, and at the end there is a bills and
accounts section with several account notations.
A brief history of the U.S.S. Pequot, the U.S.S. Pequot was a wooden screw gunboat of the Union Navy. The ship launched on June 4, 1863 near
the Boston Navy Yard; and commissioned on January 15, 1864, with Lt. Comdr. Stephen
P. Quackenbush in command. The ship heralded its names from the Pequot Indian tribe
from the Southern Connecticut area, members of the Algonquian language grouping. The
Pequot departed Boston Harbor on 5 February and joined the North Atlantic Blockading
Squadron. She captured the notorious British blockade runner the Don off Beaufort,
North Carolina, on March 4, 1864, and helped the Army beat back a Confederate attack
on Wilson's Wharf at James River, Virginia, on 24 May. Blockade duty occupied her
time until she participated in the attacks on Fort Fisher which protected Wilmington,
North Carolina, on February 24, 1864 and January 13, 1865, closing the last major
Confederate port. After this victory she helped in the capture of Fort Anderson, North
Carolina. With the end of the Civil War, the Pequot was decommissioned at the New
York Navy Yard on June 3, 1865, and was sold in 1869.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/diary-of-naval-engineer-lewis-c.f.c.-laesch/413744
36. "In the House of Commons 18th April 1777...", 1777
Scope and Content:
"In the House of Commons 18th April 1777..." Communication from John Hunt, Clerk,
North Carolina House of Commons, to the Speaker and Gentlemen of the Senate Recommendations
for Governor and Council of State.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/in-the-house-of-commons-18th-april-1777/414519
37. Aunt Sally: Or, The Cross The Way of Freedom: A Narrative of the Slave-Life and Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams of Detroit, Michigan, 1863
Scope and Content:
Memoir of Aunt Sally Williams and her life as a slave in North Carolina and Alabama.
This is the 1863 edition of the volume, published in Cincinnati, Ohio, by The American
Reform Tract and Book Society. Various editions of the volume exist, including, according
to Blockson, an early 1858 edition. The present copy is hardbound, 216 pp., with some
engravings, measures approximately 6" by 4", and is in relatively good condition,
the pages clean, unmarked, and without any damage. The book is inscribed "F. B. Mabee"
who was Frank B. Mabee (1857-1916 or 1947), of Richland County, Ohio.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/aunt-sally-or-the-cross-the-way-of-freedom-a-narrative-of-the-slave-life-and-purchase-of-the-mother-of-rev.-isaac-williams-of-detroit-michigan/414536
38. Two "Bills of Indictment", signed by William Hooper, 1767;1768
Scope and Content:
Two "Bills of Indictment," signed by William Hooper, Salisbury District Superior Court
Records, 1767 & 1768
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/two-bills-of-indictment-signed-by-william-hooper/414560
39. Furlough for Private Moses Kluttz, Company K, Fifty-Seventh North Carolina Troops, January 11, 1865, 1865
Scope and Content:
Furlough for Private Moses Kluttz, Company K, Fifity-Seventh North Carolina Troops,
January 11, 1865: Signed by Confederate Brigadier Generals William Gaston Lewis, John
Pegram; Confederate Major General John B. Gordon, and Confederate Colonel Charles
Scott Venable, Aide De Camp to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/furlough-for-private-moses-kluttz-company-k-fifty-seventh-north-carolina-troops-january-11-1865/414575
40. Paintings of Lucie Berthier and Robert Lee Humber Jr./Deeds of Gift
Scope and Content:
Paintings of Lucie Berthier and Robert Lee Humber Jr.
41. North Carolina Historical Commission Centennial Documents, 2003
Letter from George Walker Bush to the North Carolina Historical Commission, 2003
Scope and Content:
President George Walker Bush, letter to the North Carolina Historical Commission on
the Centennial of the North Carolina Historical Commission, dated 21 January 2003.
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-george-walker-bush-to-the-north-carolina-historical-commission/414664
Governor's Proclamation titled "History for All the People 2003 Regarding the Centennial of the North Carolina Historical Commission", 2003
Scope and Content:
Governor's Proclamation titled History for All The People 2003 Regarding the Centennial
of the North Carolina Historical Commission dated 7-8 March 2003 - Issued by Governor
Michael Francis Easley
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/governors-proclamation-titled-history-for-all-the-people-2003-regarding-the-centennial-of-the-north-carolina-historical-commission/414672
42. Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1865
Scope and Content:
North Carolina's copy of the 13th Amendment, this document formally ended legal slavery
in the United States. This document is stored in a climate-controlled vault, the original
location of the document was: Governor's Papers, Provisional Governor William Woods
Holden, Box 185 (February-June 1865), Folder 1 (2 February 1865 to 31 May 1865)
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15012coll11/id/940
43. North Carolina and the Whiskey Rebellion Documents
Letter from George Washington to Governor Alexander Martin, September 29, 1792, 1792
Scope and Content:
This letter from President George Washington to Governor Alexander Martin, dated September
29, 1792, served as a cover letter for a proclamation sent to all the states. The
proclamation, dated September 15, 1792, denouncing the growing "Whiskey Rebellion,"
which was centered in Western Pennsylvania and largely related to the strong opposition
by farmers to the excise tax placed on whiskey and the making of alcoholic spirits.
The Proclamation [G.P.19, p.67] was submitted with an accompanying message by Governor
Martin to the General Assembly on November 21, 1792.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/letter-from-george-washington-to-governor-alexander-martin-september-29-1792/414689
Governor Alexander Martin to North Carolina General Assembly, regarding the "Whiskey Rebellion"
Scope and Content:
Governor Alexander Martin to North Carolina General Assembly, regarding the "Whiskey
Rebellion."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/governor-alexander-martin-to-north-carolina-general-assembly-regarding-the-whiskey-rebellion/414677
44. "Collection of Private Acts [of the General Assembly], New Bern, December 1794", 1794
Scope and Content:
Collection of the Private Acts [of the General Assembly], New Bern, December 1794. [214 pages, bound (printed)].
45. Bond of Felix Kenan, 7 March 1776, 1776
Scope and Content:
Bond of Felix Kenan, witnessed and signed by Francis Nash (and four others), 7 March
1776. Kenan pledges that he "shall not directly or indirectly by conversation, message,
or writing...or by any other way or means whatsoever, give intelligence to or hold
correspondence on any political subject whatever, with those who are hostile to the
liberties of America, but...shall truly and faithfully support and maintain...the
resolves of the Continental Congress..."
Item is online in the Treasures collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/bond-of-felix-kenan-7-march-1776/414711
46. Lord Proprietors and Albemarle County Records
Papers of Peter Carteret, Governor of the County of Albemarle, 1664-1675
Scope and Content:
These original documents are from the Lords Proprietors and Governor George Carteret,
during the years 1665 to 1675. At this time not all documents have been scanned, as
they are scanned they will be added to the collection. Settled before the granting
of the Carolina Charter, the Albemarle region became the County of Albemarle under
the Lords Proprietors.
With the failure and abandonment of the Charles Town settlement in Clarendon County
in 1667, Albemarle County remained the only organized government in Carolina. Although
Carolina was headed formally by the eight Lords Proprietors, the functional government
of Albemarle was vested in the governor and his Council, in conjunction with the Assembly,
which was elected by the freeholders.
Beginning in 1664 the governors were commissioned by the proprietors and were given
extensive executive, legislative, judicial, and administrative powers. The governors
directed relations with Indian tribes and with other colonies; conducted exchanges
with the mother country; issued warrants for land grants; and commanded the military
and naval forces in his territory. In general, Albemarle was a colony characterized
by disorder, confusion, minimal growth, and even armed revolt. The reasons for these
problems were numerous, including Albemarle's geographic isolation due to swamps,
dense forests, and shallow inlets, sounds, and rivers. Following the establishment
in 1670 of Charles Town on the Ashley and Cooper Rivers in the southern region of
Carolina, the Proprietors turned their attention in that direction and away from Albemarle.
Papers have been published in William S. Powell (ed.) Ye Countie of Albemarle in Carolina: A Collection of Documents, 1664-1675 (Raleigh, 1958)
Items are online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolina-under-the-lords-proprietors/411640
Albemarle County Papers, 1678-1714, undated, 1678-1714
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/albemarle-county-papers-1678-1714-undated/414723
Albemarle County Papers, 1715-1739, undated, and miscellaneous, 1715-1739
Scope and Content:
Papers, 1715-1739, undated, and miscellaneous (including Will of John Peirce, 1726)
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/albemarle-county-papers-1715-1739-undated-and-miscellaneous/415924
47. Constitutional Documents, 1776, 1789, and 1868, 1776; 1789; 1868
Constitution, 1776, 1776
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/22
Declaration of Rights, 1776, 1776
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/32
Ordinances of Convention, 1776, 1776
Scope and Content:
Items are online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/home/collections/federal-state-constitutions
Ordinance of the Convention of 1789, 1789
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/35
Constitution of the United States as Approved by North Carolina, 1789, 1789
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/51
Bound Volume of the State Constitution of 1868, 1868
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/519
48. Constitutional Amendments and Joint Resolutions of Congress
United States Constitution, Nineteenth Amendment [Cover letter and Joint Resolution of Congress], dated 12 June 1919, 1919
Scope and Content:
This amendment came about roughly fifty years after the passage of the amendment creating
suffrage for African-American males. Despite efforts from Western States, it took
women's support for American war effort during World War I to create political support
to bring about passage of the amendment to bring right to vote to all women over the
age of twenty-one. North Carolina did not ratify this amendment until 1971.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/136
United State Constitution, Proposed Child Labor Amendment, enrolled 23 August 1924, 1924
Scope and Content:
This document was a proposed amendment to regulate the use of child labor in United
States Industry. It was never ratified.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/142
United States Constitution, Twenty-second Amendment [Memorandum & attachments, including transmittal letter and Joint Resolution of Congress] dated 6 February 1948, 1948
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/440
Amendment to the U. S. Constitution fixing the commencement of the terms of President and Vice President and Members of Congress and fixing the time of the assembling of Congress (20th Amendment) (8 March 1932), 1932
Scope and Content:
This amendment moved the beginning and end of the terms of of the president and vice
president from March 4 to January 20, and members of Congress from March 4 to January
3.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/148
Amendment to the U. S. Constitution to Extending the Right to Vote to Citizens Eighteen Years of Age or Older (26th Amendment), 5 July 1971, 1971
Scope and Content:
This amendment was created as a result of the Vietnam War, where men were drafted
to fight even though they ineligible to vote in elections for candidates who could
determine federal and state policies. The initial change was made through amending
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the amendment was quickly ratified despite it's
rejection by seventeen states. North Carolina was the last state to ratify the amendment,
before it was accepted as part of the U. S. Constitution.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/157
Amendment of the North Carolina Constitution Regarding Suffrage (January 1901), 1901
Scope and Content:
The Suffrage Amendment added a Literacy test and poll tax requirements for voting
in North Carolina. These requirements were only for those citizens who were not able
to vote in 1867 or whose ancestors were not able to vote prior to 1867. This amendment
was directed to disenfranchise the voting African-American community. These requirements
were overturned by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/163
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution pertaining that the General Assembly may levy a capitation tax on Male Inhabitant of the State over Twenty One and Under Fifty Years of Age (1 January 1921), 1921
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was passed to give the General Assembly authority to levy a capitalation
tax.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/167
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Fixing Salaries of Members and Residing Officers of the General Assembly (7 January 1929), 1929
Scope and Content:
This state amendment regulated salaries of the members of the General Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/171
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Insurance for Wives and Children (31 December 1932), 1932
Scope and Content:
During the Great Depression of the 1930's, members of the North Carolina General Assembly
sought to provide the fiscal security for women and their families by ensuring that
their insurance benefits will not be taken by creditors.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/174
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution concerning State Taxation Statute Corrections (25 November 1936), 1936
Scope and Content:
This state amendment provided for corrections to the State Taxation Statute.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/181
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Election of Sheriffs and Coroners and Creation of the N. C. Department of Justice (13 November 1938), 1938
Scope and Content:
This state amendment established the election of sheriffs and corners and the creation
of the N. C. Department of Justice.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/188
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the State Board of Education (7 December 1942), 1942
Scope and Content:
This state amendment led to the establishment of the State Board of Education.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/196
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Council of State (1 December 1944), 1944
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the makeup of the Council of State.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/205
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Equality and Rights of Persons (10 December 1946), 1946
Scope and Content:
The initial wording in the State Constitution of 1868 was to lay the basis for a racially
integrated society by incorporating language of the Declaration of Independence and
the Gettysburg Address. By the mid twentieth century, the wording was changed make
the amendment applicable to both men and women with the wording changed to all persons
are created equal.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/212
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Local Taxation (24 November 1948), 1948
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with local taxation.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/217
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Judicial Districts for Superior Court (29 November 1950), 1950
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the establishment of Superior Court Judicial Districts.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/224
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Pay of Members of the General Assembly (29 November 1950), 1950
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with salaries of the General Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/230
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Teachers and State Employees Retirement System (29 November 1950), 1950
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the establishment of Teachers' and State Employees'
Retirement System.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/236
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Legal Counsel (29 November 1950), 1950
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the establishment of the legal counsel.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/241
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Creation of Judicial Districts and Divisions and the Appointment of Judges (9 December 1950), 1950
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with judicial appointments.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/247
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Taxes Levied for Counties (3 December 1952), 1952
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with local taxation.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/252
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Appointment for Vacancies in Office for Council of State (3 December 1952), 1952
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with appointments due to vacancies in the Council of State.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/257
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Appointment for Vacancies in Office for General Assembly (3 December 1952), 1952
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with appointments due to vacancies in the General Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/263
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Provision for the Retirement of Members of the N. C. Supreme Court and the Recall of Retired Members (8 December 1954), 1954
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with N. C. Supreme Court retirements and reinstatements
to the bench.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/269
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Residency of Voters (8 December 1954), 1954
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the residency of voters.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/275
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Vacancies of Unexpired Terms and General Elections (8 December 1954), 1954
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with vacancies of unexpired terms and general elections.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/281
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Creation of the Board of Parole (8 December 1954), 1954
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt the establishment of the N. C. Board of Parole.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/378
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Women and Powers of Attorney (24 September 1956), 1956
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the rights of women and powers of attorney.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/287
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Pay of Members and Presiding Officers of the General Assembly (24 September 1956), 1956
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the compensation of members of the General
Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/293
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Education Expense Grants and Local Option (24 September 1956), 1956
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with local education funding options.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/299
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Biennial Meeting of the General Assembly (24 September 1956), 1956
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the establishment of the General Assembly Biennial
Meeting.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/305
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Division of Judicial Power (Judicial Department) (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the compensation of executive officers.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/319
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Regulations in Relation to Appointment of Representatives (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the appointment of state representatives.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/325
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Appointment of Officers of the North Carolina Senate (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the appointment of state senators.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/333
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Presidential Electors (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with regulation of presidential electors.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/338
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Compensation of Executive Officers (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the compensation of executive officers.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/325
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Power of Taxation (30 November 1962), 1962
Scope and Content:
This state amendment provided for the authority to levy taxes.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/349
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Property Rights of a Married Woman (6 February 1964), 1964
Scope and Content:
This state amendment dealt with the definition of property rights for married women.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/354
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Judicial Infrastructure (9 December 1965), 1965
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with judicial infrastructure.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/360
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Representation in the General Assembly of North Carolina (5 December 1968), 1968
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with representation in the General Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC:
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/367
Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Compensation of Members in the General Assembly of North Carolina (5 December 1968), 1968
Scope and Content:
This state amendment was concerned with the compensation of members of the General
Assembly.
Item is online in the Federal and State Constitutional Materials Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll32/id/372
49. Confederate Prisoners of War Autographs
Autographs of Confederate soldiers clipped from documents and mounted
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/autographs-of-confederate-soldiers-clipped-from-documents-and-mounted/417295
Autographs of Confederate Officers held as prisoners at Fort Delaware from the album of Captain Z. T. Ross: September 1864-June 1865, 1864-1865
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/autographs-of-confederate-officers-held-as-prisoners-at-fort-delaware-from-the-album-of-captain-z.-t.-ross-september-1864-june-1865/417325
Clements, Captain L. L., Company G, 17th Regiment, North Carolina Troops (7th Regt. N.C. Vols., 1st Organization). Autographs of fellow prisoners in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, Mass., 1861., 1861-1862
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/clements-captain-l.-l.-company-g-17th-regiment-north-carolina-troops-7th-regt.-n.c.-vols.-1st-organization.-autographs-of-fellow-prisoners-in-fort-warren-boston-harbor-mass.-1861/417356
Autograph book of Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island, Ohio, 1865, property of Colonel Robert Webb, 6th N.C.S.T., 1865
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/autograph-book-of-confederate-prisoners-at-johnsons-island-ohio-1865-property-of-colonel-robert-webb-6th-n.c.s.t./417610
Autograph book of Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island, Ohio, 1863-1865, belonging to 3rd Sgt. Drury B. Suttle, Co. I, 38th NCT, 1863-1865
Scope and Content:
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/autograph-book-of-confederate-prisoners-at-johnsons-island-ohio-1863-1865-belonging-to-3rd-sgt.-drury-b.-suttle-co.-i-38th-nct/418025
50. C.S.S. Shenandoah Log Books
C.S.S. Shenandoah Log Book, Volume 1, October 1864 to July 22, 1865, 1864-1865
Scope and Content:
Log Book number one, of the C.S.S. Shenandoah, Chronicling the voyage of the C.S.S. Shenandoah between October 20, 1864 and July 22, 1865.
Item is online in the Civil War Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15012coll8/id/13964
C.S.S. Shenandoah Log book, Volume 2, July 23, 1865 to November 6, 1865, 1865
Scope and Content:
Log Book number two, of the C.S.S. Shenandoah, Chronicling the voyage of the C.S.S. Shenandoah between July 23, 1865 and November 5, 1865.
Item is online in the Civil War Collection on NCDC: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15012coll8/id/14029
51. Civil War Military Manuals
"Manual of Instruction for Volunteers and Militia of the Confederate States by William Gilham, Colonel of Volunteers, Instructor of tactics, and Commandant of Cadets, Virginia Military Institute" (Richmond: West & Johnson, 1862), 1862-1864
Scope and Content:
Includes "Invoice of Stores turned over to Quartermaster for Transportation, 3rd quarter,
1864" and "Morning Report of Capt. V. V. Richardson's Co. [C] Eighteenth Regt. Of
N.C. Troops for April 1864" (taped in). 1 volume.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/manual-of-instruction-for-volunteers-and-militia-of-the-confederate-states-by-william-gilham-colonel-of-volunteers-instructor-of-tactics-and-commandant-of-cadets-virginia-military-institute-richmond-west-johnson-1862/418163
Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States, with a Full Index by the Authority of the War Department (Richmond: West & Johnson, 1864), 1864
Scope and Content:
Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States, with a Full Index by the Authority
of the War Department (Richmond: West & Johnson, 1864). With a "Roster of the Eighteenth Regiments of North
Carolina Volunteers" tapped in.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/regulations-for-the-army-of-the-confederate-states-with-a-full-index-by-the-authority-of-the-war-department-richmond-west-johnson-1864/418240
"The Volunteer's Handbook, Containing An Abridgement of Hardee's Infantry Tactics" by Captain J. K. Lee, First Regiment, Virginia Volunteers, 1861
Scope and Content:
The Volunteer's Handbook: containing an abridgment of Hardee's infantry tactics, adapted to the use of the
percussion musket in squad and company exercises, manual of arms for riflemen, and
United States Army regulations as to parades, reviews, inspections, guard mounting,
etc.
Item is online in the Treasures Collection on NCDC: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-volunteers-handbook-containing-an-abridgement-of-hardees-infantry-tactics-by-captain-j.-k.-lee-first-regiment-virginia-volunteers/418290