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Collection Number: 00258

Collection Title: Fisher Family Papers, 1758-1896

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 7.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4,050 items)
Abstract Members of the Fisher and Beard families of Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C., included Lewis Beard (1754-1820), plantation owner, merchant and county and state official; his son-in-law Charles Fisher (1789-1849), representative to the United States Congress and the North Carolina House of Commons and plantation and gold mine owner; and Charles's son Charles F. Fisher (1816-1861) (Charles Frederick), who was, among other things, president and contractor for the North Carolina Railroad, for whom Fort Fisher, N.C. was named. Charles F. Fisher's daughter Frances married J. M. Tiernan, who was involved in the mining business. She wrote novels under the pen name of Christian Reid. Collection consists mainly of correspondence, legal and financial materials, and other items of Charles Fisher, Charles F. Fisher, and other members of the Fisher and related families. Charles Fisher's correspondence discusses both national and North Carolina politics, especially John C. Calhoun, his presidential aspirations, and the Whig Party; gold mining; his Smith County, Miss., plantation; land speculation in Choctaw Indian territory in Mississippi; and a controversy involving the Bank of Salisbury. Charles F. Fisher's correspondence concerns mining interests, business investments, and work as president of the North Carolina Railroad. In the 1880s and 1890s, there is also correspondence of writer Frances Fisher Tiernan (Christian Reid) from her French editor and from her husband, describing his experiences managing a mine in the state of Durango, Mexico. Financial and legal papers consist of indentures; land grants and surveys; receipts; lists of tools, supplies, and purchases; and work records, contracts, and stock certificates, mostly relating to gold mining in North Carolina, Charles Fisher's Mississippi plantation, construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, the Choctaw Indian Nation's land claims against the United States government (which Charles Fisher supported), and Charles F. Fisher's procurement of provisions, clothing, and equipment for the 6th North Carolina Regiment during the Civil War. Some of the work records relate to hiring of slave labor to for mining and railroad work. There are also political writings; materials relating to the Western Carolinian, a political journal that Charles F. Fisher co-published; and part of a Christian Reid story. Volumes include account books for the Yadkin toll bridge, Lewis Beard's general store, iron foundries, and blacksmith work; Charles Fisher's scrapbooks on politics and economics and account books for his travel on plantation and Choctaw land claims business; and Charles F. Fisher's diary of a trip through northeastern Georgia in 1833, account books, Western Carolinian subscriber lists, and record books of the Western North Carolina Railroad.
Creator Fisher (Family : Salisbury, N.C.)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Fisher Family Papers #258, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Christine Fisher of Salisbury, N.C., before 1939; Archibald Henderson of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1963 and 1973; Mary Henderson of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1963 and 1964; and the John Steele Henderson family in 1964-1965.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Elizabeth Pauk, April 1993

Encoded by: Eben Lehman, May 2007

Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2020

This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Among members of the Beard and Fisher families of Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C., was Lewis Beard (1754-11 December 1820), who was born in Salisbury, son of John Lewis and Christine Snapp Beard. He was a prosperous businessman, owning almost 15,000 acres in Rowan, Montgomery, and Burke counties, some containing valuable mineral deposits. He operated a large store in Salisbury, as well as two large plantations on the Yadkin River. As a leading citizen of Salisbury, he served as assessor of town lands, public treasurer of Rowan County, high sheriff of Rowan, director of the Salisbury branch of the Bank of Cape Fear, and member of the North Carolina House of Commons, 1791-1792, and the North Carolina Senate, 1793.

Lewis Beard's daughter Christine married Charles Fisher (20 October 1789-May 1849), a prominent politician and businessman of Salisbury. Fisher studied law, but never practiced the profession. Fisher was elected to the state Senate in 1818 and, in 1819, was elected to fill the congressional seat of George Mumford upon Mumford's death in office. Fisher served two terms in Washington, becoming an ardent supporter of John C. Calhoun. Fisher returned to North Carolina after declining to seek a third term in Congress. In 1828, Fisher presented a lengthy "Report on the Establishment of Cotton and Woolen Manufacturers" to the North Carolina State Assembly. This report was reprinted in full by the American Farmer within a month and was circulated widely throughout the South. Fisher was then elected to the North Carolina House of Commons seven times, serving as speaker in 1830 and 1831. He became a leader of the western half of the state, and worked for a constitutional convention in North Carolina to give more power to the western counties. In North Carolina, he continued to work on behalf of Calhoun's presidential aspirations, taking Calhoun's part on many issues, such as the tariff, the national bank, and nullification.

Charles Fisher was involved in many business activities. He was a partner in several gold mining companies in western North Carolina, some of which were located on property inherited from Lewis Beard. He owned half interest in a plantation in Smith County, Miss., and dabbled in land speculation in that state, which led to his involvement in the resettlement of the Choctaw Indian Nation.

Fisher died in 1849, and his business interests were taken over by his son, Charles F. Fisher (26 December 1816-21 July 1861) (Charles Frederick). Charles F. Fisher attended Yale University in 1835, but returned to Salisbury after one semester. He worked in his father's mining companies and became co-publisher of the Western Carolinian, a political newspaper supporting the philosophy of John C. Calhoun. In 1855, he was elected president of the North Carolina Railroad. While serving as president, he received a contract for construction of part of the western route of the railroad. This action angered some of the stockholders, but Fisher was reelected president in 1859 without incident. Fisher volunteered for the Confederate army and was elected colonel of the 6th North Carolina Regiment. He was killed in the Battle of First Manassas. His close friend, S. L. Fremont, named Fort Fisher on the Cape Fear River in his honor.

Charles F. Fisher and his second wife, Fanny Alexander Caldwell Fisher, had three children, including Frederick C. Fisher and Frances C. Fisher. Frances married J. M. Tiernan, who was involved in the mining business. She wrote novels under the pen name of Christian Reid.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Chiefly political, business, and financial correspondence of Charles Fisher and his son, Charles F. Fisher, of Salisbury, N.C. Charles Fisher's correspondence discusses both national and North Carolina politics, especially John C. Calhoun and his presidential aspirations. Charles Fisher's business correspondence concerns gold mining; his Smith County, Miss., plantation; land speculation in Choctaw Indian territory in Mississippi; and a controversy involving the Bank of Salisbury. Charles F. Fisher's correspondence concerns his mining interests, including letters from stockholders and overseers, his business investments, and his work as president and contractor of the North Carolina Railroad. After his death, correspondence relates to the settlement of his estate. In the 1880s and 1890s, writer Frances Fisher Tiernan (Christian Reid) received letters from her French editor and from her husband, describing his experiences managing a mine in the state of Durango, Mexico.

Financial and legal papers for members of the Beard family and Fisher family, especially Lewis Beard, Charles Fisher, and Charles F. Fisher, consist of indentures; land grants and surveys; receipts; lists of tools, supplies, and purchases; and work records, contracts, and stock certificates, mostly relating to gold mining in North Carolina, Charles Fisher's Mississippi plantation, construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, the Choctaw Indian Nation's land claims against the United States government, and Charles F. Fisher's procurement of provisions, clothing, and equipment for the 6th North Carolina Regiment during the Civil War.

Other papers include political writings and notes of Charles Fisher and Charles F. Fisher, including drafts and notes for speeches, a lecture on steam-powered boats, and reports on gold mines. There is also part of a story by Frances F. Fisher. Also included are many documents relating to the land claims of the Choctaw Indian Nation in Mississippi, descriptions of patents for improved farm machinery, and military papers, including enlistments for the 6th North Carolina Regiment.

There are 57 volumes, including account books for the Yadkin toll bridge, Lewis Beard's general store, iron foundries, and blacksmith work; Charles Fisher's scrapbooks on politics and economics, and account books for his travel on plantation and Choctaw land claims business; Charles F. Fisher's diary of a trip through northeastern Georgia in 1833, account books, lists of subscribers for the Western Carolinian, and record books of the Western North Carolina Railroad; and a penmanship book of Frederick C. Fisher.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1810-1896 and undated.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Correspondence, 1810-1849.

About 150 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly political, business, and financial correspondence of Charles Fisher and his son, Charles F. Fisher, of Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C. From 1810 to 1826, correspondence consists primarily of letters to Charles Fisher and drafts and copies of his letters to friends, constituents, and fellow politicians, concerning his political life. Fisher's correspondence with fellow politicians discusses both national and North Carolina politics, especially political maneuvering in the North Carolina legislature and the United States Congress, presidential elections, John C. Calhoun's career and chances of gaining the presidency, Whig party politics, and political rivalries among Calhoun and Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster. Calhoun wrote several letters to Charles Fisher in which he reflected on possible strategies for strengthening his support in North Carolina, including the role of the Western Carolinian, a journal supporting Calhoun and his policies; presidential appointments to the Cabinet; the chances of his own candidacy for president; secession; support for Calhoun in the northern United States; and the possibility of building a national road through the southern states to New Orleans.

After 1826, there are many letters to Charles Fisher regarding his business affairs, including land sales, his partnership in a plantation in Mississippi, and a dispute over his purchase of land grants in Montgomery County, N.C. Political correspondence continues in the 1830s, discussing the tariff; legislative battles over the national bank; the death of Judge Bouldin on the floor of the Senate; states' rights; Calhoun; and John Branch and the Eaton Affair, including a letter from John Branch himself explaining his conduct in that controversy. There are several letters from Dixon H. Lewis discussing political strategies and comparing Clay and Calhoun's chances for nomination to the presidency, and a letter from William P. Mangum to John Beard concerning national politics, divisions between the North and South on the tariff and slavery, Daniel Webster, the comparative atmospheres of the South and North, the degeneration of the Whig party, and Calhoun's presidential ambitions. Charles Fisher wrote several letters to his son, Charles F. Fisher, regarding politics and business, Washington gossip, his motives for refusing his party's nomination for governor in 1846, the annexation of Texas and Texan resistance, and the threat of British hegemony in North America.

Charles Fisher's main interests in the 1830s and 1840s, besides state and national politics, were his gold mining ventures and land speculation in the Choctaw Indian territory in Mississippi. In the 1830s, the correspondence discusses the incorporation of his gold mining company, including land purchases, possible competition, the company's chances of success, problems with North Carolina banking and currency policies, the extent of gold deposits in Rowan County, N.C., approaches to working the mines, production, and the need for new investments. In the 1830s, Charles Fisher, along with several partners, purchased land from Choctaw Indians in Mississippi. The 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek promised recompense to the Choctaw for their lands if they would remove to Oklahoma Indian Territory. However, by the time the Indians made their claims, the government had already sold most of the land to settlers who had displaced the Indians. Charles Fisher took up the Choctaws' cause, trying to help them gain rightful payment for their property.

In the 1830s and 1840s, Charles Fisher wrote copiously to business partners and officials in Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding the Choctaw claim. The letters suggest strategies for negotiating with Washington and argue the injustice of Congress's actions, and the legality of Chickasaw and Choctaw treaty rights, accusing Indian agents of scheming to profit from the Choctaw and to "debauch the young Indian women." He also corresponded with his business partners regarding the prospects of land sales in the Indian Territory and persuading the Choctaw to move west at the proper time, discussing frankly his negotiations on the land claims, legal issues, the possibilities of bribing government officials, and rivalries with other speculators and among the Choctaw themselves.

During the last years of his life, Charles Fisher became involved in a controversy involving the Bank of Salisbury, a branch of the Bank of Cape Fear. Citizens of Salisbury accused the cashier of the Bank of using his office for his personal gain, conducting horse trading on the premises, "shaving notes," and insulting certain members of the community. The Bank's board of directors defended the cashier, and correspondence details Fisher's arguments against the cashier and the Bank's defense. Fisher also received several letters from political colleagues, including one describing a fistfight between House members in Washington. Charles Fisher died in 1849.

Folder 1

1810-1823

Folder 2

1824-1829

Folder 3

1830-1832

Folder 4

1834-1839

Folder 5

1840-1841

Folder 6

1842-1845

Folder 7

1846

Folder 8

1847

Folder 9

1848

Folder 10

1849

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. Correspondence, 1850-1861.

About 180 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Largely correspondence of Charles Fisher's son, Charles F. Fisher. Charles F. Fisher continued his father's mining concerns, and the correspondence details the sales of mines, the purchase of mining supplies and settlement of accounts, and hiring slaves to work the mines. Fisher received several letters from Philadelphia from a spokesman for the board of trustees of the Lewis Mine, admiring his sentiments over a sick slave and contrasting them with those of abolitionists. He also received letters from overseers asking for money, discussing management issues, and giving progress reports.

There are a few letters regarding Charles F. Fisher's father's Choctaw Indian land claims and several on his investment in the agricultural inventions of one of his employees, Jonathan Sullivan. In 1852, Fisher became involved in the construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, and the letters reflect his deepening involvement in planning the construction of the railroad. Elected president of the Western North Carolina Railroad in 1855, Charles F. Fisher was awarded a contract to build one section of the railroad, creating a controversy in 1857, which he survived. The correspondence shows his defense of his position and includes letters from both his supporters and his critics. One letter describes the railroad and countryside of Morristown, Tenn., as "somewhat tinctured with abolitionism and under the fearful dynasty of Abraham." After his enlistment in the 6th North Carolina Regiment following North Carolina's secession from the United States, there are several letters from enlisted men asking for commissions and other letters regarding his work in obtaining supplies for the regiment. Charles F. Fisher was killed at the Battle of Manassas, 21 July 1861.

Folder 11

1850

Folder 12

1851

Folder 13

1852

Folder 14

1853

Folder 15

1854

Folder 16

1855

Folder 17

1856

Folder 18

1857

Folder 19

1858

Folder 20

1859

Folder 21

1860

Folder 22

1861

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.3. Correspondence, 1862-1896.

About 45 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence concerning the settlement of Charles F. Fisher's estate and letters about numerous other topics. There are a few letters regarding the admission of Charles F. Fisher's son, Frederick C. Fisher, to the Virginia Military Institute; a letter describing Charles F. Fisher's land holdings on Saint Joseph's Island, Hancock County, Miss.; an 1869 letter from Pikes Peak, Colo., describing the gold mines in that region; an 1870 letter seeking testimony of spousal abuse for a divorce case; letters to Frederick C. Fisher in the 1880s regarding copper mining, his land holdings, and his neglect of a postal route; and a letter to Christine Fisher asking for the 6th North Carolina Regiment flag and including reminiscences about a soldier's service with her brother, Charles F. Fisher.

There are also letters to Frances Fisher Tiernan from Charles Victor de Varigny (1829-1899), French editor, critic, and writer, about translating and publishing her works in France; and from her husband, J. M. Tiernan, during his travels in Mexico on mining business, in which he described the people and sights of Mexico City and the State of Durango, a meeting with Mexican president Porforio Diaz, his opinions of Mexicans and his criticism of those Americans who displayed prejudice against them, and his anger at the United States Congress's support of revolution in Cuba. He also discussed his management techniques at the mines and his troubles with both Mexican and foreign workers, including an embezzling official and a recalcitrant British engineer.

Folder 23

1862

Folder 24

1863-1884

Folder 25

1893-1896

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.4. Correspondence, undated.

About 15 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Letters regarding business and legal matters, including mining, the railroads, land disputes, and commissions in the army.

Folder 26

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers, 1758-1890 and undated.

About 5,800 items.

Financial and legal papers of members of the Fisher and Beard families of Rowan County, N.C.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Financial and Legal Papers, 1758-1850.

About 1,950 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Material from 1761 to 1809 consists largely of indentures for land purchases, land grants, deeds, depositions over property disputes, land surveys in Rowan, Montgomery, and Mecklenburg counties, N.C., receipts, and articles of agreement, chiefly belonging to Lewis Beard, father-in-law of Charles Fisher. Much of Beard's property appears to have been acquired from Henry Eustace McCulloh, son of the largest land speculator in colonial North Carolina. After 1810, there are an increasing number of land surveys, indentures, deeds, and articles of agreement for members of the Fisher family, including Charles, Jacob, and George, and after Lewis Beard's death in 1820, many papers relating to the settlement of his estate.

From the 1820s through the 1840s, there are papers detailing Charles Fisher's gold mining activities and investment in a plantation in Mississippi. These items include legal documents regarding the purchase of land and shares for various gold mining companies; items concerning a land dispute involving fraudulent land surveys in Buncombe County, N.C.; and a document extending gold prospecting privileges in Davidson County, N.C. There are also receipts and lists of construction and mining supplies, mining promissory notes, work records, memoranda of articles obtained for hands working in the mines, an account of gold extracted by Charles Fisher in 1842-1843, and a record of gold weights and deposits.

In 1836, Charles Fisher formed a partnership with Samuel Lemley to purchase the Cuba plantation in Smith County, Miss. Documents relating to the plantation consist of receipts for various plantation expenses, lists of purchases of supplies for the plantation in New Orleans by the overseer, lists of tools taken to the plantation and of work done by Indians on the plantation, logs of expenses for various trips to Mississippi, an agreement with William Thomas to oversee the plantation, and a document regarding Charles Fisher's sale of his interest in the plantation to Lemley in 1840.

Other legal and financial documents dated before 1851 include receipts for household and plantation expenditures, taxes, and paid debts, indentures, and promissory notes. Charles Fisher's son, Charles F. Fisher, was co-publisher of the Western Carolinian, a political journal, and from 1833 to 1842, there are many receipts for subscriptions and advertisements to the journal, lists of past due accounts, and publishing expenses. Other documents include articles of agreement regarding the acquisition of Choctaw and Chickasaw land in Mississippi, 1841; an 1826 agreement between Saint Luke's Episcopal Church and the Lutheran congregation of Salisbury, N.C., arranging for the future disposition of the church building located at the German graveyard; documents related to the attested will of Dr. George Hazelton, in Somerset, England, 1824; a certificate commemorating Charles Fisher's election to the United States Congress; and lists of expenses for Congress.

Folder 27

1758-1773

Folder 28

1775-1779

Folder 29

1780-1789

Folder 30

1790-1799

Folder 31

1800-1807

Folder 32

1810-1819

Folder 33

1820-1823

Folder 34

1824-1829

Folder 35

1830-1832

Folder 36

1833-1835

Folder 37-38

Folder 37

Folder 38

1836-1838

Folder 39

1839

Folder 40

1840

Folder 41

1841-1845

Folder 42

1846-1850

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Financial and Legal Papers, 1851-1890.

About 3,300 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly materials of Charles F. Fisher, including receipts for taxes; household and plantation expenses; doctors' bills; railroad records; land sales and surveys, including Fisher's purchase of land in Smith County, Miss.; and promissory notes, and indentures. There is also material relating to gold mines, including work records, shipping records, records of supplies, documents concerning purchases of land and interest in the Russell Mine, records of incorporation of the Perseverance Mining Co., and memoranda of gold bullion deposited at the United States Mint.

As president of the Western North Carolina Railroad, Charles F. Fisher was awarded a contract to build a section of the track. Much of the material from 1852 to 1860 consists of work records for both enslaved and free laborers; contracts for the hire of slaves and valuations of slaves; vouchers for work; work reports and financial accounts of various overseers; and estimates of masonry and grading work. Financial records include stock certificates; insurance policies; contracts for laying track and grading on the railroad; lists of tools and supplies; receipts and bills for labor, transportation, provisions, tools, dynamite, and fuses; and receipts of Charles F. Fisher, his partners in the Western North Carolina Railroad, and his overseers. Other items include a receipt for jail time for an African American boy; a memorandum of land belonging to Charles F. Fisher on Saint Joseph Island, Miss.; an "Act to incorporate Beaufort and Salisbury Railroad Co."; stock holdings of Fisher, Caldwell, and Simonton; and bills for damages to timber.

Receipts, statements, work records, and overseers' lists of hands, tools, mules, and provisions given to the hands continue during the Civil War. After his enlistment in the 6th North Carolina Regiment, Charles F. Fisher also began procuring medicines, provisions, clothing, fabric, and tents for the regiment, as well as making loans to fellow soldiers. There are lists of loans and payments, correspondence concerning and receipts for supplies and camp and garrison equipage, and accounts for payrolls and for "bounty money" for the regiment.

Apparently popular with his fellow officers, Charles F. Fisher's death in the First Battle of Manassas prompted a circular calling for a regiment of volunteers to be formed called the Irrepressibles, with the purpose of avenging the deaths of General Robert S. Garrett and Colonel Fisher. After his death, financial and legal material consists of claims by and against his estate, continued work reports from the railroad overseers, lists of mines and personal property, accounts of the sale of property, and accounts of the 6th North Carolina Regiment. Other items include complementary passes on the North Carolina Railroad for Fannie and Christine Fisher; stock sales and dispensation of Western North Carolina Railroad stock; receipts for the board of runaway slaves; purchases by the Confederate States of America of provisions and hay; papers relating to Christine Fisher's assumption of the guardianship of Charles F. Fisher's children; a note collecting on past debts in order to pay off outstanding debts to northern merchants after the war; tax receipts; legal documents relating to a suit filed against Fisher's estate; and a claim of damages to a farmer's land, crops, and livestock caused by railroad employees.

After 1870, there are many legal documents on a variety of cases, including one charging a jury to decide "whether or not [Edward Leatherwood and Jason Leatherwood] are idiot inebriate or lunatic or incompetent to manage their own affairs"; journal entries and other documents relating to a suit of Western North Carolina Railroad officers against usurpers appointed by the North Carolina legislature; a publishing contract with Frances C. Fisher (Christian Reid) for her novel Bonny Kate; and other legal documents relating to trials, mostly regarding land and property disputes, in which Frederick C. Fisher participated as both counsel and plaintiff.

Folder 43

1851-1853

Folder 44

1854-1855

Folder 45-46

Folder 45

Folder 46

1856

Folder 47-50

Folder 47

Folder 48

Folder 49

Folder 50

1857

Folder 51-54

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Folder 54

1858

Folder 55-58

Folder 55

Folder 56

Folder 57

Folder 58

1859

Folder 59-61

Folder 59

Folder 60

Folder 61

1860

Folder 62-65

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

Folder 65

1861

Folder 66

1862

Folder 67

1863-1864

Folder 68

1865-1869

Folder 69

1870-1890

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Financial and Legal Papers, undated.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly items of Charles F. Fisher, with waybills especially prominent. Other items include notes and mathematical calculations, depositions, drafts of agreements and contracts, notes of legal cases involving mineral rights, receipts, articles of agreement, and indentures. There are also a number of undated land surveys of property in Rowan, Burke, Randolph, and Montgomery counties, N.C., belonging to George Fisher and Lewis Beard.

Folder 70-73

Folder 70

Folder 71

Folder 72

Folder 73

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Writings and Notes, 1823-1854 and undated.

About 85 items.

Arrangement: by subject.

Chiefly political writings and notes of Charles Fisher, including outlines, notes, and drafts of speeches, pamphlets, and legislation. Subjects include Andrew Jackson's administration; the tariff; the national bank; the Whig and Democratic parties; General Speight's conduct in the 1830 election; rationales for slavery; opposition to the candidacy of John Long Jr. (1785-1857) for the United States Congress on the grounds that he was born a Quaker and associated with the opponents of slavery; justification of Taylor's march into Mexican territory in 1848 and of the annexation of Texas; and the Missouri question, circa 1820. An 1823 memorandum book includes notes on France, the exile of free blacks; free schools in Massachusetts; the growth of trees; a method for circulating knowledge; local and national politics; a description of North Carolina; a method for making ice creams; and the dangers of young people mingling without supervision.

There are also a few political writings by Charles F. Fisher, including a draft of a speech, and notes on ad valorem taxes, North Carolina's constitutional convention, and party politics. Other writings include a lecture and copies of correspondence of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin all concerning steam powered boats; a report on properties of the North Carolina Gold Mining Company, Davidson County, N.C.; essays and notes by Charles F. Fisher, probably written while he was a student at Yale University, on modern and classical history, military maneuvers, capital punishment, and legal issues; an essay on idleness written by a young Frederick C. Fisher of Salisbury, N.C.; poems; a discussion of materialism versus spiritualism; and pages 33-54 of a story or novel by Frances F. Tiernan, who published under the pen name of Christian Reid.

Folder 74-75

Folder 74

Folder 75

Political writings and notes

Folder 76

Writings on a mechanical boat

Folder 77

Writings on mining

Folder 78

Miscellaneous writings

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Other Papers, circa 1847-1861 and undated.

About 230 items.

Arrangement: by subject.

Material, circa 1847, relating to land claims of the Choctaw Indian Nation in Mississippi and their eventual relocation to Oklahoma, including lists of Indian families; notes on the history of the Choctaw claim; notes on Choctaw religion; drafts of material pertaining to Charles Fisher's pursuit of Choctaw claims; and a list of Indians and supplies, presumably relating to their journey west.

There are also descriptions, plans, and other papers relating to Jonathan Sullivan's efforts, 1849-1856, to secure patents on a variety of inventions in which Charles F. Fisher had half-interest, including those for the improved construction of wheels and axles for carriages, a corn crusher, and a straw-cutting machine.

Military papers, beginning in 1861, consist of enlistments, 28 May 1861-1 July 1861, for four companies in the 6th North Carolina Regiment; muster rolls for the regiment; and a few other documents.

Miscellaneous undated papers include a list of mineral specimens obtained from Lake Superior; drawings and plans for railroad tools and other items; a map of the Piedmont Gold Mines in Rowan County, N.C.; recipes for the cure of cholera morbus, and distemper in cows; and specifications for a well at Salisbury, N.C.

Folder 79

Choctaw Indian claims

Folder 80

Patents

Folder 81-82

Folder 81

Folder 82

Military papers

Folder 83

Miscellaneous undated papers

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Volumes, 1821-1873.

57 items.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.1. Account Books, Memoranda, and Scrapbooks of Charles Fisher, 1821-1845 and undated.

25 volumes.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 84

V-258/1: Ledger, June 1832-March 1824

Ledger for the Yadkin toll bridge, listing passengers, freight, and costs by date.

Folder 85

V-258/2: Scrapbook, circa 1830-1837

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings on politics, census records, elections, and medical remedies, pasted over an old penmanship book belonging to Susan Elizabeth Fisher.

Folder 86

V-258/3: Commonplace book, September 1833-circa 1842

Commonplace book, containing political notes and memoranda, legal notes, and extracts from works on history, philosophy, and slavery.

Folder 87

V-258/4: Account book, 1837-1838

Account book of Thomas & Beard, Davie County, N.C., containing accounts for lumber, carpentry, and agricultural and household items, and listing names, items purchased, and cost by date.

Folder 88

V-258/5-A: Account book, May-October 1839

Account book for the Richmond Hill Foundry, listing dates, customer names, and payments for ironmongering and repair work.

Folder 89

V-258/5-B: Account book, circa 1839

Account book of David Thomas and Lewis Beard for smith work, listing names, work performed, and cost by date.

Folder 90

V-258/5-C: Bill book and ledger, Undated

South River Iron Works Bill Book and Ledger, listing dates, customer names, and payments for ironmongering and repair work.

Folder 91

V-258/5-D: Account book and ledger, 1838-1839

Ironworks and blacksmith account book and ledger, Davie County, N.C., listing dates, customer names, and payments for ironmongering and repair work.

Folder 92

V-258/5-E: Account book, 1839-1840

S. Y. Iron Foundry account book (possibly South Yadkin), containing accounts for smith work, listing names, work performed, and cost by date.

Folder 93

V-258/6: Day book, September 1838-September 1839

Day book, Davie County, N.C., containing accounts, listed by date, customer name, and cost, for lumber, household and plantation merchandise, and provisions such as corn, sugar, coffee, tobacco, wool, and brick.

Folder 94

V-258/7-A: Old mill book, September 1838-July 1839

"Old mill book of Lewis Beard and David Thomas," containing work records for hands, sometimes listing tasks performed and other notes. The last section of the book has been removed.

Folder 95

V-258/7-B: Time book, September 1838-May 1839

Time book, kept by Jonathan Sullivan, listing work records for a mill at Wolf River, with occasional notes on clothing and other articles purchased by the workers.

Folder 96

V-258/8: Account book, 1839-1840

Account book for the S. Y. Grist Mill (possibly South Yadkin), containing accounts for meal, corn, flour, and other products listed by date, customer name, and cost.

Folder 97

V-258/9: Time book, November 1839-1840

Time book for Davie County, N.C., listing hours worked and amount paid for each worker, as well as notes on absences and other items.

Folder 98

V-258/10: Account book, September-November 1840

Account book for miscellaneous items, including mill work, livestock, lumber, household and agricultural items, listed by date, customer name, and cost.

Folder 99

V-258/11-A: Memoranda book, 1840

Memoranda book of Charles Fisher, listing accounts, memoranda on bank business, expenses for a trip to Mississippi, land sales, addresses, Choctaw Indian words, agricultural notes, and an account of pygmies in Tennessee.

Folder 100

V-258/11-B

"A book containing a list of lands purchased by Thomas L. Cowan of the North Carolina Land Company in Mississippi in 1845." The North Carolina Land Company included Charles Fisher, Thomas G. Polk, who emigrated to Mississippi, and Thomas L. Cowan. There are also inserted leaves listing land purchases in Saint Helena District, La.

Folder 101

V-258/12-A: Memoranda book, 1840

Memoranda book, containing notes on dinner party conversations, geography, politics, classical history, and slavery in the West Indies, probably belonging to Charles Fisher.

Folder 102

V-258/12-B: Scrapbook, circa 1844

Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings on politics, agriculture, statistics, and contemporary society, with a subject index in the front and back pages of the volume.

Folder 103

V-258/12-C: Scrapbook, circa 1844-1845

Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings on politics, agriculture, and contemporary society, as well as a few manuscript notes. There is an index in the front of the volume.

Folder 104

V-258/13-A: Commonplace book, 1845-1846

Commonplace book "concerning Leaf River Indians," containing notes on the Choctaw Indian language, the early explorers of the lower Southern states, notes on the land claims of Choctaw Indians represented by Charles Fisher, Fisher family history, addresses, and miscellaneous accounts and notes.

Folder 105

V-258/13-B: Commonplace book, undated

Commonplace book containing notes on legal questions.

Folder 106

V-258/13-C: Commonplace book, undated

Commonplace book containing notes on classical history, philosophy, and mining.

Folder 107

V-258/13-D: Commonplace book, undated

Ccommonplace book containing abstracts and notes on Blackstone's Commentaries.

Folder 108

V-258/13-E: Commonplace book, Undated

Commonplace book containing "Day's Algebra Problems," from Jeremiah Day's Algebra.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.2. Account Books and Diaries of Charles F. Fisher, 1833-1858; 1873.

9 volumes.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 109

V-258/14: Diary, 15-30 April 1833

Diary of Charles F. Fisher, then fifteen years old, on a trip with his father Charles Fisher and Dr. Benjamin Austin through the Cherokee Indian territory of northwestern Georgia. The purpose of the journey was to scout for gold mine sites, but Charles F. Fisher's entries concentrate on the weather, incidents of the journey, and geography of the land, with some description of the Cherokee Indians they encountered.

Folder 110

V-258/15-A: Daybook, October 1845-December 1846

Daybook of Charles F. Fisher, detailing financial transactions, purchases, contractual agreements, trip expenses, and miscellaneous notes.

Folder 111

V-258/15-B: Daybook, 1848

Daybook of Charles F. Fisher, with similar material to V-258/15-A.

Folder 112

V-258/15-C: Daybook, 1849

Daybook of Charles F. Fisher, with similar material to Volumes 15-A and 15-B

Folder 113

V-258/16: Memoranda, 1851-1855

Memoranda of expenses of Charles F. Fisher, listing financial transactions, purchases, and trip expenses.

Oversize Volume SV-258/17

Store book, 1853-1854

Store book for Rimer & Mowrey, containing accounts for sales of beef, "stake," "shank," and "rost", and lists of purchases of cattle, with an index to customer names in the front of the volume.

Oversize Volume SV-258/18

Store book 1851-1858

Store book listing sales of household and agricultural goods, as well as work records.

Folder 114-115

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folders not used

Folder 116

V-258/19: Ledger 1853-1854

Ledger for "The Shoales," containing accounts for wheat, corn, coffee, bacon, wood, tobacco, salt, and other provisions, and work records.

Folder 117

V-258/20: Time book August 1854; 1873

Time book containing records of work performed. There are also notes on Latin, politics, and philosophy on the backs of pages dated 1873.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.3. Records of the Western Carolinian, 1833-1843.

6 volumes.

Arrangement: chronological.

Record books of subscriptions, accounts, and expenses of the Western Carolinian, a journal of opinion co-published by Charles F. Fisher, that supported the ideology of John C. Calhoun.

Oversize Volume SV-258/21

Ledger 1833-1834

Lists of subscribers to the Western Carolinian, arranged geographically. The lists are in an old ledger of John Lewis Beard, which also contains miscellaneous notes of members of the Fisher family.

Oversize Volume SV-258/22

Ledger 1833-1843

Lists of subscribers to the Western Carolinian and their accounts, arranged geographically by county.

Folder 118-119

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folders not used

Folder 120

V-258/23: Cash book 1835-1839

Cash book, containing accounts for subscriptions to the Western Carolinian, as well as accounts for publishing expenses in the Salisbury office, and a record of sales of Beckwith's anti-dyspeptic pills. There are many blank pages in the volume.

Folder 121

V-258/24: Account book, 1838-1839

Account book of Benjamin Austin, Charles F. Fisher's business partner, listing receipts for subscriptions and advertisements, and publishing expenses.

Folder 122

V-258/25: Account book

Account book, probably for the Western Carolinian, containing lists of new subscribers, discontinued subscriptions, receipts, and publishing and printing expenses.

Folder 123

V-258/26: Account book, 1840

Account book, probably for the Western Carolinian, listing advertising and subscription accounts and printing expenses.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.4. Record Books of the Western North Carolina Railroad and the North Carolina Railroad, 1840-1861.

16 volumes.
Folder 124

V-258/27: Account book, 1840-1849

Account book of Charles F. Fisher, listing his financial transactions. There are also a few papers related to the estate of Charles Fisher.

Folder 125

V-258/28: Account book, 1855

Account book for the North Carolina Railroad, listing expenditures for construction supplies such as buckets, oil cans, lanterns, and so forth.

Folder 126

V-258/29: Time book, 1856-1857

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, listing amounts paid to each worker and total costs for labor.

Folder 127

V-258/30-A: Time book November 1857

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad for track laying, containing records for work performed each day, as well as miscellaneous notes.

Folder 128

V-258/30-B: Expenditures, 1857

Monthly expenditures for the Western North Carolina Railroad's contract work.

Folder 129

V-258/30-C: Expenditures 1858

Monthly expenditures for the Western North Carolina Railroad's contract work.

Folder 130

V-258/31-A: Expenditures, 1859

Monthly expenditures for the Western North Carolina Railroad's contract work.

Folder 131

V-258/31-B: Timebook, May-December 1859

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, supervised by John Birkhart at Conley's Gap, N.C.

Folder 132

V-258/32: Time book March-September 1861

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, supervised by William P. Dunavant.

Folder 133

V-258/33: Time book, March-October 1861

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, supervised by J. A. Owen at Twigg's Ridge, N.C.

Folder 134

V-258/34: Time book, March-November 1861

Time book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, supervised by C. Younts.

Folder 135

V-258/35: Index 1856-1859

Summary of payments for labor on the Western North Carolina Railroad, arranged alphabetically by worker's name. Probably an index to Volumes 29, 30-B, 30-C, and 31-A.

Folder 136

V-258/36: Account book, December 1855-November 1856

Account book for the Western North Carolina Railroad, containing lists of purchases, apparently from Fisher, Burroughs, & Co., for small tools, hardware, and provisions.

Folder 137

V-258/37: Time book, September-October 1858

Time book for hands working on the Western North Carolina Railroad.

Folder 138

V-258/38: Time book, January-June 1860

Time book for hands working on the Western North Carolina Railroad.

Folder 139

V-258/39: Time book, February-August 1860

Time book for work on the Western North Carolina Railroad.

Folder 140

V-258/40: Time book, February-December 1861

Time book for work on the Western North Carolina Railroad, kept by supervisor William P. Dunavant.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.5. Penmanship Book of Frederick C. Fisher, undated.

1 volume.
Folder 141

V-258/41: Penmanship book, undated

Penmanship book belonging to Charles F. Fisher's son, Frederick C. Fisher.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Oversize volumes (SV-258/17, 18, 21, 22)

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