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Collection Number: 03410

Collection Title: William Henry Hoyt Papers, 1769-1957.

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


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Size 8.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6,000 items)
Abstract Lawyer, of New York, N.Y., and amateur historian. Hoyt's papers include correspondence and notes, pictures, and copies of documents from repositories in France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States, all related to his research into the legend of Peter Stewart Ney, a 19th-century North Carolina schoolmaster alleged to be Michel Ney (1765-1815), marshal of France; and concerning the declaration of independence signed in Mecklenburg County, N.C., 20 May 1775. In 1907, Hoyt published a book on the Mecklenburg declaration.
Creator Hoyt, William Henry.
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 William Henry Hoyt Papers, #3410, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Bequest of William Henry Hoyt in 1958. Additional materials originally acquired to supplement the Henry Hoyt Collection of French History were transferred from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rare Book Collection in September 1981 (Acc. 81117).
Received from Douglas Hoyt Welles in July 2014 (Acc. 102056).
Additional Descriptive Resources
A more complete finding aid for this collection is available at the Southern Historical Collection.
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: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Gergana Abernathy and Mary Oliva, November 2017; Nancy Kaiser, February 2021

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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

Lawyer, of New York, N.Y., and amateur historian.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Wiliam Henry Hoyt's papers include correspondence and notes, pictures, and copies of documents from repositories in France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States, all related to his research into the legend of Peter Stewart [Stuart] Ney, a 19th-century North Carolina schoolmaster alleged to be Michel Ney (1765-1815), marshal of France; and concerning the declaration of independence signed in Mecklenburg County, N.C., 20 May 1775. In 1907, Hoyt published a book on the Mecklenburg declaration.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence of William Henry Hoyt, 1904-1957, and undated

This series comprises the correspondence of Hoyt with many people in the United States and Europe in his search for information on Marshal Ney of France and Peter Stewart Ney of North Carolina. Most of the letters are for the period 1943-1957; there are only two folders for 1904-1940 and no letters for 1941-1942. There are letters from, and carbons of Hoyt's letters to, researchers, libraries, writers, and other people connected with and interested in the Ney legend.

Folder 1

1904-1935

Folder 2

1936-1940

Folder 3

January-March 1943

Folder 4

April-June 1943

Folder 5

6-16 July 1943

Folder 6

19-31 July 1943

Folder 7

August 1943

Folder 8

September 1943

Folder 9

4-15 October 1943

Folder 10

16-29 October 1943

Folder 11

November 1943

Folder 12

December 1943

Folder 13

3-17 January 1944

Folder 14

18-31 January 1944

Folder 15

February 1944

Folder 16

March 1944

Folder 17

3-19 April 1944

Folder 18

20-29 April 1944

Folder 19

1-9 May 1944

Folder 20

10 May-30 June 1944

Folder 21

July-October 1944

Folder 22

November-December 1944

Folder 23

January 1945

Folder 24

February 1945

Folder 25

March 1945

Folder 26

April 1945

Folder 27

May-December 1945

Folder 28

January-March 1946

Folder 29

April 1946

Folder 30

May-June 1946

Folder 31

July 1946

Folder 32

August-September 1946

Folder 33

October-December 1946

Folder 34

January-March 17 1947

Folder 35

18-31 March 1947

Folder 36

April-May 1947

Folder 37

June-July 1947

Folder 38

August-October 1947

Folder 39

November-15 December 1947

Folder 40

16-24 December 1947

Folder 41

25-29 December 1947

Folder 42

1-22 January 1948

Folder 43

23-30 January 1948

Folder 44

February 1948

Folder 45

March 1948

Folder 46

April-August 1948

Folder 47

September-October 1948

Folder 48

November-December 1948

Folder 49

January-March 1949

Folder 50

April-June 1949

Folder 51

July-September 1949

Folder 52

October-December 1949

Folder 53

January-February 1950

Folder 54

March 1950

Folder 55

April-June 1950

Folder 56

July-October 1950

Folder 57

November-December 1950

Folder 58

January-February 1951

Folder 59

March-April 1951

Folder 60

May 1951

Folder 61

June-July 1951

Folder 62

August-September 1951

Folder 63

October 1951

Folder 64

November-12 December 1951

Folder 65

16-23 December 1951

Folder 66

1-17 January 1952

Folder 67

18 January 1952

Folder 68

21-30 January 1952

Folder 69

February 1952

Folder 70

March 1952

Folder 71

April-May 1952

Folder 72

June-December 1952

Folder 73

January-July 1953

Folder 74

August-October 1953

Folder 75

November 1953

Folder 76

December 1953

Folder 77

January 1954

Folder 78

February 1954

Folder 79

March-April 1954

Folder 80

2-13 May 1954

Folder 81

14-30 May 1954

Folder 82

June 1954

Folder 83

July 1954

Folder 84

2-22 August 1954

Folder 85

23-31 August 1954

Folder 86

September 1954

Folder 87

3-11 October 1954

Folder 88

12-29 October 1954

Folder 89

2-12 November 1954

Folder 90

13-30 November 1954

Folder 91

December 1954

Folder 92

January-March 1955

Folder 93

April-May 1955

Folder 94

June 1955

Folder 95

July 1955

Folder 96

August 1955

Folder 97

September 1955

Folder 98

October-December 1955

Folder 99

January-April 1956

Folder 100

May-July 1956

Folder 101

August-September 1956

Folder 102

October-December 1956

Folder 103a

1957-1958

Folder 103b

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Collected Letters and Documents, 1767-1936, and undated.

This series contains original manuscripts, photostats, and typed copies of letters, documents, and other papers connected with Marshal Ney, Peter Stewart Ney, and related subjects. Many of these papers were enclosures in the correspondence in Series 1. Most of the papers connected with Marshal Ney fall in the period 1814-1816; most of the material on Peter Stewart Ney falls in the 1830's and 1840's. There are many papers connected with the trial and execution of Marshal Ney. The undated material is devided into the papers of Marshal Ney, papers of Peter Stewart Ney, and data from Scotland.

Folder 104

1767, 1769, 1774, 1775, 1788, 1790

Folder 105

1792-1799

Folder 106

1800-March 1802

Folder 107

August 1802-1803

Folder 108

1804-1805

Folder 109

1805-1809

Folder 110

1810

Folder 111

1811-1814

Folder 112

February-March 1815

Folder 113

April-August 1815

Folder 114

September-October 1815

Folder 115

1-14 November 1815

Folder 116

15-27 November 1815

Folder 117

November 1815

Folder 118

1-6 December 1815

Folder 119

7 December 1815

Folder 120

7 December 1815

Folder 121

7 December 1815

Folder 122

8 December 1815

Folder 123

9 December 1815

Folder 124

December 1815

Folder 125

1815

Folder 126

January-February 1816

Folder 127

May 1816

Folder 128

June-October 1816

Folder 129

November-December 1816

Folder 130

January-June 1817

Folder 131

July-December 1817

Folder 132

1818-1819

Folder 133

1820

Folder 134

1821-1822

Folder 135

1823

Folder 136

1824-1825

Folder 137

1826

Folder 138

1827

Folder 139

1828-1829

Folder 140

1830

Folder 141

1831-1832

Folder 142

1833-1835

Folder 143

1836-1839

Folder 144

1840-1841

Folder 145

1842-1846

Folder 146

1848-1849

Folder 147

1850-1852

Folder 148

1853-1857

Folder 149

1863-1870

Folder 150

1877, 1877, 1882, 1884, 1886

Folder 151

1887, 1891, 1892, 1897, 1899

Folder 152

1900, 1902

Folder 153

1905, 1906, 1909, 1926, 1936

Folder 154-155

Folder 154

Folder 155

Undated-Scottish Data

Folder 156

Undated-Peter Stewart Ney Data

Folder 157-160

Folder 157

Folder 158

Folder 159

Folder 160

Undated-Marshal Ney Data

Folder 161

Forged Letters of Marshal Ney, 7 December 1805; 6 December 1812. Claims made in names of heirs, after Ney's Execution: 1818, 1821, 1825

Folder 162

Papers Relating to Marshal Ney's Imprisonment and Trial, 1815-1817

Folder 163

Papers on Clover, Staff officer of Ney: 1809, 1814, 1815. Papers on Compte de Saint-Bias: 1815-1816

Folder 164

Documents Concerning Compte de Tour, Ney's Secretary: 1815-1818. Papers relating to Lefebre-Desnouvettes, 1815-1820 and undated

Folder 165

The Protestant Minister Nee of Meziere-en-Drouais; arrested at Paris in April-May 1816, as a Bonapartist

Folder 166

The Protestant Minister Nee of Meziere-en-Drouais

Folder 167

National Archives, Paris: Order BB18 1324 Marshal Ney Papers, 1816, 1821, 1831

Folder 168

National Archives, Paris, papers pertaining to Marshal Ney and his family: 1814, 1830, 1841

Folder 169

Archives du Service Historique de l'Armee-Vincennes-Veterens Sous-Officiers: 1814-1842

Folder 170-171

Folder 170

Folder 171

Archives Nationales, Paris: Order F7 3838. Prefecture de Police. Dossier Marshal Ney

Folder 172-175a

Archives Nationales, Paris: Order BB3 161. Marshal Ney Papers, October-November 1815

Folder 175b

Proces du Marechal Ney (Trial of Marshal Ney)

Folder 176-181

Folder 176

Folder 177

Folder 178

Folder 179

Folder 180

Folder 181

Ney's Birth and Service

Folder 182

Lyman Draper's photostats of several letters and other papers of Peter Stewart Ney

Folder 183

Pay Records of Peter McNie or McNee, 1804. Public Records

Folder 184

Peter Stewart Ney's Shorthand System

Folder 185

Album on Henrietta Mandeville, 1829, containing some writing by Peter Stewart Ney. Unidentified Autograph Album.

Folder 186

Printed works containing notes made by Peter Stewart Ney on the margins

The Alhambra, Vol. 1; Cicero's Select Orations; and Discourses on the Christian Revelation by Chalmers.

Folder 187

Printed works containing notes made by Peter Stewart Ney on the margins

Pages from A Dictionary of Select and Popular Quotations by Macdonnel; Johnson's and Walker's English dictionaries.

Folder 188

Printed works containing notes made by Peter Stewart Ney on the margins

Pages from a French New Testament and from O'Meara's Memoirs of the Military and Political Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Folder 189

Weston's Historic Doubts as to the Execution of Mershal Ney with marginal notes

Folder 190

Pages from arithmatic and geometry books, with marginal notes by Peter Stewart Ney

Folder 191

Pages from Scott's History of Scotland, with marginal notes by Peter Stewart Ney

Folder 192a-192b

Peter Stewart Ney's marginal notes in O'Meara's Napoleon in Exile, or A Voice from St. Helena

Folder 193a-193b

Peter Stewart Ney's Scrapbook

Folder 194

Documents from German Sources (Marshal Ney)

Folder 195a-195b

National Archives, Paris: Orders F7 6683 and F7 6663

French letters and other papers relating to Marshal Ney's wife and children after his death

Folder 196-198

Folder 196

Folder 197

Folder 198

Archives of Tuscany- Researches on the morganatic marriage of Marshal Ney to Resigny. Florence, Lucca, Montecatina, Bologna

Folder 199-200

Folder 199

Folder 200

Lucca, Documents relating to the education of the Marshal's sons, 1816-1819

Folder 201

Wellington's Dispatches: 1810, 1815-1816

Folder 202a-202b

Documents in the Public Record Office, London

1815 letters from Sir Charles Stewart, Wellington, and Marshal Ney relating to Ney's trial.

Folder 203

Papers concerning the case of Marshal Ney, printed by House of Commons, London. 14 February 1816

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-3410/1

Newspaper clippings, geneologies, and one picture of Marshal Ney

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Articles, Extracts, and Notes

This series includes newspaper clippings, photostats of newspaper articles, magazine articles, both typed copies and photostats. The articles are about varied subjects, largely matters concerning Marshal Ney in France and the legend in North Carolina. There are also typed copies and some photocopies of parts of many printed volumes, varying in length from a paragraph to around 50 pages, and notes made by Hoyt on many topics.

Folder 204

Articles

"The Truth about the Death of Marshal Ney" by Dana B. Vandusen. Published in Tyler's Quarterly Magazine. "Die Marschallin Ney" by Jakob Hugentobler. Published in Thurgauer Jahrbuch, 1945.

Folder 205

Articles

"Which? Ney or Neiberg" by James W. Jewell. 1951.

Folder 206

Articles

"Marshal Ney, en Lebensbild" by Henrich Niessen, 1902. "Genealogie du Marechal Ney," 1861.

Folder 207-208

Folder 207

Folder 208

Articles

Selected pages from "L'Intermediaire des cherchers et curieux," 1874-1940.

Folder 209

Articles

"Le Marechal Ney-1815" by Dupin(?)

Folder 210

Articles

"The Execution of Marshal Ney" by Rowland Blennerhassett. Printed in The National Review.

Folder 211

Articles

"Le Marechal Ney" by Charles Florence Printed in Bulletin Mensuel, 1931. "Le Proces du Marechal Ney," a play by Fontan and Depeuty. Published in Magasin Theatral, 1835. "Le Proces du Marechal Ney" by Comte Mole. Published in La Revue de Paris.

Folder 212

Articles

"L'Arrestation du Marechal Ney en 1815" by Louis Farges. Published in La Revue de France. "Une Conspiration a Lyon en 1817" by Sebastien Charlety. Published in La Revue de Paris.

Folder 213

Articles

"Le Proces du Marechal Ney" by A. Sorel. Published in Nouveaux essais de critique et d'histoire, 1895.

Folder 214a

French Critique of the Legend of Ney's Survival by Rene Arnaud, with transcribed translation

"Mort et Resurrection du Marechal Ney" by Rene Arnaud. Published in Les Annales politiques et litteraires, 1935-1936.

Folder 214b-224

Articles

Single-page articles.

Folder 225-241

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Folder 228

Folder 229

Folder 230

Folder 231

Folder 232

Folder 233

Folder 234

Folder 235

Folder 236

Folder 237

Folder 238

Folder 239

Folder 240

Folder 241

Extracts from printed works

Filed alphabetically by author.

Folder 242a-242d

Notes and Bibliography-The Hoyt Papers

Notes made by Hoyt on many topics, memoranda of things to do and facts to verify, and the beginnings of his manuscript (first pages, suggested titles, etc.).

Folder 243a-243c

Hoyt's Notes

Notes made by Hoyt on many topics, memoranda of things to do and facts to verify, and the beginnings of his manuscript (first pages, suggested titles, etc.).

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Pictures

This series includes 141 pictures originally filed in one portfolio, including snapshots, etching, photocopies, prints, and two mapss. Also included are 12 photographs received in 1981.

Acquisition information: Addition of September 1981 (Acc. 81117).

Image Folder PF-3410/1-2

PF-3410/1

PF-3410/2

"Belgique--Champ de Bataille de Waterloo"

Acquisition information: Addition of September 1981 (Acc. 81117).

Hougomont, Waterloo, and Marshal Way.

Image Folder PF-3410/3-4

PF-3410/3

PF-3410/4

Artifacts depicting Marshal Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/4

Artifacts depicting Marshal Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/5

Marshal Ney, E.M.C. Neyman, and William Henry Hoyt

Image Folder PF-3410/6

Marshal Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/7

Images relating to Fields of Asylum, a 1818 Bonapartist settlement in Texas, and Marshal Ney's death

Image Folder PF-3410/8

Grave of Marshal Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/9

Marshal Ney, other important French figures, and E.M.C. Neyman

Image Folder PF-3410/10

Marshal Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/11

North Carolina house of Peter Stewart Ney; graves of Marshal Ney and Peter Stewart Ney

Image Folder PF-3410/12

North Carolina house of Peter Stewart Ney; grave and monuments of Marshal Ney

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Volumes

This series contains manuscript volumes containing typed copies of materials related to Marshal Ney, much of which is duplicated in Series 2. Also included are leather portfolios containing exhibits of the manuscripts used to compare the handwriting of Marshal Ney with that of Peter Stuart Ney. Enclosed in the books are copies of the experts' report and two articles about handwriting.

Folder 244

Volume 1

French Letters and documents, 1815; extracts.

Folder 245

Volume 2

Peter Stewart Ney's scrapbook.

Folder 246

Volume 3

French Letters and documents; Peter Stewart Ney's writings for the Carolina Watchman; extracts; newspaper articles about the Ney legend.

Folder 247

Volume 4

Extracts.

Folder 248

Volume 5

Hoyt notes; Peter Stewart Ney writings (letters, poetry, etc.); Newspaper clippings and articles about the Ney legend; Published articles about the Ney legend.

Folder 249

Volume 6

Peter McNee data; Peter Stewart Ney writings for the Carolina Watchman; Les Victimes de la Politique from the Courrier des Etats-Unis, 1854; letters and articles published in various newspapers by persons interested in the Ney legend.

Folder 250

Volume 7

German records from Saarlouis, 1767-1769; French letters and documents, 1815-1819, 1822, 1826; Wellington letters; extract from Rochechouart's Souvenirs and many others.

Oversize Volume SV-3410/8-10

SV-3410/8

SV-3410/9

SV-3410/10

Volumes 8-10

Exhibits of the manuscripts used by the handwriting experts employed by Hoyt to compare the handwriting of Marshal Ney with that of Peter Stuart Ney. Enclosed in the books are copies of the experts' report and two articles about handwriting.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5A. Volumes (Addition of July 2014)

Acquisitions Information: Accession 102056

Four type written books by W.H. Hoyt on the "Debow" family roots. The books have handwritten edits.

Box 18-19

Box 18

Box 19

DeBow family

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. Microfilm

This series contains copies of materials from Hoyt's research on the Ney legend from French, Italian, British, and American archives, depositories, and other sources historical documents.

Reel 1-2

Reel 1

Reel 2

Microfilm

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 7. Mecklenburg Declaration Materials, 1775-1909, 1954, and undated

This series includes copies collected by Hoyt because of his interest in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. He discussed much of this material, and reproduced some of it, in his The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The photocopies were collected from various sources, primarily from the Emmet Collection and George Bancroft Collection of the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library. When the location of the original is known, it is indicated on the photocopy.

The items that are not copies include a letter from William Howard Taft, 26 April 1909, and Hoyt's comment, 1954; and publisher's leaflet advertising The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

Folder 251

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-Paphlet 1907; W.H. Taft letters 1909

G.P. Putnam's advertisement of W.H. Hoyt's The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (1907). Letter from W.H. Taft to Hoyt, 26 April 1909, written just before the President went to Charlotte, N.C., to make a speech involving the "Mecklenburg Declaration." Hoyt's comment on W.H. Taft's speech, 1954.

Folder 252

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-13 June 1775

Copy of The South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, 13 June 1775.

Folder 253

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-18 June 1775-1780

Correspondence: 18 June 1775, New Bern, N.C., Richard Cogdell, addressee not given; 19 June 1776, Edenton, N.C., Declaration of the Vestry of St. Paul's Parish; 8 July 1779, Ephraim Brevard to Mark Alexander; 21 September 1780, Dr. J. Alexander to Jethro Sumner.

Folder 254

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-1819

Correspondence: 18 August 1819, William Polk to Archibald D. Murphey, sending narrative of Revolutionary events and a copy of Joseph McK. Alexander's letter to William Davidson, 1819.

Folder 255

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-1851-1907

Correspondence: 20 December 1851, David L. Swain to Benjamin S. Lossing; 9 June 1856, Hugh Blair Crisby to George Bancroft; 6 and 18 March 1858, two letters, David L. Swain to Bancroft.

Folder 256

Mecklenburg Declaration Series-Undated

Two newspaper clippings: one probably from the New York Daily Times, signed "North Carolina," about Francis Lister Hawks' address on the Mecklenburg Declaration; and one from the National Intelligencer, on the Declaration and George Tucker's and Hugh Blair Grigsby's comments on it. Autograph of John McKnit Alexander, undated.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

PF-3410/1-12

OPF-3410/1

SV-3410/8-10

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