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Collection Number: 02692-z

Collection Title: McElwee Family Papers, 1800-1893

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 processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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Size 260 items
Abstract Financial and legal Papers, correspondence, clippings, and account books of the McElwee family of Statesville, Iredell County, N.C., and the Alexander family of Iredell County, N.C., Hardiman County, Tenn., and Lowndes County, Ala. Financial and legal papers consist of bills, receipts, bonds, a tax assessment, land survey, jury notice, marriage license, and appointment of attorney, 1800-1865. Correspondence includes letters to J. McElwee, discussing agriculture, slaves, and social affairs, 1853-1858; letters from Confederate soldiers stationed in Virginia, mentioning the Battle of Seven Pines (Battle of Fair Oaks) and the poor conditions in camp; a letter, 1893, giving biographical and genealogical information on the McElwee family; and undated correspondence detailing family and social news. There are also school Papers, including an essay on female education and intelligence, 1856-1858, and genealogical notes on wills of the McElwee, Orr, Miller, and Simonton families. Account books are for leather goods, 1849-1865; milling, 1864-1871; and tobacco sales or barter, 1869-1873.
Creator McElwee (Family : Statesville, N.C.)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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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 McElwee Family Papers #2692-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mary McElwee of Statesville, N.C., in 1944.
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: Suzanne Ruffing, July 1996

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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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 Scope and Content

Financial and legal Papers, correspondence, clippings, and account books of the McElwee family of Statesville, Iredell County, N.C., and the Alexander family of Iredell County, N.C., Hardiman County, Tenn., and Lowndes County, Ala. Financial and legal papers consist of bills, receipts, bonds, a tax assessment, land survey, jury notice, marriage license, and appointment of attorney, 1800-1865. Correspondence includes letters to J. McElwee, discussing agriculture, slaves, and social affairs, 1853-1858; letters from Confederate soldiers stationed in Virginia, mentioning the Battle of Seven Pines (Battle of Fair Oaks) and the poor conditions in camp; a letter, 1893, giving biographical and genealogical information on the McElwee family; and undated correspondence detailing family and social news. There are also school Papers, including an essay on female education and intelligence, 1856-1858, and genealogical notes on wills of the McElwee, Orr, Miller, and Simonton families. Account books are for leather goods, 1849-1865; milling, 1864-1871; and tobacco sales or barter, 1869-1873.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence and Business Papers, 1756-1862.

255 items.

Family letters, legal and financial Papers, school Papers, clippings, genealogical materials, and other items of the McElwee family. Letters include one to J. McElwee discussing agriculture, slaves, and social affairs, 1853-1858; letters from Confederate soldiers stationed in Virginia, mentioning the Battle of Seven Pines; and other personal and social letters. Legal and financial papers include bills, receipts, bonds, and a tax assessment, land survey, jury notice, marriage license, and appointment of attorney.

Folder 1

1800-1893

Folder 2

Bills and receipts, 1832-1865

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Account Books, 1849-1883.

7 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 3

Folder number not used

Oversize Volume SV-2692/1

Volume S-1: 1849-64, 75 pp.

"Hide book" with accounts of leather goods.

Oversize Volume SV-2692/3

Volume S-3: 1852-1865, 100 pp.

Accounts of leather, skins, harnesses, and hides.

Oversize Volume SV-2692/4

Volume S-4: 1864-1869 and 1871, 100 pp.

Milling account book of J. H. McElwee.

Oversize Volume SV-2692/5

Volume S-5: 1869-1871, 75 pp.

Tobacco accounts.

Folder 4

Volume 2: 1850-1852, 200 pp.

Account of A. K. Simonton's property by J. F. Alexander, guardian, Iredell County, with records of the sale and hiring of slaves.

Volume 6: 1869-1873, 200 pp.

Tobacco account book of J. H. McElwee and C. T. Neal.

Folder 5

Volume 7: 1876-1883, 385 pp.

Account book of J. H. McElwee of Statesville.

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