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Collection Number: 01413

Collection Title: Orr and Patterson Family Papers, 1779-1915

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.


Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the encoding of this finding aid.

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Size 5.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2400 items)
Abstract The Orr and Patterson family joined two prominent families from South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Family members included J. L. (James Lawrence) Orr (1822-1873), state legislator, member of Congress, judge, governor of South Carolina, 1866-1868, and United States minister to Russia; his son-in-law, W. C. Patterson of Philadelphia, Pa., and Greenville, S.C., son of Colonel W. C. Patterson of Philadelphia; and Lawrence Orr Patterson (b. 1869), a civic leader of Greenville, S.C., and donor of the collection. The papers of the Orr and Patterson family are subdivided into four series. The J. L. Orr series, 1779-1892, includes business and family papers of Orr's ancestors in South Carolina; his political correspondence and congressional mail concerning American Indian affairs, political appointments, slavery, and secession for the pre-war period; scattered items during the 1860s; and, after 1870, family letters. The volumes series, 1850-1905, includes scrapbooks of Orr and Patterson family members and lettercopy books of W. C. Patterson. The W. C. Patterson series, 1836-1897, consists of the business and family correspondence of Colonel W. C. Patterson of Philadelphia, Pa., and W. C. Patterson Jr. of Philadelphia and Greenville, S.C. The business correspondence chiefly concerns properties in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minn. The Lawrence Orr Patterson series, 1881-1915, consists of correspondence relating to his work in Greenville, S.C., with civic and cultural organizations, athletics, local business and political matters, and prison reform as a member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections.
Creator Orr (Family : Orr, J. L. (James Lawrence), 1822-1873)



Patterson (Family : Patterson, W. C. (William 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 Orr and Patterson Family Papers #1413, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed 1976) available.
  • Reel 1: Series A. J. L. Orr, 1779-1892
  • Reel 2: Series B. Volume 2: J. L. Orr Scrapbook
Acquisitions Information
Received from Lawrence Orr Patterson of Greenville, S.C., in November 1947, and Mrs. Lawrence Orr Patterson of Colorado Springs, Colo., in June 1954 and April 1955.
Additional Descriptive Resources
Original finding aid filed in folder 1a
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: Anna Brooke Allan, April 1960; N. Arnold, November 1979

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2005

Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the encoding of this finding aid.

Note that series 1-4 were previously designated A-D.

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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

The Orr and Patterson family joined two prominent families from South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Family members included J. L. (James Lawrence) Orr (1822-1873), a state legislator, member of Congress, judge, governor of South Carolina, 1866-1868, and United States minister to Russia; his son-in-law, W. C. (William C.) Patterson Jr. of Philadelphia, Pa., and Greenville, S.C., whose father was Colonel W. C. (William C.) Patterson of Philadelphia; and Lawrence Orr Patterson (b. 1869), a civic leader of Greenville, S.C., and the donor of the collection.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The papers of the Orr and Patterson family are subdivided into four series. The J. L. Orr (James Lawrence Orr) series, 1779-1892, includes business and family papers of Orr's ancestors in South Carolina; his political correspondence and congressional mail concerning American Indian affairs, political appointments, slavery, and secession for the pre-war period; scattered items during the 1860s; and, after 1870, family letters. The volumes series, 1850-1905, includes scrapbooks of the Orr and Patterson families and lettercopy books of W. C. Patterson. The W. C. Patterson series, 1836-1897, consists of the business and family correspondence of Colonel W. C. Patterson of Philadelphia, Pa., and W. C. Patterson Jr. of Philadelphia and Greenville, S.C. The business correspondence chiefly concerns properties in Minneapolis, Minn., and Saint Paul, Minn. The Lawrence Orr Patterson series, 1881-1915, consists of correspondence relating to his work in Greenville, S.C., with civic and cultural organizations, athletics, local business and political matters, and prison reform as a member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. J. L. Orr, 1779-1892.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Papers chiefly relate to James Lawrence Orr (1822-1873), legislator, member of Congress, Speaker of the House, member of conventions of 1860 and 1865, judge, governor of South Carolina, and United States minister to Russia. Papers, 1799-1844, relate to business and family of Asa Clinkscales, John Orr, Christopher Orr, and others, of South Carolina. Included are letters, notes, receipts, money orders, and other items. A group of papers relates to appointments of Clinkscales as surveyor in South Carolina court cases, Court of Common Pleas, in Anderson, S.C. Papers, 1844-1848, concern raising troops and a treaty with American Indians. Papers, 1849-1868, consist of letters from other members of Congress and the cabinet and other political leaders, relating to American Indian affairs, political appointments, slavery, secession, the Montgomery, Ala., convention, raising troops, post war conditions in Abbeville District, S.C., and land grant agricultural colleges in the South. Papers, 1870-1884, relate chiefly to family and include letters from children at school at Greenville College, Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., and the University of Virginia, and from family members living in Europe. Also included is a number of letters to Christopher H. Orr, an attorney, from business associates, concerning the "Columbus Democrat", and from women friends.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1b

1779-1849

Folder 2

1850-1856

Folder 3

1857-1859

Folder 4

1860-1869

Folder 5

1870-1875

Folder 6

1880-1881

Folder 7

1882-1883

Folder 8

1884-1885

Folder 9

1886-1887, 1889, 1892

Folder 10-11

Folder 10

Folder 11

Undated

Reel M-1413/1

Microfilm

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Scrapbooks and Lettercopy Books, 1850-1905.

8 items.

Four scrapbooks belonging to members of the Orr and Patterson families and three lettercopy books of W. C. Patterson.

Folder 84

Volume 1: Scrapbook, 1850-1852

Political career of J. L. Orr

Folder 85

Volume 2: Scrapbook, 1873-1905

Clippings about J. L. Orr, Clinkscales family reunion, notices and speeches

Folder 86

Volume 3: Scrapbook, 1870-1905

Miscellaneous clippings, poems, cartoons, anecdotes, articles about the Civil War, national affairs, labor and legal items, Orr and Patterson family obituaries, invitations, South Carolina politics in the 1880s, W. C. Patterson's defense of Fitz-John Porter

Oversize Volume V-1413/S-4

Volume 4: Scrapbook, 1883

L. O. Patterson, of Philadelphia, Pa., newspaper notices of opera and theater and miscellaneous clippings

Folder 87

Volume 5: Lettercopy book, October 1869-March 1872

Folder 88

Volume 6: Lettercopy book, March 1872-January 1876

Folder 89

Volume 7: Lettercopy book, March 1875-May 1879

Folder 90

Volume 8: Notebook, 1877-1885

W. C. Patterson

Reel M-1413/2

Microfilm

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. W. C. Patterson Papers, 1836-1897.

About 1000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Business papers and family correspondence of Colonel W. C. Patterson of Philadelphia, Pa., and W. C. Patterson Jr. of Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Also included are miscellaneous maps, postcards, calling cards, receipts, school materials, printed material, clippings, and advertisements.

Folder 12

1836, 1861, 1868-1871

Folder 13

1872-June 1873

Folder 14

July 1873-1874

Folder 15

1875-1876

Folder 16

1877

Folder 17

1878-1879

Folder 18

1880-1881

Folder 19

1882

Folder 20

1883-1884

Folder 21

1885-1886

Folder 22-23

Folder 22

Folder 23

1887

Folder 24-25

Folder 24

Folder 25

1888

Folder 26

1889

Folder 27-28

Folder 27

Folder 28

1890

Folder 29-30

Folder 29

Folder 30

1891

Folder 31-33

Folder 31

Folder 32

Folder 33

1892

Folder 34-36

Folder 34

Folder 35

Folder 36

1893

Folder 37

1894, 1897

Folder 38-39

Folder 38

Folder 39

Undated

Folder 40

Maps

Folder 41

Notes

Folder 42

Postcards and calling cards

Folder 43

Letters of introduction for Lawrence Orr Patterson by William E. Earle, 29 December 1893

Folder 44

Dance cards

Folder 45-48

Folder 45

Folder 46

Folder 47

Folder 48

Receipts

Folder 49

Grade reports and graduation program

Folder 50

Literary works

Folder 51-53

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Printed material

Folder 54-55

Folder 54

Folder 55

Clippings and advertisements

XOPF-1413/1

Flier for "The Dixies, Entertainers in their Laughable Entertainment of Mirth and Melody," circa 1880

Inman Line notice about additional charges for packages

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Lawrence Orr Patterson Papers, 1881-1915.

About 1000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence of Lawrence Orr Patterson, of Greenville, S.C., relating to the YMCA, libraries, concert series, and other civic and cultural organizations; lawn tennis and amateur baseball; national legislation and miscellaneous local business and political matters; and prison as a member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections.

Folder 56

1881-May 1887

Folder 57

1887: June-August

Folder 58

September 1887-February 1888

Folder 59-60

Folder 59

Folder 60

1888: May-December

Folder 61-64

Folder 61

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

1889

Folder 65-66

Folder 65

Folder 66

1890

Folder 67-68

Folder 67

Folder 68

1891: January-September

Folder 69

October 1891-March 1892

Folder 70

1892: April-December

Folder 71-72

Folder 71

Folder 72

1893: January-November

Folder 73

December 1893-January 1894

Folder 74-78

Folder 74

Folder 75

Folder 76

Folder 77

Folder 78

1894: February-October

Folder 79-80

Folder 79

Folder 80

Undated

Folder 81

1901-February 1913

Folder 82

1913: March-December

Folder 83

1914-1915

XOPF-1413/1

State Department certificate for safe passage for Lawrence O. Patterson

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Photographs.

9 items.
Image Folder PF-1413/1

Portraits

Special Format Image SF-P-1413/1

S. W. Orr(?)

Tintype

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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