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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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Collection Overview
| Size | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 730 items) |
| Abstract | The collection includes personal and family papers, chiefly after 1860, of members of the families of Elisha Alexander Perkins (1828-1897), and his brother, Robert C. Perkins (1825-1904), farmers at "Pleasant Valley" on John's River near Morganton (Burke County), N.C. Included are letters from three generations of the Williams family [sister Jane Elizabeth Perkins married a Williams] of White County, Ga.; Civil War correspondence, official papers, and diary, 1863 and 1865, of Captain A. E. Perkins of the 41st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, Confederate States of America, in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, and civilian correspondence, mostly from the women of the family in North Carolina and Georgia; business papers, especially of R. C. Perkins as a local official during and after the war; various farm accounts; and a journal and account book, 1852, of R. C. Perkins's trip to California and his mining experiences during the Gold Rush. Correspondence after 1900 shows that the Happy Valley farm was run by the Perkins women. Volumes include diaries, 1861-1864 and 1866-1869, of Emma Sue (Gordon) Perkins (1837-1870), wife of R. C. Perkins. Before her marriage in 1863 she was a teacher in Hertford, N.C. The diaries describe daily life in Hertford and at Pleasant Valley. |
| Creator | Perkins family. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Rebecca Hollingsworth, January 1993
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
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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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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Biographical Information
Robert Caldwell Perkins (1825-1904) and his brother Elisha Alexander Perkins (1828-1897) operated a large farm known as Pleasant Valley on John's River near Morganton in Burke County, N.C. Their sister Jane Elizabeth Perkins married a Williams and settled in White County in northern Georgia. During the Civil War, Elisha Alexander Perkins was a captain in the Confederate Army, serving with the 41st North Carolina Regiment in coastal North Carolina and Virginia; Robert Perkins remained in Morganton and held a number of local offices, including that of sheriff of Burke County, during and after the war.
In October 1863, Robert Perkins married Emma Sue Gordon, a cousin of his first wife Mary Neal. Before moving to Morganton, Emma Gordon had taught school in Hertford, Chowan County, N.C. Her sister, Juliana "Dunie" Gordon, was the wife of Captain Elisha Alexander Perkins.
Elisha Alexander Perkins's daughters Sue, Emma (Mrs. Forney), and Elizabeth ("Lizzie"; Mrs. Robert L. McConnaughey), lived at the Pleasant Valley farm and continued to operate it into the 20th century.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes personal and family papers, chiefly after 1860, of members of the families of Elisha Alexander Perkins (1828-1897), and his brother, Robert C. Perkins (1825-1904), farmers at "Pleasant Valley" on John's River near Morganton (Burke County), N.C. Included are letters from three generations of the Williams family [sister Jane Elizabeth Perkins married a Williams] of White County, Ga.; Civil War correspondence, official papers, and diary, 1863 and 1865, of Captain A. E. Perkins of the 41st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, Confederate States of America, in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, and civilian correspondence, mostly from the women of the family in North Carolina and Georgia; business papers, especially of R. C. Perkins as a local official during and after the war; various farm accounts; and a journal and account book, 1852, of R. C. Perkins's trip to California and his mining experiences during the Gold Rush. Correspondence after 1900 shows that the Happy Valley farm was run by the Perkins women. Volumes include diaries, 1861-1864 and 1866-1869, of Emma Sue (Gordon) Perkins (1837-1870), wife of R. C. Perkins. Before her marriage in 1863 she was a teacher in Hertford, N.C. The diaries describe daily life in Hertford and at Pleasant Valley.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence and Related Materials, 1822/1942.
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal and family letters, chiefly 1860-1910, received by members of the Elisha Alexander Perkins family and the Robert Caldwell Perkins family at Pleasant Valley near Morganton, Burke County, N.C., including many letters from Jane Elizabeth Perkins Williams and her descendants in White County, Georgia. Also included are many bills, accounts, receipts, and other papers concerning Robert Perkins's business interests and responsibilities.
Letters are concerned entirely with the daily activities and the health and welfare of members of the household and the immediate circle of relatives and friends of the letter writers. There are almost no references to anything or anyone beyond their homes or farms or neighborhoods, and none to ideas or opinions. Several of the letters were written to relatives after long periods of silence and include summary information about the separated members of the family. In general, these materials are unadorned chronicles of births, visits, marriages, vocations, illnesses and deaths, and daily chores, with occasional mentions of weather and crops.
Papers before 1860 consist primarily of deeds, bills, receipts, promissory notes, and other financial and legal papers. There are also a few personal letters. The earliest item is a certificate, 1822, relating to Alfred Perkins's 640 acres in Burke County. Also included are business items and the will, 1856, of John Caldwell, brother of Mrs. Alfred Perkins; two letters, 1839, to Elisha Alexander Perkins at Davidson College from his parents, Alfred and Mary; and a letter, 1852, from Robert Perkins at Maxwell's Creek, Cal., mentioning mining, food prices, prospects, and news of other North Carolinians.
Items dated from 1860 to 1890 consist chiefly of business papers of Robert Perkins and family correspondence. Also included are many routine military communications, 1861-1864, received by Captain Elisha Alexander Perkins of the 41st North Carolina Regiment. Beginning in 1861, there are scattered letters, mostly to Robert Perkins, from relatives with the Confederate Army in Virginia, chiefly his brother Elisha Alexander and nephew A. P. Williams. There are also many letters from various members of the Williams family in Georgia, and a few letters, 1863, to Robert Perkins from his aunt Sarah F. Baker. After 1863, there are many letters to Emma Sue Gordon Perkins from various friends, including Nettie Gilliam, Julia Gaither, and Elizabeth Brace. Business papers of Robert Perkins after 1870 consist of his receipts and accounts as sheriff and tax collector in Burke County; as trustee or agent for the creditors of W. C. Erwin; as administrator, 1875, of the will of John Caldwell, succeeding Tod R. Caldwell, executor, deceased; and as guardian, after 1884, of Jane E. Collett, non compos mentis.
Papers after 1890 consist mainly of letters to "the Perkins girls," Emma, Sue, and Lizzie, from various friends and relatives, including several members of the Williams family. Letters from friends chiefly describe social activities. Also included are a letter, 1893, from A. P. Williams, telling of many deaths from typhoid; a letter, 1897, from Georgia relatives, following the death of Elisha Alexander Perkins; a letter, 1908, to Lizzie Perkins from Thomas L. Shannonhouse, patient at State (Psychiatric) Hospital, Morganton, describing his treatment, the hospital, and some of the staff; a letter, 1921, from Ethel M. Hendricks of Tucson, Ariz., telling of her travels in Arizona and personal news; and a thank-you note, 1930, from a school girl whose class had visited Pleasant Valley farm.
Also included are a number of poems copied from various sources or clipped from newspapers, and some miscellaneous clippings relevant to members of the Perkins family and their friends.
| Folder 1 |
1822, 1833-1846 |
| Folder 2 |
1850-1859 |
| Folder 3 |
1860-1861 |
| Folder 4 |
1862 January-July |
| Folder 5 |
1862 August-December |
| Folder 6 |
1863 January-April |
| Folder 7 |
1863 May-December |
| Folder 8 |
1864 |
| Folder 9 |
1865-1869 |
| Folder 10 |
1870 |
| Folder 11 |
1871 |
| Folder 12 |
1872-1874 |
| Folder 13 |
1875-1879 |
| Folder 14a |
1880-1881 |
| Folder 14b |
1882-1884 |
| Folder 15 |
1885-1889 |
| Folder 16 |
1890-1899 |
| Folder 17 |
1900-1909 |
| Folder 18 |
1910-1942 |
Folder 19-20
Folder 19Folder 20 |
Undated and miscellaneous |
| Folder 21 |
Poems and clippings |
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Series 2. Volumes, 1830-1916.
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Items Separated