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 John Grant Rencher and William Conway Rencher Autograph Books #5651, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased at Leland Little Auctions by Thomas S. Kenan III in September 2015 (Acc. 102318).

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.

Processed by: Nancy Kaiser, March 2016

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, March 2016

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.

• Autograph albums--North Carolina.
• Rencher, John Grant (1840-1909)
• Rencher, William Conway (1842-1901)
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--19th century.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Autographs.

John Grant Rencher (1840-1909) received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1862 and an M.A. in 1866. His brother William Conway Rencher (1842-1901) received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1866 and an M.A. in 1881. Both were law students and members of the Dialectic Society. The brothers had ties to Chatham County, N.C., but while students they hailed from Santa Fe, N.M., where their father, Abraham Rencher, served as governor of the territory of New Mexico from 1857 to 1861.

John Grant Rencher served as a captain in the Confederate Army, 33rd regiment, company K. William Conway Rencher served as a major in the Confederate Army.

The John Grant Rencher and William Conway Rencher Autograph Books contain autographs, biographical information, quotes, and personal notes to the brothers from University of North Carolina students of the classes of 1859 through 1865 during the Civil War. Topics include campus affiliations, such as the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies on campus, and student views on politics, fighting in the war, justifications for the war, and other issues. A few women also signed the books. Undated annotations include further information about students' departures from the university, military service, occupations, marriages, and other biographical information.