Inventory of the Joseph Nathaniel Allen Papers, 1808-1967
Collection Number 5066
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Contact Information:
- Manuscripts Department
- CB#3926, Wilson Library
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
- Phone: 919/962-1345
- Fax: 919/962-3594
- Email: mss@email.unc.edu
- URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
- Processed by
- Bridget T. Lerette and Matthew Turi
- Date Processed
- September 2003
- Encoded by
- Matthew Turi
- Date Encoded
- September 2003
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Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- Southern Historical Collection
- Creator
- Allen, Joseph Nathaniel, 1834-1917.
- Title
- Joseph Nathaniel Allen Papers, 1808-1967
- Call Number
- 5066
- Extent
-
- About 150 items (0.5 linear feet)
- Abstract
- Educator, attorney, and Confederate officer Joseph Nathaniel Allen (also known as Nat Allen) was born in Warren County, N.C., in 1834 and died in 1917. The collection includes correspondence, writings, genealogical materials, and financial and legal documents of Joseph Nathaniel Allen and his family. Correspondence contains discussions of family and local news, social events, health, religion, and travel. There are detailed accounts of an 1858 Independence Day celebration and an 1890 trip to Charleston, S.C. Also included is a brief sketch by Allen of Confederate General Robert Ransom, whom he served as private secretary during the Civil War. Genealogical materials include a 1967 biographical essay about Allen written by his grandson and a 1953 essay about the Watson family. Financial and legal materials mainly consist of receipts, Confederate bonds, and a North Carolina certificate proclaiming Allen's right to practice law. There are also newspaper clippings from the 1920s about Charles Applewhite Hill's tenure in the North Carolina Senate, 1823-1827.
Administrative Information
- Preferred Citation
- [Identification of item], in the Joseph Nathaniel Allen Papers #5066, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Copyright Notice
- Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
- Allen family.
- Allen, Joseph Nathaniel, 1834-1917.
- Charleston (S.C.)--Description and travel.
- Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
- Confederate States of America. Army--Officers.
- Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
- Fourth of July celebrations--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- Hill, C. A. (Charles Applewhite).
- Lawyers--North Carolina.
- North Carolina. General Assembly--History--19th century.
- North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Ransom, Robert, 1828-1892.
- Teachers--North Carolina..
- Warren County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
- Watson family.
Biographical Note
Joseph Nataniel Allen (also known as Nat Allen) was born in 1834 to Edmond and Sallie Park Watson Allen in Warren County, N.C. Allen was educated at the Warrenton Male Academy and, in the 1850s, he read law with Judge Richmond M. Pearson. Although admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1859, it appears that Allen's primary vocation was education and his career culminated with his election to the post of Warren County superintendent of public instruction, in which position he served, 1899-1909.
During the Civil War, Allen served the Confederacy in three different capacities: in November 1861, he served briefly as a captain with the 34th Regiment of the 9th Brigade of the North Carolina Militia; he then served as private secretary to General Robert W. Ransom; and then he was dispatched to Wilmington, N.C., to serve on the staff of the Commissary Department.
Allen was married twice. In 1859, he married Mary Elizabeth Powell; they had two sons, Eugene and Ivey. In 1868, two years after his first wife's death, Allen married Mattie Harper, who was also an educator. They had three surviving daughters: Ida, Edna, and Sallie. Allen died in 1917.
Back to TopCollection Overview
The collection includes correspondence, writings, genealogical materials, and financial and legal documents of educator, lawyer, and Confederate officer Joseph Nathaniel Allen and his family of Warren County, N.C. Correspondence contains discussions of family and local news, social events, health, religion, and travel. There are detailed accounts of an 1858 Independence Day celebration and an 1890 trip to Charleston, S.C. Also included is a brief sketch by Allen of Confederate General Robert Ransom, whom he served as private secretary during the Civil War. Genealogical materials include a 1967 biographical essay about Allen written by his grandson and a 1953 essay about the Watson family. Financial and legal materials mainly consist of receipts, Confederate bonds, and a North Carolina certificate proclaiming Allen's right to practice law. There are also newspaper clippings from the 1920s about Charles Applewhite Hill's tenure in the North Carolina Senate, 1823-1827.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
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Items Separated
Items separated include photographs (P-5066) and oversized papers (OP-5066).