Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#16
ARCHIBALD D. ALSTON PAPERS
Abstract: Deeds, wills, gold mining accounts, tobacco sales
records, notes, bills, receipts, and family correspondence of
Elizabeth Crawford Davis Alston (fl. 1834-1846); her son Archibald
Davis Alston (b. 1817) and his wife Missouri, of Warrenton and
Louisburg, N.C.; and Missouri Alston's parents Willis Alston
(1769-1837) and Sarah M. Alston (fl. 1840s), of Nash and Halifax
counties, N.C. Family letters, 1843-1859, are mostly to Sarah M.
Alston from her son Edgar M. Alston (d. 1848) in Galveston, Texas,
and from her daughter Ariella Alston Hawkins (fl. 1843-1859) and
her family in Matagorda County, Texas. Business correspondence,
1874-1882, of A. D. Alston concerns gold mining properties.
On-line Alston, Archibald Davis, b. 1817.
Catalog Alston, Edgar M., d. 1848.
Terms: Alston, Elizabeth Crawford Davis, fl. 1834-1846.
Alston, Sarah M., fl. 1840s.
Alston, Willis, 1769-1837.
Alston family.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--19th
century.
Family--Texas--Social life and customs--19th century.
Gold mines and mining--North Carolina--History--19th
century.
Halifax County (N.C.)--Social conditions--19th century.
Hawkins, Ariella Alston, fl. 1843-1859.
Louisburg (N.C.)--Social conditions--19th century.
Matagorda County (Tex.)--Social conditions--19th century.
Tobacco--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Warrenton (N.C.)--Social conditions--19th century.
Size: About 300 items (0.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Mrs. M. A. Pleasants of Louisburg, N.C.,
in October 1948.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: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.
Related Collections: Joseph John Alston Will (#17-z);
Willis Alston Letter (#1331-z).
Copyright:Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Willis Alston (1769-1837), of Halifax County, N.C., was
active in state and national politics from 1790 to about 1830. He
and his second wife, Sarah M. Potts Alston, had five children:
Charles, Ariella, Leonidas, Missouri, and Edgar. Ariella Alston
married James B. Hawkins, and they moved to Matagorda County, Tex.;
Missouri Alston married Archibald Davis Alston of Warren County.
Archibald Davis Alston (b. 1817) was the son of Thomas
Nicholas Faulcon Alston and his wife Elizabeth Crawford Davis
Alston.
DESCRIPTION
Correspondence, financial and legal materials, and other
papers pertaining to the Alston family of Warren, Nash and Halifax
counties, N.C., and to the Hawkins family of Matagorda County, Tex.
Most family letters are to Sarah M. Alston of Nash County
from her son Edgar M. Alston of Galveston, Tex., and from her
daughter Ariella Alston Hawkins of Matagorda County, Tex. These
letters primarily concern family news and life in Matagorda County;
there are also a few letters, 1846-1848, commenting on the Mexican
War, including one, 1846, to Sarah Alston from Memucan Hunt
describing Edgar M. Alston's service with the 2nd Regiment, Texas
Mounted Riflemen. Also included are letters to Charles, Missouri,
and Archibald D. Alston from Ariella and James B. Hawkins; letters
from Sallie Hawkins and Willis Alston to their grandmother Sarah M.
Alston; a letter, 1835, from E. Mitchell, reinstating Archibald
Alston as a student at the University of North Carolina; and
business correspondence, 1870s, of A. D. Alston, chiefly concerning
mining properties in Franklin County, N.C.
Financial and legal items include wills, indentures,
promissory notes, bills, receipts, and other items pertaining to
Willis Alston, Elizabeth C. Alston, A. D. Alston, and other members
of the Alston family. Materials concerning Willis Alston are
mostly indentures; also included is Alston's will, 1835. Materials
concerning Elizabeth C. Alston are mostly household accounts and
records of tobacco sold. Papers of A. D. Alston include a
contract, 1848, and accounts, 1848-1870, relating to a gold mining
operation in Franklin County, N.C; accounts, 1854-1855, concerning
Alston's administration of the estate of Philip G. Alston;
contracts, 1869, with a freedman, Oscar Clements; household
accounts; and records of cotton sold. There are also a few items
pertaining to Sarah M. Alston and Leonidas Alston, including Sarah
Alston's will, 1858.
Other papers include newspaper clippings from 1848 and
1874, a few unsigned essays, and an undated recipe for cucumber
catsup.
Folder 1 Correspondence, 1832-1846
2 Correspondence, 1847-1850
3 Correspondence, 1851-1869
4 Correspondence, 1870-1882, 1893, and undated
5 Financial and legal papers, 1804-1834
6 Financial and legal papers, 1835-1840
7 Financial and legal papers, 1841-1849
8 Financial and legal papers, 1851-1865
9 Financial and legal papers, 1866-1872
10 Financial and legal papers, 1873-1877 and undated
11 Other Papers, 1848, 1874, and undated