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Collection Number: 02343-z

Collection Title: John D. Ashmore Plantation Journal, 1853-1859

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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Size 2 items
Abstract John Durant Ashmore (1819-1871) was a planter of Sumter and Anderson districts, S.C.; member of S.C. House of Representatives, 1848-1852; comptroller-general, 1853-1857; and Democratic congressman, 1859-1860. Plantation journal, 1853-1859, of John Durant Ashmore, relating to plantations in the Sumter and Anderson districts, S.C. Entries, made on a daily basis, consist of short remarks on the planting of cotton, corn, potatoes, peaches, and other crops. At times, individual laborers, presumably slaves, are named, but most entries describe groups of workers in terms of "hands." Interspersed among the Sumter entries are remedies, recipes, and reports of agricultural experiments that were carried out at the plantation. Also included are tallies of "pork killed and baconed" and household property sold in 1854 and 1858, lists of letters mailed, and inventories of books (1475 volumes) and household property.
Creator Ashmore, John D. (John Durant), 1819-1871.
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 John D. Ashmore Plantation Journal #2343-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from John D. Ashmore of Greenville, South Carolina, in May 1941.
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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Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 1990

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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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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John Durant Ashmore was born 18 August 1819 in the Greenville District of South Carolina. He attended common schools and studied law. Ashmore was admitted to the South Carolina bar, but never practiced, preferring to engage in political and agricultural pursuits.

From 1848 to 1852, Ashmore was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives; from 1853 to 1857, he served as comptroller-general of the state. Elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth Congress, he served from 4 March 1859 until his resignation on 21 December 1860. During the Civil War, Ashmore was elected colonel of the Fourth South Carolina Regiment, but resigned before the regiment was called into service. After the war, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Greenville, later moving to Sardis, Mississippi, where he died on 5 December 1871.

During the period covered by the plantation journal, Ashmore lived first in the Sumter District and then in the Anderson District, South Carolina. On plantations in these districts, he raised cotton, corn, potatoes, peaches, and other crops.

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The collection consists of the plantation journal, 1853-1859, of John Durant Ashmore, 223 pages long, and a typed transcription of the same, 286 pages long and produced at the Southern Historical Collection in the 1940s at the donor's request.

Plantation journal, 223 pp., of John Durant Ashmore, with entries beginning in January 1853 and ending in December 1857 and other materials dating though 1859. The journal includes records for two plantations, one in the Sumter District and one in the Anderson District of South Carolina. The entries relating to these plantations consist of short remarks on the planting of cotton, corn, potatoes, peaches, and other crops at the plantations. The entries were made on a daily basis, with those relating to the Sumter plantation beginning 1 January 1853 and ending 5 January 1855 and those relating to the Anderson plantation beginning 1 January 1855, with "Family, self, & hands all on Road from Sumter Dist., S.C., to Anderson [District], S.C.," and ending 31 December 1857. At times, individual laborers, presumably slaves, are mentioned by name, but most entries describe groups of workers in terms of "hands." Interspersed among the Sumter entries are remedies, recipes, and reports of agricultural experiments that were carried out at the plantation. Also included are tallies of "pork killed and baconed" and household property sold in 1854 and 1858, lists of letters mailed, and inventories of books (1475 volumes) and household property owned.

The contents of the journal are as follows (gaps in page numbering reflect blank pages):

Inside cover: Printed calendars and other reference materials, 1856-1857 and undated

Page 1: Pork killed and baconed, 1853-1854; litter hauled (manure), 1854

Pages 2-71: Sumter District plantation journal, 1853-1855, with interspersed recipes, remedies, and reports of agricultural experiments

Pages 76-148: Anderson District plantation journal, 1855-1857

Page 151-155: "Sales of Property of J. D. Ashmore, Saturday, 23 December 1854," including name of the purchaser and item bought

Page 158-180: Letters mailed at Anderson, 1855-19 October 1857

Page 181-189: "Schedule of Books Owned by J. D. Ashmore and family in May 1856"

Page 190-208: Letters mailed at Anderson, 20 October 1857-1858

Page 210-213: "Sales of Property of J. D. Ashmore at Guyton Plantation, Thursday, 23 December 1858"

Page 214: Printed calendar, 1859

Page 215-222: Letters mailed at Anderson, 1859

Page 223" Inventory of household property, undated

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Contents list

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