Back to TopDescriptive Summary
- Repository
-
Southern Historical Collection
- Creator
-
Cameron family.
- Title
- Cameron Family Papers, 1757-1978
- Call Number
- 133
- Language of Materials
- Materials in
English
- Extent
-
- Items: About 33,000
- Linear Feet: 69.0
Abstract
Cameron family of Orange and Durham counties and Raleigh, N.C. Among antebellum North Carolina's largest landholders and slave
holders, the Camerons also owned substantial plantations in Alabama and Mississippi. Prominent family members included Richard
Bennehan (1743-1825), merchant; Duncan Cameron (1777-1853), lawyer, judge, banker, and legislator; and Paul C. Cameron (1808-1891),
planter, agricultural reformer, and railroad builder.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, financial and legal documents, and account books. In addition, there
are speeches, writings, printed material, pictures, and miscellaneous other types of personal papers. Included is extensive
information about Richard Bennehan's store at Stagville, N.C., and the Stagville and Fairntosh plantations, including crop
and slave records. Family correspondence details the familial relationships and social behavior of a wealthy planter family,
particularly the women. In addition to documentation about Duncan Cameron's legal career, there is also information about
the State Bank of North Carolina and the banking industry, the education of the Cameron children at various schools, the development
of the University of North Carolina, the state militia, the Episcopal Church, railroads, and state government.
Back to TopAdministrative Information
- Restrictions to Access
- No restrictions.
- Usage Restrictions
- Volume 171 is closed to general use due to its fragile condition; researchers needing to use this volume should consult with
a staff member.
- Alternate Form of Material
- Microfilm copy available: UPA Microfilm Series J, Part 1.
Reel 1: Series 1.1, 1768-1790
Reel 2: Series 1.1-1.2, 1791-1799
Reel 3: Series 1.2, 1800-1801
Reel 4: Series 1.2, 1802-1803
Reel 5: Series 1.2, 1803-1804
Reel 6: Series 1.2, 1804-1805
Reel 7: Series 1.2, 1805-1806
Reel 8: Series 1.2, 1806-1807
Reel 9: Series 1.2, 1807-1809
Reel 10: Series 1.2, 1809-1811
Reel 11: Series 1.2, 1812-1813
Reel 12: Series 1.2, 1813-1814
Reel 13: Series 1.2, 1814-1816
Reel 14: Series 1.2, 1816-1818
Reel 15: Series 1.2, 1819-1821
Reel 16: Series 1.2, 1821-1823
Reel 17: Series 1.2, 1823-1825
Reel 18: Series 1.2-1.3, 1825-1826
Reel 19: Series 1.3, 1826-1828
Reel 20: Series 1.3, 1828-1830
Reel 21: Series 1.3, 1830-1832
Reel 22: Series 1.3, 1833-1834
Reel 23: Series 1.3, 1835-1837
Reel 24: Series 1.3, 1837-1839
Reel 25: Series 1.3, 1840-1841
Reel 26: Series 1.3, 1841-1843
Reel 27: Series 1.3, 1843-1845
Reel 28: Series 1.3, 1845-1846
Reel 29: Series 1.3, 1846-1847
Reel 30: Series 1.3, 1847-1848
Reel 31: Series 1.3, 1848-1850
Reel 32: Series 1.3, 1850-1852
Reel 33: Series 1.3-1.4, 1852-1853
Reel 34: Series 1.4, 1854-1855
Reel 35: Series 1.4, 1855-1857
Reel 36: Series 1.4, 1857-1860
Reel 37: Series 1.4, 1860-1863
Reel 38: Series 1.4, 1864-1865; Series 1.7, 1742-1768
Reel 39: Series 1.7, 1769-1797
Reel 40: Series 1.7, 1798-1821
Reel 41: Series 1.7, 1822-1844
Reel 42: Series 1.7-1.8, 1845-1872
Reel 43: Series 1.8, 1873-1897
Reel 44: Series 1.8-2.1.1, 1767-1794
Reel 45: Series 2.1.1, 1795-1806
Reel 46: Series 2.1.1, 1807-1818
Reel 47: Series 2.1.1, 1819-1827
Reel 48: Series 2.1.1, 1828-1836
Reel 49: Series 2.1.1, 1837-1844
Reel 50: Series 2.1.1, 1845-1852
Reel 51: Series 2.1.1, 1853-1861
Reel 52: Series 2.1.1-2.1.2, 1862-1865; Series 2.1.4-2.2, 1772-1799
Reel 53: Series 2.2-2.4, 1761-1908
Reel 54: Series 2.4-2.6, 1772-1941
Reel 55: Series 2.6-2.9, 1764-1890
Reel 56: Series 2.9, 1796-1941
Reel 57: Series 4.3-5.2, 1796-1895
Reel 58: Series 5.3-5.7, 1807-1889
Reel 59: Series 5.8-5.10, 1802-1890; Series 5.12, 1792-1853
Reel 60: Series 5.13-6.3,.1 1771-1896; Series 6, volumes 1-17
Reel 61: Series 6.3.1-6.4.2, 1785-1785, volumes 18-26
Reel 62: Series 6.4.2, 1785-1792, volumes 27-29, 31
Reel 63: Series 6.4.2, 1789-1796, volumes 32-44
Reel 64: Series 6.4.2, 1796-1807, volumes 45-55
Reel 65: Series 6.4.2, 1806-1810, volumes 56-62; Series 6.5.1, 1767-1798, volumes 67-71
Reel 66: Series 6.5.1, 1791-1834, volumes72-77; Series 66 6.6-6.7.1, 1768-1811, volumes 87-93
Reel 67: Series 6.7.1, 1773-1833, volumes 94-110
Reel 68: Series 6.7.1, 1822-1865, volumes 111-130, 143-11, 171-172, 177-180; Series 6.8-6.9, 1819-1925, volumes 143-151; Series
6.11.1, 1821-1840, volumes 171-172; Series 6.11.3-6.12, 1795-1825, volumes 177-180
Reel 69: Series 6.8-6.13, 1825-1871, volumes 181-203
- Acquisitions Information
- The collection was a gift of Sally Mayo Cameron of Raleigh, N.C., and her daughters Isabella Cameron van Lennep of Bridgewater,
Conn., and Sally Cameron Labouisse of Richmond, Va.; over two-thirds of the material was received prior to 1941, with smaller
additions from family sources made between 1945 and 1991. The 2000 addition was purchased from Charles Apfelbaum (Acc. 98788).
An addition was purchased from L & T Respess Books in 2002 (Acc. 99379). An addition was purchased from Carmen Valentino in
June 2004 (Acc. 99831) and added to Series 1.4.
- Processing Information
- Processed by: Marion Hirsch and Lisa Tolbert, June 1989
- Encoded by: Peter Hymas, June 2005
- Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the
encoding of this finding aid.
- Preferred Citation
- [Identification of item], in the Cameron Family Papers #133, 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.
Back to TopOnline Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
- Agriculture--Alabama--History--19th century.
- Agriculture--Mississippi--History--19th century.
- Agriculture--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- Banks and banking--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- Bennehan family.
- Bennehan, Richard, 1743-1825.
- Cameron, Duncan, 1777-1853.
- Cameron family.
- Cameron, Paul C., 1808-1891.
- Durham County (N.C.)--History.
- Episcopal Church--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- Fairntosh Plantation (N.C.).
- Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
- Lawyers--North Carolina--History.
- Merchants--North Carolina--History.
- North Carolina--Economic conditions--History.
- North Carolina--Politics and government.
- North Carolina--Social life and customs.
- Orange County (N.C.)--History.
- Plantation life--North Carolina.
- Plantations--Alabama.
- Plantations--Mississippi.
- Plantations--North Carolina.
- Railroads--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- Raleigh (N.C.)--History--19th century.
- Slavery--Alabama.
- Slavery--Mississippi.
- Slavery--North Carolina.
- Stagville (N.C.)--Commerce--History.
- Stagville Plantation (N.C.).
- State Bank of North Carolina--History.
- Women--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Back to TopRelated Collections
Bennehan Cameron Papers (#3623), Southern Historical Collection
Thomas Ruffin Papers (#641), Southern Historical Collection
George W. Mordecai Papers (#522), Southern Historical Collection
Charles Dewey Papers (#216), Southern Historical Collection
Back to TopBiographical Note
The Cameron family of Orange County was one of antebellum North Carolina's wealthiest families. On the eve of the Civil War,
Paul Cameron and his siblings owned over one thousand slaves and nearly thirty thousand acres of plantation land in Orange,
Wake, Person, and Granville Counties, as well as plantations in Alabama and Mississippi.
This industrious family originally migrated to the Piedmont of North Carolina from neighboring Virginia, beginning in the
mid-eighteenth century. The first to arrive in North Carolina was Richard Bennehan, Paul Cameron's maternal grandfather.
Richard Bennehan was born 15 April 1743, near Warsaw in Richmond County, Va. He was the fifth child of Rachel and Dudley Bennehan,
modest landowners of Irish extraction. Dudley Bennehan died when Richard was only six, and did not leave any of his estate
to Richard. Instead, Richard was apprenticed to a local merchant. In 1762, he moved to Petersburg, Va., where he was employed
by Edward Stabler, a commission merchant. In 1768, William Johnston, a North Carolina backcountry merchant and landowner,
offered Bennehan a one-third partnership in the Little River Store, located on Johnston's Snowhill Plantation near Hillsborough,
N.C. The store was on the heavily traveled Indian Trading Path that ran through the back country of North Carolina, Virginia,
and Georgia.
Bennehan accepted the offer, and moved to North Carolina in late 1768 or early 1769. Because of the store's excellent location
and Bennehan's able management, the business prospered. Around 1776, Bennehan began to invest the profits in land and slaves,
and in 1776 or 1777, he married Mary Amis of Northampton County, N.C., who also owned land and slaves inherited from her father.
Their first home was at Brick House Plantation, formerly owned by Tyree Harris, the sheriff of Orange County, N.C.
When Bennehan's partner William Johnston died in 1785, Bennehan decided to open his own store. He bought property on the Trading
Path from Judith Stagg, and opened what was known as the Stagville Store. Soon after, Bennehan built a modest plantation house
near the store, and the family moved from Brick House to Stagville.
As a prosperous merchant and landowner, Bennehan soon became involved in the civic life of North Carolina. He apparently had
been a genuine patriot in the Revolution and was a close friend of William Richardson Davie, a war hero and governor of the
state. Through his association with Davie, Bennehan became an early supporter of the University of North Carolina, donating
books and supplies, as well as serving on the University's Board of Visitors and Board of Trustees. Bennehan also served on
the commission that planned the new state capitol building in Raleigh.
Richard and Mary Bennehan had two children, Rebecca, born in 1778, and Thomas Dudley, born in 1782. Thomas was one of the
first students to attend the University of North Carolina. He matriculated in 1795 as a student in the preparatory school.
He received his degree in 1801, after which he returned to Stagville to help his father manage the store and plantation. Thomas
Bennehan never married. After his father died in 1825, he inherited the Stagville lands, and continued to live there, tending
the store and plantation until his death in 1847. Although not as active in civic matters as his father had been, Thomas Bennehan
served on the Board of Trustees of the University for 35 years, from 1812 until his death.
Thomas Bennehan's sister Rebecca was educated at home. When she married Duncan Cameron in 1803, her father gave the newlywed
couple land adjoining the Stagville Plantation, where Duncan Cameron built Fairntosh, a grand plantation house.
Duncan Cameron, like Richard Bennehan, was born in Virginia. He was born 15 December 1777, in Mecklenburg County. His father
John Cameron was an Anglican minister and a recent immigrant from Scotland, who had married well. John Cameron's wife was
Ann Owen Nash, the daughter of Colonel Thomas Nash, one of the King's Attorneys. Her uncle Abner Nash was the governor of
North Carolina, her uncle Francis Nash was a general in the Revolution, and her maternal grandfather was Colonel Clement Read,
a King's Attorney.
Duncan Cameron was educated by his father, who, in addition to being a minister, ran several academies in the various parishes
he served in Virginia. After studying law under Paul Carrington, Duncan Cameron was licensed to practice in 1797. He immediately
moved to North Carolina, first to Warrenton, then Martinsville, finally settling in Hillsborough in 1799. Cameron was an ambitious
and capable lawyer who soon prospered. Like Bennehan, Duncan Cameron invested in slaves and land.
Cameron's success as a lawyer marked him for the bench and, from 1814 to 1816, he served as Superior Court Judge. He also
served several terms in the North Carolina House, in 1806, 1807, 1812, and 1813. He then served three terms in the State Senate
in 1819, 1822, and 1823. While in the Senate Cameron served as chairman of the influential Committee on Internal Improvement,
which had been originally led by Cameron's friend, Archibald Murphey.
Duncan Cameron's civic service was not limited to politics and law. In 1812, he was appointed Major General of the North Carolina
Militia and served in that capacity until 1814. He, like Bennehan, was a devoted friend of the University of North Carolina,
serving on the Board of Trustees from 1802 until 1853.
Cameron was instrumental in the development of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina in the 1820s. In 1833, he bought the
defunct Episcopal School for Boys in Raleigh, reestablishing it with the Rev. Aldert Smedes as its director. In 1841, the
school became Saint Mary's, an Episcopal girls' school, with Rev. Aldert Smedes again as director. The school remained in
Cameron family hands until it was sold to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in 1897. Duncan Cameron also helped to establish
Christ Church in Raleigh, and built Salem Chapel at Fairntosh, which provided a place for family and slaves to worship.
When the State Bank of North Carolina formed in 1811, Duncan Cameron was one of its first directors, and in 1829 he accepted
its presidency. Later the bank was dissolved and reformed as the Bank of the State of North Carolina. Cameron served as president
of the new bank from 1834 until his resignation in 1849.
Cameron was also a successful businessman. He formed a number of partnerships with various family members to run stores in
North Carolina and Virginia. The most important of these partnerships were with his father in law Richard Bennehan and brother
in law Thomas Bennehan. The first was a limited partnership drawn up in 1806, giving Thomas Bennehan and Duncan Cameron a
share in the management and profits of the store at Fishdam Ford on the Neuse River, opened by Richard Bennehan in 1802. The
second partnership drawn up in 1807 was much more extensive. It combined the Bennehan and Cameron plantations, slaves, stores,
and flour and saw mills into one powerful and profitable enterprise. The plantations and stores were managed by the Bennehans
and overseers, while Duncan Cameron provided his legal and financial expertise to the business.
Cameron was also involved in a partnership beginning in 1802 with his step nephew George Anderson, establishing a store in
Hillsborough, N.C., which later moved to Martinsville, Va. In the 1810s, Cameron started a commission merchant firm in Petersburg,
Va., with his brother William Cameron and Samuel Snow. These and other business ventures of Duncan Cameron were largely unsuccessful
except for the lucrative partnership with Thomas and Richard Bennehan.
Rebecca and Duncan Cameron had eight children, Mary Anne born in 1804, Thomas Amis Dudley in 1806, Paul Carrington in 1808,
Margaret Bain in 1811, Rebecca Bennehan in 1813, Jean Syme in 1815, Anne Owen in 1817, and Mildred Coles born in 1820.
The Cameron girls were educated at home by governesses, the most popular of which was Mary McLean Bryant who corresponded
with the girls long after she left the Cameron's employ. Only Mary Anne, the eldest, went to school. She attended Jacob Mordecai's
Seminary in Warrenton, N.C., for several years, leaving in 1818.
Paul and Thomas had a number of tutors before they were sent away to school, including W. P. Mangum. Finding a school suitable
for Thomas, who was retarded, proved difficult. In 1813, he was sent to Lunenberg, Va., to attend his grandfather John Cameron's
school. He was then sent to John Rudd's School in Elizabethtown, N.J., and finally, in 1820, to Captain Partridge's school
in Norwich, Vt.
Paul attended a number of schools as well. First, he went to the Hillsborough Academy. He started preparatory school at the
University of North Carolina in 1824, but was expelled for fighting in 1825. He then transferred to Captain Partridge's school.
Finally, he attended Washington College (now Trinity College) in Hartford, Conn., graduating in 1829.
Of the eight children, only Paul and Margaret were healthy. Thomas was either born mentally retarded or suffered a childhood
illness that left him enfeebled. Although Thomas Cameron lived until 1870, he was dependent on his family throughout his adult
life.
Mary Ann, Rebecca, Jean, and Anne contracted tuberculosis. Despite trips to Warm Springs, Charleston, and Florida, made in
hopes of curing or arresting the disease, the girls succumbed one by one. Rebecca, Jean, and Anne died in their twenties,
and Mary Anne in her early thirties.
Mildred escaped tuberculosis but she fell prey to an undiagnosed disease which left her partially paralyzed. She traveled
to Philadelphia and New York to consult with doctors about a cure, but the doctors efforts were to no avail. Mildred remained
an invalid throughout her adult life, with the burden of her care falling on her sister Margaret.
Margaret Bain Cameron lived at home, caring for her sick siblings and her ailing parents and managing the household until
she was forty two. Then, in 1853, she married George W. Mordecai, president of the State Bank of North Carolina, who had succeeded
Duncan Cameron when he resigned the post in 1849. Margaret and George Mordecai were childless, except for a stillbirth in
1854. Even after her marriage, Margaret Cameron Mordecai continued to care for her sister Mildred. She accompanied Mildred
on the trips to Philadelphia and New York which took Margaret away from her husband for months at a time.
Duncan Cameron hoped that his son Paul would become a lawyer. Although Paul read law and passed the bar in 1832, he was not
interested in law. He was interested in agriculture, and his ambition was to move to the Deep South and become a cotton planter.
However, to please his father, he set up a law practice in Hillsborough, N.C. In 1832, he married Anne Ruffin, daughter of
Thomas Ruffin, the noted jurist. At first the newlyweds lived in a house in Hillsborough called Burnside, built by Paul. In
1837, Paul resigned from the bar, and the young couple moved to Fairntosh so that Paul could take over the management of the
Cameron plantations. By this time Fairntosh was unoccupied. Duncan Cameron moved to Raleigh permanently in 1836 following
his appointment as president of the Bank of the State of North Carolina.
Paul and Anne Cameron lived at Fairntosh from 1837 until the late 1850s, when they moved back to Hillsborough. During the
years at Fairntosh, Paul Cameron improved the Cameron lands and added to them. In the 1850s, he purchased a cotton plantation
in Greene County, Ala., and another cotton plantation in Tunica County, Miss. Paul Cameron was known as an enthusiastic agricultural
reformer, and he was a founding member of North Carolina's earliest agricultural society.
Cameron was also a strong advocate for railroads in North Carolina. In the early 1850s, he contracted to build a large section
of the North Carolina Railroad. He also served on the board of directors of the North Carolina Railroad and was elected its
president in 1861. Additionally, he was a director of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and the Raleigh and Augusta Airline.
Although Paul Cameron was not as politically active as his father, he ran for a seat in the state senate in 1856, and was
elected. However, he was defeated when he ran for a second term.
Paul Cameron did not serve in the Confederate Army. He was nonetheless excluded from the general amnesty granted most Southerners
by the Union government because of his enormous wealth. He was forced to apply for a special pardon, which he received. Although
Paul Cameron's fortune was greatly depleted when the hundreds of slaves he owned were emancipated, the family still owned
enough land, stock, and bonds to support themselves through the lean years of Reconstruction. Most of the land was leased
to tenant farmers and Paul began to concentrate on the railroads and cotton manufacturing for income.
After Reconstruction, Paul Cameron led the effort to repair and rebuild the University of North Carolina, which had suffered
greatly during the Civil War and its chaotic aftermath. He was a member of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the Building
Committee. Cameron himself donated the money for the building of the original Memorial Hall, as well as the maple trees that
line Cameron Avenue, named in his honor.
Paul and Anne Cameron had a dozen children. Two were stillborn; two died in infancy; one, Mary Amis, died at age eleven. However,
the remaining offspring, Rebecca, Anne, Margaret, Duncan, Pauline, Bennehan, and Mildred survived childhood, matured, and
married.
Rebecca first married Walker Anderson in 1863, then John Graham in 1867. Anne married George P. Collins in 1860. After the
Civil War, Anne and George Collins went to Mississippi to manage Paul Cameron's plantation in Tunica County. Margaret married
Robert B. Peebles. Pauline married William Shepard and lived in Edenton. After Pauline's death, her sister Mildred Coles married
William Shepard.
Duncan and Bennehan were too young to serve in the Confederate Army and were in school during the Civil War. Duncan was a
rebellious child, constantly running away from school and from home. He spent some time in Mississippi living with his sister
Anne Collins. Finally, he settled down, married Mary Short, and took over the management of Fairntosh. His untimely death
in 1886 was a great blow to his father.
Bennehan Cameron was much more cooperative. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1875. He then moved to Stagville
and took over the management of the Plantation. He married Sally Mayo in 1891. After his brother's death, he moved to Fairntosh
where he raised horses, for which he had a passion.
Paul Cameron died in 1891 leaving his vast fortune to his wife, his remaining son Bennehan, and his daughters.
Back to TopCollection Overview
This collection documents many aspects of the personal lives and business affairs of the Cameron family, particularly of its patriarchs Richard Bennehan, Bennehan's son-in-law Duncan Cameron, and Duncan Cameron's son Paul Carrington Cameron. Although the papers date from 1757 to 1978, the bulk of the material pertains to the period 1800 to 1890. Material from
the 18th century, while not plentiful, does provide documentation of Richard Bennehan's mercantile enterprises in Orange County, N.C. Material from the 20th century chiefly deals with the settlement of Paul Cameron's estate. The only significant gap in the
papers that document the Cameron's activities from 1800 to 1890 is material dating from the Civil War. Material from the Civil
War is sparse because Anne Ruffin Cameron and Bennehan Cameron burned Paul Cameron's papers for the period, apparently to destroy evidence of his support of the Confederacy.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, financial and legal documents, and volumes. In addition there are speeches, writings, printed material, pictures, and miscellaneous other types of personal papers.
This collection is a rich source of information on a number of topics. Series 1 (Correspondence) provides many details about
familial relationships and social behavior of a wealthy Southern planter family. There is significantly more information about Cameron men than about Cameron women, particularly in material from the eighteenth
and early nineteenth centuries. However, after about 1830 the women are represented in correspondence more fully, particularly
by Anne Ruffin Cameron and Margaret Cameron Mordecai. In addition to Bennehan Cameron family correspondence, there are also some Mordecai family letters and Nash family letters in Series 1.
Series 2 (Family Financial and Legal Papers) and Series 6 (Volumes) contain extensive information about the Stagville Plantation and Fairntosh Plantation, as well as plantations in Person County, Wake County, and Granville County, and in Mississippi and Alabama. These materials provide minute details about crops, stock, tools, buildings, and management of these lucrative enterprises. There is a wealth of information about the slave labor force on the plantations, their original owners, where they were bought, how much they cost, their names, their ages, where
they worked, what they did, what they wore, and their illnesses. These papers also document the transportation and marketing of the agricultural products of the plantations.
Series 2 and Series 6 also provide a wealth of information about the Stagville Store, other stores, sawmills, grist mills, and blacksmith shops located on the Cameron lands.
Series 3 (Duncan Cameron's Legal Papers) provide extensive documentation of Duncan Cameron's legal career from 1797 until
about 1817 as an attorney and superior court judge.
The papers also contain some information about the birth and development of important institutions in North Carolina: the State Bank, the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina State Militia, the Episcopal Church, railroads, and state government, in all of which the Camerons were actively involved.
Duncan Cameron's involvement in the State Bank of North Carolina, the Bank of the State of North Carolina, and other banks is documented extensively in Series 1 and Subseries 5.2 (Bank Material). Richard Bennehan, Duncan Cameron,
and Paul Cameron all served on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina. Letters from University presidents and other board members can be found in Series 1. Documentation of monetary contributions to the University are in Subseries 2.1 (Accounts). Duncan Cameron's service as a Major General in the North Carolina State
Militia after the War of 1812 is documented in Subseries 5.3. The Camerons' involvement in the development of the Episcopal
Church in North Carolina in the early nineteenth century is documented by letters from bishops and others in Series 1; by receipts, deeds, and other documents in Series 2; and by printed material in Subseries 5.4 (Church
Material). Papers pertaining to the North Carolina Railroad and other railroads are found in Subseries 2.1 (Accounts) and Subseries 5.9 (Railroads). Correspondence pertaining to the
railroads is in Series 1. Duncan Cameron's service in the House of Commons and State Senate representing Orange County is documented in Series 1 and in Subseries 5.8 (Politics).
The original order of this collection is unknown except for some material in an addition received in 1983. That material is
now located in Subseries 2.6. (Estate Papers) and remains much as it arrived.
Back to TopArrangement of Collection
1. Correspondence
1.1. Correspondence of Richard Bennehan and his family, 1757-1796
1.2. Correspondence of Richard Bennehan, Duncan Cameron and their families, 1797-1825
1.3. Correspondence of Thomas Bennehan, and of Duncan Cameron and his family, 1826-1852
1.4. Correspondence of Paul Cameron, Margaret Cameron Mordecai, and their families, 1853-April 1865
1.5. Correspondence of Paul Cameron, Margaret Cameron Mordecai, and their families, May 1865-1890
1.6. Correspondence of Anne Ruffin Cameron and her family, 1891-1935
1.7. Undated Outgoing Correspondence
1.8. Undated Incoming Correspondence
2. Family Financial and Legal Papers
2.1. Accounts
2.2. Deeds and Indentures
2.3. Surveys and Maps
2.4. Tax Lists and Receipts
2.5. Promissory Notes and Bonds
2.6. Estate Papers
2.7. Wills
2.8. Insurance
2.9. Other Family Financial and Legal Papers
3. Duncan Cameron's Legal Papers
3.1. Client Files
3.2. Dockets and Memoranda
3.3. Blank Forms
4. Speeches and Writings
4.1. Speeches
4.2. Poetry
4.3. Composition and School Notes
4.4. Other Writings
5. Other Papers
5.1. School Material
5.2. Bank Material
5.3. Military Material
5.4. Church Material
5.5. Stagville Post Office
5.6. Recipes and Instructions
5.7. Remedies and Prescriptions
5.8. Politics
5.9. Railroads
5.10. Printed Material
5.11. Printed Invitations and Calling Cards
5.12. Buildings and Grounds
5.13. Family History
5.14. Unidentified Notes and Fragments
6. Volumes
6.1. Letter Books
6.2. Bank Books
6.3. Cash Books
6.4. Daybooks
6.5. Ledgers
6.6. Ready Money Sales
6.7. Other Account Books
6.8. Surveys
6.9. Estate Papers
6.10. Legal Volumes
6.11. Diaries
6.12. School
6.13. Other Volumes
7. Pictures
Back to TopItems Separated
Oversized papers (OP-133/1-99)
Photographs (P-133/1-76)
Volumes (S-133/Volumes 16, 20, 25, 27, 45, 46, 48, 51, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 68, 70, 74, 75, 76, 88, 89, 91, 98, 154)
Back to TopDetailed Description of the Collection
1. Correspondence, 1757-1935 and undated.
About 27,500 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Business and personal correspondence of the Cameron family, particularly of Richard Bennehan (1743-1825), Duncan Cameron (1777-1853),
and Paul Cameron (1808-1891). There is some correspondence of Thomas Bennehan (1782-1847) and Margaret Cameron Mordecai (1811-1886).
Some Nash family and Mordecai family correspondence is included among the Cameron letters.
The series is divided into eight subseries. The first six subseries divide the Cameron correspondence which spans 180 years
into smaller time periods during which one or more of the Bennehan or Cameron men was dominant. The last two subseries contain
undated letters: subseries 1.7 contains undated letters written by members of the Cameron family; subseries 1.8 contains letters
written by non family members.
Back to Top
1.1. Correspondence of Richard Bennehan and his family, 1757-1796 and undated.
About 1288 items.
Business and personal correspondence of Richard Bennehan, his son Thomas Bennehan, his daughter Rebecca Bennehan, and his
wife Mary Amis Bennehan. During the years covered by this subseries, Richard Bennehan was in business with William Johnston,
and then in business for himself. The material in this subseries predates the arrival of Duncan Cameron in North Carolina.
The bulk of this material consists of business letters to Richard Bennehan from his partner William Johnston of Hillsborough,
N.C., with whom Bennehan owned the Little River Store, and from Bennehan's factor and former employer Edward Stabler of Petersburg,
Va. Among Bennehan's other business correspondents are merchants David Buchanan of Petersburg, Va., John Alston of Glasgow,
Scotland, James Gibson of Suffolk, Va., and Andrew Miller of Halifax, N.C.
Letters chiefly focus on various aspects of the mercantile business, particularly on market conditions, transportation problems,
counterfeit money, and prices for tobacco, sugar, rum, and salt. In these letters, there are some passing references made
to the War of Regulation, the American Revolution, the Constitution, and the economy. A letter, dated 9 June 1771, from William
Johnston anticipates Governor Tryon's arrival in Hillsborough after the Battle of Alamance. In a letter, dated 15 February
1776, Bennehan's participation in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge is alluded to. William Johnston's death in 1785 is documented,
as is Bennehan's subsequent purchase of the Stagville property and building of the Stagville Store in 1787.
Business letters to Richard Bennehan written after 1789 chiefly consist of letters from Ebenezer Stott of Petersburg, Va.,
who was Bennehan's primary factor during the 1790s. These letters frequently include statements of account, in addition to
the usual discussions of market conditions and news.
Among Bennehan's other correspondents during this period are Jesse Benton, William Richardson Davie, Thomas Hart, Allen Jones,
Nathaniel Rochester, and Samuel Ashe. A letter, dated 13 July 1796, from Ashe documents Bennehan's gift of books to the library
at the University of North Carolina.
Thomas Bennehan's correspondence with his parents Richard and Mary Amis Bennehan and his sister Rebecca date from 1795, when
Thomas left for Chapel Hill, N.C., to attend the preparatory school at the University, to 1801, when he graduated from UNC.
The letters between Thomas and Rebecca are particularly numerous. There is only one letter written by Mary Amis Bennehan to
Thomas, but there are frequent exchanges between father and son. There are also several letters to Thomas from his classmates,
including his cousin Thomas Gale Amis.
There are few letters written to Bennehan in Virginia before he moved to North Carolina in 1768. There are no letters from
Bennehan's relatives except for letters from his wife's brother Thomas Amis of Halifax County, N.C.
For financial material pertaining to the Little River Store and the Stagville Store, see Subseries 2.1.1., 6.1., and 6.3.
6.7. For other documentation of Richard Bennehan's contributions to the University of North Carolina, see Subseries 2.1.1.
Folder
1
1757-1768
Folder
2
1769
Folder
3-5
1770
Folder
6-8
1771
Folder
9-12
1772
Folder
13-17
1773
Folder
18-21
1774
Folder
22-24
1775
Folder
25
1776
Folder
26
1777-1778
Folder
27
1779
Folder
28
1780-1781
Folder
29
1782
Folder
30-31
1783
Folder
32
1784
Folder
33-35
1785
Folder
36-37
1786
Folder
38-40
1787
Folder
41-43
1788
Folder
44-46
1789
Folder
47-49
1790
Folder
50-51
1791
Folder
52-54
1792
Folder
55-56
1793
Folder
57-58
1794
Folder
59-61
1795
Folder
62-64
1796
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1.2. Correspondence of Richard Bennehan, Duncan Cameron, and their Families, 1797-1825.
About 10,300 items.
The bulk of material in this subseries is from the period when Duncan Cameron and Richard Bennehan were in business together.
The earliest material in this subseries actually predates Duncan Cameron's marriage to Rebecca Bennehan and his business dealings
with her father. The subseries ends with the death of Richard Bennehan.
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1.2.1. 1797-1799.
Chiefly business letters to Richard Bennehan, with some business and personal letters of Duncan Cameron. Richard Bennehan
corresponded frequently with his factor Ebenezer Stott of Petersburg, Va., during these years. There are also occasional letters
from other merchants, as well as from Bennehan's friends, William Richardson Davie, Jesse Benton, and Samuel Ashe.
Throughout these years there are numerous letters between Richard Bennehan and his son Thomas who was studying at the University
of North Carolina. There are also letters between Thomas Bennehan and his sister Rebecca, who remained at home. These letters
both provide information about student life in the early days of the University, and suggest the character of the Bennehans'
family ties.
Letters written to Duncan Cameron are from members of his family in Virginia, and from clients and associates. There are letters
from Duncan Cameron's father John Cameron, his brothers John and William, and his sisters Jean and Anna, all of whom lived
in Lunenberg, Va. Duncan Cameron's sister, Mary Read Anderson, and her husband Daniel Anderson of Petersburg, Va., were frequent
correspondents, as was Duncan Cameron's uncle Ewen Cameron of Franklin, Tenn. Among Duncan Cameron's other correspondents
are William Richardson Davie, Archibald D. Murphey, James Turner, John Hogg, John Lenox, and Richard Henderson.
Some scattered correspondence between Frederick Nash, who was Cameron's cousin, and Nash's mother Mary Witherspoon is included.
During this period Frederick Nash attended Princeton University and wrote to his mother in New Bern, N.C.
For further documentation of Duncan Cameron's legal practice see Series 3 and Subseries 6.10.
Folder
65-67
1797
Folder
68-72
1798
Folder
73-83
1799
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1.2.2. 1800-1809.
Chiefly letters to Richard Bennehan and Duncan Cameron, with some letters to Thomas Bennehan and Rebecca Bennehan Cameron.
Included are drafts or copies of some of Duncan Cameron's outgoing letters.
Richard Bennehan's correspondents include his factors in Petersburg, Va., particularly Ebenezer Stott, and his friends and
associates William Richardson Davie, Robert Williams, Joseph Caldwell, and Richard Henderson. There are no letters from Bennehan's
Virginia relatives except for his nephew William Bennehan, who moved to North Carolina in the 1790s and worked at the Stagville
Store and then at the store at Fishdam Ford until his death in 1806. There are several letters from members of the Amis family
of Halifax and Northampton counties, N.C. The letters mostly pertain to breeding horses, which was of particular interest
to the Amises because they owned Sir Archie, a stud horse who had been a star racing thoroughbred.
After Richard's daughter Rebecca married Duncan Cameron in 1803, there are many letters to Richard Bennehan from Cameron.
Beginning in 1806, these letters document the lucrative partnership between Duncan Cameron and Richard and Thomas Bennehan,
which combined their lands and stores into a thriving business.
Duncan Cameron's correspondents included clients from his legal practice, and friends, especially William Richardson Davie,
James Webb, Joseph Gales, Archibald Murphey, and Willie P. Mangum. Cameron's family in Virginia were regular correspondents.
There are many letters from his father John Cameron of Lunenberg, Va., and from his sisters Mary Read Anderson and Jean Syme
of Petersburg, Va. These letters document Duncan Cameron's support of his younger brothers William and John Cameron who were
sent to the University of North Carolina by Duncan and then employed by him in Hillsborough, N.C., as clerks in his law office
and clerks in the store in Hillsborough run by Cameron's step nephew George Anderson. There are also letters regularly from
Richard Bennehan and Thomas Bennehan.
In 1800 and 1801, there are letters from Thomas Bennehan to his parents and to sister Rebecca written while Thomas was at
the University of North Carolina. Throughout the decade there are letters to Thomas Bennehan from his cousin Thomas Gale Amis
who was an orphan and had been sent to the University with his cousin by Richard Bennehan. After Thomas Amis's graduation,
he worked on merchant ships in the West Indies. According to Jean Anderson in her book Piedmont Plantation, Amis may have
been sent away because he was in love with Rebecca. His letters to Thomas Bennehan richly describe Guadeloupe, Santo Domingo,
and other Caribbean ports, and his perceptions of slavery and the slave rebellion in the West Indies.
Folder
84-97
1800
Folder
98-121
1801
Folder
122-148
1802
Folder
149-170
1803
Folder
171-201
1804
Folder
202-230
1805
Folder
231-258
1806
Folder
259-276
1807
Folder
277-292
1808
Folder
293-301
1809
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1.2.3. 1810-1819.
Chiefly letters to Duncan Cameron from members of his family, business partners, clients, factors, and friends. There are
a few of Duncan Cameron's outgoing letters to members of his family and scattered manuscript copies of outgoing business letters.
Some correspondence of Richard Bennehan, Thomas Bennehan, and Rebecca Bennehan Cameron is also included. In addition, there
are scattered letters to Duncan Cameron's cousin Frederick Nash from clients, letters to Nash's wife Mary from her sisters,
and some correspondence between brothers Samuel and George W. Mordecai.
Duncan Cameron's most frequent correspondents during this period were his siblings, Mary Read Anderson of Petersburg, Va.,
William Cameron of Petersburg, John Adams Cameron of Fayetteville, N.C., and Jean Syme of Petersburg. Mary Read Anderson,
always a diligent correspondent, wrote even more often during this period because her husband Daniel Anderson died, making
Duncan Cameron the executor of his will and the guardian of his sons, William and Walker Anderson.
William Cameron and Samuel Snow, who were Duncan Cameron's partners in a mercantile business in Petersburg, wrote frequently
to Duncan Cameron, keeping him abreast of market conditions. John Adams Cameron, who depended on his brother for financial
aid after a debilitating wound in the War of 1812, was a frequent correspondent.
Duncan Cameron's brother Thomas Cameron of Pa., and his parents John and Mary Owen Cameron of Lunenberg, Va., wrote to Duncan
occasionally. There are several letters from Duncan Cameron's cousin, or perhaps uncle, Ewen Cameron of Franklin, Tenn. Beginning
in 1818, there are occasional letters from Duncan Cameron's nephew Walker Anderson who was attending The University of North
Carolina. There are also several letters from Frederick Nash.
Rebecca Bennehan Cameron also received letters from Duncan's family. In 1817 and 1818, she also received regular letters from
her daughter Mary Anne Cameron who attended Mordecai Female Seminary in Warrenton, N.C. Notes from Mary Anne's teachers about
her deportment and scholastic progress often appear on the backs of Mary Anne's letters.
Duncan Cameron's legal practice and subsequent appointment to a Superior Court judgeship frequently took him away from home
to county courts across North Carolina. There are many letters from Rebecca to Duncan during these absences keeping Duncan
informed about the health of the family. Richard and Thomas Bennehan also wrote to Duncan when he was away, consulting with
him about business matters involving their partnership.
Very little of Richard and Thomas Bennehan's correspondence is preserved for this period. There are a few letters exchanged
between the two when one was away on business, or when, in 1813, Richard was taking a water cure in Warm Springs, Va. Richard
Bennehan's nephew Richard Bennehan wrote occasionally from Richmond County, Va. Several members of the Amis family wrote to
Bennehan, mostly concerning horse breeding, especially about the famous stud horse and thoroughbred racer Sir Archie. Thomas
Bennehan and Rebecca Bennehan Cameron received some letters from their cousins Frances Goodwin Smith and Mary Phillips.
In addition to Duncan Cameron's voluminous family correspondence, there is also substantial correspondence dealing with his
legal practice and his various business partnerships. There are many letters from mercantile businesses on the eastern seaboard
that employed Cameron as lawyer primarily to collect debts on their behalf. There are also letters from merchants/factors
from whom Duncan Cameron bought goods to stock stores he owned and to whom he supplied tobacco and wheat grown on the Bennehan
Cameron lands or that he had accepted as payment at the Bennehan Cameron stores. The most frequent merchant correspondents
for this period are Rogers and Winthrop of New York, Ebenezer Stott of Petersburg, Roger Lamberth of New York, Pattison Hartshorne
of Philadelphia, McEwen, Hale, and Davidson of Philadelphia, John MacMillian of Fayetteville, John Hogg of Wilmington, N.C.,
Edward Lyde of New York, Robert Walker of Petersburg, W. Haxell of Petersburg, John Thompkins of Richmond, and John and James
Dunlop of England. There are also letters from Sam Yarborough who ran the Stagville Store and from Sam Dickins, a plantation
overseer.
There are also many letters from other clients for whom Duncan Cameron did legal work as well as from other lawyers with whom
Cameron worked. Extensive correspondence concerns the settlement of the estate of Absolum Tatum of Nashville, Tenn. Cameron
worked on this case with Abram Maury, a Nashville lawyer, and Samuel Goodwin, comptroller general of North Carolina.
Duncan Cameron was extensively involved in the establishment of the State Bank of North Carolina during this period. He corresponded
regularly with bank officers and the officers of other North Carolina banks. Among his correspondents were William Polk, William
H. Haywood, John Haywood, William Boylan, Peter Browne, and J. W. Wright.
Various North Carolina senators and representatives in the United States Congress wrote to Duncan Cameron periodically informing
him of legislation dealing with trade, and giving him news about the embargo, the War of 1812, and the Treaty of Paris. There
are letters to Cameron from a number of individuals in Washington including James Turner, Archibald McBryde, William Gaston,
James Culpepper, and Richard Stanford.
During this period, Duncan Cameron was a representative in the North Carolina House of Commons and Senate. In 1819, when he
became a senator, he became chairman of the influential Internal Improvement Committee originally led by Cameron's friend
Archibald Murphey. Correspondence from this period, especially letters from Archibald Murphey, documents Cameron's involvement
in state politics.
From 1814 to 1816, when Cameron served as a major general in the North Carolina Militia, he received letters from Robert Williams,
the adjutant general, dealing with militia matters. Other correspondents include Richard Henderson, Paul Carrington, James
Webb, John Devereaux, Thomas B. Littlejohn, Walter Alves, W. G. Grove, William Norwood, and Thomas Ruffin.
For more information on the State Bank of North Carolina, see Subseries 5.2. For more documentation relating to Duncan Cameron's
service in the Militia see Subseries 5.3. For more material relating to Duncan Cameron's legal practice, see Series 3 and
Subseries 6.10. For documentation of the Bennehans' and Camerons' financial relationships with their factors, see Subseries
2.1 and 2.9. For further documentation of Duncan Cameron's participation in the Committee for Internal Improvement, see Subseries
5.8.
Folder
302-313
1810
Folder
314-330
1811
Folder
331-351
1812
Folder
352-374
1813
Folder
375-398
1814
Folder
399-418
1815
Folder
419-430
1816
Folder
431-444
1817
Folder
445-460
1818
Folder
461-476
1819
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1.2.4. 1820-1825.
Chiefly business and family letters written to Duncan Cameron, and some letters addressed to Richard Bennehan and to Thomas
Bennehan. A few letters to Rebecca Bennehan Cameron and her daughter Mary Anne Cameron from family members are included. Correspondence
between George W. Mordecai and his sister Mrs. Lazarus of Wilmington, N.C., is also included.
Duncan Cameron's siblings Mary Read Anderson, Jean Syme, John Adams Cameron, William Cameron, and Thomas Cameron wrote to
him frequently, communicating family news and asking his advice. There are occasional letters from Cameron's mother Anne Owen
Cameron, his uncle or cousin Ewen Cameron of Franklin, Tenn., his step nephew George Anderson, his nephew Walker Anderson,
and his nephew William Anderson while he was attending the University of North Carolina from 1822 to 1826.
There are letters from Duncan Cameron's son Paul Cameron to Paul's sister Mary Anne and to his parents from the various schools
he attended, including the University of North Carolina from which he was expelled in 1824, and Partridge's Academy (1825
and 1826). Included are letters from Paul's instructors concerning his progress in school and his deportment. There are letters
from John Rudd who ran a school in Elizabethtown, Conn., and from Captain Partridge about the progress of Paul's brother Thomas
who also attended school. Thomas was probably mentally retarded.
Duncan Cameron's involvement in the Episcopal Church is well documented. He received regular correspondence from General Theological
Seminary in New York on whose board of trustees he served. He corresponded with Bishop John Ravenscroft about various church
matters. Ravenscroft and Cameron were also involved in business dealings together. Cameron was also a vice president of the
American Bible Society and the American Sunday School Society during the 1820s and received regular correspondence from the
two organizations.
During this period Duncan Cameron was involved in the State Bank of North Carolina. He corresponded with J. W. Wright of the
Bank of Cape Fear, Samuel Haywood of the Bank of New Bern, William H. Haywood and Peter Browne of the State Bank, and John
Brockenbrough and William Dandridge of the Bank of Virginia.
The Bennehans and Camerons corresponded with many merchants who served as their commission merchants and for whom Duncan Cameron
collected debts. Among these merchant firms are Ebenezer Stott of Petersburg, Va., Robert Hamilton of Petersburg, James Davidson
of Petersburg, Charles C. Watson of Philadelphia, Hamilton and Donaldson of New York, Duncan Thompson of Fayetteville, N.C.,
and John Taylor of Wilmington.
Other frequent correspondents of Duncan Cameron, Richard Bennehan, and Thomas Bennehan from the 1820s include Thomas Ruffin,
Archibald Murphey, Richard Henderson, Dr. James Webb, Walter Alves, William Polk, William Boylan, Thomas B. Littlejohn, Joseph
Gales, James Mebane, Joseph B. Skinner, William Norwood, Joseph Caldwell, Elisha Mitchell, Charles Manley, Samuel Yarborough,
Thomas Devereaux, John Hogg, James Latta, Samuel Snow, and Dr. Lenco Mitchell. There is a letter in 1823 from Henry Clay recommending
a Virginia lawyer to work in North Carolina.
For more documentation of the Bennehans' and Camerons' dealings with their factors, see Subseries 2.1. For more information
on the schooling of the Cameron children see Subseries 4.3, 5.1, and 6.12. For further documentation of Duncan Cameron's involvement
in the State Bank of North Carolina, see Subseries 5.2.
Folder
477-488
1820
Folder
489-507
1821
Folder
508-524
1822
Folder
525-540
1823
Folder
541-559
1824
Folder
560-580
1825
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1.3. Correspondence of Thomas Bennehan and of Duncan Cameron and his Family, 1826-1853.
About 1,090 items.
This subseries chiefly contains letters written to Duncan Cameron, with some letters to Thomas Bennehan and other family members.
This material documents the period during which Duncan Cameron was the sole patriarch of the Cameron Family. The subseries
ends with his death.
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1.3.1. 1826-1829.
Chiefly business and family letters written to Duncan Cameron. There are some letters addressed to Thomas Bennehan. A few
letters to Rebecca Bennehan Cameron and her daughter Mary Anne Cameron from family members are included. Correspondence between
George W. Mordecai and his sister Mrs. Lazarus of Wilmington, N.C., is also included.
There are many letters from Duncan Cameron's siblings Mary Read Anderson, Jean Syme, John Adams Cameron, William Cameron,
and Thomas Cameron who wrote to him frequently communicating family news and asking his advice. There are occasional letters
from Cameron's uncle or cousin Ewen Cameron of Franklin, Tenn., his step nephew George Anderson, and his nephews Walker Anderson
and William Anderson.
There are letters from Duncan Cameron's son Paul Cameron at Washington College (now Trinity College) in Hartford, Conn., from
1826 until Paul's graduation in 1829. Included are letters from Paul's instructors concerning his progress in school and his
deportment. There are letters from Captain Partridge about the progress of Paul's brother Thomas (apparently mentally retarded)
who attended Partridge's school.
Duncan Cameron's involvement in the Episcopal Church during the late 1820s is well documented. Correspondents include Bishop
John Ravenscroft, Bishop Brownell, Rev. William Mercer Green, and Rev. Richard Mason. Duncan Cameron received regular correspondence
from General Theological Seminary in New York on whose board of trustees he served. He was also a vice president of the American
Bible Society and the American Sunday School Society throughout the 1820s and received regular correspondence from the two
organizations.
In the late 1820s, Duncan Cameron became more deeply involved in the State Bank of North Carolina, and in 1829 he was made
president of the bank. He corresponded frequently with other officers and stockholders in the State Bank, as well as with
officials of other banks in North Carolina and Virginia. Correspondents included William Haywood, William Boylan, John Haywood,
and Peter Browne of the State Bank. Cameron also corresponded with J. W. Wright of the Bank of Cape Fear, Samuel Haywood of
the Bank of New Bern, and John Brockenbrough and William Dandridge of the Bank of Virginia.
Duncan Cameron and Thomas Bennehan corresponded with many merchants who served as their commission merchants and for whom
Duncan Cameron collected debts. Among these merchant firms are Ebenezer Stott of Petersburg, Va., Thomas and Robert Dunn of
Petersburg, Robert Hamilton of Petersburg, James Davidson of Petersburg, Charles C. Watson of Philadelphia, Hamilton and Donaldson
of New York, Duncan Thompson of Fayetteville, N.C., John Huske of Fayetteville, and John Taylor of Wilmington.
Other frequent correspondents of Duncan Cameron, from 1826 to 1829, include Thomas Ruffin, William H. Haywood, Jr., Archibald
Murphey, Richard Henderson, Dr. James Webb, Walter Alves, William Polk, William Boylan, John Haywood, Thomas B. Littlejohn,
John Buford, Samuel Ashe, Joseph Gales, Dr. Joseph Umstead, W. P. Mangum, William Cain, James Mebane, William Kirkland, Joseph
B. Skinner, John Hawkins, Gavin Hogg, William Norwood, Joseph Caldwell, Elisha Mitchell, Charles Manley, Samuel Yarborough,
and Dr. Lenco Mitchell. There is a letter from Henry Clay in 1827, referring to an earlier recommendation he made in 1823.
For more documentation of the dealings of Thomas Bennehan and Duncan Cameron with their factors, see Subseries 2.1. For more
information on the schooling of the Cameron children, see Subseries 4.3, 5.1, and 6.12. For further documentation of Duncan
Cameron's involvement in the State Bank of North Carolina, see Subseries 5.2.
Folder
581-598
1826
Folder
599-614
1827
Folder
615-633
1828
Folder
634-647
1829
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1.3.2. 1830-1839.
Chiefly letters to Duncan Cameron from business associates, friends, and family. There are also some letters to Thomas Bennehan,
some letters to Paul Cameron, some to Anne Ruffin Cameron, and letters to other Cameron women from aunts, cousins, and their
governess Mary McLean Bryant.
Duncan Cameron's sisters and brother Mary Read Anderson and Jean Syme of Petersburg, Va., and John Adams Cameron of Fayetteville,
N.C., wrote to Duncan often. John Adams Cameron also wrote from Vera Cruz, Mexico, where he was serving as United States consul.
William and Walker Anderson, Duncan Cameron's nephews, also wrote to him frequently. During this period, Rebecca Bennehan
Cameron and her daughters received frequent letters from Mary Read Anderson, Jean Syme, and many cousins relating family news.
Included are a few of Paul Cameron's letters to Anne Ruffin Cameron before they married in 1832 and some of their correspondence
after they married. There are letters to Anne Ruffin Cameron from her relatives, including Thomas Ruffin, Alice Ruffin, Catherine
Roulhac, J. G. Roulhac, and members of the Kirkland family.
Family letters particularly document the following topics: Anne Ruffin Cameron's stillborn children in 1835 and 1836; Paul
Cameron's dissatisfaction with law, his resignation from the bar, and his move to Fairntosh in 1837; Duncan Cameron's permanent
move to Raleigh, N.C., in 1836; Duncan Cameron's daughters' struggles with tuberculosis and family trips made to various springs
in search of a cure for the disease; the trip south to Charleston, S.C., and Florida in 1839 to try to cure Anne Owen Cameron;
and, finally, the deaths of four of Duncan Cameron's daughters from tuberculosis.
During the 1830s Duncan Cameron was deeply involved in the Bank of the State of North Carolina. He was made president of the
institution in 1834, prompting his move to Raleigh in 1836. He frequently corresponded with the officers, stockholders, and
board members of the State Bank as well as with officers of other banks in North Carolina and Virginia. Among his correspondents
were Charles Dewey, George Mordecai, Peter Browne, and E. P. Guion of the State Bank, Samuel Haywood of the Bank of New Bern,
S. W. Wright of the Bank of Cape Fear, and an officer of the Bank of Virginia.
Duncan Cameron continued his active involvement in the Episcopal Church in North Carolina during the 1830s. His purchase of
the defunct Episcopal Boys School of Raleigh, in 1833, is documented, as is the School's metamorphosis into Saint Mary's School
for Girls in 1837. He continued to serve on the Board of the General Theological Seminary in New York and as vice president
of the American Bible Society, receiving regular letters from these organizations. In 1831, his service as a lay delegate
to the North Carolina Diocesan Convention is documented. During the 1830s, Cameron corresponded with Rev. William Mercer Green,
Bishop Levi Silliman Ives, and Rev. George Freeman.
Throughout this period the plantation holdings of the Bennehans and Camerons continued to grow. There are many letters from
the family's factors, particularly Keven and Hamilton of Petersburg, John Huske of Fayetteville, Hamilton and Company of New
York, and Charles Watson of Philadelphia. There are letters from the millers and overseers whom the family employed to manage
the slaves and operate the sawmills and grist mills on the rivers that ran across their land. These letters as well as the
family letters document details about slavery, agriculture, the Stagville Store, and the post office at Stagville.
Other frequent correspondents of the Camerons and Bennehans include Dr. James Webb, Gavin Hogg, William Gaston, John Devereaux,
Archibald Murphey, John D. Hawkins, W. P. Mangum, James Mebane, Joseph Gales, Thomas Littlejohn, William H. Haywood, William
Boylan, William A. Graham, and John Kirkland.
For further information on banks, see Subseries 5.2. For documentation of the sale of the Episcopal Boys School in Raleigh
to Duncan Cameron, in 1833, see Subseries 2.1. For other documentation of the family's involvement in the Episcopal Church,
see Subseries 5.4. For documentation of the financial transactions between the Camerons and Bennehans and their factors see
Subseries 2.1.
Folder
648-665
1830
Folder
666-684
1831
Folder
685-704
1832
Folder
705-723
1833
Folder
724-741
1834
Folder
742-760
1835
Folder
761-779
1836
Folder
780-788
1837
Folder
789-803
1838
Folder
804-820
1839
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1.3.3. 1840-1849.
Chiefly business and family letters to Duncan Cameron, correspondence between Duncan Cameron and Paul Cameron, and letters
from relatives to Anne Ruffin Cameron, Margaret Bain Cameron, and Mildred Coles Cameron.
In the 1840s, Duncan Cameron continued to correspond regularly with his sisters, Mary Read Anderson (until her death in 1844)
and Jean Syme (until her death in 1846). Duncan Cameron also received regular correspondence from his nephews William Anderson
of Wilmington, N.C., and Walker Anderson of Pensacola, Fla.
There are some letters addressed to Thomas Bennehan until his death in 1847. The Cameron women corresponded extensively with
their extended family. Among their correspondents were Eliza Cameron, Anna Cameron, Frances Cameron, Mary Edmunds, Eliza Nash
Anderson, Anna M., Kirkland, Alice Ruffin, Mary Jones, Emma Cameron, Molly Gale, and Isabelle Cameron. Margaret Cameron and
Mildred Cameron also kept in regular contact with their old governess Mary McLean Bryant.
Duncan Cameron continued to be president of the Bank of the State of North Carolina throughout the 1840s until his resignation
in 1849. He corresponded frequently with Charles Dewey and others in the banking community.
Duncan Cameron continued to serve on the Board of Trustees of General Theological Seminary in New York in the 1840s. He received
letters from Rev. William Mercer Green, Bishop Otey, Rev. Richard Mason of Christ Church in Raleigh, N.C., and Rev. Aldert
Smedes. There are several letters reflecting Cameron's presidency of the North Carolina Bible Society and involvement in the
Scotch Relief Committee.
Paul Cameron and Thomas Bennehan managed the plantations in the 1840s. Their primary factors were Andrew Keven and Brothers
of Petersburg, Va., and John Huske of Fayetteville, N.C. Paul Cameron's trips to Mississippi and Alabama in 1844 are documented.
There are regular letters from Charles Lewellyn, the overseer on Paul Cameron's plantation in Greene County, Ala. There are
also letters from the overseers of plantations in North Carolina including, William Piper, William Hams, and James Colman.
In 1847, there is correspondence about a slave named Milton who ran away from the Greene County Plantation and was eventually
apprehended. There are also two letters written from Liberia by Virgil Bennehan, Thomas Bennehan's mulatto slave who was freed
in Thomas Bennehan's will.
Other frequent correspondents include William Cain, David L. Swain, Hugh Waddell, John Devereaux, William Norwood, C. P. Mallet,
William A. Graham, Cad Jones, William Polk, George Haywood, W. P. Mangum, Dr. James Webb, George Badger, Joseph B. Skinner,
and William Boylan.
See Subseries 2.1 for documentation of the financial dealings between Paul Cameron and his factors. See Subseries 5.2 for
more information on banking.
Folder
821-844
1840
Folder
845-868
1841
Folder
869-892
1842
Folder
893-916
1843
Folder
917-940
1844
Folder
941-975
1845
Folder
976-999
1846
Folder
1000-1023
1847
Folder
1024-1047
1848
Folder
1048-1071
1849
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1.3.4. 1850-1853.
Letters written to Duncan Cameron, Paul Cameron, and Margaret Bain Cameron. The family correspondence from this period documents
the following: the death of Duncan Cameron in 1853, the marriage of Margaret Bain Cameron to George Mordecai in 1853; the
mysterious and devastating illness suffered by Mildred and the long trip to Philadelphia by Margaret and Mildred to try a
new doctor for Mildred; malaria epidemics at Fairntosh; and Paul Cameron's growing interest in purchasing land in the deep
south and his subsequent purchase of land in Greene County, Ala.
Although Duncan Cameron relinquished the presidency of the Bank of the State of North Carolina in 1849, he continued to correspond
regularly with officers of the bank until he was close to death in 1853. There are frequent letters from George W. Mordecai,
the bank's new president, and letters from Charles Dewey, the secretary of the bank. There are also letters from various family
members written to Duncan Cameron.
There are many letters to Paul Cameron from his commission merchants, Andrew Kevan of Petersburg, Va.; C. J. Haigh and Son
of Fayetteville, N.C.; and Tartt, Stewart and Co. of Mobile, Ala. There are also letters from John Webster, overseer of the
plantation in Greene County.
There are letters to Paul Cameron documenting his growing interest in building railroads in North Carolina, eventually leading
to his signing a contract to build a section of the North Carolina Railroad.
Among Paul Cameron's frequent correspondents are David L. Swain, Cad Jones, William A. Graham, Charles Phillips, Joseph Wright,
V. F. Caldwell, Charles Manly, J. W. Norwood, William Mercer Green, George Freeman, Ken Rayner, and Charles Fisher.
Paul and Margaret Cameron wrote to each other frequently and also corresponded with many other relatives including John W.
Cameron, Walker Anderson, W. H. Ruffin, J. B. G. Roulhac, Lizzie Jones, Mary Edmunds, Fanny Roulhac, William Anderson, Robert
Walker Anderson, Rowena Hines, Susan Hines, Thomas Ruffin, Sr., Mary Lucas, Anna Kirkland, Eliza Thompson, Margaret Devereux,
and Ellen Mordecai. Margaret, called "Maggie," also received letters from Adelaide Montmollin and Louise DeEnde who were friends Margaret made while caring for Millie in
Philadelphia; Mary McLean Bryant, who had been the Camerons' governess when Margaret and Mildred were young; and Charlotte
Rice, Thomas Bennehan's housekeeper.
Folder
1071-1083
1850
Folder
1084-1095
1851
Folder
1096-1107
1852
Folder
1108-1124
1853
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1.4. Correspondence of Paul Cameron and Margaret Cameron Mordecai, 1854-April 1865.
About 3200 items.
This subseries documents the activities of Paul Cameron and his family after the death of Duncan Cameron, until the end of
Civil War.
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1.4.1. 1854-1859.
Chiefly family letters written to Paul Cameron and Margaret Cameron Mordecai. The family correspondence from this period documents
the following: the continuing illness suffered by Mildred and several trips to Philadelphia and New York made by Margaret
and Mildred to try new doctors and climates for Mildred; Anne and Paul Cameron's move to Hillsborough, N.C.; malaria epidemics
at Fairntosh which finally prompted the move to town; and Paul Cameron's trips to his plantations in the deep South. A few
document farm operations in the wartime economy.
Much of the family correspondence consists of letters between Paul and Margaret "Maggie" (Cameron) Mordecai, who wrote to each other frequently. There are also many letters from relatives of the Camerons, to whom
Margaret wrote regularly, including Mollie Gales, Seaton Gales, John W. Cameron, Walker Anderson, W. H. Ruffin, J. B. G. Roulhac,
Lizzie Jones, Mary Edmunds, Fanny Roulhac, William Anderson, Robert Walker Anderson, Rowena Hines, Susan Hines, Thomas Ruffin,
Sr., Mary Lucas, Anna Kirkland, Maria Nash, Eliza Thompson, Isabelle Cameron, Margaret Devereux, Emma Mordecai, Ellen Mordecai,
Catherine Roulhac, and Jane Ruffin. Margaret also continued to receive letters from Adelaide Montmollin and Louise DeEnde
who were her friends in Philadelphia. There are also frequent letters from Mary McLean Bryant, who was the Cameron girls'
old governess. During this period, there are letters received by Anne Ruffin Cameron from her Ruffin relatives. Also, there
are letters between Anne Ruffin Cameron and her husband Paul, when he was away on trips.
Paul Cameron's investments in agriculture are reflected in the many letters from his commission merchants, who sold the products
of the Cameron plantations overseas and in urban markets. The major merchants Cameron patronized were Andrew Kevan of Petersburg,
Va.; C. J. Haigh and Son of Fayetteville, N.C.; Tartt, Stewart and Co. of Mobile, Ala.; and Rowland and Bro. of Norfolk, Va.
There are also letters from John Webster, overseer of the plantation in Greene County, Ala., and, after 1857, from Wilson
Oberry, who replaced him. Letters from William Lamb, overseer of the plantation in Tunica County, Miss., are included, as
are letters from William and Samuel Piper, who were the overseers at Fairntosh.
Although Paul Cameron's vast land holdings were his first priority, he did contract to build a section of the North Carolina
Railroad (NCRR) in the 1850s. There are letters dealing with the contract and other railroad business, particularly letters
from Charles Fisher, an official of the NCRR. There are also some letters documenting Cameron's election to one term in the
State Senate in 1856.
Paul Cameron's correspondents included David L. Swain, Cad Jones, William A. Graham, Charles Phillips, Joseph Wright, V. F.
Caldwell, Charles Manly, J. W. Norwood, Rev. William Mercer Green, Rev. George Freeman, and Ken Rayner.
Folder
1125-1136
1854
Folder
1137-1150
1855
Folder
1151-1164
1856
Folder
1165-1176
1857
Folder
1177-1188
1858
Folder
1189-1201
1859
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1.4.2. 1860-April 1865.
Chiefly family letters written to Paul Cameron and his sister Margaret Mordecai, called "Maggie." Some of Paul Cameron's correspondence with his wife Anne Ruffin Cameron is included.
From 1860 to 1861, there are numerous letters to Paul Cameron from his factors, friends, and business associates. However,
during the Civil War, there is very little of Paul Cameron's correspondence. According to historian R.D.W. Connor, Anne Ruffin
Cameron and Bennehan Cameron burned many of Paul Cameron's papers in order to protect him when he requested a pardon from
the Union government for his support of the Confederacy. The remaining family letters do provide some documentation of the
family's response to the war.
Prior to the war, there are business letters written to Paul Cameron concerning his plantations and the North Carolina Railroad
of which he was president in 1861. Paul Cameron's letters from his factors are numerous. Among the factors are Tartt, Stewart,
and Company in Mobile, Ala.; Battle, Nobel, and Company in New Orleans, La.; Andrew Keven and Brothers in Norfolk, Va.; Rowland
and Brothers in Norfolk; and E. M. Apperson and Company in Memphis, Tenn. Paul Cameron also corresponded with his out of state
overseers, William Lamb in Mississippi and Wilson Oberry in Alabama.
Other correspondents of Paul Cameron include Peter Hairston, Charles Pettigrew, William Halliburton, J. W. Norwood, Worth
Daniel, Thomas Bragg, Hugh Waddell, William A. Graham, Bishop James Otey, Rev. William Mercer Green, Charles Dewey, David
L. Swain, Kemp P. Battle, Charles Fisher, Rev. George Patterson, and Thomas Webb.
During the war, the bulk of the letters deal with domestic topics. There are letters from Paul and Anne Cameron's sons Duncan
Cameron and Bennehan Cameron written from the schools they attended. There are also letters from their teachers and headmasters
about the boys' deportment and academic progress. Duncan Cameron's several attempts to run away are documented. Some of George
Mordecai's personal and business correspondence is also scattered among the Cameron family letters.
Margaret Cameron Mordecai (Maggie) continued her prolific correspondence with her extended family throughout the Civil War.
Her invalid sister Mildred lived with the Mordecais during this period. Margaret also continued to receive letters from her
friends in Philadelphia, Adelaide Montmollin and Louise DeEnde. Margaret corresponded with Emma Mordecai, Laurine Mordecai,
Mary Jones, Phebe Hawks, Rebecca Anderson, Mary Lucas, and Robert Walker Anderson. In addition there are letters to Anne Ruffin
Cameron from members of the Ruffin family, including Catherine Roulhac, and Thomas Ruffin, Jr.
For more documentation of the schooling of Paul and Anne Ruffin Cameron's children, see Subseries 4.3 and 5.1. For documentation
of Paul Cameron's service to the Confederacy, see Subseries 5.3. See Subseries 2.9 for Confederate Bonds. See Subseries 2.1
for documentation of financial transactions between Paul Cameron and his factors.
Folder
1202-1214
1860
Folder
1214-1225
1861
Folder
1226-1231
1862
Folder
1232-1239
1863
Folder
1240-1245
1864
Folder
1246-1252
1865
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1.5. Correspondence of Paul Cameron and Margaret Mordecai, May 1865-1889.
About 9,300 items.
This subseries documents the post-Civil War activities of Paul Cameron, with some material relating to Margaret Mordecai and
other family members.
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1.5.1. May 1865-1869.
Chiefly family letters written to Paul Cameron and his sister Margaret Mordecai, called "Maggie." Some of Paul Cameron's correspondence with his wife Anne Ruffin Cameron is included. There are also business letters written
to Paul Cameron concerning his plantations and the North Carolina Railroad and other railroads in the state. Some of George
Mordecai's personal and business correspondence is also scattered among the Cameron family letters.
After the Civil War, the correspondence relating to the management of the Camerons' vast land holdings changes. There are
letters describing the aftermath of emancipation, including the looting of Fairntosh by former slaves and the Cameron's response
to the chaotic circumstances. After emancipation Paul Cameron relinquished much of the direct control of his plantations to
tenant farmers. Although he maintained contact with his antebellum factors Tartt, Stewart, and Company in Mobile, Ala., Battle,
Nobel, and Company in New Orleans, La., Andrew Keven and Brothers in Norfolk, Va., and E. M. Apperson and Company in Memphis,
Tenn., Cameron did not have as many agricultural products to sell as he did before the war.
Paul Cameron remained involved in the North Carolina Railroad after the Civil War, and began to become interested in investing
in mills and other industrial ventures. His correspondents during these years included Peter Hairston, Charles Pettigrew,
William Halliburton, J. W. Norwood, Worth Daniel, Thomas Bragg, Hugh Waddell, William A. Graham, Bishop James Otey, Rev. William
Mercer Green, Charles Dewey, David L. Swain, Kemp P. Battle, Charles Fisher, Rev. George Patterson, and Thomas Webb.
During these years there are letters to Paul and Anne Cameron from their sons Duncan Cameron and Bennehan Cameron who were
at school. There are also letters from their teachers and headmasters about the boys' deportment and academic progress. There
are frequent letters from Paul and Anne Ruffin Cameron's daughter Anne Cameron Collins (Annie), her husband George P. Collins,
who moved to Tunica County, Miss., to run Paul Cameron's plantation there after the Civil War. There are also letters from
another daughter, Rebecca Cameron Graham, and her husband John Graham.
Margaret Cameron Mordecai (Maggie) continued to care for her invalid sister Mildred. There are frequent exchanges between
Paul Cameron and Margaret Mordecai about the health of Mildred, as well as other family business. Margaret continued to receive
letters from her friends in Philadelphia, Adelaide Montmollin and Louise DeEnde. Margaret corresponded frequently with members
of her extended family including, Emma Mordecai, Laurine Mordecai, Mary Jones, Phebe Hawks, Rebecca Anderson, Mary Lucas,
and Robert Walker Anderson. Anne Ruffin Cameron's letters from the Ruffin and Roulhac families are also included.
For more documentation about the schooling of Paul and Anne Ruffin Cameron's children, see Subseries 4.3 and 5.1. See Subseries
2.1 for documentation of financial transactions between Paul Cameron and his factors.
Folder
1253-1270
1866
Folder
1271-1284
1867
Folder
1285-1296
1868
Folder
1297-1309
1869
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1.5.2. 1870-1889.
Chiefly family letters, particularly correspondence between Paul Cameron and his sister Margaret Mordecai ("Maggie"), between Paul Cameron and his wife Anne, and between Paul and Anne Cameron and their children. Also included are some letters
to Paul Cameron from friends and business associates.
Family letters document the death of George Mordecai in 1871, Mildred Coles Cameron's declining health, the marriages of Paul
Cameron's children, Margaret Mordecai's trip to Philadelphia for the centennial celebration in 1876, and Margaret Mordecai's
involvement with Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C.
Letters to Paul Cameron document his continued support of the North Carolina Railroad Company, other railroad companies, local
banks, and local cotton manufacturing companies. Also well documented is Paul Cameron's leadership in the effort to reopen
and rebuild the University of North Carolina which had closed during Reconstruction and fallen into disrepair. There are frequent
letters from Kemp P. Battle, president of the University of North Carolina, and from Cornelia Phillips Spencer, Cameron's
longtime friend and booster of the University. Paul Cameron also corresponded regularly with George W. Patterson, an Episcopal
minister and family friend.
Paul Cameron continued to correspond with his factors, Andrew Keven in Petersburg, Va., and Rawland Brothers in Norfolk, Va.,
but the letters are much sparser than in past decades. There are letters from tenants and overseers, including, J. G. Piper,
Samuel Rogers, and Wilson Oberry.
Paul Cameron's frequent correspondents include Bishop Thomas Atkinson, William A. Graham, Aldert Smedes, J. W. Norwood, Kemp
P. Battle, John Kerr, George W. Thompson, Joseph B. Cheshire, John Devereaux, George Winston, William Mercer Green, Charles
Dewey, and Cornelia Spencer.
Folder
1310-1328
1870
Folder
1329-1351
1871
Folder
1352-1367
1872
Folder
1368-1391
1873
Folder
1392-1412
1874
Folder
1413-1434
1875
Folder
1435-1452
1876
Folder
1453-1464
1877
Folder
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