]
]
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 FAQ section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 40.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 72,000 items) |
| Abstract | Calvin Josiah Cowles (1821-1907) of Wilkes County, N.C., was a merchant specializing in roots and herbs who traded with the North and England. Cowles was a Whig and post-war Republican, superintendent of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., 1869-1884, and consistent promoter of land, mining, and railroad development in northwestern North Carolina. The papers consist of letterpress copy books, 1877-1907; mercantile account books; land surveys and papers relating to Cowles's land holdings in North Carolina, Kansas, and South Dakota; papers relating to his copper and mica mines in northwestern North Carolina; business correspondence; and numerous letters exchanged between Cowles and his ten children giving a detailed picture of their education and careers. Correspondents included: Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young. Also included are letters to and from son Arthur Duval Cowles, who bought his father's business in 1869 and moved it to Ashe County, N.C., and campaign papers of another son, Charles Holden Cowles, Republican United States representative, 1908-1910. The bulk of the material is dated after 1875; there is little pertaining to C. J. Cowles's political activities during Reconstruction. |
| Creator | Cowles, Calvin J. (Calvin Josiah), 1821-1907. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
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.
Expand/collapse
Related Collections
Expand/collapse
Biographical
Information
Calvin Josiah Cowles (1821-1907) of Wilkes County, N.C., was a merchant specializing in roots and herbs who traded with the North and England. Cowles was a Whig and post-war Republican and superintendent of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., 1869-1884. Cowles was born in Yadkin County, N.C., to Josiah Cowles and Deborah Sanford Cowles. As a teenager and young adult, Cowles clerked at his father's store and in 1846 moved to Wilkes County, N.C., where he opened his own general merchandise store, specializing in roots and herbs, called J. & C. J. Cowles. Cowles was also deeply involved in the acquisition of land for purposes of mining, timber, railroad building, and speculation. He also owned land which he rented for agricultural production. A large portion of Cowles land interests were in North Carolina, however, he also speculated in lands further west, chiefly in Kansas and South Dakota, but also in Colorado and Wyoming. Cowles was also a voluntary county statistician and weather observer for the state and federal agricultural departments.
Cowles was married in 1844 to Martha T. Duvall, with whom he had five sons, including Arthur Duval Cowles. After Martha's death, Cowles married Ida Augusta Holden, daughter of North Carolina governor W. W. Holden. The second marriage produced five children, including Calvin Duval Cowles (1849-1937), who served with the United States Army in conflicts against Native Americans and the Spanish in Cuba, and Charles Holden Cowles (1857-1957), a North Carolina legislator and editor-publisher of The Wilkes Patriot.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The papers consist of letterpress copy books, 1877-1907; mercantile account books; land surveys and papers relating to Cowles's land holdings in North Carolina, Kansas, and South Dakota; papers relating to his copper and mica mines in northwestern North Carolina; business correspondence; and numerous letters exchanged between Cowles and his ten children giving a detailed picture of their education and careers. Correspondents included: Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young. Also included are letters to and from son Arthur Duval Cowles, who bought his father's business in 1869 and moved it to Ashe County, N.C., and campaign papers of another son, Charles Holden Cowles, Republican United States representative, 1908-1910. The bulk of the material is dated after 1875; there is little pertaining to C. J. Cowles's political activities during Reconstruction.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Chronological Series, 1773-1941 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
The earliest items, 1773-1839, include bills of sale for land, horses, slaves, furniture, all in Mecklenburg County, N.C. There are also way-bills and memoranda of expenses; family correspondence of the Duvall family; bills from Baltimore, Md., wholesalers to William Pitt Waugh, a Wilkesboro, N.C., merchant.
Papers, 1840-1848, are chiefly personal correspondence of Calvin Josiah Cowles.
Items, 1850-1859, include family correspondence between Cowles, his brothers, Martha Duvall Cowles, Robert Duvall, and Josiah Cowles. There are also business papers from this period of J. & C. J. Cowles, including bills of lading and root and herb accounts with Northern dealers.
Papers, 1860-1869, contain some Civil War items, including muster rolls for Georgia and South Carolina Infantry regiments; business accounts; tax collection records. There are also numerous items related to the United States Department of Agriculture.
The bulk of the papers, 1870-1879, were created in 1875 and 1877 and are primarily concerned with efforts to redeem state bank notes of Southern banks and efforts to develop the Gap Creek (Copper Knob) Mine. Other topics addressed in this period are land, lawsuits, taxes, loans, and bonds. Family correspondence is primarily between Cowles, his sons, and his brothers, and concern business and family matters.
Papers, 1880-1889, are chiefly concerned with mining, Cowles' lawsuits (mostly over land titles), efforts to redeem North Carolina state bonds and old state bank notes; affairs of the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C.; financial troubles; and family correspondence between Cowles, his sons, and his brothers. There is also correspondence about bills in Congress between Cowles and his half-brother, William H. H. Cowles, a Representative to Congress. There is also correspondence with agents and tenants of Cowles' Kansas land holdings, and other items.
Business papers, 1890-1899, include correspondence with tenants in Kansas and western North Carolina; pensions claimants; lawyers regarding lawsuits; real estate men; loan and insurance companies; banks; and mining and railroad contacts. Family correspondence is with Cowles' sons, Arthur, Calvin D., and William, concerning business, particularly money, loans, and land speculation; with Cowles' sister, Eliza Benham; with his brothers; with his wife and children at home while Cowles took a four month trip to New York and Kansas; with brother-in-law, M. M. Teague, on business matters. There are also miscellaneous letters from cousins and other relatives. Besides substantial correspondence with federal and state agriculture departments, there is correspondence with patent drug companies; with coin and stamp collectors; organizational letters for the American Silver Organization; and correspondence regarding claims for payment of railroad bonds issued during the Civil War and later repudiated by the state.
Business papers, 1900-1907, include correspondence with tenants concerning renting, payment, crops, timber thieves, and cutting timber; regarding land interests in Kansas, South Dakota, and western North Carolina; negotiations to sell much of the land; extensive correspondence with agents, lawyers, and creditors. Family correspondence is chiefly between Cowles and his children. Also included are notes of land surveys, correspondence with state and federal agriculture departments; correspondence with patent drug companies regarding the latest cures; correspondence concerning Charles H. Cowles local and state Republican Party political activities; letters from J.E. Rebstock concerning starting a farming and lumbering company somewhere in North Carolina; and other items.
There are relatively few papers, 1908-1941, and most of them are from Charles H. Cowles. Family correspondence is fuller for the years right after Cowles' death and concerns land sales and legal affairs of his estate.
Notable correspondents represented in the Chronological Series include Frank Armin, William Brandreth, A. W. Finley, Colonel Julius Gray, George B. Hanna, John Hinsdale, William W. Holden, Phineas Horton, Davenport Jackson, Max Long, Colonel George Polk, Henry Reynolds, Charles Strauss, William T. Sutherlin, William H. Taft, Harvey Terry, Robert Vance, and John A. Young.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Miscellaneous Series, 1849-1911 and undated
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910
Arrangement: chronological.
Charles H. Cowles was elected Representative of the Eighth District to Congress in 1908 and was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1910. Most of these papers concern the two election campaigns, in the fall of 1908 and 1910. There are a few items written in 1909 while Cowles was in office. Much of the correspondence is written by Henry Reynolds, executive head of the state Republican Congressional Committee, who organized and ran Cowles' campaigns.
| Folder 406-413 |
Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908 #03808, Subseries: "2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910" Folder 406-413Folder 406Folder 407Folder 408Folder 409Folder 410Folder 411Folder 412Folder 413 |
| Folder 414-415 |
Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1909 #03808, Subseries: "2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910" Folder 414-415Folder 414Folder 415 |
| Folder 416-430 |
Political campaign papers of Charles Holden Cowles, 1910 #03808, Subseries: "2.1. Congressional Election Campaigns of Charles Holden Cowles, 1908-1910" Folder 416-430Folder 416Folder 417Folder 418Folder 419Folder 420Folder 421Folder 422Folder 423Folder 424Folder 425Folder 426Folder 427Folder 428Folder 429Folder 430 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.2. Land Papers, undated
Arrangement: geographically when identifiable.
Papers are for North Carolina lands but do not cover all of Cowles' holdings. The papers contain surveys, copies of old grants, bonds for title, maps, and miscellany. Papers pertaining to land holdings that are dated are filed in the Chronological Series.
| Folder 431-440 |
Land papers, Wilkes County, N.C. #03808, Subseries: "2.2. Land Papers, undated" Folder 431-440Folder 431Folder 432Folder 433Folder 434Folder 435Folder 436Folder 437Folder 438Folder 439Folder 440 |
| Folder 440 |
Land papers, Yadkin River #03808, Subseries: "2.2. Land Papers, undated" Folder 440 |
| Folder 441 |
Land papers, Elk Creek #03808, Subseries: "2.2. Land Papers, undated" Folder 441 |
| Folder 442 |
Land papers, Rowan County, N.C. #03808, Subseries: "2.2. Land Papers, undated" Folder 442 |
| Folder 443-446 |
Unidentified papers, maps, and surveys #03808, Subseries: "2.2. Land Papers, undated" Folder 443-446Folder 443Folder 444Folder 445Folder 446 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.3. The Wilkes Patriot Material, 1908-1911.
Includes bills, receipts, orders for supplies and equipment, and tax statements. Wilkes Patriot correspondence is also filed in the chronological series, from February 1908-December 1910, and concerns material for publication, letters to the editor, subscriptions, and miscellany.
| Folder 447-448 |
Wilkes Patriot #03808, Subseries: "2.3. The Wilkes Patriot Material, 1908-1911." Folder 447-448Folder 447Folder 448 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899.
There are many other materials related to legal cases and lawsuits filed with the chronological series.
| Folder 449 |
Undated legal papers #03808, Subseries: "2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899." Folder 449 |
| Folder 450 |
Legal cases, United States Mint salaries #03808, Subseries: "2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899." Folder 450Includes material related to an action for reimbursement of salaries earned at the United States Mint at Charlotte, N.C., from 1 July 1875-16 October 1876, by Calvin Josiah Cowles and George B. Hanna. |
| Folder 451 |
Cowles & Cowles v. Watts & Watts, 1854-1859 #03808, Subseries: "2.4. Legal Cases, 1849-1899." Folder 451Includes material related to an action for fraud in the Wilkes County, N.C., Superior Court. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.5. Bills and Receipts, 1850-1906.
Bills and receipts form two separate groups: Calvin Josiah Cowles's bills for household supplies, clothing, and other items, 1873-1906, and accounts due to the firm of J. & C. J. Cowles, 1850s-1905.
| Folder 453-460, 519-526 |
Bills and Receipts #03808, Subseries: "2.5. Bills and Receipts, 1850-1906." Folder 453-460, 519-526Folder 453 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.6. Miscellaneous and Undated
Arrangement: by type.
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Volumes, 1843-1937 and undated.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.1. Letterpress Copy Books, 1853-1909.
Arrangement: chronological.
All but three of these volumes contain the letters of Calvin Josiah Cowles, written chiefly from Charlotte and Wilkesboro, N.C. Most of the books contain over 600 full pages and a few contain over 1,000 pages. The main subjects of the correspondence are Cowles' extensive and diverse business interests, including railroads, mining, agriculture, retail trade, money exchange, and land sales in several Southern and Midwestern states. There is much correspondence, official and semi-official, while Cowles was assayer at the United States Mint at Charlotte, as well as family and political correspondence. Most books have alphabetical indexes of correspondents in the front.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.2. Mercantile and Miscellaneous Volumes, 1943-1937 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
This series includes daybooks containing the daily sales records of Cowles' mercantile business, J. & C. J. Cowles, at Elkville and Wilkesboro, N.C. formatted to include dates, customer names, goods purchased, and amount of sale on a day-to-day basis. Also included in this set of volumes are cash books, customers' accounts, ledgers, and shipping and dealers' accounts containing business transactions of the J. & C.J. Cowles store in general merchandise, roots and herbs, livestock, land, vegetables, and securities.
Expand/collapse
Items Separated
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, March 2010
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching by web browsers.
Back to Top