Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the John Matthew Winslow Davidson Papers, #3104-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Typed transcription of entire collection and microfilm of the diary available.

Acquisitions Information

Gift 1955

Additional Descriptive Resources

A more complete finding aid for this collection is available at the Southern Historical Collection.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

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.

• Atlantic States--Description and travel.
• Charleston (S.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Columbia (S.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Davidson family.
• Davidson, John Matthew Winslow, fl. 1825-1875.
• Diaries.
• Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Mecklenburg County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Plantation life--North Carolina.
• Richmond (Va.)--Social life and customs.
• Rural Retreat Plantation (Mecklenburg County, N.C.)
• Southern States--Description and travel.
• Travelers--Southern States--Diaries.
• Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.

• Davidson Family Papers (#204), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Diary, March-May 1853, of Davidson, Florida physician, during a journey from Florida to Philadelphia, including a stay with relatives in Mecklenburg County, N.C.; an account, 1867, by Davidson of a visit with family at Rural Retreat, Mecklenburg County, N.C.; and scattered letters chiefly about personal matters from Davidson to members of his family. The diary is a leisurely narrative written for his family in the form of letters to his wife. In it, Davidson described scenes, experiences, and social contacts in Charleston and Columbia, S.C., Richmond, Va., Washington, D.C., and, at length, in Mecklenburg County.