Manuscripts Department
            Library of the University of North Carolina
                          at Chapel Hill

                  SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION

                               #1052
                       WILLIAM EATON PAPERS
                             Inventory

Abstract: William Eaton (1785-1862), planter of Halifax and
Warren counties, N.C.; his daughter Ella Rives Eaton, and husband
Peter Hansbrough Bell (1810-1898).  Bell, a native Virginian, had
been in Texas during its war for independence and the Mexican
War.  He was governor of Texas from 1849 to 1853 and served in
Congress from 1853 to 1857.
          Deeds, bills, receipts, letters and other papers
pertaining to the Eaton and Bell families of Warren County, N.C.
Included are colonial land grants, deeds, indentures and
receipts; accounts, 1850-1857, of William Eaton; letters, 1853,
to Ella Rives Eaton Bell from John McGill, Roman Catholic Bishop
of Richmond, Va., written while he was in Paris, France, and
including a description of the wedding of Napoleon III, and
referring to Levi Silliman Ives; letters, 1853-1856, to Ella
Rives Eaton Bell from Teresa and Beatrice Orsini of Rome; legal
papers, 1870-1876, of the Eaton and Bell families, including the
wills of William Eaton and his wife Martha P. Eaton; and business
papers, 1880-1893, of Peter Hansbrough and Ella Rives Eaton Bell,
living in Littleton, N.C.

On-line   Bell, Ella Rives Eaton.
Catalog   Bell, Peter Hansbrough, 1810-1898.
Terms:    Catholic Church--Bishops--Correspondence.
          Eaton, William, 1785-1862.
          Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--19th
          century.
          Governors--Texas--History--19th century.
          Halifax County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th
          century.
          Ives, Levi Sillman, 1797-1867.
          Land grants--North Carolina--History--Colonial period,
          ca. 1600-1775.
          Littleton (N.C.)--Economic conditions--19th century.
          McGill, John, 1809-1872.
          Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.
          Orsini family.
          Paris (France)--Description--19th century.
          Plantations--North Carolina--Halifax County.
          Plantations--North Carolina--Warren County.
          Real property--North Carolina--History--19th century.
          Rome (Italy)--Description--19th century.
          Warren County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th
          century.

Size:     About 90 items (0.5 linear feet).

Provenance: Gift of Mrs. B. B. Brown of York, Ala., in 1946.

Access:   No restrictions.

Processing Note: This collection was rehoused under the
sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

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

                         BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

          William Eaton (1785-1862) was a planter and landowner
of Halifax and Warren counties, N.C.  His daughter Ella Rives
Eaton married Peter Hansbrough Bell (1810-1898), and they settled
in Halifax County in 1857.  Bell, a native Virginian, had been in
Texas during its war for independence and the Mexican War.  He
had been governor of Texas from 1849 to 1853 and served as U.S.
congressman from Texas, 1853-1857.

                            DESCRIPTION

          Deeds, bills, receipts, letters and other papers
pertaining to the Eaton family of Warren County, N.C.  Included
are colonial land grants, deeds, indentures and receipts, some as
early as 1725, involving William Eaton, his brother Thomas Eaton,
Edward Young, Frederick Cooke, Allen and Wiley Jones, and others;
a copy of the North Carolina state constitution, adopted December
18, 1776; accounts, 1850-1857, of William Eaton; letters, 1853,
to Ella Rives Eaton in Rome, Italy, from John McGill, Roman
Catholic Bishop of Richmond, written while he was in Paris,
France, and including a description of the emperor's wedding and
references to Levi Silliman Ives (1797-1867); letters, 1853-1856,
to Ella Rives Eaton from Teresa and Beatrice Orsini of Rome;
legal papers, 1870-1876, of the Eaton and Bell families,
including the wills of William Eaton and his wife Martha P.
Eaton; and business papers, 1880-1893, of Peter Hansbrough and
Ella Rives Eaton Bell of Littleton, N.C.

          Two of the colonial land grants from 1749 are filed
with the oversize papers.

Folder     1   1725-1749
           2   1752-1776
           3   1781-1848
           4   1850-1866
           5   1870-1876
           6   1880-1893, undated, and fragments

                            SHELF LIST

          Box 1 (only)

          Items separated:

          OP-1052/1-2