Inventory of the Emsley Burgess and Thomas H. Hunt Papers, 1845-1866, 1996-1997

Collection Number 620-z

unc seal
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Collection Information


Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
Processed by
Manuscripts Department Staff
Date Processed
1969
Encoded by
Roslyn Holdzkom
Date Encoded
October 2003

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Descriptive Summary

Repository
Southern Historical Collection
Creator
Burgess, Emsley.
Hunt, Thomas T., b. 1800.
Title
Emsley Burgess and Thomas H. Hunt Papers, 1845-1866, 1996-1997
Call Number
620-z
Extent
6 items
Abstract
Emsley Burgess lived in Franklinville, Randolph County, N.C. His wife was Nancy Caviness. Burgess was buried in the Franklinville Methodist Cemetery. Tinsmith Thomas T. Hunt was born in Guilford County, N.C. He married Nancy Dougherty Stockton in 1822. The Hunts were Quakers, who had a large family and, by 1849, a small tract of land in Franklinville. The collection includes four items that relate to Emsley Burgess and his family and a diary, with entries 1845-1847, that was most likely written by Quaker tinsmith and farmer Thomas T. Hunt, while he and his family lived in Guilford County, N.C. The Emsley papers are two Randolph County, N.C., deeds of land, 24 December 1846 and 29 March 1849, to Burgess; a 25 April 1850 letter from J. A. Leach of Trinity College to William Burgess asking William to work for him in Thomasville during the summer; and a 27 May 1866 letter from B. C. Burgess in Westfield, Indiana, to his father, Emsley Burgess, about wages and job prospects in Indiana. The diary details farm and mechanical work, activities of family members, visits from neighbors, deaths, health, and attendance at Friends meetings in North Carolina. It ends just before the Hunts moved from Guilford County to Randolph County. Also included is a photocopy of "Diary of a Tinsmith" by L. W. Cates, which appeared in the Randolph County, N.C., Genealogical Journal (Fall 1996 and Spring 1997). The article argues for Thomas T. Hunt as author of the diary and provides a transcript of it.
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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions.
Provenance
Received from Geroge C. Taylor in 1928.
Processing Information
This collection was first known as Randolph County Diary and Papers. In 1969, the title was changed to the Emsley Burgess Papers. Because of evidence published by L. W. Cates in the Randolph County, N.C., Genealogical Journal (Fall 1996 and Spring 1997), the title was changed to the Emsley Burgess and Thomas T. Hunt Papers in 2003.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Emsley Burgess and Thomas H. Hunt Papers #620-z, 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.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Agriculture--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Burgess, Emsley.
Burgess family.
Diaries.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Farm life--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Guilford County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
Hunt family.
Hunt, Thomas T., b. 1800.
Indiana--Economic conditions.
Quakers--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Real property--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Tinsmiths--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Randolph County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
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Biographical Note

Detailed information about Emsley Burgess and Thomas T. Hunt may be found in "Diary of a Tinsmith" by L. W. Cates, which appeared in the Randolph County, N.C., Genealogical Journal (Fall 1996 and Spring 1997), and which is included in the collection. The following information was excerpted from that publication.

Emsley Burgess lived in Franklinville, Randolph County, N.C. His wife was Nancy Caviness. Burgess was buried in the Franklinville Methodist Cemetery.

Thomas T. Hunt was born in Guilford County, N.C., on 5 July 1800, the son of Nathan Hunt, Sr. (1769-1853) and his second wife, Prudence Thornbrugh (d. 1822). Thomas T. Hunt married Nancy Dougherty Stockton in 1822. The Hunts were Quakers, who had a large family and, by 1849, a small tract of land in Franklinville. Hunt farmed and worked as a tinsmith.

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Collection Overview

The collection includes four items that relate to Emsley Burgess and his family of Franklinville, N.C., and a diary, with entries 1845-1847, that was most likely written by Quaker tinsmith and farmer Thomas T. Hunt while he and his family lived in Guilford County, N.C. The Emsley papers are two Randolph County, N.C., deeds of land, 24 December 1846 and 29 March 1849, to Burgess; a 25 April 1850 letter from J. A. Leach of Trinity College to William Burgess asking William to work for him in Thomasville during the summer; and a 27 May 1866 letter from B. C. Burgess in Westfield, Indiana, to his father, Emsley Burgess, about wages and job prospects in Indiana. The diary details farm and mechanical work, activities of family members, visits from neighbors, deaths, health, and attendance at Friends meetings in North Carolina. It ends just before the Hunts moved from Guilford County to Randolph County.

Also included is a photocopy of "Diary of a Tinsmith" by L. W. Cates, which appeared in the Randolph County, N.C., Genealogical Journal (Fall 1996 and Spring 1997). The article argues for Thomas T. Hunt as author of the diary and provides a transcript of it.


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Detailed Description of the Collection

Papers, 1845-1866, 1996-1997.
6 items.
The collection includes four items that relate to Emsley Burgess and his family of Franklinville, N.C., and a diary, with entries 1845-1847, that was most likely written by Quaker tinsmith and farmer Thomas T. Hunt while he and his family lived in Guilford County, N.C. The Emsley papers are two Randolph County, N.C., deeds of land, 24 December 1846 and 29 March 1849, to Burgess; a 25 April 1850 letter from J. A. Leach of Trinity College to William Burgess asking William to work for him in Thomasville during the summer; and a 27 May 1866 letter from B. C. Burgess in Westfield, Indiana, to his father, Emsley Burgess, about wages and job prospects in Indiana.
The diary details farm and mechanical work, activities of family members, visits from neighbors, deaths, health, and attendance at Friends meetings in North Carolina. It ends just before the Hunts moved from Guilford County to Randolph County. Entries begin on 3 August 1845 and continue steadily through 17 April 1846. At that point, some pages are missing. The diary begins again in mid-June(?) and continues through July 1846(?). There are also entries from 3 March through 5 July 1847.
Also included is a photocopy of "Diary of a Tinsmith" by L. W. Cates, which appeared in the Randolph County, N.C., Genealogical Journal (Fall 1996 and Spring 1997). The article argues for Thomas T. Hunt as author of the diary and provides a transcript of it.
   Folder 1
1845-1866
   Folder 2
"Diary of a Tinsmith"

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