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Collection Number: 03880

Collection Title: Michael Ferrall Papers, 1818-1960

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 Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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Size 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 70 items)
Abstract General commission merchant of Halifax, N.C., and Norfolk, Va., during the mid-19th century. Included are four account books, 1845-1861, a lettercopy book, 1844-1861, and correspondence, 1830-1856, of Michael Ferrall documenting his commission business; assorted papers, 1831-1832, relating to the mobilization of the Halifax County militia during the Nat Turner rebellion; miscellaneous volumes, including the medical account book, 1865, of Dr. M. A. Wilcox of Halifax County, and the diary of Marshall Gary as a student at St. Mary's College, Belmont, N.C., 1903; and a history of the Jones, Eppes, Bond, Ferrall, and McMahon families, written in 1932 (7 p.).
Creator Ferrall, Michael, b. 1811.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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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 Michael Ferrall Papers #3880, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from the estate of Nannie Gary of Halifax, N.C., in February 1969, and Joseph J. McMahon of Richmond, Va., in June 1969.
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.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Suzanne Ruffing, September 1996

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Michael Ferrall was born in County Longford, Ireland, in 1811. He had five brothers, Thomas, James, Charles, Edward, and Francis.

Michael Ferrall came to the United States and worked in the merchandising business in Petersburg and Norfolk, Va. He began a general commission business in 1830 in partnership with his brother Thomas and with Dumas and McIlwaine in Halifax. Michael bought out Dumas and McIlwaine's shares in the business in 1834 and his brother's in 1839. Michael began another general commission business in 1845 in Norfolk, Va., and, in the next year, he went into partnership with Edward and Charles Ferrall in Halifax. He continued his business at least until 1861.

Michael Ferrall married Mary Elizabeth Eppes of Halifax. They had one son who died in infancy and two daughters, Hibernia Francenia and Harriet Anne. Hibernia Francenia married Dr. Dominic James Maguire (b. 1835 in Ballyconnel, Ireland), who practiced medicine in Halifax. Harriet's first husband was Captain John Tormey, C.S.A., also a native of Ireland. Their daughter, May Ursula, married into the Gary family. Harriet's second husband was Joseph McMahon.

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Included are four account books, 1845-1861, a lettercopy book, 1844-1861, and correspondence, 1830-1856, of Michael Ferrall documenting his commission business; assorted papers, 1831-1832, relating to the mobilization of the Halifax County militia during the Nat Turner rebellion; miscellaneous volumes, including the medical account book, 1865, of Dr. M. A. Wilcox of Halifax County, and the diary of Marshall Gary as a student at St. Mary's College, Belmont, N.C., 1903; and a history of the Jones, Eppes, Bond, Ferrall, and McMahon families, written in 1932 (7 p.).

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Michael Ferrall Papers, 1830-1969.

About 35 items.

Letters to Ferrall from Fathers Timothy and John O'Brien in Lowell, Mass., 1852-1856; bills and receipts for his daughter Anne's education at the School of the Visitation Sisters at Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; various business documents and papers; and a history of the Jones, Eppes, Bond, Ferrall, and McMahon families written in 1932 by Sister Claire Agnes, Mother Superior of the Ursuline Convent at Columbia, S.C. See Series 3 for other Michael Ferrall materials.

Folder 1

Papers, 1830-1969

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Halifax County Papers, 1815-1960.

About 35 items.

Halifax County militia papers and other Halifax County papers. The militia papers, 1831-1832, consist of claims for payment relating to the mobilization and service of the militia in the insurrection of August 1831 in Southampton County, Va. (Nat Turner Rebellion). The county court appointed persons of the county to hear and consider the vouchers and claims. Also included are lists of companies and payments dispersed. The miscellaneous papers are of the Gary family and include a chart of land accessments in Halifax in 1837 and a letter to Miss Gary from a relative.

Folder 2

Militia papers

Folder 3

Miscellaneous

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Volumes, 1844-1903.

9 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly account and letterbooks of Michael Ferrall, but also a medical account book, diary, autograph book, and music book of the Gary family.

Folder 4

Volume 1: 1844-1861

Letterbook of Michael Ferrall with primarily business letters. 400 pp.

Folder 5

Folder number not used

Oversize Volume SV-3880/2

Volume S-2: 1845-1849

Account book of Michael Ferrall with daily records of goods sold on consignment. 116 pp.

Folder 6

Volume 3: 1854-1857

Account book of Michael Ferrall with itemized personal accounts of credit extended. 115 pp.

Folder 7

Volume 4: 1855-1859

Account book of Michael Ferrall with daily cash account of goods sold on consignment. 80 pp.

Folder 8

Volume 5: 1857-1861

Account book of Michael Ferrall with daily cash accounts. 44 pp.

Folder 9

Folder number not used

Oversize Volume SV-3880/6

Volume S-6: 1865

Medical account book of Dr. M. A. Wilcox of Halifax County. 50 pp.

Folder 10

Volume 7: 1903

Diary of Marshall Gary while attending St. Mary's College, Belmont, N.C. 35 pp.

Folder 11

Volume 8: 1854

Autograph album of Hattie R. Marshall. 60 pp.

Folder 12

Volume 9: Undated

Music book of Nannie Gary. 40 pp.

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