Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#275
GILLESPIE AND WRIGHT FAMILY PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Members of the Gillespie and Wright family,
including James Gillespie (1747?-1805), planter, North
Carolina state legislator, 1779-1786, and U.S.
congressman, 1793-1799 and 1803-1805. Gillespie was
married to Dorcas Mumford Gillespie (1750-1801).
Their daughter, Jane (1785-1858), married planter
Isaac Wright (1780-1865). The Gillespie and Wright
families owned thousands of acres of land and
significant numbers of slaves in the lower Cape Fear
region of North Carolina, especially in Duplin County.
Chiefly legal and financial papers, 1735-1845, of
Gillespie and Wright family members, including land
records, deeds, plats, and surveyor's notes; tax
records; slave bills of sale and other items relating
to slaves and slavery; accounts, bills, and receipts;
papers relating to business dealings with various
Duplin County tenants of Isaac Wright; wills and
property inventories; and documents relating to the
settlement of the estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?),
for which Isaac Wright and Hinton James (1776-1847)
acted as executors. There are also some personal
papers, mostly 1790-1830, of family members. In
addition, there are two acrostics by black poet,
George Moses Horton (ca. 1797-ca. 1883); a handwritten
version of Jeb Stuart's "Ode to his favorite War Horse
'Maryland'"; and a 1990 Gillespie family tree and
short family history. The papers contain few
references to political and national events; they are
chiefly concerned with business and family matters.
Online Catalog Terms:
Acrostics--History--19th century.
Afro-American poets--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Duplin County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Estates (Law)--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--18th century.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--19th century.
Gillespie, Dorcas Mumford, 1750-1801.
Gillespie, James, 1747?-1805.
Gillespie family--Genealogy.
Gillespie family.
Horses in literature--History--19th century.
Horton, George Moses, ca. 1797-ca. 1883.
James, Hinton, 1776-1847.
Moorhead, James, d. 1808?
Plantations--North Carolina--Duplin County.
Real property--North Carolina--Duplin County--History--
19th century.
Slave bills of sale--North Carolina.
Slavery--North Carolina.
Stuart, Jeb, 1838-1864.
Wright, Isaac, 1780-1865.
Wright, Jane Gillespie, 1785-1858.
Wright family.
Size: About 500 items (1.0 linear foot).
Provenance: Gift of Isaac W. and Lutie Murchison before 1940,
and of Mae Clark Ambrose, April 1991.
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.
Items separated: OP-275/1-24.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
There is some uncertainty about the birthplace of James
Gillespie (1747?-1805), planter, North Carolina state legislator,
1779-1786, and U.S. congressman, 1793-1799 and 1803-1805. The
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography says that he was born in
County Monaghan, Ireland, while the Biographical Dictionary of
the United States Congress gives his birthplace as Duplin County,
N.C. Gillespie was married to Dorcas Mumford Gillespie
(1750-1801). Their daughter, Jane (1785-1858), married planter
Isaac Wright (1780-1865).
The Gillespie and Wright families owned thousands of acres of
land and significant numbers of slaves in the lower Cape Fear
region of North Carolina, especially in Duplin County. Besides
the political endeavors of James Gillespie, the men of the family
tended to be active in local community affairs.
Collection Overview
Chiefly legal and financial papers, 1735-1845, of Gillespie
and Wright family members, including land records, deeds, plats,
and surveyor's notes; tax records; slave bills of sale and other
items relating to slaves and slavery; accounts, bills, and
receipts; papers relating to business dealings with various
Duplin County tenants of Isaac Wright; wills and property
inventories; and documents relating to the settlement of the
estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?), for which Isaac Wright and
Hinton James (1776-1847) acted as executors. There are also some
personal papers, mostly 1790-1830, of family members. In
addition, there are two acrostics by black poet George Moses
Horton (ca. 1797-ca. 1883); a copy of Jeb Stuart's "Ode to his
favorite War Horse 'Maryland'"; and a 1990 Gillespie family tree
and short family history. The papers contain few references to
political and national events; they are chiefly concerned with
business and family matters.
Many of the early deeds and plats were apparently gathered by
Isaac Wright as background information for an 1820s land dispute
(see Subseries 1.1, folder 7). They may also have belonged to an
unidentified Mr. Gillespie who worked as a surveyor around 1798.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Legal and Financial Papers
1735-1877 and undated.
Chiefly legal and financial papers, including land records,
deeds, plats, and surveyor's notes; tax records; slave bills of
sale and other items relating to slaves and slavery; accounts,
bills, and receipts; wills and property inventories; documents
relating to the settlement of James Moorhead's estate; and other
papers.
Subseries 1.1. Land Records, Deeds, and Maps
1735-1870. About 140 items.
Most of the early deeds and plats were apparently gathered by
Isaac Wright as background for an 1820s land dispute (see folder
7). Some of them may also be connected with an unknown member of
the Gillespie family, who a document dated 3 November 1798
called, "Mr. Gillespie a young man ... acting as surveyor."
Mortgages and deeds of trust, not always denoting actual
conveyance, as well as court cases involving real property and
rental agreements are located in Subseries 1.4. There are large
gaps in the later years of this series.
Folder 1 1735-1745
2 1746-1775
3 1776-1799
4 1800-1802
5 1803-1806
6 1807-1819
7 1820-1870
Subseries 1.2. Tax Records
1801-1845 and undated. About 20 items.
Inventories of Isaac Wright's property for tax purposes,
chiefly 1822-1829 and 1839-1845. Lists typically include acreage
amounts and number of slaves per plantation (see also Subseries
1.3 for largely non-tax related slave documents).
Folder 8
Subseries 1.3. Slave Documents
1802-1861 and undated. About 55 items.
Bills of sale and receipts, chiefly 1824-1839; inventories of
slaves; papers relating to a court case involving two slaves who
stole a pig, 29 Jan. 1825; and a note, dated 23 November 1861,
giving the average value of slaves in Cumberland and Sampson
counties, N.C.
Folder 9
Subseries 1.4. Miscellaneous Legal, Financial, and Other Official
Documents
1796-1877 and undated. About 210 items.
Accounts for lumber sales, with information about harvesting;
store accounts; receipts for purchases of clothing and other dry
goods; tuition bills; documents relating to the settlement of the
estate of James Moorhead (d. 1808?), of which Isaac Wright and
Hinton James (1776-1847) were executors; wills and property
inventories; postal receipts; rental agreements; and court briefs
concerning title disputes and suits for nonpayment of rent. For
other non-litigious property transfers and descriptions, see
Subseries 1.1.
Other items include: a North Carolina census, ca. 1808-1822;
a document describing the 1827 legislative session and treasury
shortage of $70,000.00, 1 Dec. 1827; two wills, dated 4 August
1842 and November 1853, of Isaac Wright's son, Moorhead (fl.
1842-1853); and an inventory of Jane Wright's bedclothing, 14
July 1858.
Folder 10 1796-1807
11 1808-1810
12 1811-1826
13 1827-1829
14 1830-1877
15 Undated
Series 2. Personal Papers
1798-1865 and undated. About 55 items.
Personal papers and correspondence, chiefly 1798-1835, of
James Gillespie, Dorcas Gillespie, Jane Gillespie Wright, Isaac
Wright, and others, largely about family and social life. There
are also two undated acrostics by black poet George Moses Horton;
the subjects are Lucy G. Wright and Jane McIver. There is also a
handwritten version of Jeb Stuart's undated "Ode to his favorite
War Horse 'Maryland.'" Large gaps exist between documents in the
later years of this series.
Folder 16 1798-1865
17 Undated
Series 3. Genealogical Papers
1990 and undated. 2 items.
A 1990 genealogical chart and an undated short history of the
Gillespie family.
Folder 18