Hargrave Family Papers Inventory (#4865)

unc seal
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
block Descriptive Summary Including Abstract
block Administrative Information
block Online Catalog Terms
block Biographical Note
block Collection Overview
plus Series Descriptions
block Items Separated
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:
Jennifer Rawlings
Date Completed:
July 1998
Encoded by:
Jennifer Rawlings
Back to Top

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title
Hargrave Family Papers (#4865)1790-1918
Creator
Hargrave family.
Extent
About 300 items (0.5 linear feet)
Repository
Southern Historical Collection
Abstract
Hargrave family of Lexington, N.C.
Materials include letters, 1839-1918, some from family friends, one of whom moved to Texas; another who had witnessed Zachary Taylor's 1850 funeral in Washington, D.C., and wrote about the political climate in the capital; and another who was serving with American forces in France during World War I. Financial materials, 1787-1921, include deeds for plantation land near Lexington, Davidson County, N.C., and routine bills and receipts. Slave materials, 1824-1866, include bills and receipts relating to slaves and slave sales and a few items relating to freedmen becoming tenant farmers. Also included is an 1899 catalog from the Premo Camera Company and several photographs of the 1899 harvest at the Hargrave farm.
Language
English.


Back to Top

Administrative Information

Access
No restrictions.
Usage Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Provenance
Received from Charles Clement Hargrave of Lexington, N.C., in February 1997 (Acc. 97014) and from Michael Laird Rare Books of Brooklyn, N.Y., in July 2006 (Acc. 100445).
Back to Top

Online Catalog Terms

Agriculture--North Carolina--Photographs.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Freedmen--North Carolina.
Hargrave family.
Lexington (N.C.)--History.
Lexington (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
Photography--Equipment and supplies--History--19th century.
Plantations--North Carolina--Davidson County.
Premo Camera Company.
Real property--North Carolina--History.
Slave bills of sale--North Carolina.
Slavery--North Carolina.
Soldiers--United States--Correspondence--History--World War, 1914-1918.
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850.
Texas--Emigration and immigration--History--19th century.
Back to Top

Biographical Note

The Hargraves emigrated from England to Virginia in 1635, eventually moving to Guilford County, N.C., where Jesse Hargrave was born in 1777. In 1804, he moved to what is now Davidson County, N.C., he became a very successful merchant and purchased land that stretched from the town limits south to the Yadkin River, as well as land along what would become Main Street in Lexington.

In 1822, Jesse Hargrave worked to establish the county of Davidson and was elected, with William Bodenhamer, to represent the county in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In this position, the two representatives and Senator Alexander Cladcleugh sponsored legislation to make Lexington the center of the county and the county seat of government. Jesse Hargrave, Benjamin Rouseville, and Alexander Caldcleugh sold 25 acres to the state for the sum of fifty cents to serve as the site for the county courthouse.

Jesse Hargrave and his wife Elizabeth Jane Lindsay had seven children: Robert L., Samuel, Alfred, John, Franklin, Jesse Hamilton, and Susan. Samuel and Alfred both served in the North Carolina state legislature. Jesse Hamilton Hargrave managed to keep his property through the Civil War.

Back to Top

Collection Overview

Hargrave family materials include letters, 1839-1918, some from family friends, one of whom moved to Texas; another who had witnessed Zachery Taylor's 1850 funeral in Washington, D.C., and wrote about the political climate in the capital; and another who was serving with American forces in France during World War I. Financial materials, 1787-1921, include deeds for plantation land near Lexington, Davidson County, N.C., and routine bills and receipts. Slave materials, 1824-1866, include bills and receipts relating to slaves and slave sales and a few items relating to freedmen becoming tenant farmers. Also included is an 1899 catalog from the Premo Camera Company and several photographs of the 1899 harvest at the Hargrave farm.

Back to Top

Organization of Collection

1. Letters
2. Financial Papers
2.1. Deeds
2.2. Receipts
3. Slave Papers
4. Premo Camera Catalogue
5. Photographs
Back to Top

Items Separated

Items separated include: Oversize Papers OP-4685/44.

Back to Top

Series Descriptions

1. Letters, 1839-1918.

About 60 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
This series includes letters to Jesse Hamilton Hargrave from George Smith, a friend who moved to Texas. Smith asked Hargrave to take care of various business matters for him in North Carolina and described his environment in Texas. He described Texas as an excellent place to earn money. However, in 1849, Smith wrote that he was headed for California to find gold. Also included are letters from Henry C. Clark to Jesse Hamilton Hargrave. One of the longest letters describes Clark's presence in Washington, D.C., during President Taylor's funeral in 1850. He described the prevailing attitude about Taylor's presidency and the political situation that developed after his death. Clark was particularly interested in the political climate regarding the ownership of slaves. Another member of the Hargrave family received a letter, 1918, from Archie Worsitt, an American soldier on the front lines in World War I who recorded his impressions of France.
Folder 1
Letters

Back to Top

2. Financial Records, 1787-1921.

About 200 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Papers relating to the financial matters of the Hargrave family.
Back to Top
2.1. Deeds, 1787-1877.
About 50 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Deeds for plantation land in Davidson County, N.C., near Lexington, N.C.
Folder 2
Deeds
Back to Top
2.2. Receipts, 1795-1921.
About 150 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Receipts for various items including tuition at Greensboro Female College for T. Hargrave, periodical subscriptions to Graham's Magazine and The Weekly N.C. Standard, medical bills, groceries, taxes, and other items.
Folder 3
Receipts, 1795-1849
Folder 4
Receipts, 1850-1866
Folder 5
Receipts, 1869-1921
Folder 6
Undated

Back to Top

3. Slave Papers, 1824-1866.

About 15 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Papers relating to slaves owned by the Hargrave family, including several relating to slave sales. Included are a summons from a Davidson County, N.C., court for ruling on a court matter involving ownership of a slave named Tom, an 1847 quit claim conveyance of rights in a slave girl, a bill of sale for a slave to Jesse Hamilton Hargrave, an 1848 list of 34 slaves sold by Jesse Hamilton Hargrave under power of attorney for Mary W. Hargrave, an 1853 printed slave receipt for the hire of Mack from Jesse Hargrave to James D. Eckles and Francis Pace, an 1856 receipt for the purchase of a slave, and an 1858 receipt for three slaves. Also included is an agreement dated 1866 between former slaves and Jesse Hamilton Hargrave that these freedmen would work as tenant farmers on the plantation in return for 1/5 of their crop.
Folder 7
Slave papers

Back to Top

4. Premo Camera Catalogue, 1899.

1 item.
The catalog of the Premo Camera Company of Rochester, N.Y., including all their cameras, lenses, films, and accessories.
Folder 8
Premo Camera catalogue

Back to Top

5. Pictures, 1899.

2 items.
Photographs of harvesting at the Hargrave Farm in Lexington, N.C.
P-4865/1: Harvest photograph
P-4865/2: Harvest photograph

Back to Top