Inventory of the Kenan Family Papers, 1748-1996Collection Number 4225![]() Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
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Collection Information
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Back to Top Descriptive Summary
Back to Top Administrative Information
Online Catalog HeadingsThese and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
Biographical NoteThe Kenan and Graham families have been prominent in North Carolina since the early days of the area's settlement. Thomas Kenan (d. 1766) moved to the colony in the 1730s and established himself in Duplin County. Thomas's oldest son, James (1740-1810), fought in the Revolution and was the progenitor of most of the Kenans who figure in these papers. For a likeness of James Kenan see the Addition of February 2008. Thomas Kenan (1771-1843), James's first son, married Mary Rand (1781-1856) and was the father of Owen Rand Kenan (1804-1887), a noted Confederate congressman. Owen and his sister Mary Rand Kenan (1823-1855) married into the Graham family. Most of the Kenans of Owen's generation moved in 1833 to Dallas County, Ala., leaving Owen Rand Kenan behind to manage the family's holdings in North Carolina. Owen's descendants include James Graham Kenan, a public official in Duplin County; William Rand Kenan, Sr., prominent citizen of Wilmington, N.C., and trustee of the University of North Carolina; William Rand Kenan, Jr., chemist, prosperous businessman, and philanthropist; Owen Hill Kenan, a physician; and Mary Lily Kenan, who married, first, Henry Morrison Flagler and, second, Robert Worth Bingham, U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Sarah Rebecca Graham (1817-1871) married Owen Kenan in 1836, and her brother, Chauncey William Graham (1819-1866), married Owen's sister Mary in 1846. John Graham emigrated to America in 1718 and settled in the North. One of John's grandsons, Chauncey, moved to the Murfreesboro, N.C., area in 1788, and Chauncey's son, Stephen, father of Sarah and Chauncey Williams Graham, settled near Kenansville. Stephen and his progeny became large landowners in Duplin County. Note that the chart below lists only family members who figure significantly in these papers.
1. Chauncey Graham (1763?) 2. Stephen Graham (1766-1836) - Ann William (d. 1860) (1) Mary Eliza Graham (1824-1853) (2) Stephen Graham (1822-1899) (3) Sarah Rebecca Graham (1817-1871) SEE BELOW (4) Chauncey Williams Graham (1819-1866) - Mary Rand (1823-1855) 3. Mary Graham 4. Sarah Graham (b. 1784?) 5. Eliza Graham Tull
1. Thomas Kenan (1771-1843 - Mary Rand (1781-1856) (1) Owen Rand Kenan (1804-1887) SEE BELOW (2) Mary Rand Kenan (1823-1855) - Chauncey Williams Graham (1819-1866) (3) James Kenan (1808-1874)
1. James Graham Kenan (1839-1912) - Annie Howard Hill (1832-1852?) (1) Owen Hill Kenan (ca. 1872-1963) (2) Emily Howard Kenan (ca. 1872-1963) 2. Thomas Stephen Kenan (1838-1911) - Sallie Dortch (d. 1916) 3. Annie Dickson Kenan (1843-1906) 4. William Rand Kenan (1845-1903) - Mary Hargrave (b. 1842) (1) Sarah Graham Kenan (1876-1968) - Graham Kenan (1883-1920) (2) William Rand Kenan, Jr. (1872-1965) - Alice Mary Pomrey (d. 1947) (3) Mary Lilly Kenan (1867-1917) - Henry Morrison Flagler - Robert Bingham Collection OverviewAn important part of the Kenan family papers consists of letters among various members of the Kenan and Graham families. This correspondence relates to activities of relatives in North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, and other southern states. It concerns the political, domestic, and economic interests of well-to-do southerners between 1810 and 1900. In their letters, the Kenans and Grahams discussed contemporary concerns, such as slavery; educational opportunities for young men and women; religion; agricultural problems; turn-of-the-century experiences of young scholars and other members of the Kenan family; and the role of William R. Kenan, Jr., in publicizing the discovery of calcium carbide. In addition to the letters, there are financial and legal papers that pertain to the political, business, and military activities of various Kenans and Grahams. Also included are diaries, account books, printed materials, pictures, and miscellaneous papers that illustrate the wide-ranging interests of members of these two families--in medicine; the University of North Carolina and other institutions; travel in the United States and Canada; women's work; the Democratic Party; and the restoration of Liberty Hall, the Kenan homestead in Duplin County, N.C. Union Carbide materials include two letterpress books documenting the early history of the Union Carbide Company and its predecessor companies and "Union Carbide Corporation: A Brief Look at Historical Highlights" (1991) by M. A. Hill, which traces the formation of the company and the growth of chemicals and plastics production and technical facilities in the United States. There is also a reel of microfilm containing typed transcriptions of public records relating to Kenan family members. The Addition of 2007 contains correspondence, notes, and clippings, 1806-1947, pertaining to the Kenan family, chiefly to Chauncey Graham and Stephen Graham, and to Mary Lilly Kenan Flagler Bingham. The Addition of 2008 includes a likeness of James Kenan (1740-1810). Back to TopArrangement of Collection
2. Financial Material 3. Legal Material 4. Printed Material 5. Other Material 6. Microfilm 7. Volumes 8. Pictures Additions Items SeparatedItems separated include oversize papers (OP-4225/1-18); microfilm (M-4225/1-3); pictures (P-4225(F)/1; P-4225/1-57); oversize pictures (OP-P-4225/1); photograph album (PA-4225/1); oversize volumes (V-4225/S-17,18); videotapes (VT-4225/1-2); Data Compact Disc (DCD-4225/1) Detailed Description of the Collection1. Correspondence, 1780-1979 and undated. About 350 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Largely family correspondence of Graham and Kenan family members. Letters among members of the Graham family are chiefly from
the 1810s through the 1860s, while correspondence of the Kenans is scattered throughout these years and constitutes the bulk
of the later material.
Early letters describe the family life and education of the Kenans and the Grahams. Included are references to slave riots
and rebellions, various political events, religious matters, and the agricultural pursuits of Kenan family members. Letters
from the 1860s through the 1880s relate to the role Owen Rand Kenan played in the Confederate government, comment of experiences
of the Kenans in the Civil War--as soldiers, prisoners of war, and observers--and contain additional information about the
Kenans' farm and business pursuits.
Correspondence of the 1890s consists mainly of letters to and from Owen Hill Kenan, a physician. During the 1930s and early
1940s, letters document William R. Kenan, Jr.'s interest in clarifying the historical record of how he and others discovered
calcium carbide at Chapel Hill. Other correspondence consists business letters, greeting cards, and other letters relating
to Owen Hill Kenan.
Folder
11780; 1809-1819
Folder
21820-1827
Folder
31831-1835
Folder
41836-1837
Folder
51838-1842
Folder
61843
Folder
71844-1849
Folder
81850-1852
Folder
91853-1855
Folder
101856-1860
Folder
111861-1863
Folder
121864
Folder
131865-1867; 1872
Folder
141873
Folder
151874-1878
Folder
161890-1893
Folder
17-181894
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191895
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201896
Folder
211897-1919
Folder
221926-1932
Folder
231938-1944
Folder
241968-1979 and undated
Back to Top 2. Financial Material, 1760-1939 and undated. About 500 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Mostly bills, receipts, account records, and promissory notes of the Kenans and the Grahams. Antebellum items include legal
and medical receipts, receipts for sales of slaves and other slave papers, and papers collected by Owen Rand Kenan and Stephen
Graham as administrators of various estates. Civil War materials consist primarily of receipts and bills of Thomas S. Kenan,
colonel of the 43rd North Carolina Regiment. Later papers are lumber receipts from Kenan enterprises, tax and insurance receipts
and papers, and other personal and family finance items.
Folder
251760; 1792-1833
Folder
261842-1849
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271850-1859
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281860-1861
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291862-1870
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301872-1879
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311880-1889
Folder
321890-1896
Folder
331897-1905
Folder
341912-1939 and undated
Back to Top 3. Legal Material, 1755-1914. About 135 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Deeds, surveys, wills, estate papers, agreements, indentures, contracts, warrants, and other legal papers of Graham and Kenan
family members. Early papers include land grants to and from various Kenans; copies of wills of Thomas, Elizabeth, James,
and Sarah Kenan and of Sally Graham; and items relating to Graham and Kenan professional concerns, slaves, lands, and domestic
affairs. Material from the 1850s and 1860s includes papers of Owen Rand Kenan and Thomas Stephen Kenan relating to business
and professional concerns, land, participation in the Civil War, and other matters. Later papers pertain to James Graham Kenan's
lumber interests and his activities as sheriff of Duplin County. There are also papers relating to insurance policies and
to various other undertakings of the Kenans. See also Series 6.
Folder
351755-1767; 1790-1819
Folder
361820-1839
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371843-1859
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381860-1863
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391864-1883
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401885-1892
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411894-1914
Back to Top 4. Printed Material, 1833-1974 and undated. About 65 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly newspaper articles, many about Kenan family members; political and agricultural society broadsides; and pamphlets.
Among the early items are lodge bylaws, slave patrol regulations, campaign literature, and miscellaneous government publications.
Duplin County and Kenan family history and the restoration and opening as a historic site of Liberty Hall, the Kenan family
home in Kenansville, are major topics of the later material. See also Series 6.
Folder
421833-1872
Folder
431877-1888
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441893-1896
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451897-1900
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461937-1968
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471971-1974
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48Undated
Back to Top 5. Other Material, 1789-1996 and undated. About 220 items.
Folder
49Miscellaneous lists, 1853-1968
A list of slave births; voting returns, presumably from Duplin County; two morning reports of Company, 43rd North Carolina
Regiment; and various other lists.
Folder
50Certificates, 1865 and undated
Membership certificates, military appointments, and other items.
Folder
51Lyrics, poems, word games, 1928-1919 and undated
Various songs, poems, and instructions for writing in code.
Folder
52Recipes and household hints, 1810-1899
Handwritten and printed recipes and household hints collected by the Kenans.
Folder
53Class notes, medical papers, 1893-1899
Folder
54Owen Hill Kenan materials, 1890s
Calling cards, advertisements, excursion passes, and other items from Owen Hill Kenan's time in Baltimore.
Folder
55Tests and examinations, 1890-1899
College tests in chemistry, medicine, arithmetic, grammar, and geography.
Folder
56Writings, 1880s and undated
A speech, perhaps by Thomas Stephen Kenan, to the Confederate veterans of Duplin County, and two other speeches.
Folder
57-58Genealogical materials, 1789-1996 and undated
Notes, sketches, essays, and other papers relating to the Graham, Kenan, Howard, and other families. Also included are two
copies of a video tape of Frank Kenan's 1996 funeral, shot by WTVD in Durham, N.C. (VT-4225/1-2; broadcast video cassettes).
Folder
59Miscellaneous notes, 1894-1896 and undated
Back to Top 6. Microfilm, 1748-1966. 1 item.
Reel
M-4225/1Materials relating to members of the Kenan family of Duplin County, N.C.
Typescripts of photocopies of original materials, which are privately held, were loaned for microfilming in August 1980.
Part I: Deeds, ca. 1744-1966, 466 pp. Kenan family members as grantors. Includes index.
Part II: Deeds, ca. 1749-1940, 244 pp. Kenan family members as grantors. Includes index.
Part III: Miscellaneous Kenan family papers, 1790-1896, 27 pp. These include letters, commissions, and a land grant involving
various members of the Kenan family. Only two letters, 26 September 1831 and 20 September 1833, are not available in Series
1.
Part IV: Kenan family Duplin County court records, 1815-1927, 28 pp. Includes two indexes, one to abstracts of Duplin County
records included in these typed transcripts and the other to Duplin County records in the office of the Duplin County Clerk
of the Court.
Part V: Wills, 1762-1920, 85 pp. Kenan family members wills. Includes index.
Part VI: Kenan family members in The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina and other historical works, ca. 1748-1926, 385 pp. Includes index.
Part VII: Marriage records, 1788-1901, 3 pp. List of Kenan family brides and grooms.
Part VIII: "The Kenans of Duplin County, North Carolina," undated, 5 pp. Biographical sketches of early Kenans in Duplin County, including Thomas Kenan, who immigrated from Great
Britain, and his sons and grandsons.
Back to Top 7. Volumes, 1859-1939. 16 items.
Folder
61Volume 1: Account book, 1859-1881, 94 pp.
Account book, owner unknown, but various members of the Kenan family are mentioned in entries (formerly volume 3).
Folder
62Volume 2: Account book/medical notebook, 1864-1866 and 1866-1891, 320 pp.
Account book and medical notebook of Chauncey William Graham. Entries 1866-1891 relate to Graham's estate (formerly volume
4).
Folder
63Volume 3: Notebook, 1869?, 60 pp.
Notebook of Annie E. Hill Kenan, containing chiefly religious remarks (formerly volume 1).
Folder
64Volume 4: Notebook, 1855-1875, 92 pp.
College and legal notebook of Thomas C. Kenan (formerly volume 2).
Folder
65Volume 5: Journal, 1895, 1897, 40 pp.
Brief journal of trips made by Annie Kenan to Canada in 1895 and 1897.
Folder
66Volume 6: Notebook, 1890s, 6 pp.
Notebook, probably of Annie Dickson Kenan, containing addresses (formerly volume 8).
Volumes 7-10: Notebooks, 1890s, about 20 pp.
Notebooks, probably of Owen Hill Kenan, while at school in the 1890s (formerly volumes 9-12).
Folder
67Volume 11: Notebook, 1904-1905, 74 pp.
College notebook of Graham Kenan (formerly volume 14).
Folder
68Volume 12: Recipe book, 1837-1890s, 143 pp.
Recipe book of Annie Kenan with miscellaneous other entries, including a few accounts of Owen R. Kenan (formerly volume 6).
Folder
69Volume 13: Recipe book, undated, 48 pp.
Recipe book, owner unknown (formerly volume 7).
Folder
70Volume 14: Analysis of Republican Party politics, 1902, 384 pp.
Analysis of Republican Party politics, published by the Democratic Congressional Committee (formerly volume 13).
Folder
71Volume 15: Souvenir handbook, 1907, about 50 pp.
D. Hill's souvenir handbook of the 1907 United Confederate Veterans' reunion.
Folder
72Volume 16: "Discovery and Identification of Calcium Carbide in the United States" by William R. Kenan, Jr., 1939, 27 pp.
Back to Top 8. Pictures, 1890s-1955 and undated. 62 items.
Image
P-4225(F)/1Framed portrait of Sarah Graham Kenan
Image
P-4225/2Jessie Hargrave Kenan?, 1890s
Image
P-4225/3Sarah Graham Kenan, ca. 1955
Image
P-4225/4Martha, the cook at Liberty Hall, 1880s?
Image
P-4225/5Jefferson Davis, 1880s?
Image
P-4225/6"The Kenansville Beauties," 1894?
Image
P-4225/7Anne Huntington Richards, 1931
Image
P-4225/8Julia LaBau Richards, 1931
Image
P-4225/9"S. M. Alfonso XIII Deauville" (postcard), 1922
Image
P-4225/10"W. G. Sutton, Adjutant of D.S.," undated
Image
P-4225/11"Mrs. Thos. B. Pierce Residence" (postcard), undated
Image
P-4225/12Kenan family coat of arms, undated
Image
P-4225/13H. M. Flagler, 1906
Image
P-4225/14Josephus Daniels and Addie Daniels, undated
"We send fond feelings from the Embassy fireside."
Image
P-4225/15"Mary Monk, Mrs. Kenan's maid," undated
Image
P-4225/16Unidentified girl and nurse, undated
Image
P-4225/17-57Graham Kenan and others, 1900s
Photographs of Graham Kenan and others taken when Kenan was an undergraduate (A.B. 1904) at the University of North Carolina.
Many of the photographs are of Kenan and his friends at the Mount Pisgah Forest retreat belonging to Professor Schenck of
the University. There are a few photographs of campus buildings.
Image
OP-P-4225/1Composite photograph of Confederate congressmen from North Carolina.
Photograph Album
PA-4225/1Album containing 16 undated photographs and tintypes of unidentified children, 1890s?
Back to Top Additions. Addition of May 2001 (Acc. 98961), 1991.
1 item.
Folder
73"Union Carbide Corporation: A Brief Look at Historical Highlights" by M. A. Hill (1991)
Traces the background leading to the formation of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation and the subsequent growth of chemicals
and plastics production and technical facilities in the United States. A list of products and a bibliography are included.
Photocopy of typescript, 13 pp.
Back to Top
Addition of January 2004 (Acc. 99693), 1896-1899.
2 items.
Volume 17 available on microfilm reel M-4225/2 and Volume 18 available on microfilm reel M-4225/3.
Two letterpress books documenting the early history of the Union Carbide Company and its predecessor companies.
Oversize Volume
V-4225/S-17Volume 17: Letterpress book, 1896-1898
Includes letters of William Smith Horry, a leading figure in the carbide industry, describing management of a carbide plant
in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and his attempts to invent and patent a carbide oven..
Oversize Volume
V-4225/S-18Volume 18: Letterpress book, 1896-1899
Letters of William Rand Kenan, Jr., to the Chicago home office while he managed a carbide plant in Appleton, Wis., and/or
Sault St. Marie, Mich.
Back to Top
Addition of July 2007, 1806-1945.
About 30 items.
Correspondence, notes, and clippings, 1806-1947, pertaining to the Kenan family, chiefly to Chauncey Graham and Stephen Graham,
and to Mary Lilly Kenan Flagler Bingham. Folder 74 contains a copy of Stephen Graham's last will and testament.
Folder
74-75Correspondence and other materials
Back to Top
Addition of February 2008 (Acc. 100861).
1 item.
Digital image (JPEG) of James Kenan (1740-1810). The original likeness is housed in the Masonic Lodge of Greensboro, N.C.
Likeness of James Kenan (1740-1810)
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