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Collection Number: 03771-z

Collection Title: David Ker and Mary B. Ker Portraits and Papers 1795; 1960- 1981

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 rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

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Size 25 items
Abstract David Ker (1758-1805) was a professor at the University of North Carolina, 1795-1796. The collection includes a framed oil portrait of David Ker, a framed oil portrait of Mary Boggs Ker (1757-1847), both apparently painted circa 1795; photographs of these two portraits; and information about David Ker and the portraits. The portraits came to the University of North Carolina in January 1967 by bequest of Sarah Duncan Butler.
Creator Ker, David, 1758-1805.
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.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
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 David Ker and Mary B. Ker Portraits and Papers #3771-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from the estate of Sarah Duncan Butler of St. Francisville, La., January 1967.
Received from Quentin R. Sawyer, Art Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, September 1981.
Additional Descriptive Resources
A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.
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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Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, March 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Updated by: Laura Hart, December 2021

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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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David Ker (1758-1805) was born in Ireland and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He thereafter entered the Presbyterian ministry and emigrated to North Carolina about 1790, where he married Mary Boggs (1757-1847). In January 1795 Ker was appointed "presiding professor" at the University of North Carolina, which opened that year, and remained there until July 1796. He later became a cotton planter and territorial judge in Mississippi.

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The collection includes a framed oil portrait of University of North Carolina professor David Ker, a framed oil portrait of Mary Boggs Ker, both apparently painted circa 1795, photographs of these two portraits, and information about David Ker and the portraits. The portraits came to the University of North Carolina in January 1967 by bequest of Sarah Duncan Butler.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse David Ker and Mary B. Ker Portraits and Papers 1795; 1960- 1981.

Folder 1

Original finding aid

Information on portraits

Image Folder PF-3771/1

Photographs of portraits (painting): David Ker and Mary B. Ker

Photographic Prints

Image Folder PF-3771/2

Photographs of portraits (painting): David Ker and Mary B. Ker

Photographic Negatives

6 images

Museum Item MU-3771/1-2

MU-3771/1

MU-3771/2

Portraits of David and Mary B. Ker

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