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Collection Number: 04354-z

Collection Title: George W. Lewis Papers, 1854-1897

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.

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Size 14 items
Abstract Letters and other items of George W. Lewis of Leaksville, Rockingham County, N.C., and, after about 1854, of Jackson and Brandon, Miss. Lewis was a merchant dealing primarily in dry goods. The papers document family concerns and business dealings, especially the purchase and transportation of merchandise from the North in the years after the Civil War. Some letters refer to the status of African Americans just after the Civil War.
Creator Lewis, George W., fl. 1854-1897.
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 George W. Lewis Papers #4354-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Louis Ginsberg of Petersburg, Va., in February 1983.
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: Roslyn Holdzkom, March 1988

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

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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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George W. Lewis, fl. 1857-1897, was a merchant, primarily specializing in dry goods. A native of Leaksville, North Carolina, he moved to Mississippi around 1854, apparently for health reasons. He was also a combatant during the Civil War. Some of his relatives apparently resided in Virginia.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse George W. Lewis Papers, 1854-1897.

Folder 1

10 June 1854-12 November 1897

10 June 1854: Letter from Ann E. Price, a cousin in Danville, Virginia, relating family news.

5 January 1855: Letter from Lewis, in Jackson, Mississippi, to sister about Lewis's health and good business prospects.

19 November 1857: Letter from William R. Johns, a friend and drinking partner in Somerville, North Carolina, relating general news.

24 June 1860: Letter from Narracessa Hampton, a sister in Cascade, Virginia, chiefly about health of friends and family.

4 February 1865: Letter from Daniel M. Willis, a friend and Civil War companion, about why Willis decided to remain with his regiment.

27 November 1865: Letter from John A. and Mary Lewis, George Lewis's parents in Leaksville, about post-war conditions relating to business and politics, especially ramifications of new position of blacks.

26 December 1865: Letter from G.R.S., a doctor in Vicksburg, Mississippi, offering to supply books for Lewis to sell.

23 May 1867: Letter from Daniel M. Willis in New York City, about prices of dry goods and extolling the virtues of married life as opposed to what Willis and Lewis "did" in Macon during the war.

21 August 1867: Letter from W.M. Smith, apparently a business partner in Brandon, Mississippi, preparing Lewis for his buying trip to the North, including shipping instructions, and telling Lewis that marriage "...will make a thorough business man of you."

August 1867: Letter from [W.M. Smith] with title "Notes of Reference in buying Fall Stock," giving instructions on how to handle cash and credit arrangements in the North and touching on shipping considerations.

23 November 1867: Letter from the office of Wilson's Remedy in Williamsburg, New York, informing Lewis that the Reverend E.A. Wilson will not ship his cure for consumption without payment in advance.

1867?: Letter from unknown source at Salem Chapel, Forsyth County, North Carolina, about hard times and efforts being made to "disfranchise all the Respectable Whites and put Negroes in office."

7 June 1888: Commencement[?] program from Leaksville Practical High School.

12 November 1897: Letter and brochure from Reliance Nursery Company in Geneva, New York, listing fruit trees ordered and sent.

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