Chiefly correspondence between Charles Pettigrew and various religious leaders. Charles Pettigrew, though raised a Presbyterian, was ordained in the Anglican Church in 1775. His ministerial position in Edenton brought him into contact with Methodist leaders. These letters document Pettigrew's interest in the growing Methodist Church and show that, by 1784, Charles had rejected Methodism, largely because of the its position on infant baptism. For writings of Charles Pettigrew on this issue, see Subseries 3.1. Prominent among the correspondents are Francis Asbury, Devereux Jarratt, Edward Dromgoole, Charles Cupples, Caleb B. Peddicord, and Henry Metcalf. Also included is correspondence with Charles's former teacher, Henry Pattillo. Little family or plantation-related correspondence appears in this subseries. See also copies of Charles's letters in folder 509.

The ascendancy of Charles Pettigrew, the planter, over Charles Pettigrew, the minister. Charles's complete disenchantment with Methodism is documented in correspondence with Methodist minister Beverly Allen in 1785. During this time, Charles served as Anglican priest in Edenton, N.C. Rising to prominence in the church, Charles was named first Bishop Elect of the newly organized Diocese of North Carolina in 1794. He was never consecrated in this office, however, because of his refusal to travel through disease-ridden regions to the Episcopal conventions in Philadelphia.

Letters reveal that despite increased clerical responsibilities, Charles was devoting more and more time and energy to the serious development of land in Tyrrell County, N.C., that he purchased in the early 1780s. To a considerable extent, development projects proceeded in cooperation with the neighboring Collins family, their mutual interests leading to canal- and road-building partnerships. Also during this period, Charles journeyed to Haiti to engage in the slave trade in an effort to bolster the human stock on his developing plantations.

Family life emerges as a prominent topic during this period. Significant changes are documented in letters about the death of Charles's first wife, Mary Blount Pettigrew (whom Charles called Polly) in 1786 and his marriage to Mary Lockhart (also called Polly) in 1794. Included is material on Charles's participation in the first meetings of the University of North Carolina trustees to determine where to locate the new university. Correspondence with Charles's former teacher, Henry Pattillo, continues. See also copies of Charles's letters in folder 509.

Chiefly correspondence relating to the school activities of Charles's sons John and Ebenezer, John a member of the first class at the newly organized University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C, and Ebenezer a member of the University's preparatory school. Most of John's letters from Chapel Hill discussed topics dear to a student's heart--food, companions, and money. Charles countered with letters reflecting his concerns--morals, grades, and money. By 1798, Charles's increasing uneasiness with the loose atmosphere in Chapel Hill led him to make other arrangements for his children's education. John went to Nixonton to study medicine, and Ebenezer attended Edenton Academy from 1802 to 1804. John died suddenly on 20 August 1799, just as his father was investigating career opportunities for him. Meanwhile, University of North Carolina preparatory school correspondence continued between Ebenezer and his former classmates. Later (around 1804), correspondence between Ebenezer and Edenton Academy friends, among them James Iredell, Jr., began.

During this period, Bonarva and Belgrade plantations were carved out of the swampy region between Lake Phelps and the Scuppernong River. By 1799, Ebenezer was writing to John about a farmhouse being built at the Lake (Bonarva). Belgrade, located north of Bonarva, seems to come into its own around 1803 when Charles was in residence there. In mid-1804, Ebenezer left Edenton Academy and assumed primary responsibility for Bonarva. Much late-1804 correspondence contains advice and instructions about plantation management from Charles to his son.

Also of interest in this period are letters relating to slavery, including the sale of slaves (June 1803) and Charles's attitude toward the institution (1802-1804). See also copies of Charles's letters in folder 509.

Chiefly correspondence involving Ebenezer Pettigrew's running of the Pettigrew plantations. Charles Pettigrew died in 1807, leaving Ebenezer in charge of both Bonarva and Belgrade. Chief among the plantations's products were rice, wheat, corn, juniper shingles, and lumber. After his father's death, Ebenezer sought advice on plantation management from others. Letters show that these advisors included Thomas Trotter, Stuart Mollan, John Beasley, and Frederick Blount. During this period, Ebenezer also made frequent trips to Virginia and the North to establish and strengthen business relations with various firms there.

There is considerable family-oriented correspondence with Blount and Shepard relatives during these years. Of special significance is the beginning of a dialogue between Ebenezer and Ann Blount Shepard (Nancy), whom he later wed.

In 1809-1810, Ebenezer was a reluctant participant in state politics, serving as senator from Washington County. Few documents that reflect his activities in the state assembly survive. Letters from these years show Ebenezer as the first of many Pettigrews who, while serving their country, expressed their desire to avoid the public eye.

Note that there is no correspondence for 1813.

Correspondence covering the married life of Ebenezer Pettigrew. Included is continued exchange between Ebenezer and Thomas Trotter, John Beasley, Stuart Mollan, and Frederick Blount on plantation business. Crops were primarily rice, wheat, corn, and lumber. Frequent business trips generated correspondence between Ebenezer and distant suppliers and factors in New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk. Locally, Ebenezer dealt with merchants in Plymouth, Edenton, and New Bern. Among the most significant correspondents added during this period was James Cathcart Johnston of Hayes Plantation outside Edenton. Ebenezer entered into several business ventures with Johnston, among them canal building, road improvements, and the purchase of the canal boat Lady of the Lake (1829). Numerous letters attest to the change in this relationship, with Johnston quickly evolving from advisor on plantation management and business partner to close friend.

In 1815, Ebenezer married Ann Blount Shepard (Nancy) of New Bern. Because Ann refused to live in the swamps during unhealthy seasons, there is much correspondence between her in New Bern and Ebenezer at Lake Phelps. These letters treat subjects ranging from love to farming techniques. Although they lived apart during much of their married life, they managed to produce a large family. All nine children were born during this period. Two died in infancy. By 1829, three Pettigrew children--Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, William S. Pettigrew, and James--were at a school run by William Bingham in Hillsborough (later Hillsborough Academy). Ann died in childbirth in 1830.

There are also a few letters for this period that were exchanged between South Carolina Petigrus. These papers do not reveal any contact, however, between the two branches of the family during these years.

Correspondence chiefly focussing on agriculture, politics, and the education of Ebenezer's children. Ann's death marked the end of Ebenezer's happiness; starting in 1831, letters show that he became increasingly reclusive and introspective. While the older boys remained at Bingham's, the younger children--Mary B., James Johnston, Ann B. S., and probably Henry--were sent to live with Ann's sister Mary Williams Shepard Bryan and her husband, John Heritage Bryan in New Bern. From this time on, the Bryans are referred to as "Ma" and "Father"; Ebenezer is called "Pa".

Back in the swamps, Ebenezer Pettigrew continued managing Bonarva and Belgrade plantations, adding Magnolia plantation in the early 1840s. See also letter in folder 486. The plantations produced wheat, corn, and lumber; there was, however, a decline in the cultivation of rice. The Lady of the Lake was abandoned at sea in January 1837. Correspondence continued between Ebenezer and Thomas Trotter, John Beasley, and various supply houses and factors.

During this period, Ebenezer was involved in several agricultural experiments. A 15 May 1833 letter reveals a salt-making proposal. By 1837, he was cultivating and exporting Scuppernong grapes as far as New Orleans. In the late 1830s, Ebenezer and Josiah Collins, Jr., formed the Sahara Silk Company, a venture aimed at fostering silk production in the region. Although significant numbers of Mulberry leaves were imported, silk production never seems to have gotten off the ground, and the company was disbanded around 1844. Ebenezer's innovative approach to farming did not go unnoticed. In a November 1839 letter, Edmund Ruffin asked him to write an article on draining and cultivation techniques for Farmer's Register.

During this period, Ebenezer, once again with great reluctance, agreed to render further public service by standing as Whig candidate for to the United States House of Representatives. He served one apparently unremarkable term from 1835 to 1837 and refused to run again (14 January 1837). There is not much substantive material reflecting Ebenezer's role in Congress, but there is a sprinkling of letters from constituents seeking political favors ranging from patronage jobs to support for local internal improvements.

On the family front, letters document the deaths of two of Ebenezer's sons--Henry in 1831 and James, who suffered a most curious death at sea in November 1833. The Bryans, who had charge of Mary B., James Johnston, and Ann B. S., moved from New Bern to Raleigh in 1838. Writing from the state capital, Mary B. composed several letters containing observations on local politics. A significant family event occurred in November 1843, when Ebenezer re-established contact with the Petigru branch of the family in Charleston, S.C.

Ebenezer's surviving children were all in school during this period. After attending the academy at Hillsborough, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1836; William S. Pettigrew also attended William Bingham's school, but left the University of North Carolina without a degree in 1837. Both boys returned to the plantations to begin their careers as planters. James Johnston, after a brilliant career at Bingham's school, lived up to his reputation by graduating first in his class at the University of North Carolina (1847). Correspondence from their University days reveals that all of the Pettigrew boys were active members of the Philanthropic Society, a cultural and literary student association. After graduation, James Johnston briefly worked for the National Observatory in Washington, D.C. Quickly tiring of this work, he traveled for a time and then studied law in Baltimore. Many letters document the ongoing debate over what the brilliant James Johnston would do with his life. The Pettigrew girls began their education in Hillsborough, but Mary B. soon departed to continue her education in Washington, D.C., and Ann B. S., rejoining the Bryan household, attended the newly organized Saint Mary's School in Raleigh.

Of special interest in this period are highly descriptive letters from Charles Lockhart Pettigrew on his journey to Niagara Falls (summer 1836); letters from Henry Clay to Ebenezer (24 September 1841 and 1 June 1842); a charming valentine from Charleston, S.C. (February 1843); a letter to James Johnston from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow declining a request to serve as commencement speaker at the University of North Carolina (27 March 1847); letters about Whig politics between William S. Pettigrew and Ebenezer (late 1840s); and frequent correspondence between Ebenezer and James Cathcart Johnston and, starting around 1847, James Cathcart Johnston and William. A letter from William to James Cathcart Johnston presents a vivid description of the death of Ebenezer (8 July 1848).

Chiefly correspondence relating to family matters and travel. Upon the the death of Ebenezer Pettigrew, management of Belgrade and Magnolia passed to his son William S. Pettigrew Charles Lockhart Pettigrew managed Bonarva. Crop production (corn, wheat, and timber) remained as in previous periods, but experimentation and innovation largely ceased. James Cathcart Johnston became William's chief consultant on plantation management. Of special interest is a letter outlining the positive aspects of using slaves as overseers (9 January 1849). William was an attentive master; he wrote many letters on his slaves' behalf (see 31 October 1850, for example). Letters show, however, that he periodically had trouble with his slaves. (See series of letters beginning 4 November 1852 relating to the sale of a rebellious slave.)

In this period, James Johnston visited his Petigru relatives in Charleston, S.C. Letters, particularly around April 1849, provide a lively description of Charleston society. Subsequent letters reveal his further travels. In the early 1850s, James Johnston traveled to Europe, studying law in Berlin and working at the American Embassy in Madrid. Returning in 1853, he explored Cuba and the deep South, finally settling in Charleston, where he practiced law with his uncle James L. Petigru.

A frequent Petigru correspondent was Jane Caroline (Carey) North, daughter of James L. Petigru's sister, Jane Petigru North, and wife of Charles Lockhart Pettigrew. From Charleston, Carey wrote many letters to her mother, a widow running Badwell plantation at Abbeville, S.C. This correspondence largely reflects Carey's preoccupation with the Charleston social whirl and only peripherally deals with the struggles of her mother to manage Badwell on her own. The Pettigrew-Petigru connection having been strengthened by James Johnston's activities, it was solidified by the marriage of Carey to Charles Lockhart Pettigrew in 1853. Although their courtship generated few surviving letters, their European honeymoon is well documented.

While Ann B. S. remained with the Bryans in Raleigh, Mary B. traveled extensively among her Pettigrew and Petigru relatives.

Correspondence chiefly documenting the mature professional careers of the three sons of Ebenezer Pettigrew. During this period, William S. Pettigrew continued to manage Belgrade and Magnolia, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew and Carey settled at Bonarva and started a family, and James Johnston pursued an independent life in Charleston. Mary B. and Ann B. S. circulated among their Pettigrew and Petigru relatives.

In slavery's last years, William established a pattern of annual visits to the Virginia springs with James Cathcart Johnston. During these absences, William's slave overseers informed him of plantation activities in frequent letters written with the assistance of a white neighbor. Many issues relating to slavery are discussed in other letters from this period, including one from June 1858 that describes conditions in the new country of Liberia.

While Charles and Carey were a loving couple, they fared less successfully on the financial front. The first hints of Charles's poor business sense are evident in his purchase of Cherry Hill plantation in South Carolina (1857) and subsequent pleadings for cash from William and James Johnston.

Letters from this period show that, using James L. Petigru's law firm as a springboard, James Johnston launched a career in politics. In 1856, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. His career was cut short in 1858, however, by his open hostility towards the reopening of the slave trade coupled with his involvement in a mysterious duel. Disappointed in his prospects for advancement in the political arena, James Johnston retreated to Spain to write Spain and the Spaniards.

No documents reveal the circumstances surrounding the burning of the main house at Bonarva in 1860. It is clear, however, that this loss is a precursor of even more terrifying events on the horizon.

Material relating chiefly to Pettigrew family involvement in the Civil War. Correspondence reflects the various activities of family members, some of whom were actively engaged in war work and others whose lives were dramatically altered by wartime events.

Although James Johnston Pettigrew was a major figure in several important military campaigns, few surviving documents reflect his activities. There is, however, slight correspondence, chiefly discussing the hardships endured by soldiers in the field. See Subseries 3.5 for William S. Pettigrew's writings about his brother's service to the Confederacy and heroic death in 1863.

Much correspondence documents William's political maneuverings and his efforts to protect the family's holdings as the war closed in. William was elected to serve as Washington County's representative to the North Carolina Secession Convention (1861-1862), where he regretfully urged the state to leave the Union. See also subseries 3.5 for William's writings about the Convention. William's correspondence after secession documents his continued involvement in the political scene, serving the Confederacy in several positions. Towards the end of the war, William attempted to render more active service by joining a battalion of senior reserves (1865).

On the homefront, the fall of Roanoke Island in 1862 was a turning point for the Pettigrews. William and Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, fearing imminent invasion by northern forces, took the precaution of marching their slaves out of the swamps and into Chatham County in central North Carolina. This move is vividly described in a letter from Jane Caroline North Pettigrew to her mother (22 March 1862). Other correspondence, some of it written/dictated by the slaves themselves, shows that, from their temporary residence about 50 miles from Raleigh, they were hired out as laborers in the region.

While Mary B. Pettigrew continued, in an understandably curtailed way, to circulate among family members, Ann B. S. entered into a wartime marriage with the Reverend Neill McKay, a Presbyterian minister (1863). In 1864, however, the new bride succumbed to an unidentified illness. At her side was her brother William, who often stayed with the McKays at their residence in Summerville, N.C. See subseries 3.5 for William's description of his sister's death.

Other significant events documented in these papers include the death of James L. Petigru (1863) and the visit of Confederate vice-president Alexander Stephens to Cherry Hill plantation (22 August 1864).

Correspondence relating to the Pettigrew family's adjustment to post-war conditions. Documents reveal that, in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, the family returned to the swamps to wage a futile battle aimed at resurrecting their ante-bellum way of life. As part of this effort, William S. Pettigrew and Charles Lockhart Pettigrew attempted to lure their former slaves back to the land as day laborers. Also calculated to stabilize the family's financial position was William's attempt to expand the scope of his business contacts. Of particular interest is his frequent correspondence with Atlanta businessman A. K. Seago (starting in mid-1866), who was eager to lend the desperate planter ready funds. Letters throughout this period reflect William's increasing disenchantment with farming and indecision about what to do next. Around 1867, William, having decided to become an Episcopal minister, started to transfer business responsibilities to others. In 1869, William left agriculture behind him and was ordained as a deacon in the church.

During this period, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, his wife, and his children lived in much-reduced circumstances at Bonarva. Although it appears that no former slaves were tenants, some of the land was under cultivation by white tenant farmers. Charles Lockhart Pettigrew suffered throughout these years from a debilitating skin condition; Jane Caroline North Pettigrew attempted to educate her children at home. The eldest son, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., was sent, however, to school in Oxford, N.C.

Mary B. Pettigrew, in June 1868, married P. Fielding Browne, a doctor, and moved to Norfolk, Va. Much correspondence centers around her homesickness.

Correspondence relating to the family's continuing struggle to retain the lands around Lake Phelps. As of 1870, William S. Pettigrew was no longer actively involved in maintaining the family's holdings. In that year, he accepted a ministerial position in Henderson, N.C., and was ordained as a priest. Of special interest are letters between William and Thomas Atkinson, Episcopal bishop of North Carolina (ca. 1870). Later, William served several churches in the Warrenton, N.C., area. See Series 4 for details of William S. Pettigrew's church career. He also developed an interest in genealogy during this time, and corresponded with relatives in Ireland, with whom he discussed not only family history, but also poverty and tensions in the post-Civil War South and pre-rebellion Ireland. See Series 7 for family history materials.

By 1872, Mary B. Pettigrew and her husband, P. Fielding Browne, moved back to Bonarva; Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, his wife, and children (among them Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., Jane, Caroline, Tom, and Alice) moved to Belgrade. Letters indicate that Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., assumed increasing responsibility for farm operations as his father's health declined. In 1873, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew died.

In 1873, the Pettigrew family was deeply in debt. In July 1874, a loan from Dempsey Spruill raised the family's hopes, but, by 1880, Mary found it necessary to sell Bonarva to meet her debts. The purchaser, however, was a family member--S. Miller Williams, husband of Jane Pettigrew. Letters reveal that Miller at Bonarva and Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., at Magnolia struggled against drought, worms, rising debts and taxes, and the problems associated with free labor. This last subject surfaces many times in letters that focus directly or indirectly on the family's fight to make their plantations work without slavery. Within five years, the family was unable to meet its obligations, and, around December 1885, Spruill foreclosed on the land. The family then left the region, with various members taking up residence in Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, and other places.

Jane Caroline North Pettigrew's daughters Caroline, Mary, and Alice all attended school in these years, preparing for teaching careers. Because of the financial hardships of the period, many letters discuss how to fund their education. Correspondence with son Tom relates first to his education and later to his job as a civil engineer in the North. There is ample correspondence from Tom to his mother discussing the low pay, isolation, and difficult working conditions he faced. After losing the Pettigrew lands, Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., passed the North Carolina bar examination (1885) and began his legal career in Plymouth, N.C.

This period ends with the 1887 deaths, just weeks apart, of Jane Caroline North Pettigrew and Mary B. Pettigrew.

See also Subseries 1.13 for photocopies of similar materials from 1884 to 1908.

Correspondence of William S. Pettigrew, Jane Pettigrew, and other family members. After the deaths of Mary B. Pettigrew and Jane Caroline North Pettigrew in 1887, William devoted increasing amounts of time and energy to the past, publicizing details of James Johnston Pettigrew's military career and researching Pettigrew family and local Episcopal Church history. See Series 3 for writings of William S. Pettigrew, Series 4 for materials on church history, and Series 7 for family history materials.

During this period, Caroline and Alice Pettigrew taught at female boarding schools, Caroline becoming assistant principal at a female academy in Richmond, Va., in 1895. Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., rose to some prominence as a lawyer and was described in two of William's letters as the region's choice for state attorney general (March 1892). He was not nominated at the state Democratic convention, however, and, soon after, moved to Atlanta, Ga., where he married and became a judge.

See also Subseries 1.13 for photocopies of similar materials from 1884 to 1908.

Photocopies of correspondence collected by S. Miller Williams, Jr. This material is essentially of the same sort as the other correspondence for the period. Alice Pettigrew is the chief correspondent; letters are chiefly between her and her aunt Minnie North, her brother Tom, and other relatives and associates.

Material relates to the loss of the Pettigrew plantations; to Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr.'s successful legal career; to the republication (ca. 1899) of James Johnston Pettigrew's Spain and the Spaniards ; and to family social matters. A letter of 16 February 1887 tells of how a drunk Arthur Collins, after losing Somerset plantation, sat on the porch at the Collins's Weston plantation and threatened to turn his bulldogs on anyone who tried to take that property away from him. Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, Jr., was his lawyer in an unsuccessful attempt to hold onto the land.

Letters to Alice Pettigrew in February 1908, one from R. D. W. Connor, document the North Carolina Historical Commission's desire to obtain the Pettigrew Papers.

Undated letters and letter fragments of Pettigrew family members and others. The letters, which chiefly relate to family matters, are arranged by recipient. However, when the sender is identifiable and the recipient is either unknown or not a family member, the letter is filed under the sender's name.

Unbound materials relating to financial and legal matters. Included are letters that are essentially receipts or confirmations of purchase orders. Other business letters are filed in Series 1.

Arrangement: chronological by latest date.

All volumes may be classified as account books; they are listed in chronological order according to latest date covered. The keeper of the volume is indicated. While most volumes contain financial information only, a few include miscellaneous remarks, clippings, recipes, and cures or remedies.

See also writings in Series 4. School Materials.

See also Series 6 for writings relating to his activities as a priest in the Episcopal Church.

Journals recording visits to church members and other local people. Included are names, locations, "predilection" or church membership of people visited, biographical data, and other information. Note that, because of overlapping dates among journals, years may be covered in more than one volume.

Records of Pettigrew's salary promised and received, amounts of offerings, distribution of funds, baptisms, burials, marriages, and confirmations. Pettigrew maintained these records in separate volumes according to church or parish, except for one volume containing miscellaneous records, 1879-1898.

Records of sermons delivered, including dates, places, duration, black and white attendance, amount of offerings, accompanying hymns, and other information. Also included is miscellaneous material relating to sermons--sermon titles, biblical texts, outlines, and notes on places and dates of delivery. Note that records for many years are missing.

Records of church-related expenses, including work done at the rectory at Ridgeway.

Chiefly material collected or written by Pettigrew about the Episcopal Church in North Carolina. Included are materials relating to Pettigrew's personal commitment to the church, church history, and the diocesan conventions of 1874 and 1877. Also included are the records, 1845-1881, of Saint Luke's Parish, Mecklenburg, Va., and other parish records.