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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 FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 5.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,650 items) |
| Abstract | Prominent members of the Polk and Yeatman family of North Carolina and Tennessee included William Polk (1758-1834), land speculator and North Carolina federal internal revenue supervisor; his son Lucius Junius (1802-1870) and grandson Will, planters of Maury County, Tenn.; Lucius's son-in-law Henry Clay Yeatman (d. 1910), Nashville lawyer and Confederate colonel; and Yeatman's stepfather John Bell (1797-1869), Nashville lawyer, Whig leader, United States representative (1827-1839), United States senator (1847-1859), and Constitutional Union Party presidential candidate (1860). The collection includes personal and business papers of three generations of the Polk and Yeatman family of North Carolina and Tennessee. Materials through the 1830s are chiefly letters and legal papers of William Polk of Raleigh, dealing with his widespread land speculation in North Carolina and Tennessee and his position as federal internal revenue supervisor for North Carolina. There are also, particularly in the 1820s, items relating to the treatment of slaves on North Carolina plantations. Papers from the 1830s through the 1890s relate mainly to the Maury County, Tenn., cotton plantations of Lucius Junius and Will Polk, including some items about the treatment of slaves; to Henry Clay Yeatman's law practice; and, particularly 1840-1861, to the political and personal life of John Bell. A letter each from Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk are included. Later materials relate to various enterprises in which Polk family members were involved, including a dry goods store and livestock firms. There is much family correspondence, especially after 1861, and scattered business and personal items of members of the related Hawkins, Devereux, and Rayner families. The Addition of May 2009 consists of an 1827 autographed letter from William Polk to the Adjutant General of the United States Army concerning the absence of his son, Leonidas Polk, and the possible delay of the latter's acceptance of his appointment as Brevet Second Lieutenant of Artillery. |
| Creator | Polk family.
Yeatman family |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
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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Biographical
Information
William Polk (1758-1834) was a member of a prominent Mecklenburg County, N.C., family and a Revolutionary War officer. He moved to Raleigh, where he became a bank president, holder of extensive lands (at one point owning over 100,000 acres in Tennessee), trustee of the University of North Carolina, and civic leader. His first wife was Grizelda Gilchrist, with whom he had two sons, Thomas G. and William J., who was the father of Confederate Brigadier General Lucius Eugene Polk (1833-1892). William Polk later married Sarah Hawkins, with whom he had twelve children, among whom were Leonidas (1806-1864); Mary, who married George E. Badger; Susan, who married Kenneth Rayner; and Lucius Junius, who married first Mary Ann Estin (niece of Mrs. Andrew Jackson), and later Ann Pope.
Lucius Junius Polk (1802-1870) was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1822. He then moved to Maury County, Tenn., where he became a planter. One of his sons was Will, who helped run the Maury County plantation and later ran a dry goods store. Will and other Polk family members were also involved in the trading and breeding of livestock. Lucius's son-in-law was Henry Clay Yeatman (d. 1910), Nashville lawyer and Confederate colonel. Yeatman was the son of Jane Erwin Yeatman Bell and the step-son of John Bell, United States senator and presidential candidate.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes personal and business papers of three generations of the Polk and Yeatman family of North Carolina and Tennessee. Materials through the 1830s are chiefly letters and legal papers of William Polk of Raleigh, N.C., dealing with his widespread land speculation in North Carolina and Tennessee and his position as federal internal revenue supervisor for North Carolina. There are also, particularly in the 1820s, items relating to the treatment of slaves on North Carolina plantations. Papers from the 1830s through the 1890s relate mainly to the Maury County, Tenn., cotton plantations of Lucius Junius Polk and Will Polk, including some items about the treatment of slaves; to Henry Clay Yeatman's law practice; and, particularly 1840-1861, to the political and personal life of John Bell. Later materials relate to various enterprises in which Polk family members were involved, including a dry goods store and livestock firms. There is much family correspondence, especially after 1861, and scattered business and personal items of members of the related Hawkins, Devereux, and Rayner families.
Most bills and receipts, as well as account ledger sheets, relating to family members appear in Series 2. Miscellaneous Materials include a small number of clippings and a tintype, ca. 1910s, of an unidentified woman.
Volumes include ledgers and letter copy books of William Polk, 1797-1834; notebooks and accounts of Lucius Junius Polk, 1821-1872; and letterpress copies of Henry Clay Yeatman's letters, 1818-1876.
The Addition of May 2009 consists of an autographed letter from 1827 written by William Polk to the Adjutant General of the United States Army concerning the absence of his son, Leonidas Polk, and the possible delay of the latter's acceptance of his appointment as Brevet Second Lieutenant of Artillery.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence and Other Papers, 1773-1915.
Correspondence, legal and financial materials, and other papers of Polk and Yeatman family members. Materials before 1840 are chiefly about business matters, but there are also many documents that relate to both local and national political issues. Later materials relate chiefly to family matters. There is little material that discusses the Civil War directly.
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Subseries 1.1. 1773-1833.
Chiefly materials about William Polk's business dealings in Mecklenburg County and Raleigh, N.C., and in Tennessee, where Polk was accumulating large land holdings. There are many legal documents relating to purchases of land. In the 1820s, most of the letters are to William from his sons at various locations in North Carolina and Tennessee. There are a few items relating to William's work as federal internal revenue supervisor for North Carolina, but most of the materials about this work is to be found in Series 4. Also included are many papers relating to other Polk family members, especially William's son Lucius Junius Polk, who settled in Tennessee around 1822. Correspondents include Sam Johnston (31 May 1824, 19 September 1825); David Swain (3 October 1831); and James K. Polk (28 November 1832).
Among the topics discussed are: 1783: surveying land in Mississippi; 1794: relaxation of the British Decree of Council respecting capture of American vessels bound for Europe and the quarrel between Spain and England on this issue; 1820: treatment of runaway slaves; 1822: poisoning of family by slaves, Andrew Jackson, establishing a town on land held by the University of North Carolina; 1823-1824: Jackson's chances at winning the election; 1825: honoring the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence; 1829: reactions to Jackson's appointments; 1832-1833: nullification, Henry Clay. This series ends in 1833 with William Polk's death (actually 14 January 1834).
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Subseries 1.2. 1834-1861.
Chiefly materials relating to William Polk's sons, especially Lucius Junius Polk, who had a plantation in Maury County, Tenn., and Lucius's son Will Polk, who was also in Maury County. Most of the letters are to Sarah Polk, William's widow, and mainly convey family news with occasional comments on politics and financial affairs. Beginning around 1843, there are also a few items relating to the political and business careers of John Bell, who, besides serving in Congress and running for president in 1860, owned several Tennessee coal mines. In the late 1850s, there are letters from Henry Clay Yeatman to his wife, chiefly asking for family news and reporting on various locations he visited. Included is a letter from Andrew Jackson (16 October 1836) about appointing a private secretary.
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Subseries 1.3. 1862-1915.
Chiefly family correspondence. Included are many items relating to the Yeatman branch of the family, including letters from Henry Clay Yeatman to his wife from various locations, but mostly from New Orleans to which he frequently traveled on business. There are also many items relating to the business ventures of Polk family members, which included livestock trading and breeding, banking, and railroad engineering. There are a few items relating directly to the Civil War. These include one letter, dated 24 December 1864, announcing the confiscation of Henry Clay Yeatman's property in Nashville, Tenn., by the United States Treasury Department, since the property's owner was fighting against the United States, and another letter, dated 16 December 1865, in which the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands gave what appears to be the same property back to Yeatman.
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Subseries 1.4. Undated and fragments, (probably after 1861).
Undated materials, most of which are family letters or fragments of letters.
| Folder 59-72 |
Undated and fragments #00606, Subseries: "1.4. Undated and fragments, (probably after 1861)." Folder 59-72Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72 |
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Series 2. Bills and Receipts, 1780-1903.
Arrangement: Roughly sorted by year.
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Subseries 2.1. 1780-1833.
Chiefly bills and receipts, but also promissory notes, account ledger sheets, and other items relating to business transactions and personal finance of William Polk and other family members.
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Subseries 2.2. 1834-1861.
Chiefly bills, receipts, and other business and personal finance items relating to the sons of William Polk, mainly Lucius Junius Polk and his plantation in Maury County, Tenn. There are also a few items relating to Henry Clay Yeatman and his family and to John Bell and his Tennessee coal business.
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Subseries 2.3. 1862-1903.
Chiefly bills, receipts, and other business and personal finance items, especially relating to the Henry Clay Yeatman family. There are also a few items in the 1870s relating to Will Polk's dry goods store in Polk's Landing, Tenn., and to the livestock business in which several of the Polk were involved.
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Series 3. Miscellaneous Materials, 1857-1916.
Clippings, chiefly from the 1880s through the 1910s, relating to members of the Polk family, and one tintype portrait, ca. 1910, of an unknown young woman.
| Folder 103 |
Clippings #00606, Series: "3. Miscellaneous Materials, 1857-1916." Folder 103 |
| Special Format Image SF-P-606/1 |
Tintype #00606, Series: "3. Miscellaneous Materials, 1857-1916." SF-P-606/1 |
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Series 4. Volumes, 1797-1890.
Arrangement: chronological.
Volumes include ledgers and lettercopy books of William Polk, 1797-1834; notebooks and accounts of Lucius Junius Polk, 1821-1872; and letterpress copies of Henry Clay Yeatman's letters, 1818-1876.
Note that, because of its use during two different time periods, Volume 14 has been split between Subseries 4.1 and 4.2.
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Subseries 4.1. 1797-1861.
| Folder 104 |
Volume 1, August 1797-March 1801 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 104Manuscript lettercopy book of William Polk, supervisor of internal revenue for North Carolina at Charlotte and Raleigh, containing copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence, chiefly with other revenue officials. |
| Folder 105 |
Volume 2, 1800-1817 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 105Personal and business accounts of William Polk in Raleigh. |
| Folder 106 |
Volume 3, June 1802-March 1808 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 106Manuscript lettercopy book of William Polk, supervisor of internal revenue for North Carolina at Raleigh. |
| Folder 107 |
Volume 4, 1821-1830 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 107Notebook containing accounts of William Polk's journey to Tennessee and notes on land in Tennessee; lists of weights of cotton bales; copies of receipts of Lucius Junius Polk; and other memoranda and accounts. |
| Folder 108 |
Volume 5, 1821-1832 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 108Manuscript lettercopy book, chiefly containing copies of letters of William Polk to Samuel Dickens, agent and attorney for Polk in Tennessee. Also contains copies of letters from William to Lucius Junius Polk. |
| Folder 109 |
Volume 6, 1821-1838 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 109Ledger of William Polk, containing accounts with doctors, lawyers, merchants, etc. Also contains accounts of Sarah Polk as executor of William's estate, 1834-1838. |
| Folder 110 |
Volume 7, 1821 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 110Notebook of Lucius Junius Polk while a student at the University of North Carolina, containing notes from Professor Olmstead's chemistry lectures and other classes.
Digital version: Grey's Memoria Technica, Excerpt from Lucius J. Polk's Notebook, 12 August 1821
Digital version: "College Rules," Poem by Lucius J. Polk, [1821] |
| Folder 111 |
Volume 8, 1824-1837 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 111A few copies of letters of William Polk, 1832-1833; William Polk's accounts, 1824-1833; and accounts of William Polk's estate, 1834-1837. |
| Folder 112 |
Volume 9, 1831-1847; 1871 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 112Plantation records of Ashwood Farm, Maury County, Tenn. |
| Folder 113 |
Volume 10, 1834-1837 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 113Accounts of the William Polk estate and of Lucius Junius Polk. |
| Folder 114 |
Volume 11, 1838-1842 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 114Stud book, listing horses and other animals. |
| Folder 115 |
Volume 12, 1843-1851 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 115Accounts of Lucius Junius Polk, including those for Sarah Polk's estate. |
| Folder 116 |
Volume S-13, 1853-1854; 1860 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 116Lucius Junius Polk's lumber accounts and other items. |
| Folder 117 |
Volume 14, Part 1, 1859-1861 #00606, Subseries: "4.1. 1797-1861." Folder 117(p. 1-63). Lucius Junius Polk's accounts for Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm. |
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Subseries 4.2. 1866-1890.
Volume 14, Part 2, 1866-1872 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 117(p. 64-291). Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm accounts. |
|
| Folder 118-119 |
Volumes 15 and 16, January 1866-October 1875 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 118-119Letterpress copybooks of Henry Clay Yeatman at Nashville and New Orleans about bottom brokering, collections and legal work, and other business deals. Folder 118Folder 119 |
| Folder 120-121 |
Volumes S-17 and S-18, 1872 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 120-121Materials relating to the estate of Anthony W. Vauleer. Folder 120Folder 121 |
| Folder 122 |
Volumes 19, October 1872-October 1875 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 122Accounts of Will Polk at Polk's Landing, Tenn., for general merchandise and provisions. |
| Folder 123 |
Volume 20, 1875-1890 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 123Farm accounts of Lucius Junius and Will Polk, including records of livestock sales. |
| Folder 124 |
Volume 21, 1876 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 124Accounts of Will Polk for provisions, labor, etc. |
| Folder 125 |
Volume 22, 1878-1884 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 125Farm accounts, including livestock sales, slaughter, etc. |
| Folder 126 |
Volume S-23, 1878-1887 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 126Horse breeding records. Included is a pamphlet advertising harness and saddle horses for sale by Will and Lucius Junius Polk. |
| Folder 127 |
Volume 24: 1878-1880 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 127Alphabetical listing of persons, possibly all involved in livestock trading, and miscellaneous memoranda and livestock records. |
| Folder 128 |
Volumes 25, 1884-1885 #00606, Subseries: "4.2. 1866-1890." Folder 128Stock breeding records. |
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Additions
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Addition of May 2009 (Acc. 101107).
| Folder 129 |
Letter, 1827 #00606, Subseries: "Addition of May 2009 (Acc. 101107)." Folder 129Autographed 1827 letter from William Polk to Adjutant General of the United States Army Roger Jones concerning the absence of his son, Leonidas Polk, and the possible delay of the latter's acceptance of his appointment as Brevet Second Lieutenant of Artillery. |
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Items Separated
P-606/1(SP) in series 3 and Volumes S-13; S-17; S-18; S-23 in series 4.
Back to TopProcessed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 1991
Encoded by: Mara Dabrishus, September 2004
Some of this inventory is based on information from previous inventories written by SHC staff.
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the encoding of this finding aid.
Additions received after 2009 have not been integrated into the original deposits. Researchers should always check additions to be sure they have identified all files of interest to them.
Revisions: Finding aid updated in November 2010 by Matt Dailey because of addition.
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