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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 Duplication Policy section for more information.
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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 5.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,650 items) |
| Abstract | The collection documents three generations of the white Polk and Yeatman families and people they enslaved at family plantations in North Carolina and Tennessee, including Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm in Maury County, Tenn. Correspondence, financial papers, and volumes document the trafficking of enslaved people and punishment of their acts of resistance; William Polk's (1758-1834) land speculation in North Carolina and Tennessee; his work as a federal internal revenue supervisor in North Carolina; cotton plantation management by Lucius Junius Polk (1802-1870) and Will Polk in Tennessee; and various enterprises in which Polk family members were involved, including a dry goods store and livestock firms. Other materials relate to Henry Clay Yeatman's (d. 1910) law practice in Nashville, Tenn., and to the political and personal life of John Bell (1797-1869), Nashville lawyer, Whig leader, United States representative, United States senator, and Constitutional Union Party presidential candidate. Also of note are a letter from William Polk to the Adjutant General of the United States Army concerning Leonidas Polk, and one letter each from Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk. There is much family correspondence, especially after 1861, and scattered business and personal items of members of the related Hawkins, Devereux, and Rayner families. |
| Creator | Polk family.
Yeatman family |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 1991
Encoded by: Mara Dabrishus, September 2004
Revisions: Finding aid updated in November 2010 by Matt Dailey because of addition.
Conscious Editing by Nancy Kaiser, December 2020: Updated collection overview, subject headings, biographical note, scope and content, and contents list.
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.
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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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Related Collections
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Biographical Information
William Polk (1758-1834) was a member of a well-known Mecklenburg County, N.C., family. a Revolutionary War officer, and an enslaver. He moved to Raleigh, where he became a bank president, holder of extensive lands (at one point owning over 100,000 acres in Tennessee), and a trustee of the University of North Carolina. He was also active in the public sphere. 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 speculated in land and enslaved people. 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, Nashville lawyer, Whig leader, United States representative (1827-1839), United States senator (1847-1859), and Constitutional Union Party presidential candidate (1860).
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Scope and Content
The collection documents three generations of the white Polk and Yeatman families and people they enslaved at family plantations in North Carolina and Tennessee, including Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm in Maury County, Tenn.
Series 1 consists of correspondence that documents the trafficking of enslaved people and punishment of their acts of resistance; William Polk's (1758-1834) land speculation in North Carolina and Tennessee; his work as a federal internal revenue supervisor in North Carolina; cotton plantation management of Lucius Junius Polk (1802-1870) and Will Polk in Maury County, Tenn.; and various enterprises in which Polk family members were involved, including a dry goods store and livestock firms. Other materials relate to the political and personal life of 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). Also of note are one letter each from Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk. There is much family correspondence, especially after 1861, and scattered business and personal items of members of the related Hawkins, Devereux, and Rayner families.
Series 1A (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.
Series 2 consists of bills and receipts, as well as account ledger sheets.
Series 3 consists of a small number of clippings and a tintype, circa 1910s, of an unidentified woman.
Series 4 consists of ledgers and letter copy books of William Polk, 1797-1834; notebooks and accounts of Lucius Junius Polk, 1821-1872, including plantation records for Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm and livestock operations; letterpress copies of Henry Clay Yeatman's letters, 1818-1876, relating to his law practice in Nashville, Tenn.; and other volumes.
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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 that document the white Polk and Yeatman family members and people enslaved by them. Materials are described in three time period groupings: 1773-1833, 1834-1861, and 1862-1915. In general, papers dated before 1840 are about business matters, and both local and national political issues. Later materials relate chiefly to family matters. There is little material that discusses the Civil War directly.
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).
Enslaved people are discussed in the context of trafficking in 1820 and 1822; punishment following an attempted self-emancipation in 1820; and the suspected poisoning of a family by enslaved people in 1822. Other 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; 1822: Andrew Jackson and 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).
1834-1861
Chiefly materials relating to William Polk's sons, especially Lucius Junius Polk, who had Hamilton Place, 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 Polk'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.
1862-1915
Chiefly family correspondence, especially of the Yeatman branch of the family. There are 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 American Civil War. These include one letter, 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, 16 December 1865, in which the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands gave what appears to be the same property back to Yeatman.
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 1773-1779Merchant partnership contract, minutes of a meeting of surveyors intending to survey land in Mississippi. |
| Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1784-1785 |
| Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1786-1789 |
| Folder 4 |
Correspondence, 1790-17991794: 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; defeat of Duke of York. |
| Folder 5 |
Correspondence, 1800-18131800: Land reserved for officers and solders. |
| Folder 6 |
Correspondence, 1814-1819 |
| Folder 7 |
Correspondence, 1820-18212 April 1820: punishment of enslaved people who attempted self-emancipation. 17 July 1820: trafficking of enslaved people and the sale of property. |
Folder 8-10
Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10 |
Correspondence, 182216 January 1822: trafficking of enslaved people and the sale of property. 22 May 1822: suspected poisoning of a white family by 7 or 8 of the enslaved people on their plantation. Andrew Jackson; establishing a town on land held by the University of North Carolina. |
Folder 11-12
Folder 11Folder 12 |
Correspondence, 1823Andrew Jackson's chances at winning the election. |
Folder 13-14
Folder 13Folder 14 |
Correspondence, 1824Andrew Jackson's chances at winning the election. |
Folder 15-16
Folder 15Folder 16 |
Correspondence, 1825Celebration of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. |
Folder 17-18
Folder 17Folder 18 |
Correspondence, 1826 |
| Folder 19 |
Correspondence, 1827 |
Folder 20-21
Folder 20Folder 21 |
Correspondence, 1828 |
| Folder 22 |
Correspondence, 1829Trafficking of enslaved people; health of enslaved people; account of Houston(?) retiring to live with indigenous people of North America. |
| Folder 23 |
Correspondence, 1830-1831Reactions to Andrew Jackson's appointments. |
| Folder 24 |
Correspondence, 1832-1833Nullification; Henry Clay; William Polk's death (actually 14 January 1834). |
| Folder 25 |
Correspondence, 1834-1835 |
| Folder 26 |
Correspondence, 1836-183716 October 1836: from Andrew Jackson, about appointing a private secretary. |
| Folder 27 |
Correspondence, 1838-1839 |
| Folder 28 |
Correspondence, 1840-1841 |
| Folder 29 |
Correspondence, 1842-1843President John Tyler, elected on the Whig ticket, and the loco-focos, a faction of the Democratic Party in the 1830s and 180s. |
| Folder 30 |
Correspondence, 1844-1846 |
| Folder 31 |
Correspondence, 1847-1849 |
| Folder 32 |
Correspondence, 1850-1852 |
| Folder 33 |
Correspondence, 1853-1855 |
| Folder 34 |
Correspondence, 1856 |
| Folder 35 |
Correspondence, 1857 |
| Folder 36 |
Correspondence, 1858-1859 |
| Folder 37 |
Correspondence, 1860-1861 |
| Folder 37a |
Correspondence, Undated and fragments (probably before 1862) |
| Folder 38 |
Correspondence, 1862-1864Includes letter, 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, 16 December 1865, in which the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands gave what appears to be the same property back to Yeatman. |
| Folder 39 |
Correspondence, 1865-1867 |
| Folder 40 |
Correspondence, 1868-1869 |
| Folder 41 |
Correspondence, 1870-1876 |
| Folder 42 |
Correspondence, 1877-1879 |
| Folder 43 |
Correspondence, 1880-1882 |
| Folder 44 |
Correspondence, 1883 |
| Folder 45 |
Correspondence, 1884 |
| Folder 46 |
Correspondence, 1885 |
| Folder 47 |
Correspondence, 1886 |
| Folder 48 |
Correspondence, 1887 |
| Folder 49 |
Correspondence, 1888 |
| Folder 50 |
Correspondence, 1889 |
| Folder 51 |
Correspondence, 1890 |
| Folder 52 |
Correspondence, 1891-1892 |
| Folder 53 |
Correspondence, 1893 |
| Folder 54 |
Correspondence, 1894-1895 |
| Folder 55 |
Correspondence, 1896-1897 |
| Folder 56 |
Correspondence, 1898-1899 |
| Folder 57 |
Correspondence, 1900-1902 |
| Folder 58 |
Correspondence, 1903-1915 |
Folder 59-72
Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72 |
Correspondence, Undated and fragmentsUndated materials, most of which are family letters or fragments of letters. |
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Series 1A. Correspondence, 1827 (Addition of May 2009).
Acquisition information: Accession 101107
Autographed 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.
| Folder 129 |
Letter, 1827 |
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Series 2. Bills and Receipts, 1780-1903.
Arrangement: Roughly sorted by year.
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.
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.
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 |
| Special Format Image SF-P-606/1 |
Tintype of unidentified woman |
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Series 4. Volumes, 1797-1890.
Arrangement: chronological.
Ledgers and letter copy books of William Polk, 1797-1834; notebooks and accounts of Lucius Junius Polk, 1821-1872, including plantation records for Hamilton Place and Ashwood Farm and livestock operations; letterpress copies of Henry Clay Yeatman's letters, 1818-1876, relating to his law practice in Nashville, Tenn.; and other volumes.
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Items Separated
