Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#1568
JAMES GRAHAM RAMSAY PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: James Graham Ramsay (1823-1903) attended Davidson
College, 1823-1841, and Jefferson Medical College in
Philadelphia, 1844-1848, and practiced medicine in
Iredell and Rowan counties, N.C. He was a Whig state
senator, 1856-1864, and served in the Confederate
Congress. After the war, he was active in the state
Republican Party and served again in the legislature
in 1883. His children included James Hill Ramsay (d.
1930), longtime postmaster of Salisbury, N.C., and
delegate to the 1896 national Republican convention,
and Claudius C. Ramsay (1865-1930), a prominent
citizen of Seattle, Wash.
Political, personal, and family papers of Ramsay
family members. Political correspondence chiefly
concerns activities of the Confederate Congress and of
the N.C. Republican Party from Reconstruction until
1930. Correspondents include N.C. Governor Jonathan
Worth and Senator Jeter Conley Pritchard. There is
also family correspondence relating to social,
financial, and economic conditions on the Tennessee
and Ohio frontiers in the 1790s and in 19th-century
Alabama and Seattle, Wash. In 1884, there are letters
from William G. Ramsay, working and traveling in
Africa. In 1895, there are materials relating to
Sarah Foster Ramsay's fatal battle, possibly with
breast cancer. Education of both male and female
Ramsays figures in the papers, from James Graham
Ramsay's tenure at Davidson College and Jefferson
Medical College to his daughter's attending college in
the 1860s. Financial and legal materials include
records of medical treatments of both slave and free
populations and hiring out of slaves, 1829-1846.
There are also many speeches and writings by James
Graham Ramsay, including a series of courtship letters
to his wife, his autobiography, and diaries, with
brief entries documenting daily activities. Also
included are a few diaries, 1822-1839, of Ramsay's
mother and writings of other family members on
religious and political themes. There is also a
notebook of Ramsay's brother-in-law, containing cures
for various ailments and detailed histories of notable
medical cases.
Online Catalog Terms:
Africa--Description and travel--To 1900.
Alabama--Social life and customs--19th century.
Confederate States of America. Congress.
Courtship--History--19th century.
Davidson College--Students--History--19th century.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Frontier and pioneer life--Ohio.
Frontier and pioneer life--Tennessee.
Iredell County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Jefferson Medical College--Students--History--19th century.
Medicine--Practice--North Carolina--History--19th century.
North Carolina. General Assembly. Senate--History--19th
century.
North Carolina--Politics and government--19th century.
North Carolina--Politics and government--20th century.
Physicians--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Pritchard, Jeter Conley, 1847-1921.
Ramsay, Claudius C., 1865-1930.
Ramsay family.
Ramsay, J. G. (James Graham).
Ramsay, James Hill, d. 1930.
Republican Party (N.C.)--History.
Rowan County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Salisbury (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
Seattle (Wash.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Slaves--Employment--North Carolina.
Slaves--Medical care--North Carolina.
Women--Diaries--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Women--Education--North Carolina--History--19th century.
Women--Health and hygiene--History--19th century.
Worth, Jonathan, 1802-1869.
Size: About 3000 items (6.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from James Graham Ramsay of Washington,
N.C., in 1949; and Rosamond Putzel of Chapel Hill,
N.C., in November (Acc. 91156) and December (Acc.
91165) 1991.
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
Series 3. Writings
Series 4. Genealogical Materials
Series 5. Other Materials
Shelf List
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
James Graham Ramsay was born on 1 March 1823 on his father's
small plantation in Iredell County, N.C. His parents David (d.
1857) and Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay (d. 1855?) were both of
Scotch-Irish descent. The Ramsays had emigrated in 1695 to
Pennsylvania, and John Graham Ramsay's grandfather had moved to
Iredell's Coddle Creek community in 1766.
Ramsay entered Davidson College in 1838 and was graduated
three years later. He taught school for a year, then studied
medicine with his brother-in-law before entering the Jefferson
Medical College in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in
1848.
In 1846, he married Sarah Foster of Davie County, N.C. Their
children were Margaret Foster (d. 1909), Florence May, David W.,
James Hill (d. 1930), Edgar B. (d. 1917), William G., Robert L.,
and Claudius C. (1865-1930).
After graduation, James Graham Ramsay opened an office at
Palermo, his home near Cleveland, Rowan County, N.C., where he
practiced for the next 51 years. In 1849, he helped organize the
first medical society in Rowan. He also farmed; the 1860 census
valued his holdings at $10,000 in real estate and reported that
he owned five slaves.
Ramsay was an active Whig, campaigning vigorously for various
candidates and serving in the state Senate from 1856 to 1864,
where he was a peace advocate until Lincoln's 1861 call for
volunteers to quell the Southern rebellion. In 1863, Ramsay won
a seat in the Confederate Congress, promising to work for an
honorable peace. In the Confederate Congress, he was a strong
supporter of states' rights over the needs of the Confederacy.
By April 1865, he was working to hold a convention to return
North Carolina to the Union.
After the war, Ramsay became active in the state Republican
Party. In 1872, he was a presidential elector and, in 1882, was
returned to the North Carolina Senate for one term. He declined
a diplomatic post in South America that President Rutherford B.
Hayes offered him.
Ramsay spent his last years in Salisbury, N.C., with his son
James Hill Ramsay. He died on 10 January 1903 and was buried in
the cemetery of the Third Creek Presbyterian Church near
Cleveland, where he had been a ruling elder for 49 years.
[Based on a note by Buck Yearns in the Dictionary of North
Carolina Biography, Vol. 5, P-S, ed. William B. Powell (1994).]
Collection Overview
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence and Related Items
Subseries 1.1. 1790-1829
Subseries 1.2. 1834-1883
Subseries 1.3. 1884-1903
Subseries 1.4. 1904-1930; 1936; 1955
Subseries 1.5. Undated
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
Subseries 2.1. Loose papers
Subseries 2.2. Volumes
Series 3. Writings
Subseries 3.1. Writings of James Graham Ramsay
Subseries 3.1.1. Addresses and Essays
Subseries 3.1.2. Autobiography
Subseries 3.1.3. Diaries
Subseries 3.1.4. Other writings
Subseries 3.2. Writings by Others
Series 4. Genealogical Materials
Subseries 4.1. Genealogical Writings
Subseries 4.2. Genealogical Notes
Series 5. Other Materials
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence and Related Items
1790-1955 and undated. About 1750 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Subseries 1.1. 1790-1829
About 30 items.
Largely letters to Nancy McCorkle Ramsay and Robert Ramsay,
paternal grandparents of James Graham Ramsay, from various family
members.
The earliest letters are from Betty Andrews to Nancy McCorkle
Ramsay and address personal and religious issues. Early letters
to Robert Ramsay are from friends and family in Tennessee,
notably Thomas Knox and Hugh and Hannah Robinson. Letters from
1813 on are almost entirely family missives from various male and
female McCorkles to their Ramsay counterparts. All of these
originate in Tennessee or Ohio and include descriptions of life
on the western frontier and family relations. There is one
letter from Robert Ramsay to Alexander McCorkle in Tennessee.
Folder 1 1790-1810
2 1813-1820
3 1822-1829
Subseries 1.2. 1834-1883
About 340 items.
Letters center almost exclusively around James Graham Ramsay,
although there is some correspondence of his father, David
Ramsay, until his death in 1857. There are also a few items
relating to various children of James Graham Ramsay towards the
end of the subseries.
Letters to and from James Graham Ramsay while he was away at
Davidson College and the Jefferson Medical College make up the
bulk of the personal correspondence until about 1848. These are
chiefly letters from his mother, Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay,
and wife, Sarah Foster Ramsay. In addition, there are letters
from James Graham Ramsay to his father, all of which deal with
family news and daily life. There are also a few letters from
friends and relatives, including a letter from Richard T.
Dismukes, a physician who married Ramsay's sister Martha.
Correspondence during the 1850s includes family correspondence
of David and James Graham Ramsay relating to a variety of topics.
A letter to David Ramsay in 1855 appears to bemoan the death of
Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay, although her name is never
mentioned. Other letters are related to economic, business,
political, and medical issues. James Graham Ramsay served in the
North Carolina Senate during this period, and much of his
correspondence details life--and to a lesser extent, politics--in
Raleigh.
Family correspondence around the Civil War consists largely of
letters from Ramsay to his wife Sarah Foster Ramsay when he was
serving in both the North Carolina and Confederate governments.
These letters dominate the correspondence in 1861 and 1862, then
again in 1864, and include descriptions of Richmond and Augusta;
news of the war and politics; and advise on matters of health,
finances, and children. Only one letter, dated November 1864, of
Sarah Foster Ramsay to her husband is present.
Exchanges of 1862 and 1864-1865 between James Graham Ramsay
and his daughter Margaret Foster (Maggie) while she was away at
the Concord Female College in Statesville, N.C., contain news of
school and of the capital as well as paternal advice. A few
letters from Florence May Ramsay to her "Cousin Maggie" in March
1860 are followed by news of her death in a letter from James
Graham Ramsay's sister Martha; it is not clear if this Florence
May was James Graham Ramsay's daughter. There are also several
letters from nephew Richard L. Dismukes from the war in Virginia,
plus a report of his death in early May 1862 and Ramsay's attempt
to retrieve his body from Richmond.
Letters of family members drop off in the years after the war,
although a few letters from sister Martha J. Rosebrough, widow of
Richard T. Dismukes, who had married Samuel Rosebrough by 1858,
arrived from Arkansas around 1867. These letters are full of
details about family life. A letter, dated 31 May 1875, from
"Brother Challie" to "Sister" detailing social life in Texas is
certainly from Richard Chalmers Ramsay to Lydia Calista Ramsay,
half-siblings of James Graham Ramsay.
Family letters pick up again towards the end of 1881 with a
letter to Margaret Foster Ramsay from Archibald M. Young. A
notable set of correspondence during this period is that of Lydia
Calista Ramsay on the death of her brother Richard Chalmers
Ramsay in 1882.
Beginning in 1863 and continuing for the next twenty years,
letters relating to political and business matters make up the
bulk of James Graham Ramsay's correspondence. Most of the papers
from 1863 concern his successful campaign for Confederate
Congress against William Lander; after election, correspondents,
including W. P. Bynum, L. S. Bingham, and T. R. Caldwell, wrote
on political topics, such as local support, requests for
patronage, concerns about civil liberties abuses of the
Confederate government, and demands for peace.
On July 8, 1865, James Graham Ramsay summarized his political
activities in a request for amnesty from the United States
government. Many of the political letters from 1865 to 1867 are
from North Carolina Governor Jonathan Worth. In 1867, James
Graham Ramsay was appointed to the State Board of Internal
Improvements. Reconstruction issues, such as African American
suffrage and the Ku Klux Klan, are addressed in a few letters
from the late 1860s and early 1870s. A general recommendation of
James Graham Ramsay to the National Republican Party was signed
by a number of prominent North Carolina Republicans in 1872. By
1874, Ramsay was appointed as a tax collector and as head of the
North Carolina State Asylum for the Insane; many subsequent
letters are related to these appointments. Requests for
patronage and character references appear periodically during
this period.
Interspersed throughout this subseries are occasional letters
on business investments, including railroads, and some
correspondence relating to James Graham Ramsay's medical practice
and to membership in the Masonic Lodge. There are also a few
letters about Davidson College. Invitations for Ramsay to speak
at meetings of various groups appear regularly.
Related items include a set of Richard T. Dismukes medical
lecture invitations from the Transylvania College Medical
Department, 1837-1838; a report card for James Graham Ramsay's
half sister Lydia Calista Ramsay, 1863; a Confederate
Congressional passport, 1864; a copy of the North Carolina
resolutions regarding Civil War soldiers, 1865; James Graham
Ramsay's certificates as director of the state insane asylum,
1872, 1874; teaching certificates of son James Hill Ramsay from
North Carolina and half-brother Richard C. Ramsay from Texas,
1874; and certificates of James Hill Ramsay's appointment as
Salisbury, N.C., postmaster, 1877, 1882, and 1883.
Folder 4 1834-1847
5 1848-1852
6 1853-1855
7 1856-1860
8 1861-1862
9 1863
10 1864
11 1865
12 1866-1867
13 1868
14 1869-1871
15 1872
16 January-May 1874
17 June-December 1874
18 1875-1879
19 1880-1881
20 1882-1883
Subseries 1.3. 1884-1903
About 450 items.
This subseries covers a period of extensive correspondence
between various members of the Ramsay family, including James
Graham Ramsay, Sarah Foster Ramsay, and their children Margaret
(Maggie) Ramsay Nelson, James Hill Ramsay, William G. Ramsay,
Edgar B. Ramsay, Robert L. Ramsay, and Claudius C. Ramsay. There
is little or no correspondence of son David Allan Ramsay and his
wife, Julia Young Ramsay, probably since they lived near his
father and mother. Since the Ramsay children were scattered
across the United States and Africa, these letters provide an
interesting variety of perspectives. This period concludes with
the death in 1903 of James Graham Ramsay.
The year 1884 is marked by letters to Claudius C. Ramsay from
his parents and brothers while he was at school in Lenoir, N.C.
From 1885 through 1888, family correspondence is dominated by
letters from William G. Ramsay, who travelled to the Gold Coast
of Africa to work at the Akankoo Mines near Axim in what is now
Ghana, West Africa. Most of these were written to his mother,
father, and brother James Hill Ramsay, and include details of
travel and life in Africa. William's final letter was dated 6
February 1889; he died in Africa soon thereafter. Family and
business correspondence relating to his death and estate
continued for the next six months; scattered letters on the topic
are found through 1892.
Sarah Foster Ramsay died, evidently of breast cancer, in 1895.
Correspondence between family members and friends is extensive
regarding her debilitating illness and death. Letters from James
Graham Ramsay to his son James Hill Ramsay include medical
details and descriptions of the cancer and death of his wife.
Claudius C. Ramsay travelled to Seattle, Wash., where he
worked in real estate and insurance. A letter in 1897 describes
the effects of the Yukon gold rush on the city. Robert L. Ramsay
lived mostly in Cisco, Tex., and his letters discuss the social,
political, and economic conditions there. Also included is an
isolated and unexplained letter from a physician to James Graham
Ramsay in 1901 detailing Robert's mental illness.
Maggie wrote from her home in Laneville, Ala., where she lived
with her husband Phillip Nelson. In early 1896, she suffered a
serious illness that dominated the family correspondence until
her recovery soon thereafter. Edgar B. Ramsay was the least
settled of the siblings, spending much of this period in the
mining country of Montana. James Hill Ramsay remained in
Salisbury, N.C., where he lived with his wife, Mary Isabel Miller
Ramsay ("Mame" or "Mamie").
During the last years of his life, James Graham Ramsay lived
with James Hill Ramsay in Salisbury. By the 1890s, most of the
former's correspondence was with family members and old friends.
As early as 1894, he began to explore his family history;
genealogical pursuits are increasingly documented from 1899 until
his death four years later. James Hill Ramsay also participated
in this genealogical correspondence. Much of the information
that the elder Ramsay gathered went towards writing his
autobiography (see Subseries 3.1.2.).
James Graham Ramsay continued to receive invitations to speak
at various social, educational, and political gatherings during
this period. A few letters in 1894 and 1896 relate to the
practice of medicine, and there are a few items relating to
Davidson College in the late 1890s. After James Graham Ramsay's
death in 1903, there is a body of personal correspondence to and
among family members exchanging news and condolences.
With James Graham Ramsay and his sons James Hill and Claudius
C. heavily involved in politics, there is much correspondence
relating to political careers and interests, especially on the
local level. After 1888, the focus is chiefly on James Hill
Ramsay's involvement in local politics as the Salisbury
postmaster. Political correspondence is especially heavy in 1896
and 1897, but is scattered throughout. Letters include requests
for endorsements and patronage; discussions of the workings of
the North Carolina Republican Party and, in 1894, of the People's
Party; James Hill Ramsay's nomination as a delegate to the
National Republican Convention in 1896; and his campaigns for
postmaster. James Hill Ramsay exchanged letters with many
politicians; the most notable during this period was Senator
Jeter Conley Pritchard.
Related items of note include wedding invitations; an 1884
invitation to the University of North Carolina commencement; high
school certificates of Mary Isabel Miller from 1888; items
related to the Masons, of which both James Graham Ramsay and
James Hill Ramsay were members; items relating to the local
railroad; letters from 1888, 1897, and 1898 on property sales;
and James Graham Ramsay's Physicians' Certificate of Registration
of 1889.
Folder 21 1884-1885
22 1886
23 1887
24 1888
25 January-March 1889
26 April-June 1889
27 July-December 1889
28 1890
29 1891
30 1892-1893
31 1894
32 January-June 1895
33 August-December 1895
34 January-February 1896
35 March-April 1896
36 June-December 1896
37 January-June 1897
38 July-December 1897
39 1898-1900
40 1901-1902
41 1903
Subseries 1.4. 1904-1930; 1936; 1955
About 875 items.
Correspondence in this period centers around brothers James
Hill Ramsay and Claudius C. Ramsay, and almost exclusively
relates to family affairs and/or politics.
Letters between James Hill Ramsay and Claudius C. Ramsay often
focus on political issues, as Claudius used his clout to help
with James' reappointments as Salisbury postmaster.
Correspondence often includes reports on the business and
political climate of Seattle and always contains some family
news. Of note are letters detailing the stay of James Hill
Ramsay's daughter Annie Laurie with her uncle Claudius and his
wife Grace in 1907 and reports of travel to China and Japan the
same year.
News of Edgar B. Ramsay appears periodically until his death
in 1917. Letters from sister Margaret Ramsay Nelson continue
until her death in 1909, after which letters from her husband,
Phillip Nelson, begin. Nelson's death was noted in 1928. There
is some scattered correspondence of James Hill Ramsay's wife,
Mary Miller Ramsay, before she died in 1927. Letters from
various other family members appear periodically, notably that of
James Hill Ramsay's son James Graham Ramsay (J. Graham) regarding
his medical training and service during World War I, and of
Claudius Ramsay's wife, Grace. Claudius C. and James Hill Ramsay
died within three months of each other, in October and November
1930 respectively.
James Hill Ramsay participated in an extensive correspondence
with distant cousins in an effort to further trace his own and
his wife Mary Miller Ramsay's genealogies. His most frequent
correspondents on family history were Thomas McCorkle of
Washington, D.C., and Samuel Judah of Vincennes, Ind. The two
letters addressed to J. Graham Ramsay in 1955 are also about
Ramsay family history.
Of special note are a few letters in 1925 and 1926 regarding a
Milas Ramsay, who appears to be an African American descendent of
former Ramsay slaves. These consist of requests for aid from
Milas, written by his daughter, and a willingness to help
expressed by James Hill and Claudius C. Ramsay.
Political correspondence in this subseries is extensive.
James Hill Ramsay had several difficult Salisbury postmaster
campaigns in which he recruited the aid of brother Claudius and
used all the political clout at his disposal. In 1906, 1910,
1914, and 1923, letters regarding these efforts dominate the
correspondence. Correspondents include North Carolina Senator
Lee Overman, a native of Salisbury; in the 1906 campaign, Senator
Samuel Piles and the Honorable William E. Humphreys; and Senator
W. L. Jones during the 1923 effort. Between these busy years,
there is a steady trickle of correspondence relating to
postmaster business. Of note are a letter written to William
Jennings Bryan in 1913 and one in April 1923 to Secretary of the
Navy Theodore Roosevelt, nephew of the former president. The
copy of an executive order by President Warren G. Harding,
waiving James Hill Ramsay from the age limitations on
postmasterships, is also dated April 1923.
Other political correspondence of James Hill Ramsay relates to
the North Carolina Republican Party, particularly in the late
1920s. During World War I, he served on the local Board of
Exemption. and some correspondence regarding that service exists
from 1917 to 1919. In the early 1920s, there are a few letters
regarding his tenure as a local prohibition agent, and there are
a few letters in 1926 relating to his role as president of the
North Carolina Home Building and Loan Association.
Related items of note include James Hill Ramsay's acceptance
into the Sons of the Revolution, March 1906; a certificate naming
him North Carolina's representative at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific
Exposition of 1909 in Seattle; a letter describing travel in
Europe from "Sallie" to "Papa," August 1910; a letter, 1911, from
a female spiritual healer describing her art; correspondence
regarding J. Graham Ramsay's education in 1913 and 1914; a 1922
invitation to his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania
Medical School; letters to doctors in Philadelphia regarding Mary
Miller Ramsay's surgery in 1927, the year of her death; and a
1936 letter to J. Graham Ramsay from cousin E. L. Putzel
regarding James Graham Ramsay and property in Salisbury.
Folder 42 1904
43 1905
44 January-May 1906
45 June-November 1906
46 1907
47 1908-February 1909
48 March-April 1909
49 May-December 1909
50 January-March 1910
51 April 1910
52 May 1910
53 June-November 1910
54 1910 (no month)
55 1911
56 1912
57 1913
58 1914-1916
59 1917-1918
60 1919-1921
61 1922
62 January-February 1923
63 March 1923
64 April 1923
65 May-December 1923
66 1924-1925
67 1926
68 1927
69 1928
70 1929
71 January-August 1930
72 October-December 1930; 1936; 1955
Subseries 1.5. Undated
About 65 items.
Arrangement: by correspondent.
Nancy McCorkle, Robert, and David Ramsay letters chiefly
relate to family matters. Sarah Foster and James Graham Ramsay
materials are largely speaking engagement invitations, with a few
personal and political notes. James Hill Ramsay correspondence
includes telegraphs and letters of a political nature as well as
family correspondence, including a number of letters from
Claudius C. Ramsay. Claudius C. Ramsay's letters include several
to Sarah Foster Ramsay and his application for membership in the
North Carolina Society of the Sons of the Revolution.
Folder 73 Nancy McCorkle, Robert, and David Ramsay
74 Sarah Foster and James Graham Ramsay
75 Mary Miller and James Hill Ramsay
76 Claudius C. Ramsay
77 J. Graham Ramsay
78 Undated miscellaneous
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
1784-1927 and undated. About 720 items.
Subseries 2.1 Loose Papers
1784-1927 and undated. About 700 items.
Arrangement: loosely chronological.
The subseries contains a variety of legal and financial
papers. Included are a large body of receipts; legal documents
from the late 18th and early 19th centuries; a series of
contracts to hire out a slave, 1829-1846; and papers concerning
various guardianships and executorships.
Through 1826, most of the documents are legal papers. They
include a will recorded by Robert Ramsay, a will witnessed by
David Ramsay, and the will of Patrick Graham, a great uncle of
James Graham Ramsay's on his mother's side. A 1797 deed of land
to Robert Ramsay and a map and description of David Ramsay's land
from 1818 are included. Robert Ramsay's finances are the subject
of an 1824 list of debts and a 1826 bond. Very few receipts are
found among these early papers.
Beginning in 1827, financial rather than legal materials
dominate. Beginning in 1827 and continuing for the next 15
years, much of the material is related to David Ramsay's
guardianship of Margaret Archibald. After 1828, many receipts
relate to David Ramsay's role as executor of his father Robert's
estate. Around 1829, David Ramsay also served as executor of the
estate of his wife's uncle Patrick Graham; David may have
inherited this responsibility when his father died. Receipts
from Davidson College for son James Graham Ramsay's education
appear from 1838 to 1840.
Notices for the hiring out of a slave woman named Vira appear
annually from 1829 until 1846. By 1841, the contracts included
her three children. Other slave-related documents include an
1834 bill of sale for a slave girl to David and Margaret Ramsay;
three receipts of slave sales from 1841; an 1844 note of the sale
of slaves; and a note for the purchase of two slaves by James
Graham Ramsay in 1858.
Beginning in 1847, most of the receipts are to and from James
Graham Ramsay, though a few items of David Ramsay's persist until
his death in 1857. Receipts largely relate to James Graham
Ramsay's medical practice, including those for treatment of
slaves. Store accounts are also common. In 1854, there are
notes for David Ramsay's shares in the Western North Carolina
Rail Road Company and son James Graham Ramsay's shares in the
Salisbury and Taylorsville Plank Road Company. There are also
items relating to William F. Kelly's guardianship of Sarah Jane
Foster, 1844-1853; she married James Graham Ramsay in 1846.
Financial and legal papers from the mid-1850s through the
1860s deal chiefly with James Graham Ramsay's administration of
physician Moses D. Kirkpatrick's estate, 1854-1862 (see also
volume 3); Ramsay's serving as executor of his father David
Ramsay's estate, 1857-1874 (see also volume 4); his guardianship
of his nephew Richard L. Dismukes, son of sister Martha J.
Rosebrough, 1857-1869; and an exchange of notes relating to H. C.
Mead and Company of Chicago, 1868.
After 1870, there are occasional receipts for services
rendered or received by James Graham Ramsay. In 1874, there are
expense accounts relating to Ramsay's service as the director of
the North Carolina Asylum for the Insane and as a tax collector.
Subscriptions for the Third Creek Church appear in 1885. A copy
of the will of James Graham Ramsay's son William G. Ramsay, who
died in Africa, is dated in 1889.
Loose records of James Graham Ramsay's medical practice appear
after 1890 until his death in 1903 (see also financial volumes).
In 1895, there are items relating to the sale of property when
James Graham Ramsay moved in with James Hill Ramsay. In 1900,
there is a copy of James Graham Ramsay's will. Miscellaneous
receipts appear in these years, including those for school
tuition and music lessons for Mary Ramsay.
A listing of loans and interest paid by James Hill Ramsay to
A. I. V. Newsom appears in 1927. Also in 1927 are papers
relating to Mary Miller Ramsay's death and settlement of her
estate by her husband, James Hill Ramsay. An earlier document
related to Mary Miller Ramsay is a 1913 legal summons as one of
several defendants in a property claim. The checkbook and
cancelled checks of J. Graham Ramsay appear the same year.
Undated materials are largely receipts. Included are
specifications of a house repair performed for James Hill Ramsay.
Folder 79 1784-1826
80 1827-1835
81 1836-1846
82 1847-1856
83 1857
84 1858
85 1859-1860
86 1861-1862
87 1863-1868
88 1869
89 1870-1889
90 1890-1908
91 1911-1927
92 Undated
Subseries 2.2 Volumes
1825-1909. 20 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Financial volumes largely contain records of accounts owed or
accounts paid. Volumes 1 and 2 suggest that the Ramsays may have
owned a lumber mill. (See also Volumes 21 and 22 in Subseries
3.1.3. "Diaries" for miscellaneous notes on financial matters.)
Where new volume numbers have been assigned, old volume
numbers are appended to individual volume descriptions.
Folder 93 Volume 1: 1825-1850. Ledger. Accounts for
hauling, sawing, and merchandise.
Folder 94 Volume 2: 1848-1857. Ledger. Chiefly sawing and
lumber accounts; also general merchandise.
(Formerly volume 4.)
Folder 95 Volume 3: 1855. Accounts of James Graham Ramsay,
administrator of the estate of Moses D.
Kilpatrick. Sale of effects on 4 December 1855,
showing names of buyers, articles, and prices.
Medical accounts of Moses D. Kilpatrick from 2
March 1846, transferred to James Graham Ramsay, 1
November 1855. (See related loose papers in
folder 86.) (Formerly volume 5.)
Folder 96 Volume 4: 1857-1863. James Graham Ramsay,
executor, accounts of estate of David Ramsay.
List of purchasers, items, and prices of goods
sold from the estate, 16 September 1857. (See
related loose papers, primarily folders 83-87.)
(Formerly volume 6.)
Folder 97 Volume 5: 1859. Pocket daily memorandum book.
Largely financial entries intermittently from 17
April through 31 December. (Formerly volume 8.)
Folder 98 Volume 6: 1862. Receipts and expenditures. Also
financial notes of the 13th North Carolina
Regiment, Captain Foster's company's vote in the
election, and medical notes. (Formerly volume
11.)
Folder 99 Volume 7: 1863. Receipts and expenditures. Also
memoranda on medical accounts, election returns
for the Confederate Congress (James Graham Ramsay
elected), and some addresses of Confederate
officers. (Formerly volume 12.)
Folder 100 Volume 8: 1864. Receipts and expenditures and
memoranda, including medical accounts carried over
from 1863, and general notes. (Formerly volume
13.)
Folder 101 Volume 9: 1865. Note pad containing receipts and
expenditures for 1865; debts due James Graham
Ramsay at end of 1864; prescriptions for cures;
election returns for 1865; miscellaneous notes,
1865-66. (Formerly volume 14.)
Folder 102 Volume 10: 1867. 5 February, alphabetical list
of accounts due from whites and freedmen.
(Formerly volume 16.)
Folder 103 Volume 11: 1868-1876. James Graham Ramsay's
memorandum of medical charges unsettled from 31
May 1868 to 15 November 1875, alphabetically
listed. Notations extend to November 1876.
(Formerly volume 18.)
Folder 104 Volume 12: 1870. Medical accounts of white and
freedmen, alphabetically listed. (Formerly volume
20.)
Folder 105 Volume 13: 1872-1874. Medical accounts
outstanding of whites and freedmen. (Formerly
volume 22.)
Folder 106 Volume 14: 1873. Pocket notebook with travel
expenses, railroad connections, and addresses.
(Formerly volume 23.)
Folder 107 Volume 15: 1878. Time book for laborers, April
and May. (Formerly volume 24.)
Folder 108 Volume 16: 1880-1882. Medical account book.
(Formerly volume 25.)
Folder 109 Volume 17: 1881-1882. James Hill Ramsay, deputy
collector, travel expense account book. (Formerly
volume 26.)
Folder 110 Volume 18: 1883-1887. Medical account book,
alphabetically listed by year.
Folder 111 Volume 19: 1887-1895. Medical account book,
alphabetically listed. (Formerly volume 27.)
Folder 112 Volume 20: 1908-1909. James Hill Ramsay,
trustee, account with Davis & Wiley Bank,
Salisbury, N.C. (Formerly volume 30.)
Series 3. Writings
1786-1909 and undated. About 350 items.
Subseries 3.1. Writings of James Graham Ramsay
1937-1902 and undated. About 280 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Subseries 3.1.1. Addresses and Essays
1837-1899 and undated. About 175 items.
Arrangement: chronologically when dated; alphabetically
when undated.
James Graham Ramsay spoke on a wide variety of topics from his
college days until he died. Most of these addresses and essays
in this subseries are complete and final drafts, but there are
also some edited copies, fragments, drafts, and notes. Folders
113-114 contain undated essays written at Davidson College, 1837-
1841.
Folder 113 1837-1841: "On practice."
"Union is a source of power and
benefit."
"The snake in the grass."
"Instructions to representatives and
senators."
"Ought representatives to obey the
view of their constituents."
"Should the poor be supported by law."
Folder 114 1837-1841: Argument on the relative merits of the
wealthy and the wise.
"Are the fashion improvements of the
present day beneficial to man in a
moral and intellectual point of view?"
Farewell address.
"Reminiscences of the past."
"On gold."
Folder 115 14 January 1840: "Has our country the more to
dread from the principles of nullification or
consolidation"
12 January 1841: "In what does the chief glory of
nation consist?"
29 July 1841: "What the welfare and prosperity of
our republican institutions chiefly require."
4 July 1844: "An oration by J. G. Ramsay."
January 1848: "An inaugural dissertation on
congestion fever" (Jefferson Medical College).
Folder 116 9 August 1849: "The duty of literary men to their
country."
24 November 1849: "On music."
Folder 117 18 July 1850: "Address delivered before the
students of the Mocksville (N.C.) Male Academy."
13 June 1851: "Address delivered before the
students of Ebenezer Academy, Iredell Co., N.C."
4 July 1851: Address delivered at opening of a
bridge between Davie and Rowan counties, N.C.
4 November 1852: "The centennial anniversary of
the invitation of George Washington into the
Masonry."
1852: Undelivered address for the "Whig
Convention."
14 April 1853: "A report upon the culture and
profits of fruit made before the Scotch Ireland
Agricultural Society."
Folder 118 10 June 1853: "Address to Jonesville Academy,
Yadkin, North Carolina."
16 November 1854: "Education of the masses of the
people."
1854: Essay on the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
May 1855: Address to the Rowan County Medical
Society.
26 April 1856: On the Catholic Church.
Folder 119 Ca. 1856 or 1857: State Senate speech on the bank
in Salisbury, N.C.
Ca. 1859: Notes for lecture on religion.
Ca. 1860: Address on the state of the Union and
the upcoming election of 1860.
10 January 1861: Excerpts from "Union or
Disunion."
Folder 120 25 November 1864: "Habeas corpus--delivered in
the House of Representatives."
March 1865: "Their reasons" (on reunion of
Confederacy and Union).
29 June 1865: "Negro suffrage--the Christian
watchman and reflector."
October 1865: Announcement of candidacy for
Congress.
21 May 1867: "Address to the Rowan County Medical
Society."
July 1868: Response to "The duty of the hour" by
R. L. Dabney.
Folder 121 24 June 1874: Address to "fellow alumni."
Folder 122 17 May 1877: "Address to the 'cluster' at
Thyatira Church."
Folder 123 19 May 1882: Address to the Trap Hill Institute.
Ca. 1882: "The liberal movement."
27 December 1883: Address to Masons in
Mocksville, N.C.
12 August 1884: Acceptance remarks on Republican
nomination in Salisbury, N.C.
20 August 1885: Remarks to Sunday School
Convention.
22 August 1885: Remarks on Rowan and Davie
counties.
Folder 124 17 August 1886: Address at Franklin Church at the
Rowan County Sunday School Convention.
5 October 1886: Address on Glover Cleveland.
15 June 1887: Address on "The administration of
... the first president of Davidson College."
Folder 125 3 August 1887: "Remarks ... on the dangers of
allowing geographical and historical lessons to
supersede spiritual and evangelical lessons in
Sabbath School."
4 August 1887: Remarks to Stakes Lodge in the
courthouse in Concord, N.C.
October 1887: Comments on the 49th Congress.
Folder 126 11 August 1888: "Remarks on religious education."
September 1888: "The part democracy ...."
30 August 1889: "The importance of teacher's
meetings."
1880s: Essay on voting and party politics.
Folder 127 5 April 1890: Address on "Public health."
20 August 1890: "The Sunday School teacher in the
maintenance of order."
15 August 1891: "Is the Sabbath School a
success?"
29 November 1891: Dedication to retiring pastor
Rev. W. A. Wood.
Folder 128 13 May 1892: "A historical sketch of Third Creek
Church in Rowan County, North Carolina."
24 August 1893: "The ruling elder."
Folder 129 4 July 1894: Address at Summerville, Rowan
County, N.C.
29 July 1896: Notes on prayer meeting.
5 August 1896: Essay on prayer.
Folder 130 1896: "Confederation or fusion."
Folder 131 12 April and 12 July 1897: "The medical
profession of Rowan County."
Folder 132 29 May 1898: "Children's Day."
4 July 1898: "Valedictory to Rowan County Medical
Society."
17 August 1898: "Spoken at prayer meeting."
7 June 1899: "Undelivered address for Davidson
College alumni."
Undated addresses, essays, drafts, and notes:
Folder 133-135 Essays on education and instruction.
Folder 136-137 Essays on medicine, including "Report on the
prevailing diseases of Rowan County, N.C.";
"The regular medical profession and its
relations to society"; two addresses to Rowan
County Medical Society; "Scarlet fever."
Folder 138-139 Essays on politics relating to the Civil War,
including "The Confederate Congress"; "On
abolition"; addresses on the end of the Civil
War.
Folder 140 Volume 21: 1860. Notes on speeches and
debates about an ad valorem tax on slaves.
(Formerly volume 9.)
Folder 141-142 Essays on politics in general, including "The
tariff"; "Centralization."
Folder 143-144 Essays on religion.
Folder 145 Essays on miscellaneous topics, including "On
vocal music"; "The American Indians"; and "My
colored friends."
Folder 146-149 Drafts and notes on miscellaneous topics,
including religion, morality, and politics.
Folder 149 contains notes on election results.
Subseries 3.1.2. Autobiography
Ca. 1900. 2 items.
James Graham Ramsay completed his autobiography around the
turn of the century. More than half of the material is
genealogical in nature, tracing his family roots. He wrote of
his own childhood and adulthood. Included is the story of the
accidental death of a brother when they were children. Two
copies of the autobiography are in the collection, a handwritten
draft and a typed copy. (See also Series 4.)
Folder 150 Handwritten copy.
151 Typed copy.
Subseries 3.1.3. Diaries
1858-1902. 6 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
James Graham Ramsay kept a number of diaries and day books
over his lifetime. Volume 24 and 25 contain personal
meditations; volumes 22-23 and 26-27 are more concerned with
daily activities.
Folder 152 Volume 22: 1858-1860. Memoranda, 1858-1860, and
pocket memo, 1860, containing irregular entries
about the weather, farming, Masonic Lodge
meetings, professional services and fees, receipts
and expenditures, church attendance, political
meetings, and financial dealings. (Formerly
volume 7.)
Folder 153 Volume 23: 1861. Pocket memorandum book with
daily entries as above. (Formerly volume 10.)
Folder 154 Volume 24: 1866. Personal diary including
religious meditations, and comments on the
practice of medicine and regarding family life.
(Formerly volume 15.)
Folder 155 Volume 25: 1869. Personal diary with irregular
entries (at least twice a week), including
religious meditations, notes on professional
medical practice, and family responsibilities.
(Formerly volume 19.)
Folder 156 Volume 26: 1901. Diary with irregular entries
concerning weather, sickness, professional and
personal visits, and family affairs. (Formerly
volume 20.)
Folder 157 Volume 27: 1902. Diary as above, with irregular
entries concerning weather, health, family and
acquaintances, and professional activities.
(Formerly volume 29.)
Subseries 3.1.4. Other Writings
1844-1890s and undated. About 100 items.
Arrangement: alphabetically by type.
Notes and other writings by James Graham Ramsay, including
courtship letters sent to his future wife Sarah Jane Foster that
largely consist of original and copied love poetry; an epitaph on
the occasion of the death of his mother Margaret Foster Graham
Ramsay, ca. 1855; medical lecture notes; notes on slave taxes;
and four folders of miscellaneous notes and drafts for writings
on religion, politics (including election results and information
on local party politics), and other topics.
Folder 158 Courtship letters, ca. 1846
159 Epitaph for Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay, ca.
1855.
160 Volume 27: 1844. Lecture notes from Jefferson
Medical College (Formerly volume 3.)
Subseries 3.2. Writings by Others
1786-1909 and undated. About 70 items.
Arrangement: alphabetically by author.
These writings are largely by family members. James Graham
Ramsay's brother-in-law and fellow physician Richard T. Dismukes
kept a book of writings relating to his medical practice.
Writings by James Hill Ramsay include a student notebook, a short
travel log, and miscellaneous notes and drafts. Included among
James Hill Ramsay's miscellaneous writings are two historical
compositions, "Battle of Ramseur's Mill" and "Boy Soldiers of the
Confederacy"; notes on local politics and elections; and an
account of a conversation with Colonel Hamilton C. Jones in which
Jones described his memories of native African slaves.
Also included are Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay's diaries
spanning the years 1822-1839. Other of her writings and some by
David Ramsay relate to religion, including catechism-like
examinations, notes, and the constitutions for the Prospect
Female Work Society and the Prospect Sabbath School. William G.
Ramsay's journal of his travels to the Gold Coast of Africa in
1885 is present, as are a few poems and writings about North
Carolina by unknown authors.
Richard T. Dismukes
Folder 161 Volume 29: 1837-1843. Book of Richard T.
Dismukes, physician, Davie County, N.C.,
containing copies of business letters, some
cures for various ailments, and detailed case
histories of certain cases. (Formerly volume
2.)
James Hill Ramsay
Folder 162 Volume 30: 1871-1875. James Hill Ramsay's
book of student notes, reflections, quotations
from history and poetry, and miscellaneous
jottings. The book appears to have belonged
to James Graham Ramsay originally, and
includes a few notes by him and an 1848
account list for general merchandise at Cool
Springs, N.C. (Formerly volume 21.)
Folder 163 Volume 31: 1909. James Hill Ramsay's short
notes on travel to the Pacific Northwest,
including connections, addresses, costs, and a
brief description of a few aspects of the
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, which he
attended as the North Carolina representative.
Folder 164 1870s-1920s: Miscellaneous notes, drafts, and
comments.
Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay and David Ramsay
Folders 165-166 Volume 32: 1822-26; 1829-30; 1831-39.
Diaries of Margaret Foster Graham Ramsay,
recording daily activities, including social
visits, church sermons, births, deaths, and
marriages. Also included is a poem written on
the occasion of her son Robert Ramsay's
accidental death (which is also described in
James Graham Ramsay's autobiography).
Folder 167 1820s-1830s: Writings by Margaret Graham
Foster Ramsay and David Ramsay relating to
religion and Sunday School.
Folder 168 1834: David Ramsay's 4th of July address.
William G. Ramsay
Folder 169 Volume 33: 1885. Descriptions of William G.
Ramsay's travel to the Gold Coast of Africa.
Authors unknown
Folder 170 Poetry copied from unknown sources, some
copies dated as early as 1786. Included is a
notebook of verse copied by Sarah Jane Foster,
later James Graham Ramsay's wife.
Folder 171 Writings relating to North Carolina, including
a note from "the address of Chief Justice
Chase at the opening of the Circuit Court of
North Carolina," 1867.
Series 4. Genealogical Materials
About 185 items.
Subseries 4.1. Genealogical Writings
26 items.
This subseries contains writings, drafts and pieces, on the
Ramsays. Included are genealogical and autobiographical sketches
by James Graham Ramsay in preparation for his 1900 autobiography
(see Subseries 3.1.2); biographical sketches and memorial
tributes of James Graham Ramsay written by friends Archibald
Henderson and D. B. Wood and by James Hill Ramsay;
autobiographical and biographical sketches of James Hill Ramsay;
and brief notes and sketches relating to Claudius C. Ramsay and
J. Graham Ramsay.
Folder 172 Autobiographical pieces by James Graham
Ramsay.
173 Biographical pieces about James Graham Ramsay.
174 Autobiographical and biographical sketches of
James Hill Ramsay.
175 Biographical notes and sketches of Claudius C.
Ramsay and J. Graham Ramsay.
Subseries 4.2. Genealogical Notes
About 160 items.
Arrangement: alphabetically by family
These are miscellaneous notes and a few clipping relating to
family history collected by James Graham Ramsay and his son James
Hill Ramsay. They are organized by family; notes including
information on more than one family are filed with the
miscellaneous materials.
Folder 176-177 Graham family.
178 McCorkle family.
179 Miller family.
180-181 Ramsay family. Includes "Peerage of Scotland:
Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie."
182-183 Miscellaneous families, including Balfour,
Brooks, Butler, Byrd/Bird, Graham, McCorkle,
Miller, Montgomery, and Ramsay families.
Series 5. Other Materials
1807-1930s. About 125 items.
These materials consist largely of printed items, newspaper
clippings, and photographs. Many of the clippings and
photographs relate to Ramsay family members. In addition, there
are two files of undated ward lists, and the autograph book of
William G. Ramsay.
Folder 184 Volume 34: 1880-1888. Autograph book of
William G. Ramsay.
185 Clippings: Volume 35: 1860. Small pocket
notebook filled with political clippings.
186-187 Clippings: 1880s-1930s: Most clippings
relate to Ramsay family members, but there
are a few on local history and other topics.
A clipping on the Ku Klux Klan is dated 1870.
Photographs: 1860s-1930s.
P-1568/1-4 James Graham Ramsay.
P-1568/5-7 James Hill Ramsay.
P-1568/8 Sarah Foster Ramsay[?]
P-1568/9 Verso: "This is Mary Eliason in her
doctor's gown with two of her friends, Dr.
Spivey and Mrs. Lea Chaperone at Spencer
Hall."
P-1568/10-19 Unidentified people.
SF-1568/1 Tintype.
P-1568/20 Label: "Is this Ebenezer Academy?"
Verso: "This picture is so dim--looks
like the one at Bethany Church."
P-1568/21-27 Thyatira Church and graveyard and other
graves of Ramsay family members, including
that of William G. Ramsay, who died in
Africa.
Folder 188-190 Printed materials: 1807-1927. Included are
two religious tracts, 1807 and undated; North
Carolina almanacs, 1809 and 1816; political
tracts by Joseph Pearson (1815), A. G. Carter
(1833), and T. H. Vanderford (1907); other
political publications; catalogs of the
Masonic Institute of Germantown, N.C. (1853)
and the Presbyterian High School of Mebane,
N.C. (undated); and other items.
191-192 Ward lists for Spencer, Gold Hill, Salisbury,
and other North Carolina locations, undated.
SHELF LIST
Series 1. Correspondence and Related Items
Box 1 Subseries 1.1. 1790-1829 (folders 1-3)
Subseries 1.2. 1834-1883 (folders 4-20)
Box 2 Subseries 1.3. 1884-1900 (folders 21-39)
Box 3 Subseries 1.3. 1901-1903 (folders 40-41)
Subseries 1.4. 1904-1910 (folders 42-54)
Box 4 Subseries 1.4. 1911-1930; 1936;
1955 (folders 55-72)
Box 5 Subseries 1.5. Undated (folders 73-78)
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
Subseries 2.1. Loose papers (folders 79-89)
Box 6 Subseries 2.1. Loose papers (folders 90-92)
Subseries 2.2. Volumes 1-10 (folders 93-102)
Box 7 Subseries 2.2. Volumes 11-20 (folders 103-112)
Series 3. Writings
Subseries 3.1. Writings by James Graham Ramsay
Subseries 3.1.1. Addresses and
Essays (folders 113-117)
Box 8 Subseries 3.1.1. Addresses and
Essays (folders 118-131)
Box 9 Subseries 3.1.1 Addresses and
Essays (folders 132-149)
Box 10 Subseries 3.1.2. Autobiography (folders 150-151)
Subseries 3.1.3. Diaries (folders 152-157)
Subseries 3.1.4. Other Writings (folders 158-160)
Box 11 Subseries 3.2. Writings by Others (folders 161-171)
Series 4. Genealogical Materials
Subseries 4.1. Genealogical
Writings (folders 172-175)
Subseries 4.2. Genealogical Notes (folders 176-177)
Box 12 Subseries 4.2. Genealogical Notes (folders 178-183)
Series 5. Other Materials (folders 184-192)
Items separated:
P-1568/1-27
SF-1568/1