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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 | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 514 items) |
| Abstract | Rufus Reid (1797-1854) of Rowan and Iredell counties, N.C., was a planter and merchant and also served in the North Carolina House of Commons in the 1840s. The collection includes business and legal papers, family papers, account books, and other items relating to Rufus Reid; members of the Reid family; and members of related families, including the Davidson, Guy, Morrison, Smith, and Torrance (Torrence) families, chiefly of Rowan and Iredell counties, N.C. Business papers relate to the planter and merchant activities primarily of members of the Guy, Reid, and Davidson families, and include bills, tax receipts, merchandising licenses, magazine subscription receipts, cotton sales receipts, accounts, and promissory notes. Included in business correspondence are references to a runaway slave and to economic conditions in Tennessee and Mississippi. Legal materials relate primarily to Rufus Reid and include several documents granting powers of attorney. Family papers include land records relating to Iredell County land and to land in Tennessee and Mississippi, family correspondence, and other items. Family correspondence includes letters from Franklin L. Smith, a student at the University of North Carolina, to his mother, 1825 and 1827; several letters from Rufus Reid to his daughter and stepdaughter attending school in Salem, N.C.; and several letters from J. R. Satterfield describing an extended trip to Europe, 1866-1867. There are also letters from W. I. Brawley, Frank Davidson, George F. Davidson, and Robert Hall Morrison. Volumes include a detailed account book of a merchant, 1854-1855; an account book of James F. Torrance showing work done by his slaves on the Mississippi Central Railroad, 1852-1861; and an account book of Isabella Torrance Smith Reid that lists slaves' names and clothes and blankets distributed to them, 1845-1855. |
| Creator | Reid, Rufus, 1797-1854. |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Timothy A. Long, October 1992
Encoded by: Mara Dabrishus, October 2004
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, December 2009
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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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
Rufus Reid (1797-1854) was the son of Sara and Captain John Reid of Catawba Springs, Lincoln County, N.C. John Reid received a commission during the Revolution and owned much land at the Springs, renowned locally for their healing properties.
Rufus Reid spent much of his early adulthood in Rowan County, N.C., where he established himself as a merchant and planter. By 1831, he moved to Iredell County, N.C., where he hired craftsmen to build an impressive plantation house that he named Mount Mourne. He spent most of the rest of his life supervising his merchant and planting activities from this location.
Rufus Reid was a leading social and political figure in southern Iredell County from his arrival in the 1830s until his death in 1854. He was a prominent member of the county court, and his neighbors twice elected him to represent them in the North Carolina House of Commons (1842 and 1844). He was probably a Whig. Although he never officially joined a church, he was a regular contributor to the minister's "stipend" at Centre Presbyterian Church, located near Mount Mourne.
Rufus Reid's plantation was one of the largest and most diversified in Iredell County. In 1850, Reid owned 84 slaves, making him the second largest slaveholder in the county. Reid's slaves worked hundreds of acres of land and grew substantial crops of corn, wheat, and cotton.
Rufus Reid married three times. He and his first wife, Nancy Latta Reid of Mecklenburg County, N.C., had three daughters: Mary Jane, Sallie, and Nannie. After Nancy's death, Reid married Betsy Latta Davidson, sister of his first wife and widow of Benjamin Davidson. He and Betsy Latta Davidson Reid had one daughter, Betty. After Betsy's death, Reid married Isabella Torrance Smith, widow of Franklin C. Smith. He and Isabella had six children: Emma Catherine, James Rufus, Addie Isabella, John Hugh, Lucy Andrews, and Franklin Samuel. His oldest son, James Rufus, died in 1861 while serving in the Confederate Army in Virginia.
Rufus Reid died in 1854 and is buried near Mount Mourne. His estate was administered by George F. Davidson.
(Source: Homer M. Keever, Iredell: Piedmont County, 1976.)
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Scope and Content
The collection of planter, merchant, and state legislator Rufus Reid includes business and legal papers, family papers, account books, and other items relating to Reid; members of the Reid family; and members of related families, including the Davidson, Guy, Morrison, Smith, and Torrance (Torrence) families, chiefly of Rowan County, N.C., and Iredell County, N.C. Business papers relate to the planter and merchant activities primarily of members of the Guy, Reid, and Davidson families, and include bills, tax receipts, merchandising licenses, magazine subscription receipts, cotton sales receipts, accounts, and promissory notes. Included in business correspondence are references to a runaway slave and to economic conditions in Tennessee and Mississippi. Legal materials relate primarily to Rufus Reid and include several documents granting powers of attorney. Family papers include land records relating to Iredell County land and to land in Tennessee and Mississippi, family correspondence, and other items. Family correspondence includes letters from Franklin L. Smith, a student at the University of North Carolina, to his mother, 1825 and 1827; several letters from Rufus Reid to his daughter and stepdaughter attending school in Salem, N.C.; and several letters from J. R. Satterfield describing an extended trip to Europe, 1866-1867. There are also letters from W. I. Brawley, Frank Davidson, George F. Davidson, and Robert Hall Morrison. Volumes include a detailed account book of a merchant, 1854-1855; an account book of James F. Torrance showing work done by his slaves on the Mississippi Central Railroad, 1852-1861; and an account book of Isabella Torrance Smith Reid that lists slaves' names and clothes and blankets distributed to them, 1845-1855.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Business and Legal Papers, 1786-1879.
Business and legal papers primarily of the Guy, Reid, and Davidson families of North Carolina. Items detail merchant activities of members of these families and others through accounts, bills, receipts, promissory notes, and correspondence. Legal materials include several notes granting powers of attorney and a few other items.
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Subseries 1.1. Bills and Receipts, 1786-1879 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Materials chiefly concerning the merchant activities of members of the Guy, Reid, and Davidson families of Lincoln, Rowan, and Iredell counties, N.C. Items include bills, receipts, notes, and accounts detailing the commercial interaction of several prominent North Carolina piedmont families. Items of special interest include an extensive run of tax receipts, 1817-1864; several receipts concerning the sale of cotton, 1821-1822, 1866; a receipt for a tombstone bought by Rufus Reid from Francis Peyse, Jr., and Son, 1822; several licenses for Rufus Reid to sell merchandise, 1823-1844; several magazine receipts of Rufus Reid and his wife Isabella, 1841-1853; a few receipts for purchases of slaves, 1852-1861; and tuition bills and a receipt for Julia Davidson who attended school in Statesville, N.C., 1867.
| Folder 1 |
1786-1816 |
| Folder 2 |
1817-1820 |
| Folder 3 |
1821-1822 |
| Folder 4 |
1823-1829 |
| Folder 5 |
1830-1837 |
| Folder 6 |
1838-1844 |
| Folder 7 |
1845-1849 |
| Folder 8 |
1850-1855 |
| Folder 9 |
1856-1865 |
| Folder 10 |
1866-1870; 1879 |
| Folder 11 |
Undated |
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Subseries 1.2. Business Correspondence, 1821-1872, 1883, and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly letters addressed to Samuel Guy, Rufus Reid, and others by business associates, customers, and agents. Most letters detail merchandise to be sent by merchants to customers; discussions of business conditions in other states; and concerns about debts, family health, weather, crops, etc. Items of particular interest include a letter to Samuel Guy from Thomas Holton of Salisbury, N.C., concerning the capture of a runaway slave, 1822; a letter to Samuel Guy concerning the renting of a female slave, 1824; several letters from John McLean and R. C. Braley of Tennessee to friends and relatives concerning the settlement of debts left behind in North Carolina, the weather, the condition of crops, and the health of family members, ca. 1827-1833; two letters from George G. Lyon of Alabama to Alfred D. Kerr of North Carolina, reporting Lyon's handling of Kerr's slave property in Alabama, including lists of slaves, their renters, the amounts for which they were rented, and short descriptions of their treatment, 1850 and 1851; and a letter from Benjamin Franklin Little to George F. Davidson regarding post-war difficulties in real estate markets in Richmond and McDowell counties, N.C., 1868.
| Folder 12 |
1821-1849 |
| Folder 13 |
1850-1872, 1883, and undated |
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Subseries 1.3. Legal Papers, 1819-1879 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly legal papers of Rufus Reid. Most items grant Reid power of attorney to settle debts and transact business in the name of associates who moved from the region, 1827-1833 and 1846. Also included are a sample set of questions in a court case dealing with the sale of a slave, 1853, and an undated prose piece lauding the legal profession.
| Folder 14 |
Legal papers |
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Series 2. Family Papers, 1772-1902.
Chiefly land records, family correspondence, and miscellaneous family-related papers of the Guy, Reid, Smith, and Latta families of North and South Carolina. Items include deeds, bonds, plots, letters, post cards, newspaper clippings, diplomas, and a few other items.
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Subseries 2.1. Land Records, 1772-1844 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Primarily bonds of sale and indenture, deeds, and plots of land in Rowan and Iredell counties, N.C.; Tennessee; and Mississippi. Items of interest include a colonial deed for land in Roan [Rowan] Province, 1772; several deeds relating to the purchase of Iredell County lands by Rufus Reid, 1828, 1830, 1832, 1840, and 1849; and an accounting of the division of Rufus Reid's lands among his heirs, 1856. Items relating to land in and around southern Iredell County, N.C., are particularly numerous. Prominent surnames include Guy, Reid, Davidson, Houston, Torrence, and Braley [also Brawley].
| Folder 15 |
1772-1820 |
| Folder 16 |
1821-1884 and undated |
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Subseries 2.2. Family Correspondence, 1825-1902.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly family letters received by members of the Smith, Reid, and Latta families of North Carolina. General topics include health of families, weather, tourist information, and visits by relatives. Items of interest include a series of letters from Franklin L. Smith, a student at the University of North Carolina, to his mother Mary Smith, discussing aspects of student life, difficulties of being separated from family members, comments about a commencement address Franklin Smith gave, and pleas to receive visitors, 1825 and 1827; another letter from Franklin Smith to his mother describing a trip to Syracuse, N.Y., during which he traveled by steam boat, railroad, and packet boat, 1832; several letters from Rufus Reid to his daughter and stepdaughter attending school in Salem, 1852, 1853, and 1854; and several letters from Mr. J. R. Satterfield to Isabella Reid and Mrs. Haralson describing in detail an extended trip to Europe and including information about the ocean voyage and the sights in London, Paris, Naples, Rome, and other major cities, 1866-1867. Later items include several post cards primarily relating information about family health and visits by relatives.
| Folder 17 |
1825-1850
Digital version: Letter from F. L. Smith to Gustavus Miller, 1 February 1828 |
| Folder 18 |
1851-1869, 1875, 1883, 1898, 1902 |
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Subseries 2.3. Other Family Papers, 1802-1868 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Items include diplomas of Franklin L. Smith from the University of North Carolina, 1829; a handwritten obituary of Rufus Reid, 1854; a memorial to J. Rufus Reid, who died in a Confederate camp in Virginia, composed by his sister, 1861; a release notice of R. H. Morrison from Fort Delaware prison, 1865; several scattered newspaper clippings; a few scattered references to estate administration by Alexander McCorkle, Rufus Reid, and George F. Davidson; and other papers.
| Folder 19 |
Other family papers |
| Oversize Paper OP-2712/1 |
Franklin L. Smith diploma, 1829 |
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Series 3. Volumes, 1845-1911.
| Folder 20 |
Folder number not used |
| Oversize Volume SV-2712/1 |
Volume S-1, 8 November 1854-18 November 1855, 402 pp. (first 94 pages are missing)Account book, listing customer names and items purchased by date. Items sold include mostly staples (coffee, sugar, molasses, etc.), clothing items (hats, shirts, shoes, etc.), and assorted other items. |
| Folder 21 |
Volume 2, 1852-1861, 106 pp.Account book of James F. Torrance of Mississippi. Items include notes written and paid for, 1852-1858; work done by Torrance's slaves and paid for by the Mississippi Central Railroad, 1859-1860; lists of crops and stock, 1852-1860; and lists of clothing and shoes for slaves, 1855-1860. |
| Folder 22 |
Volume 3. 1855-1870, 52 pp.Account book probably of George F. Davidson concerning the administration of Rufus Reid's estate for his minor heirs. Most entries relate to the renting of land and slaves. |
| Folder 23 |
Volume 4, 1856-1857, 36 pp.Day book, unascribed, documenting the settlement of debts, short descriptions of trips, and a recipe for Boston brown bread. |
| Folder 24 |
Volume 5, 1856-1870, 75 pp.Memo book, unascribed, detailing bonds Mississippi Central Railroad owned, purchases made, and a cure for "neuralgi". |
| Folder 25 |
Volume 6, 1881, 50 pp.Pocket memo book, unascribed, with brief entries describing purchases made, the weather, family and personal health, travel, and political events of the day. |
| Folder 26 |
Volume 7, 1885, 46 pp, plus two loose enclosuresPocket account book, unascribed, detailing purchases made for most of one year. Items are chiefly staples and produce. |
| Folder 27 |
Volume 8, 1911, 98 pp., most of them blankNotebook, unascribed, containing a description of a trip to Natchez, Miss.; several free-hand sketches of buildings and bridges; and short pieces of prose. |
| Folder 28 |
Volume 9, 1845-1855, 42 pp., with 2 enclosuresAccount book of Isabella Torrance Smith Reid giving lists of blankets and clothes given to slaves, 1845-1852, and a list of births of her daughters and sons and her marriage to Rufus Reid, 1855. |
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Items Separated
Items separated include an oversize paper (OP-2712/1) and an oversize volume (SV-2712/1).
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