Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the David Rivers Papers #3569-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Schindler's Antique Shop of Charleston, S.C., in March 1962. The Addition of September 2022 (Acc. 20220914.1) received from Michael A. Schwartz of Syracuse, N.Y.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: Suzanne Ruffing, August 1996

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas and Chaitra Powell, September 2022

Conscious Editing Work by: Dawne Howard Lucas, September 2022. Updated collection overview, subject headings, biographical note, scope and content, and container list.

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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.

• Barnwell District (S.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Beaufort District (S.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Enslaved persons--South Carolina.
• Estates (Law)--South Carolina.
• Families--South Carolina.
• Plantation owners--South Carolina.
• Prince William's Parish (S.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Rivers, David, 1793-1853.
• Slave bills of sale--South Carolina.
• Slavery--South Carolina.
• Slavery--United States--History--19th century--Sources.
• South Carolina--Social life and customs.

David Rivers, Jr. (1793-1853) was a white landowner and enslaver who lived in Beaufort District, Prince William's Parish, S.C. Rivers appeared to have been in the sawmilling business with David Cope (1791-1849) of Barnwell District, S.C. Rivers was married to Anna Susannah Rivers.

Papers, 1821-1859, including letters addressed to David Rivers, Jr., at Rivers Mills, Beaufort District, S.C., and the Beaufort Bridges Post Office, and other items relating to the settlement of his estate at Gillisonville, S.C., in present-day Jasper County, S.C. Materials include a receipt for purchase of an enslaved woman named Rose and Rivers's last will and testament, dated 1848, which includes the names of 15 enslaved individuals: Maria, Stephen, Ellen, Rena, Sam, Polly, Zeha, James, George, Easther, Cato, [Agleg], Charles, Jim, and Rose. Rivers bequeathed all but one of these individuals to his family members; he instructed that Rose be sold.

There are also deeds, letters, account sheets, warrants for surveys, and other papers relating to Rivers's property and other businesses. Some of the letters also contain family and personal news. Estate items include legal papers, tax receipts, accounting sheets, releases, a list of personal property sold, and other items.