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Collection Number: 01940-z

Collection Title: Martha Ryan Cipher Book, circa 1781

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

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.


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Size 1 item
Abstract Martha Ryan (born 1765) and her sister, Elisabeth Ryan (1767-1815) were daughters of plantation owners James Ryan (1735-1777) and Ann Ryan (1737-1794) of Bertie County, N.C. School mathematics exercise book kept by Martha Ryan, with some entries by her sister, Elisabeth, circa 1781. The volume is bound in homespun fabric with ornate decorations on each page. Mottos, ship designs, and other patriotic decorations, and inscriptions such as "Liberty" or "George Washington" on many of the pages reflect the Revolutionary influence.
Creator Ryan, Martha, 1765?-
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Access Restriction
The original cipher book is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options.
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 Martha Ryan Cipher Book, #1940-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy available.
Additional Descriptive Resources
This cipher, or cypher, book is featured in Ellerton, Nerida F. and M. A. (Ken) Clements. Abraham Lincoln's Cyphering Book and Ten other Extraordinary Cyphering Books. Cham: Springer, 2014.
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.
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Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2010; Jodi Berkowitz, October 2015; Laura Hart, April 2017; Dawne Howard Lucas, September 2021

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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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Martha Ryan (born 1765) and her sister, Elisabeth Ryan (1767-1815) were daughters of plantation owners James Ryan (1735-1777) and Ann Ryan (1737-1794) of Bertie County, N.C.

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School mathematics exercise book kept by Martha Ryan, with some entries by her sister, Elizabeth, circa 1781. The volume is bound in homespun fabric with ornate decorations on each page. Mottos, ship designs, and other patriotic decorations, and inscriptions such as "Liberty" or "George Washington" on many of the pages reflect the Revolutionary influence.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Cipher Book, circa 1781.

Folder 1

Cipher book, circa 1781

Access restriction: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options.

Image P-1940/1

Black-and-white reproduction of pages 2-3 in cipher book (see Folder 1 scans for image)

Reel M-1940/1

Microfilm

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