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 Smith and Watkins Store #5248-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Edward Ramsey Burt III of Holly Springs, N.C., in December 2005 (Acc. 100280).

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.

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.

• Account books--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• General stores--North Carolina.
• Merchants--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• North Carolina--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Norwood (N.C.)--History.
• Smith and Watkins Store (Norwood, N.C.)
• Smith, Charles E., fl. 1865-1866.
• Watkins, William Henry, fl. 1865-1866.

The Smith and Watkins Store in Norwood, N.C., was founded by William Henry Watkins and presumably Charles E. Smith. The general store operated at least from 1865 to 1866. Watkins was a merchant and manufacturer in Stanly, Montgomery, and Randolph counties, N.C., from the 1860s to 1920. He went into business with Smith after serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1876, Watkins was elected sheriff of Montgomery County and served two terms as a North Carolina state senator. Watkins was president of the Bank of Ramseur, N.C., and served as secretary, treasurer, and general manager of Columbia Manufacturing Company. Watkins married Louisa Eunice Smitherman, 17 March 1868.

The collection is a daybook for the Smith and Watkins Store, founded by William Henry Watkins and possibly Charles E. Smith, in Norwood, N.C., with entries from 2 October 1865 to 31 December 1866, showing the general store's transactions. Included are names of customers, items and amounts purchased, and prices.