Back to TopDescriptive Summary
- Repository
-
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
- Creator
-
Thorne, Annie Blackwell, b. 1878.
- Title
- Annie Blackwell Thorne Papers, 1769-1965
- Call Number
- 4521
- Language of Materials
- Materials in
English
- Extent
-
- Items: About 700
- Linear Feet: 1.0
Abstract
Papers collected or created by Annie Blackwell Thorne (born 1878) include correspondence, legal and financial materials, genealogical
papers, and other items of the Alston, Harriss, Kearny, Thorne, and related families, chiefly of Warren and Halifax counties,
N.C. Also included is Thorne family material largely from Saint Martin Parish, La. Correspondence pertains chiefly to personal
matters, but also deals with business affairs. Included are two letters, 1831, from Thomas Whitmell Harriss (1810-1890) describing
his religious conversion while he was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill; a few letters relating
to the Civil War in Virginia and Louisiana; and letters, 1890s, to Annie's sister, Tempe Williams Thorne (born 1874), from
family members and friends. Financial items include slave bills of sale and materials concerning tobacco sales in the 1850s.
Legal materials include items, 1866-1869, relating to cases handled by John Davis Thorne (1834-1900), justice of the peace
in St. Martin Parish, La.
Back to TopAdministrative Information
- Restrictions to Access
- No restrictions.
- Acquisitions Information
- Received from Thomas W. Thorne Junior, of New Orleans, La., in September 1988 and November 1998 (Accession # 98233).
- Processing Information
- Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, October 1988; Linda Sellars, June 1999
- Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
- Preferred Citation
- [Identification of item], in the Annie Blackwell Thorne Papers #4521, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Copyright Notice
- Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Back to TopOnline Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
- Alston family.
- Carney family.
- Family--Louisiana--Social life and customs.
- Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
- Halifax County (N.C.)--Economic conditions.
- Halifax County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
- Harris family.
- Harriss, Thomas Whitmell, 1810-1890.
- Justices of the peace--Louisiana--History--19th century.
- Louisiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Saint Martin Parish (La.)--History--19th century.
- Slave bills of sale--Southern States.
- Thorne family.
- Thorne, Annie Blackwell, b. 1878.
- Thorne, John Davis, 1834-1900.
- Thorne, Tempe Williams, b. 1874.
- Tobacco--North Carolina--History--19th century.
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Religious life and customs--19th century.
- Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Warren County (N.C.)--Economic conditions.
- Warren County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
- Women--North Carolina--Economic conditions.
- Women--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Back to TopBiographical/Historical Note
Materials in this collection were collected by Annie Blackwell Thorne (born 1878), probably in cooperation with her sister
Tempe Williams Thorne (born 1874). The intertwining of the families represented in these papers is well documented in the
genealogical materials found in Series 4.
The activities of members of the Alston, Harriss, Kearny, Thorne, and related families largely took place in and around Warren
and Halifax counties, N.C.
Three Thorne family members entered into family ventures in St. Martin Parish, La., in the 1840s. Samuel Thomas Thorne (1827-1921)
and his brother John Davis Thorne (1834-1900) owned property on Bayou Teche at Grand Pointe. Their older brother, William
H. Thorne, had property further north on Bayou Portage. These ventures were abandoned shortly after the Civil War, and the
brothers returned to Warren and Halifax counties.
Annie Blackwell Thorne and Tempe Williams Thorne lived most of their lives in Littleton, N.C. Their younger brother, Thomas
Whitmell Thorne, attended N.C. State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts in Raleigh and then lived in New Orleans,
La.
Except for legal materials relating to John Davis Thorne's position as justice of the peace in St. Martins Parish, materials
for all of these closely related families have been filed together according to type.
Back to TopCollection Overview
Papers collected or created by Annie Blackwell Thorne (born 1878) include correspondence, legal and financial materials, genealogical
papers, and other items of the Alston, Harriss, Kearny, Thorne, and related families, chiefly of Warren and Halifax counties,
N.C. Also included is Thorne family material largely from Saint Martin Parish, La. Correspondence pertains chiefly to personal
matters, but also deals with business affairs. Included are two letters, 1831, from Thomas Whitmell Harriss (1810-1890) describing
his religious conversion while he was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill; a few letters relating
to the Civil War in Virginia and Louisiana; and letters, 1890s, to Annie's sister, Tempe Williams Thorne (born 1874), from
family members and friends. Financial items include slave bills of sale and materials concerning tobacco sales in the 1850s.
Legal materials include items, 1866-1869, relating to cases handled by John Davis Thorne (1834-1900), justice of the peace
in St. Martin Parish, La.
Back to TopArrangement of Collection
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Financial Materials
Series 3. Legal Materials
Subseries 3.1. Parish of St. Martin
Subseries 3.2. Other legal papers
Series 4. Genealogical Material
Series 5. Other Papers
Series 6. Pictures
Back to TopItems Separated
P-4521/1-4
SF-P-4521/5
OP-4521
Detailed Description of the Collection
1. Correspondence, 1810-1896.
About 200 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters to and from members of the Alston, Harriss, Kearny, and Thorne families. For the most part, there is little connection
between the letters. There are a few letters from each person represented and a few from each year, but the exchange of letters
is not apparent. The earliest letters include some transcripts and photocopies, the originals of which are not present.
Two letters, 1831, from Thomas Whitmell Harriss (1810-1890) to his sister, Martha Rosanna Williams Harriss, describe his religious
conversion while he was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Letters from the 1850s are primarily business letters to W. K. Kearny from N. M. Martin, Bro. & Co., of Petersburg, Va., concerning
sales of tobacco and wheat.
Two letters, one from D. C. Clark and one from E. A. Thorne, both of whom were serving in the Confederate Army in Virginia,
describe Confederate military life in 1862. Also included are a pass, dated 18 February 1865, by which Samuel Thomas Thorne
was authorized by Governor Henry W. Allen to "introduce goods into our lines for the state of Louisiana"; a letter, dated 25 August 1865, in which L. L. Kearny discussed post-Civil War conditions; and a condolence letter from
Octavia Williams Polk, niece of William K. Kearny, to "Aunt Maria" on the death of William K. Kearny.
Three letters, 1876, and one, 1878, are from M. A. Kearny to her daughter, Martha Helen Hardee Kearny Harriss. A letter dated
23 January 1882 from T. W. Harriss of Tennessee to his uncle, written in Salina, Utah, describes Harriss's impressions of
the Mormons and the landscape in Utah. Also included are two letters, 26 January 1887 and 30 April 1889, to a Harriss family
member from Adolphus Williamson Mangum (1834-1890), Methodist minister and professor at the University of North Carolina.
Most of the letters in the 1890s are addressed to Tempe from cousins and friends in Washington, Littleton, and Oakland, N.C.,
as well as other places. Two letters are from S. O. Thorne at Trinity College in Durham, N.C., to his parents.
Folder
1
1810-1849
Folder
2
1852-1859
Folder
3
1860-1869
Folder
4
1870-1889
Folder
5
1891-1893
Folder
6
1894-1895
Folder
7
1896 June-July
Folder
8
1896 August-October
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2. Financial Materials, 1769-1882.
About 300 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly bills of sale, ledger sheets, and tax and bond receipts. Early materials relate to the Kearny and Alston families
in Warren County, N.C., including some documenting transactions having to do with the buying and selling of slaves. A volume,
1829, lists slaves by family, with the names and ages of the children. Also included are accounts, 1820s, of William K. Kearny
as guardian of Littleton and Joseph Maclin. Material from the 1850s chiefly relates to the sale of tobacco and other commodities
by William K. Kearny. Material in the 1860s includes Confederate States of America tax and bond receipts belonging to the
Louisiana branch of the Thorne family.
Folder
9
1769-1818
Folder
10
1821-1823
Folder
11
1824
Folder
12
1825
Folder
13
1826
Folder
14
1827-1828
Folder
15
1829
Folder
16
1830-1846
Folder
17
1852-1856
Folder
18
1857-1859
Folder
19
1860-1869
Folder
20
1872-1882
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3.1. Saint Martin Parish, 1866-1869 and undated.
About 50 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Materials relating to cases handled by John Davis Thorne (1834-1900), justice of the peace in Saint Martin Parish, La. These
are chiefly documents ordering constables Godfrey Dupre and Alexandre Patin to collect certain sums from individuals against
whom small claims judgments were made. Also included are several sheets detailing testimony by witnesses to a shooting, a
poisoning, and other serious crimes. Financial material that appears to relate to some of the cases tried before Thorne is
filed in folder 22. Much of this material is in French.
Folder
21-22
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3.2. Other Legal Papers, 1784-1959.
About 40 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Indentures, deeds, wills, and other legal papers of various families. Those dated 1811 through 1835 are chiefly wills and
indentures relating to the Alston, Williams, and Kearny families in Warren County, N.C.; later papers relate chiefly to the
Thorne, Harriss, and Clarke families in Beaufort and Warren County, N.C.
Folder
23-24
Other legal papers, 1784-1959
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4. Genealogy, 1826-1965 and undated.
About 60 items.
Letters, notes, printed materials, and other items relating to the Alston, Harriss, Kearny, Whitmell, Williams, and Thorne
families. Included are a large family tree that traces five generations beginning with Samuel Thorne (1767-1838), correspondence
about the Thorne coat of arms, and several applications for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Folder
25
Alston, Harriss, Kearny, Whitmell, Williams families
Folder
26
Thorne family
Folder
27
Coat of arms
Folder
28
Clippings
Folder
29
D.A.R. applications
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5. Other Items, 1866-1909 and undated.
About 40 items.
Certificates include William R. Kearny's pardon for having served the Confederacy and his acknowledgement of receipt and acceptance
of the pardon and Thomas W. Harriss's Dental Surgeon Certificate of Registration, dated 15 February 1890.
Writings include an essay dated 28 February 1890 by Tempie Thorne on "The Pleasures of the Imagination"; an address by Thomas Whitmell Harriss (1810-1890) on the future of the South; and essay titled "Woman in Mission Work" and several poems, one of which was written by T. W. Harriss in 1878.
School material includes the 1902 class schedule for Nena Thorne at Randolph-Macon Woman's College; grade reports, 1904-1905,
for T. Whitmell Thorne from Littleton High School, Littleton, N.C.; and grade reports, 1908 and 1909, for T. W. Thorne from
the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, West Raleigh.
Printed items include a funeral sermon, 1861, on the death of James W. Harriss of Halifax County, N.C., by Reverend A. W.
Mangum; a program for Children's Day, A Missionary Festival, on Sunday, 2 June 1889; an invitation to "A Poverty Soshul" to be held at the residence of E. S. Hoyt, 19 April 1894; a newspaper clipping, 1888, of the charge to the jury in James
Harriss's suit against the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad Company for false arrest; and "Our Boys and Girls," volume 1, no. 1, Littleton, N.C., September 1901, published monthly by S. T. Thorne Junior, editor and publisher.
Folder
30
Certificates
Folder
31
Writings
Folder
32
School
Folder
33
Printed items
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Image
P-4521/1
Photograph of unidentified young man, 1 August 1863.
Image
P-4521/2
Photograph, verso reading: "Mrs. [Thomas?] Harriss at Kell Vault, taken 24 years ago, Doc was buried at bottom on the left," [1916?].
Image
P-4521/3
Photograph of "Grandpa J. J. W.'s picture." Negative on file.
Image
P-4521/4
Photograph, verso reading: "William Williams Thorne," undated.
Special Format Image
SF-P-4521/5
Tintype of two unidentified girls. A figure, apparently male, seated between them has been cut out of the picture.
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