Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#1437
WALTON FAMILY PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Walton family, including William Walton
(fl.1811-1843), who emigrated to western Alabama from
South Carolina, ca. 1820. As of 1836, Walton and his
wife Justina L. Walton (fl. 1836-1866) were living at
Strawberry Hill Plantation near Forkland, Greene
County, Ala., where they chiefly planted cotton.
Walton family members also lived at times in Eutaw,
Ala. Their daughter Justina S. married James Daniel
Webb (1818-1863) around 1853.
Chiefly family correspondence and financial and
legal papers, 1850s to 1870s, relating to Walton
family members. Included are many letters, 1861-1863,
between staff officer James Daniel Webb and Justina S.
Walton Webb, while he served with the 5th Alabama
Regiment in Florida and Virginia, from May 1861 to May
1862, and as lieutenant colonel with the 51st Alabama
Regiment in Tennessee, from November 1862 until his
death in July 1863. Financial papers include an
account book, 1834-1835, about buying goods and
selling cotton through commission merchants at Mobile,
Ala., by way of the Tombigbee River, and later items
that reflect Justina L. Walton's management of family
finances, including running the plantation after her
husband's death around 1855. There are, however, few
items relating directly to plantation management or to
the more than 100 slaves the Walton's owned. Other
items include maps, ca. 1820s, of land in Western
Alabama, and legal papers related to land purchases in
western Alabama; a small 1804 volume containing
accounts for building a house; a "conduct sheet" for
four Webb children; and a McLean's Family Almanac for
1868 with brief annotations.
Online Catalog Terms:
Alabama--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Commission merchants--Alabama--History--19th century.
Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama Regiment, 5th.
Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama Regiment, 51st.
Cotton trade--Alabama--History--19th century.
Discipline of children--Alabama--History--19th century.
Eutaw (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Forkland (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Greene County (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Greensboro (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Hale County (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Mobile (Ala.)--Commerce--History--19th century.
Plantations--Alabama.
Strawberry Hill Plantation (Greene County, Ala.).
Tombigbee River (Ala.)--Commerce--History--19th century.
Walton, Justina L., fl. 1836-1866.
Walton family.
Webb, James Daniel, 1818-1863.
Webb, Justina S. Walton, fl. 1836-1910.
Webb family.
Women plantation owners--Alabama.
Size: About 500 items (1.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Mr. and Mrs. P. Henry Pitts of
Greensboro, Ala., in 1948.
Access: No restrictions.
Related Collections: James Lusk Alcorn Papers (#5).
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
Members of the Walton family, including William Walton (fl.
1811-1843) and John G. Walton (fl. 1811-1844), emigrated from
South Carolina to Alabama around 1820. William Walton and his
wife Justina L. (Jessie) Walton (fl. 1836-1866) had at least two
children, Justina S. (Jessie) (fl. 1836-1910) and Louisa W. (Lou)
(fl. 1836-1880). As of 1836, they were living at Strawberry Hill
Plantation near Forkland, Greene County, Ala. Members of the
family also lived at Eutaw, Greensboro, and Kirkpatricks Landing,
Ala.
Upon her husband's death, Justina L. Walton assumed
responsibility for her family's financial affairs. The estate
she inherited included the family cotton plantation of
approximately 1000 acres and 100 slaves located in Township 20,
Range 2 East (see "Assesment [sic] of the property of Justina L.
Walton made June 30th '55 ... upon the affidavit of J. D. Webb,
agent," Volume 1, James Lusk Alcorn Papers, Southern Historical
Collection).
About 1853, Justina S. Walton married James Daniel Webb
(1818-1863), who appears to have moved to Alabama from North
Carolina sometime in the 1840s. Together they had at least two
children, Minnie (fl. 1861-1897) and James E. In May 1861, James
Daniel Webb joined the 5th Alabama Regiment and travelled with it
to camps and in the field in Florida and Virginia. While on the
regimental staff, at least part of the time as assistant
quartermaster, he served with several Confederate Army officers,
including generals Robert Emmet Rodes (1829-1864) and Richard
Stoddert Ewell (1817-1872), and lieutenant colonels Allen
Cadwallader Jones (b. 1811) of Greene County, Ala., and John
Tyler Morgan (1824-1907) of Selma, Ala. In May 1862, Webb was
appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 51st Alabama
Regiment ("Partisan Rangers"); John Tyler Morgan was appointed
colonel. The 51st Alabama operated in Tennessee. Webb was
mortally wounded in a skirmish near Elk River, Tenn., on 2 July
1863. Subsequently, Justina S. Walton Webb managed her financial
and personal affairs at Kirkpatricks Landing and Forkland, Ala.,
from 1866 until her death around 1910.
Collection Overview
This collection consists chiefly of 19th-century personal
correspondence and financial and legal papers of the Walton and
Webb families. There are also miscellaneous loose writings and
six maps, ca. 1820s, of land in western Alabama.
Although William Walton and his wife Justina L. Walton owned
and operated a cotton plantation in Greene County, Ala., there
are few items directly related to the running of the plantation
or to the approximately 100 slaves who lived and worked there.
Financial and legal papers, however, include a number of
plantation-related receipts from cotton merchants, including R.
Moore & Company, Cotton Factors, of Mobile, Ala. Information in
many of the items, including an 1834-1835 account book, indicates
that goods were regularly shipped between Mobile and points up
and down the Tombigbee River and its tributaries.
Personal letters in this collection include correspondence
between Justina S. Walton Webb at Greensboro, Hale County, Ala.,
and James Daniel Webb in the Confederate Army. Her letters
chiefly discuss family and personal matters. Serving as a staff
officer (quartermaster) with the 5th Alabama Regiment from May
1861 to May 1862, Webb wrote mostly from camp and field locations
in Florida and Virginia. Subsequently, while serving as
lieutenant colonel of the 51st Alabama Regiment ("Partisan
Rangers") from July 1862 until he was wounded on 2 July 1863, he
wrote from locations in Alabama and Tennessee. His letters
mostly discuss camp life, personal and family matters, weather,
the major movements of his regiment, and his fellow officers.
Other letters chiefly relate to personal and family concerns of
members of the Walton and Webb families.
Other items include a small 1804 volume containing accounts
for building a house; a McLean's Family Almanac for 1868, with
brief annotations by Justina L. Walton; questions derived from
reading a naturalist book; a culinary thesaurus; a list of
compatible flower decorations; a thesaurus of medicines; a
school-age composition by Justina L. Walton entitled "On
Romping"; and a silhouette of an unknown man.
The collection is arranged in the series and subseries listed
below:
Series 1. Correspondence.
Subseries 1.1. 1828-1860 (49 items).
Subseries 1.2. 1861-1865 (148 items).
Subseries 1.3. 1866-1901 (44 items).
Subseries 1.4. Undated (24 items).
Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers.
Subseries 2.1. 1811-1865 (139 items).
Subseries 2.2. 1866-1910 (82 items).
Subseries 2.3. Undated (15 items).
Series 3. Account books, notebooks, and
miscellaneous volumes (11 items).
Series 4. Maps and other loose materials.
Subseries 4.1. Other loose materials (7 items).
Subseries 4.2. Maps (6 items).
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1828-1901 and undated. 265 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Subseries 1.1. 1828-1860
49 items.
Letters to and from members of the Walton family, chiefly
concerning personal and family matters. Correspondents included
William Walton; Justina L. (Jessie) Walton; Louisa W. (Lou)
Walton; and Justina S. (Jessie) Walton. Beginning about the time
he married Justina Walton (ca. 1853), James Daniel Webb began
corresponding with Walton family members. Many of the letters
for this period mention social life and customs at various
Alabama locations, including the Strawberry Hill Plantation,
Forkland, Eutaw, Greensboro, and Mobile.
There are also two letters from Margaret Smith at Greenville,
S.C., to her cousin Jesse L. Walton, which mention personal and
family news, cotton crops, illnesses, and church reforms; and
letters, dated 1853, from Justina S. Walton Webb and James Daniel
Webb at New York and Saratoga, N.Y., to Justina L. Walton at
Greensboro, Ala., about their honeymoon trip to the North.
Folder 1 1828, 1836, 1841, 1843
2 1848-1852
3 1853-1856
4 1857-1860
Subseries 1.2. 1861-1863
148 items.
Letters from the Civil War period are chiefly between Justina
S. Walton Webb at Greensboro, Ala., and James Daniel Webb in the
Confederate Army. Serving as a staff officer (quartermaster)
with the 5th Alabama Regiment from May 1861 to May 1862, Webb
wrote mostly from camp and field locations near Pensacola, Fla.
(May 1861) and Fairfax and Prince William counties, Va.
Subsequently, while serving as lieutenant colonel of the 51st
Alabama ("Partisan Rangers") Regiment from mid-1862 until he was
wounded on 2 July 1863, he wrote mostly from locations in
Tennessee, including near Murfreesboro, near Shelbyville, and at
Old Fosterville. His letters mostly discuss camp life, the
movements of his regiment, personal and family matters, weather,
his fellow officers, and religion. Justina's letters discuss
mostly family and personal matters.
Folder 5 1861 (January-July)
6 1861 (August-December)
7 1862 (January-May)
8 1862 (July-December 1862)
9 1863
Subseries 1.3. 1866-1901
44 items.
Letters chiefly to and from Justina S. Walton Webb at
Greensboro and Strawberry Hill Plantation, Ala.. There are also
scattered letters to and from other relatives. These letters
mostly concern family and personal matters. Correspondents
include Louisa Walton, Minnie Webb, James E. Webb, Jessie
Creswell, and Mary L. Creswell. In a letter, dated 23 March
1897, Emma Boardman[?] at Hangchow, China, wrote to Minnie Webb
at Greenboro, Ala., mostly about the weather and her missionary
work in China.
Folder 10 1866-1869
11 1872-1874
12 1875-1880, 1897, 1901
Subseries 1.4. Undated
24 items.
Scattered notes and letter fragments relating to members of
the Walton and Webb families.
Folder 13
Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers
1811-1910 and undated. 236 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly financial and legal papers of members of the Walton
and Webb families. There are scattered early papers relating to
John G. Walton, William Walton, James M. Walton, and Alfred Young
Walton, chiefly about land purchases and business matters in
Charleston, S.C., Pensacola, Fla., New Orleans, La., and Mobile
and St. Stephens, Ala. The bulk of these papers relate to
Justina L. Walton and Justina S. Walton Webb.
Subseries 2.1. 1811-1865
139 items.
Chiefly financial papers of Justina L. Walton at Forkland,
Kirkpatricks Landing, and Eutaw, Ala., including accounts and
business correspondence with James Crawford at Mobile, Ala.
There are also scattered business and legal papers relating to
William Walton, John Walton, William Walton and Company, James M.
Walton, and Alfred Young Walton. Some of the items are: a writ
of intent, dated 15 June 1811, for the payment of $5800 by
William Walton and Company at Charleston, S.C.; a document, 1823,
relating to a 640-acre tract of land granted to William Walton in
1819 by the governor of Pensacola; a document, dated 10 June
1826, relating to the purchase of land by James M. Walton of
Greene County, Ala., at St. Stephens, Ala.; and an indenture,
dated 22 September 1829, between Alfred Young Walton and Cannan
Pistole.
There is one Confederate army document, ca.1861, authorizing
the allocation of $20,000 to James Daniel Webb, acting assistant
quartermaster for the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment in Virginia,
for dispensation.
Folder 14 1811-1830
15 1832-1839
16 1840-1849
17 1850-1851
18 1852-1853, 1855-1860
19 1861-1865
Subseries 2.2. 1866-1910
82 items.
Chiefly financial papers of Justina S. Walton Webb
Folder 20 1866-1876
21 1871-1879
22 1887-1889, 1903, 1910
Subseries 2.3. Undated
15 items.
Scattered financial and legal papers relating mostly to
members of the Walton family, including a list of silverware
bought and a document concerning a tract of land.
Folder 23
Series 3. Volumes
11 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Volumes as described below:
Folder 24 Account book, 1804 (9 p.).
Accounts for building a house.
25 Account book, 1834-1835 (304 p.).
Accounts for shipping. Includes lists of goods
ordered and delivered to persons living along the
banks of the Tombigbee, Little Tombigbee, and
Black Warrior rivers in Alabama, delivered by the
ship Ophelia or another vessel. Many places are
named, including Fairfield, Derden's Landing,
Chickasaw Bluff, Woods Bluff, Jones Bluff,
Kirkpatricks Landing, Bartons Bluff, Demopolis,
St. Stephens, Ivanhoe, and Mobile. A few Civil
War era newspaper clippings are pasted in.
25a Enclosures: two loose sheets and newspaper
clippings.
26 McLean's Family Almanac, 1868 (28 p.).
Includes handwritten annotations on some of the
monthly calendars. "J.L. Walton" on front cover.
26a Enclosure: scattered diary entries, author
unknown, December 1866 to March 1868 (5 p.).
27 Culinary thesaurus, undated (12 p.).
Definitions of foods and cooking techniques.
28 Naturalist questions, undated (27 p.).
List of questions, based on reading a book (title
not specified), dealing with subjects such as the
characteristics of spiders, sloths, snails, and
birds.
Series 4. Maps and Miscellaneous Loose Papers
1820s and undated. 13 items.
Subseries 4.1. Miscellaneous Loose Papers
7 items.
Undated "Patterns that will answer for other Flowers," a list
of compatible flower decorations; a thesaurus of medicines
entitled "Technical Names of Medicines, giving Latin names
followed by American forms; a conduct sheet for four Webb
children, with blank columns for "conduct" (good/bad),"temper"
(good/bad), and "punished" (with "whipped" crossed out); a script
for a scene from the New Testament (Mark xvi); "On Romping," a
school-age composition by Justina L. Walton, explaining why
little children should not romp, run, or climb trees; a
silhouette of an unknown man; and drawings of a circular design.
Folder 29
Subseries 4.2. Maps
6 items.
Maps, ca. 1820s, of land in western Alabama. There are five
plat maps, with names on some tracts, of the following areas:
Townships 19-20, Range 3 (dated 24 February 1820); Part of
Township 19, Range 3 East; Part of Township 19, Range 2 East;
Township 20, Range 1 East; and Township 20, Range 2 East (land
mostly west of Black Warrior River, including tracts owned by
John G. Walton. There is an undated map of a larger area,
embracing land west of the Tombigbee and Little Tombigbee rivers
to the Mississippi state line, and including Demopolis and
Chickasaw Bluff.
Folder 30
SHELF LIST
Box 1 Subseries 1.1 (folders 1-4)
Subseries 1.2 (folders 5-9)
Subseries 1.3 (folders 10-12)
Subseries 1.4 (folder 13)
Subseries 2.1 (folders 14-16)
Box 2 Subseries 2.1 (folders 17-19)
Subseries 2.2 (folders 20-22)
Subseries 2.3 (folder 23)
Series 3 (folders 24-28)
Subseries 4.1 (folder 29)
Subseries 4.2 (folder 30)
Items separated:
OP-1437/1-3