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Collection Number: 04057-z

Collection Title: Weedon and Whitehurst Family Papers, 1824-1869; 1932-1966?

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.


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

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Size 63 items
Abstract Scattered business papers, commissions and army orders, and letters of Frederick Weedon (1784-1857), physician of St. Augustine, Fla.; his daughter, Henrietta Williams Weedon Whitehurst (1821-1885); and her husband, Daniel Winchester Whitehurst (1808-1872), newspaper editor, physician, and member of the American Colonization Society. The papers pertain to but do not give extensive information about Whitehurst's activities in Liberia, 1831-1834; the Seminole Indian War and the Seminole leader Osceola (circa 1804-1838); Dr. Weedon's estate and the sale of his slaves; the Union occupation of Key West, Fla., during the Civil War; and Whitehurst's service at Fort Jefferson, Fla., during the yellow fever epidemic of 1867. Letters from George St. Leger Grenfell and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, prisoners at the fort, are included, as are a note, 1857, from Louis Agassiz, and a letter, 1867, from Jefferson Davis sending money to aid Grenfell. Also included is a note from Varina Davis. Twentieth-century papers include papers about the military record of Frederick Weedon in the War of 1812 and two letters about relics of Osceola.
Creator Weedon (Family : Weedon, Frederick, 1784-1857)

Whitehurst (Family : Whitehurst, Daniel Winchester, 1807-1872)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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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 Weedon and Whitehurst Family Papers #4057-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy available.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Frederick R. Weedon of Chapel Hill, N.C., in June 1975.
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: Suzanne Ruffing, August 1996

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

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

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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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Dr. Frederick Weedon (1784-1857) was born in Maryland and moved to Alabama and then Florida, where he bought land in Leon County in 1829 and in St. Augustine, including the six acres known as "Orange Grove," in 1834. He was mayor of St. Augustine in 1835; served in the Florida militia during the was with the Seminole Indians, 1835-1837; and was acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1838, accompanying a group of soldiers and Indian prisoners, including the leader Osceola, to Fort Moultrie near Charleston, S.C. He was married to Mary Wells Thompson, who died in 1849. He lived the last years of his life with his daughter Henrietta and her husband; he died at Fort Jefferson in 1857.

Henrietta Williams Weedon, the third child of her parents and the oldest to survive past youth, married Daniel Winchester Whitehurst in St. Augustine in 1843. She was born in 1821 in Alabama and died in Florida in 1885.

Daniel Winchester Whitehurst (1808-1872), a native of Norfolk, Va., traveled in Africa, where he was associated with the American Colonization Society in Liberia, 1831-1835. He went to St. Augustine, where he was editor and publisher of the St. Augustine News, 1838-1840, also practicing law and serving at intervals in the army during the Seminole wars. He sold the newspaper early in 1841 and relinquished the editorship. He received an M.D. degree from New York University in 1843. He married Henrietta Weedon and moved to Key West. where he served as army physician until the Civil War. He died in Key West on 19 January 1872.

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Scattered papers, 1824-1832, include signed documents, one in Spanish, 1824-1825, of A. de Letamendi (or Setamendi), Spanish consul in St. Augustine, acknowledging the receipt of advances made to him by Samuel Cook; a certificate, 1831, admitting Daniel Winchester Whitehurst to the Colony of Sierra Leone for one month for health reasons; permission, 1832, for D. W. Whitehurst to depart for Liberia; and arrangements, 1832, for a duel between James D. Westcott, Jr., and Thomas Baltzell, to be fought in Alabama, made by Frederick Weedon as the second for Baltzell and James H. Randolph as the second for Westcott.

Papers from 1834 consist of a bond for Weedon to pay for land in St. Augustine he had purchased from administrators of the estate of Mrs. Joseph F. Bravo; a newspaper clipping about the wreck of the ship Jupiter off the Manna River on the coast of Africa and the plunder of the cargo by natives; an appointment by John B. Pinney, agent of the American Colonization Society, of D. W. Whitehurst, resident of Liberia, to commissioner empowered to settle differences among the "interior tribes" and select a location for a new settlement. In 1835, Whitehurst was again appointed by Pinney to be his assistant for carrying out duties as U.S. agent for "Recaptured Africans" in the colony. There is also a letter, 1835, to Whitehurst from Pinney referring to events in Liberia.

There are three items from 1837 pertaining to Whitehurst's military service as lieutenant and later captain in the East Florida Mounted Volunteers, Army of the South, during the war with the Seminole Indians and his honorable discharge from 1838. Items from 1840 include a paper from Weightman Key Hanson, lieutenant, U.S. Army, thanking the gentlemen and citizens of St. Augustine for the sword given to him and defending himself from the "imputation of having violated the white flag." There is also a copy from the St. Augustine News of an order of General Armistead about the end of the armistice and how Indians who appeared under the white flag were to be taken as prisoners.

Papers about Osceola, the Seminole chief, include a letter, 1843, from Whitehurst to Dr. Valentine Mott, sending him the head of Osceola for study and describing Osceola; an undated note, 1843 or 1844, of Leslie W. Weedon telling of the association of Osceola with Dr. Frederick Weedon, who served as acting assistant surgeon, U.S. Army, for the party of soldiers and Indian prisoners, including Osceola, sent from Florida to Fort Moultrie, S.C., in 1838, and who remained on duty there until after Osceola's death; and a letter, 1844, partially destroyed, from Dr. Valentine Mott, acknowledging the receipt of the head of Osceola and telling of plans to preserve it.

Papers, 1847-1861, include bills of sale or exchanges of slaves in 1848, 1853-1857, 1860 and 1861. The bills of sale or exchange, 1853-1857, stem from a transaction, 1853, between Frederick Weedon and Henrietta W. Whitehurst whereby, in exchange for slaves, Weedon received care and a guaranteed annuity for the remainder of his life and reimbursement by her and her husband to be paid her brothers. Included are several papers relating to this arrangement. Also included are printed army orders, 1847, from Tampico, Winfield Scott, announcing staff appointments, and three notes, 1857-1859, from Louis Agassiz to Dr. Whitehurst introducing another botanist, James E. Mills, and referring to specimens.

During the Civil War, papers include a copy of order, 1863, by General David Hunter sending to Hilton Head, S.C., all white families from Key West who had close relatives in Confederate employment, but who had not taken the oath of allegiance; an order, 1863, to Whitehurst enclosing preceding orders; a certificate, 1863, that the oath of allegiance attached was a copy of the one taken by Whitehurst in 1861; a broadside, 1863, of Lincoln's pardon proclamation; a circular of C. K. Stribling as commander of the E. G. B. Squadron, 1865, stating that the rebellion was practically over and soliticiting aid in restoring peace; a certified copy, 1865, of the amnesty oath of D. W. Whitehurst; and a certificate, 1865, stating that Whitehurst was elected to represent his district in the Florida Senate.

Papers, 1867-1869, consist of orders, 1867, by General George P. Andrews commending the good conduct of several persons during the yellow fever epidemic, including Whitehurst, who volunteered aid and had not been remunerated; a letter, 1867, from Assistant Surgeon General C. H. Crane thanking Whitehurst for his services and saying that a contract for duty at Key West was forthcoming; a letter, 1867, from Jefferson Davis and a note, 1867, from Varina Davis sending money for aid to George St. Leger Grenfell, a prisoner at Fort Jefferson; a letter, 1867, from Dr. Samuel A. Mudd telling Whitehurst of his work in the hospital at Fort Jefferson during the epidemic; a letter, 1868, of Major George P. Andrews, about articles for the use of prisoners and about Grenfell; two letter, 1868, from Grenfell about his services during the epidemic and about articles sent to him indicating that he did not know who Varina Davis was; a deed, 1868, from Hamilton E. C. Weedon to Henrietta Whitehurst for land in Key West and a quitclaim, 1868, to the land from his wife Mary E. C. Weedon; and letters, 1868-1869, from Mudd about legal affairs relating to a statement he made to William H. Gleason when Gleason was investigating the assassination of Lincoln, the escape of Grenfell and his following disappearance at sea, Mudd's own life since his release, and his inability to help Whitehurst get an appointment.

Papers, 1932 and undated, deal with the military record of Frederick Weedon in the War of 1812 and his receipt of military bounty lands for that service and for his service in the Florida militia, 1835-1837; two letters, 1956 and 1966, about the relics of Osceola; a letter, 1963, about Whitehurst; and an undated letter about an army officer's discontent and the good conduct of Lt. Judd (Henry Bethell of Connecticut, graduate of the Military Academy, 1839, 3rd Artillery).

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Weedon and Whitehurst Family Papers, 1824-1869; 1932-1966?

Folder 1

1824-1835

Contains letters concerning the activities of the American Colonization Society, primarily between 1834-1835.

Folder 2

1837-1844

Folder 3

1847-1863

Contains bills of sale of enslaved people in 1847, 1860, and 1861.

Folder 4

1865-1869

Folder 5

1932-1966 and undated

Reel M-4057/1

Microfilm

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Microfilm (M-4057/1)

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