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Collection Number: 02960-z

Collection Title: William Ray Wells Papers, 1813-1905

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 71 items
Abstract William Ray Wells served with the 12th New York Regiment in federal camps near Washington, D.C., and in Virginia. He was possibly killed in battle in August 1862. The collection is chiefly letters, 1831-1862, from William Ray Wells to his family in New York and Wisconsin. Wells's letters refer to camp life and battles and to his unhappiness with the necessity of serving in the army. The collection also contains correspondence of Wells's family members, which includes references to Seventh Day Adventist activities in the 1840s and 1850s; an ambrotype and a tintype depicting unidentified Wells family members; and other items.
Creator Wells, William Ray, d. 1862?
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 William Ray Wells Papers #2960-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mrs. Edward H. Roberts of Talladega, Ala., in June 1953.
Additional Descriptive Resources
A detailed listing of the letters is available in Folder 1.
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: Jackie Dean, July 2007

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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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William Ray Wells served with the 12th New York Regiment in federal camps near Washington, D.C., and in Virginia. He was possibly killed in battle in August 1862.

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Chiefly letters, 1861-1862, from William Ray Wells to his family in New York and Wisconsin. Wells's letters refer to life in federal camps with the 12th New York Regiment and on the battlefield. Wells also wrote of his unhappiness with the necessity of serving in the army. The collection also contains correspondence of Wells's family members, which includes references to Seventh Day Adventist activities in the 1840s and 1850s; an ambrotype and a tintype depicting unidentified Wells family members; and other items.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Papers, 1813-1905.

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