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Collection Number: 00767-z

Collection Title: Cary Whitaker Papers, 1798-1930

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

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 originally processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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Size About 30 items
Abstract Cary Whitaker was born on 1 January 1832 in Halifax County, N.C. He was a student at the University of North Carolina, 1850-1852; a teacher, 1852-1857; and a lawyer, 1857-1861. During the Civil War, he was captain and then acting colonel of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, C.S.A. He was judge advocate, C.S.A., 1864-1865. He died 20 April 1865 as a result of wounds received in battle. The collection consists of a diary, 1864, written while Whitaker was captain of Company D, 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, serving in Virginia, recounting camp life, battles, and hospital experience; Whitaker's notebook containing model statements for indictments or convictions for crimes, most involving slaves or free blacks, 1859; an inventory of property of J. S. and Cary Whitaker, 1865, and other entries; Civil War documents, 1862-1865; and scattered Whitaker family papers, including a few family and business letters from Halifax County, N.C., 1798-1980.
Creator Whitaker, Cary, 1832-1865.
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.
Restrictions to Use
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 Cary Whitaker Papers #767, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy of original deposit available.
  • Reel 1: Series 1, Diary, 7 May-12 July 1864
  • Reel 2: Series 1, Notebook, 1865
  • Reel 3: Series 1, Papers, 1798-1930
Acquisitions Information
Received from Susie, Elizabeth, and Lulie Whitaker of Enfield, N.C., in March 1945, and from Margaret B. Tobin in August 2006 (Acc. 100478).
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 and Amy Johnson, September 2007

Encoded by: Amy Johnson, September 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, September 2010

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

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Cary Whitaker was born on 1 January 1832 in Halifax County, N.C. He was a student at the University of North Carolina, 1850-1852; a teacher, 1852-1857; and a lawyer, 1857-1861. During the Civil War, he was captain and then acting colonel of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, C.S.A. He was judge advocate, C.S.A., 1864-1865. He died 20 April 1865 as a result of wounds received in battle.

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Papers of Cary Whitaker include personal and business letters, the bulk from 1845 to 1872; a few deeds, including one from 1798 from John Branch of Halifax County, N.C., to the trustees of the University of North Carolina; receipts; estate papers concerning the property of J. S. and Cary Whitaker, after the latter's death; two North Carolina law licenses, 1857 and 1858; and a Phi Society (UNC) diploma, 1851.

The three volumes include one diary and two notebooks. One notebook, 1859, contains lawyer's definitions with model statements for indictments or convictions for crimes, most involving slaves or free blacks. The second notebook, 1865, contains an inventory of J. S. and Cary Whitaker's property after the latter's death. The diary, 7 May-12 July 1864, describes camp life, battles, and hospital experiences while Cary Whitaker served as captain of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment. during the Civil War.

The August 2006 addition includes five documents relating to Whitaker's Civil War experiences: a morning report roster from the Petersburg, Va., area, 1 May 1862; a permission to go on leave, 15 December 1863; a descriptive list and account of pay and clothing, 3 September 1864; a certificate to be given a soldier at the time of his discharge; and a list of Company D, 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, undated.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Papers, 1798-1930.

About 25 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 1

Papers, 1798-1930 (bulk 1845-1872)

Papers include personal and business letters, the bulk from 1845 to 1872; a few deeds, including one from 1798 from John Branch of Halifax County to the trustees of UNC; a letter from 1930; receipts; and estate papers concerning the property of J. S. and Cary Whitaker, after the latter's death.

Folder 2

Notebook, 1859

Folder 3

Diary, 7 May-12 July 1864

Folder 4

Notebook, 1865

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-767/1

Papers, 1851-1858

Papers include two North Carolina law licenses, 1857 and 1858; and a Phi Society (UNC) diploma, 1851.

Reel M-767/1-3

M-767/1

M-767/2

M-767/3

Microfilm

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of August 2006, 1862-1865.

5 items.

Folder 5

Papers, 1862-1865

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