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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 FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1,330 items) |
| Abstract | Edmonia Cabell Wilkins was a genealogist. Members of her family included Edmonia's greatgrandfather, planter William Wyche Wilkins (1768-1840); William's twin brother, planter and lawyer John Limbrey Wilkins (1768-1850); and William's son, planter and lawyer Edmund Wilkins (1796-1867) The family lived chiefly in Greensville and Brunswick counties, Va., and Northampton County, N.C. The collection includes personal and business correspondence, financial and legal papers, genealogical materials, and other papers of several generations of the Wilkins family. Most of the letters are financial in nature. Financial and legal materials, 1782-1909, include bills and receipts concerning property, plantation affairs, and investments in several Virginia and North Carolina railroads; a few documents relating to the purchase and upkeep of slaves; lawyers' accounts and trial dockets from Halifax and Northampton counties, N.C.; and other legal and business papers. Plantation papers relate chiefly to the Belmont and Meadows plantations in Northampton County. Also included are account books for a shoemaker, a blacksmith, and the Gaston Hotel in Gaston, N.C. Other papers include notebooks of law students at the Litchfield Law Academy, Litchfield, Conn., ca. 1817-1819, and of a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, 1851-1860. About half the collection consists of items relating to the genealogical activities of Edmonia C. Wilkins, 1920-1949. There is little information on the Civil War or sectional tensions of the time. |
| Creator | Wilkins, Edmonia Cabell, 1865-1949. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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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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Biographical Information
Edmonia Cabell Wilkins (1865-1948), genealogist, was the daughter of physician Edmund Webb Wilkins (1830-1899). Other Wilkins family members include Edmund Webb Wilkins's grandfather, lawyer/planter William Wyche Wilkins (1768-1840), a native of Brunswick (later Greensville) County, Va., who moved to nearby Northampton County, N.C., around 1814; his grandfather's twin brother, lawyer/planter John Limbrey Wilkins (1768-1850) of Brunswick County, Va.; and William Wyche Wilkins's children, including lawyer/planter Edmund Wilkins (1796-1867) of Northampton County; John Limbrey Wilkins (1801-1843); William Webb Wilkins (1803-1858); and Rebecca A. Wilkins (1806-1842), wife of Alexander Brodnax (d. 1832).
The Wilkins family owned several plantations in the Roanoke River valley of North Carolina and Virginia. They also owned a significant number of slaves. As Whigs, they were active in the promotion of internal improvements, especially railroads to link the town of Gaston with Petersburg, Va., and Raleigh, N.C. Three members of the family--William Wyche Wilkins, John Limbrey Wilkins, and Edmund Wilkins--attended Litchfield Law Academy in Connecticut.
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Scope and Content
The collection contains personal and business correspondence, 1786-1949, of several generations of the Wilkins family of Greensville County, Va., Brunswick County, Va., and Northampton County, N.C. Most of the letters are financial in nature. Financial and legal materials, 1782-1909, include bills and receipts concerning property, plantation affairs, and railroad investments in several Virginia and North Carolina railroads; a few documents relating to the purchase and upkeep of slaves; lawyers' accounts and trial dockets from Halifax County, N.C., and Northampton County, N.C.; and other legal and business papers. Also included are account books for a shoemaker, a blacksmith, and the Gaston Hotel.
Other papers include notebooks of law students at Litchfield, Conn., ca. 1817-1819, and a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, 1851-1860. About half of the collection consists of items relating to the genealogy activities of Edmonia C. Wilkins, 1920-1949. There is little information on the Civil War or sectional tensions of the time.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1786-1949 and undated.
Arrangement: mostly chronological.
Chiefly business correspondence and business papers of several generations of the Wilkins family of Greensville and Brunswick counties, Va., and Northampton County, N.C., with scattered family letters.
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Subseries 1.1. Correspondence, 1786-1864 and undated.
Most of the early letters relate to William Wyche Wilkins and his twin brother John Limbrey Wilkins. After 1820, they relate increasingly to William W. Wilkins's son, Edmund Wilkins. Some letters, 1857-1861, have been bound together to form volume 1. Note that these letters, which deal largely with Edmund Wilkins's plantation affairs, are not in strict chronological order. With the exception of a few letters about family matters, correspondence in this series relates to such issues as plantation management; trade with merchants in Petersburg, Va., and other states; railroad investments; and other business matters. There are only three items from the Civil War years, and none of these relate directly to the war.
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Subseries 1.2. Correspondence, 1880-1949 and undated.
The few letters before 1920 deal chiefly with routine family matters. The bulk of the letters are dated 1920 to 1949 and are addressed to Edmonia C. Wilkins from Eric Norfleet and E. W. Lewis; they deal chiefly with Edmonia's investments in second mortgages. Some later family correspondence is also included.
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Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers, 1782-1909 and undated.
Chiefly bills and receipts concerning property; plantation affairs; investments in several Virginia and North Carolina railroads; documents relating to the purchase, hire, and maintenance of slaves; lawyers' accounts and trial dockets from Halifax and Northampton counties, N.C.; and other legal and business papers. Also included are account books for a shoemaker, a blacksmith, and the Gaston Hotel.
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Subseries 2.1. Loose Financial and Legal Papers, 1782-1909 and undated.
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Subseries 2.1.1. Loose Financial and Legal Papers, 1782-1865 and undated.
Chiefly bills and receipts concerning property, plantation affairs, railroad investments in several Virginia and North Carolina railroads, with a few items relating to the purchase, hire, and maintenance of slaves. Also included are scattered receipts, 1805-1835, from racing seasons at the Belfield Jockey and Racing Club. Most are written on the backs of playing cards.
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Subseries 2.1.2. Loose Financial and Legal Papers, 1874-1909 and undated.
Chiefly land records, deed abstracts, and records of the burial expenses of Nicholas E. Davis (d. 1874).
| Folder 22 |
1874-1909 and undated after 1865 #02364, Subseries: "2.1.2. Loose Financial and Legal Papers, 1874-1909 and undated." Folder 22 |
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Subseries 2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870.
Arrangement: chronological by latest date.
| Folder 23 |
Volume 2, 1811-1916, 180 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 23Account book of William Wyche Wilkins in Greensville County, Va., and Northampton County, N.C. (formerly volume 20) |
| Folder 24 |
Volume 3, 1824-1826, 160 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 24Account book, owner unknown (formerly volume 22) |
| Folder 25 |
Volume 4, 1824-1827, 258 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 25Shoemaker's account book, owner unknown (formerly volume 2) |
| Folder 26 |
Volumes 5-9, 1830-1837, 127 pp. total #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 26Trial dockets kept by Edmund Wilkins for Northampton and Halifax counties, N.C. See also volumes 14-15 (formerly volume 24) |
| Folder 27-28 |
Volume 10-11, 1837-1840, 40 pp. total #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 27-28Record books with brief entries relating to the operation of rail and stage lines and passenger accommodations in Gaston, N.C. Companies mentioned include the Petersburg and Greensville Railroad Company, the Petersburg Railroad Company, and the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company Folder 27Folder 28 |
| Folder 29 |
Volume S-12, 1837-1840, 163 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 29Gaston Hotel account book |
| Folder 30 |
Volume 13, 1824-1841, ca. 110 pp. (pages 64-110 missing) #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 30Book belonging to Edmund Wilkins, including lists of books in Wilkins's library, inventories of slaves, and an inventory of William Wilkins's estate (formerly volume 23) |
| Folder 31 |
Volume 14-15, 1838-1841, 98 pp. total #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 31Trial dockets kept by Edmund Wilkins for Northampton and Halifax counties, N.C. See also volumes 5-9 (formerly volumes 24 and 25) |
| Folder 32 |
Volume 16, 1790-1849, 183 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 32Account book of John Limbrey Wilkins of Brunswick County, Va. (formerly volume 1) |
| Folder 33 |
Volume S-17, 1850-1853, 103 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 33Account book, owner unknown, (formerly volume 6) |
| Folder 34 |
Volume 18. 1853-1865. 1-3 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 34Belmont and Meadows plantation accounts, (formerly volume 7) |
| Folder 35 |
Volume 19, 1836-1870, 53 pp. #02364, Subseries: "2.2. Financial and Legal Volumes, 1811-1870." Folder 35Entries in two different hands, owner(s) unknown, 1836-1842 entries are financial accounts; entries from the 1860s through 1870 list notes due |
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Series 3. Genealogical Materials, 1925-1948 and undated.
Correspondence, notes, and other materials of Edmonia C. Wilkins concerning the genealogy of the Wilkins and related families.
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Subseries 3.1. Genealogical Correspondence, 1925-1948 and undated.
Correspondence of Edmonia C. Wilkins with family members and others concerning the genealogy of the Wilkins and related families.
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Subseries 3.2. Genealogical Notes and Clippings, undated.
Notes collected by Edmonia C. Wilkins on the genealogy of the Wilkins and related families.
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Series 4. Other Papers, 1817-1860 and undated.
Notebooks of law students at Litchfield, Conn., ca. 1817-1819; Edmund Wilkins's medical notebook, ca. 1851-1860; and miscellaneous papers, including an undated script for a Masonic ceremony, a prayer in German, a map of Gaston, N.C., several recipes, and a manuscript copy of a fairy tale called "The Little Grey Mouse."
| Folder 68-69 |
Volume 20-21, ca. 1817-1819, ca. 110 pp. total #02364, Series: "4. Other Papers, 1817-1860 and undated." Folder 68-69Notebooks of law students at Litchfield, Conn., (formerly volumes 13 and 19) Folder 68Folder 69 |
| Folder 70 |
Volume 22, ca. 1851-1860, 122 pp. #02364, Series: "4. Other Papers, 1817-1860 and undated." Folder 70Edmund Wilkins's medical notebook probably kept while he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania (formerly Volume 4) |
| Folder 71 |
Miscellaneous papers #02364, Series: "4. Other Papers, 1817-1860 and undated." Folder 71 |
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Items Separated
Items separated include oversize volumes V-2364/S-12 and V-2364/S-17.
Back to TopProcessed by: Scott Philyaw, July 1992
Encoded by: Mara Dabrishus, September 2004
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the encoding of this finding aid.
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