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Collection Number: 04624

Collection Title: Wishart Family Papers, circa 1830-1999

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 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 110 items)
Abstract The Wishart Family Papers consist of materials relating to Francis Marion Wishart's Civil War military service, his participation in the war on the Lowry (also spelled Lowery) gang and Lumbee people in and around Lumberton, Robeson County, N.C., and to Wishart family history. Civil War materials include Wishart's copy of the 1861 "Manual of Infantry and Rifle Tactics"; his diary containing brief entries, 1861-1862, chiefly reporting troop movements, camp life, and other aspects of his service in the Confederate army; three letters, 1861-1865; and a few other items chiefly relating to camp life. Lowry gang materials include correspondence, chiefly from July and August 1871, between Wishart and his recruits in the violent conflict with Indigenous peoples; notes and writings relating to the Lowry gang; clippings; a photograph depicting three men with shotguns and a Lowry gang member who had been murdered, circa 1871; photocopies of Wishart's journal, circa 1867-1872, documenting his pursuit of the Lowry gang; an unattributed account of the Lowry gang's activities circa 1864 to 1871; and other related research materials. Family history materials include correspondence, 1906-1963, chiefly of William Clifton Wishart and Annabel Wishart Lane, who were involved in gathering information on family history; notes and writings on the Wishart and related families; and pictures of family members.
Creator Wishart (Family : Robeson County, N.C.)
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 Wishart Family Papers #4624, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Frank H. Wishart of Bonita Springs, Fla., in June 1992 (Acc. 92104). Addition received from William McKee Evans of Pomona, Calif., in December 2011 (Acc. 101528).
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: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 1992

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010; Martin Gengenbach, January 2012

Conscious editing of Lowry gang materials by Nancy Kaiser, Sarah Carrier, and Saija Wilson, November 2022: abstract, subject headings, biographical note, collection overview, and contents list

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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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Wishart family members include Francis Marion Wishart (1837-1872) of Shoe Heel (now Maxton), near Lumberton in Robeson County, N.C., who married Lydia Maria Pittman (1845-1899) in 1866. Wishart, known as Frank, had served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. When he returned home, Robeson County was engulfed in violent conflict between Lumbee people and the white residents who had steadily encroached on and displaced the Lumbee from their land since the 1700s and lately had tried to forcibly conscript them into service in the Confederate army. The Lumbee were led by Henry Berry Lowry (also spelled Lowery), who, at 16, had witnessed the brutal execution of his father and brother after they had been falsely accused of theft. Wishart was persuaded to take up the war against the Lowry gang after the county decided to employ military tactics to search for and destroy the gang. Wishart drafted a large number of men to serve as foot soldiers in the conflict with Indigenous peoples, but was himself the victim of an ambush that ended his life on 2 May 1872.

Before his death, Frank Wishart instructed his pregnant wife and two small children to take refuge with relatives in Whiteville, Columbus County, N.C. There, William Clifton Wishart was born in 1871. He married Ann Armfield (b. 1874) in 1896 and fathered four children. William Clifton Wishart was a well-known railroad accountant, serving for many years as a vice president of the New York Central Railroad.

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The Wishart Family Papers consist of materials relating to Francis Marion Wishart's Civil War military service, his participation in the war on the Lowry (also spelled Lowery) gang and Lumbee people in and around Lumberton, Robeson County, N.C., and to Wishart family history. Civil War materials include Wishart's copy of the 1861 "Manual of Infantry and Rifle Tactics"; his diary, circa 100 pages, containing brief entries, 1861-1862, chiefly reporting on troop movements, camp life, and other aspects of his service in the Confederate army; three letters, 1861-1865; and a few other items chiefly relating to camp life.

Lowry gang materials include correspondence, chiefly from July and August 1871, between Wishart and his recruits in the violent conflict with Indigenous peoples; notes and writings relating to the Lowry gang; clippings; and a photograph depicting three men with shotguns and a Lowry gang member who had been murdered, circa 1871. The Addition of December 2011 includes photocopies of Francis Marion Wishart's journal, circa 1867-1872, documenting his pursuit of the Lowry gang; an unattributed account of the Lowry gang's activities circa 1864 to 1871; and other related research materials.

Family history materials include correspondence, 1906-1963, chiefly of William Clifton Wishart and Annabel Wishart Lane, who were involved in gathering information on family history; notes and writings on the Wishart and related families; and pictures of family members.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Wishart Papers, 1861-1999

About 100 items.

Materials relating to Francis Marion Wishart's Civil War military service, his participation in the war on the Lowry (also spelled Lowery) gang and Lumbee people in and around Lumberton, Robeson County, N.C., and to Wishart family history. Civil War materials include Wishart's copy of the 1861 "Manual of Infantry and Rifle Tactics"; his diary, circa 100 pages, containing brief entries, 1861-1862, chiefly reporting on troop movements, camp life, and other aspects of his service in the Confederate army; three letters, 1861-1865; and a few other items chiefly relating to camp life.

Lowry gang materials include correspondence, chiefly from July and August 1871, between Wishart and his recruits in the violent conflict with Indigenous peoples; notes and writings relating to the Lowry gang; clippings; and a photograph depicting three men with shotguns and Lowry gang member who had been murdered, circa 1871 (see Series 2). The Addition of December 2011 includes photocopies of Francis Marion Wishart's journal, circa 1867-1872, documenting his pursuit of the Lowry gang; an unattributed account of the Lowry gang's activities circa 1864 to 1871; and other related research materials.

Family history materials include correspondence, 1906-1963, chiefly of William Clifton Wishart and Annabel Wishart Lane, who were involved in gathering information on family history; notes and writings on the Wishart and related families; and pictures of family members (see Series 2).

Folder 1

"Manual of Infantry and Rifle Tactics," 1861

Folder 2

Francis Marion Wishart diary and other papers, 1861-1865

Folder 3

Lowry gang correspondence, 1871

Folder 4

Lowry gang notes and writings, 1871

Folder 5

Lowry gang notes and writings, 1870-1871, 1952

Includes handwritten and typescript transcriptions of diary.

Folder 6

Lowry gang clippings, 1935-1953 and undated

Folder 7

Family history correspondence, 1909-1963

Folder 8

Family history notes and writings

Folder 9

Francis Marion Wishart diary, 1867-1872

Acquisitions information: Accession 101528

Photocopied journal of Francis Marion Wishart with entires 1867-1872. There are frequent entries from July 1871 to March 1872, recording Wishart's pursuit of the Lowry gang in Robeson County, N.C. Many of the original handwritten journal entries are accompanied by typeset edited versions created by Wishart's son William Clifton Wishart. The edited versions differ from the handwritten journal entries, withholding names that in the original remain intact.

Folder 10

"Anonymous Manuscript," circa 1870s

Acquisitions information: Accession 101528

A detailed description of the activities of the Lowry gang, circa 1864-1871. Notable events include the murder of James P. Barnes and James Brantley Harris and Henry Berry Lowry's escape from prison. The final pages of the work list members of the Lowry gang and some of the crimes of which they were accused. The account does not appear to reference the 1872 murder of Francis Marion Wishart by the Lowry gang. The author of the work is unknown, though several possible candidates have been identified by the donor: J. Luther McLean, B. Frank McLean, and Hamilton McMillan. McMillan represented Robeson County in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1885 to 1887.

Folder 11

William McKee Evans research materials, circa 1830-1850, 1986-1999

Acquisitions information: Accession 101528

Research materials collected by the donor while researching his 1971 book, To Die Game: the Story of the Lowry Band, Indian Guerillas of Reconstruction. Included are photocopies of tax documents and court records from Robeson County, N.C., and newspaper clippings from the 1830s and 1850s that mention the Lowry family. Also included are clippings and other items, 1986-1999, related to the renovation of the Henry Berry Lowry House.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Photographs, circa 1871-1930

10 items.
Special Format Image SF-P-4624/1

Photograph depicting three men (tentatively identified by the donor as Wishart family members) with shotguns and a Lowry gang member who had been murdered, circa 1871

Tintype

Photographic copy filed with the tintype.

Digital content has been removed and is under review. If you have questions please contact wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Special Format Image SF-P-4624/2

Photograph of unidentified young girl

Tintype

Image P-4624/1

Photograph of Francis Marion Wishart, circa 1871

Negative available.

Image P-4624/2

Photograph of the William Clifton Wishart birthplace, 1871

Image P-4624/3

Photograph of an unidentified older woman

Image P-4624/4

Photograph of an unidentified older woman

Image P-4624/5

Photograph of an unidentified older woman

Image P-4624/6

Photograph of an unidentified younger woman and child

Image P-4624/7

Photograph of family members strutting on boardwalk, circa 1930s

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