Cronly family papers, 1806-1944

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Summary

Creator:
Cronly family, Cronly, Michael, 1826-1898, Cronly family, Cronly, Margaret McLaughlin, 1827-1911, and Cronly, Michael, 1854-1930
Abstract:
The Cronly family included Michael Cronly, Sr., auctioneer and real estate broker of Wilmington, N.C. and his wife, Margaret McLaurin Cronly and their nine children. Collection comprises correspondence, financial and legal papers, writings, bound volumes, clippings and other print materials, and photographs of teh Cronly family of Wilmington, N.C. Topics include auctioneering and real estate in Wilmington, N.C.; Wilmington social life and economic conditions; Civil War experiences; African American life and condtions during Reconstruction; the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railway Company; railroad bonds; earthquake of 1886; and the Democratic Party and politics in North Carolina. Includes information on the Beatty, Cronly, McLaurin and Murphy families of North Carolina, and descriptions of Charleston (S.C.), Atlantic City (N.J.), Denver (Colorado), Genova (Italy), and the Hudson Fulton Celebration in New York City (1909). Of note is a detailed account of the Wilmington, N.C. 1898 insurrection and race massacre carried out by white supremacists, written by a woman in the Cronly family, possibly Margaret Cronly; the account is accompanied by a 6-page typed transcript.
Extent:
28 Linear Feet (Approximately 1,962 items)
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00272

Background

Scope and content:

Collection chiefly covers the 19th century and into the early 20th, and comprises correspondence, financial records, legal and other papers of the Cronly family of Wilmington, North Carolina. Subjects include auctions and auctioneering, Wilmington social life, Civil War experiences, African American life and conditions during Reconstruction, the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railway Company, railroad bonds issued in North Carolina during Reconstruction, an earthquake that struck the Carolinas in 1886, the Democratic Party and politics in North Carolina. Includes information on the Beatty, Cronly, McLaurin and Murphy families of North Carolina, and descriptions of Charleston (S.C.), Atlantic City (N.J.), Denver (Colorado), Genova (Italy), and the Hudson Fulton Celebration in New York City (1909).

Correspondents include Thomas Walter Bickett, Jr. (N.C. Governor); Harley Lyman Clarke (Chicago businessman); Stephen William Cole (N.C. planter and banker); Newton Martin Curtis (Union officer and U.S. Representative); William Darius Jamieson (U.S. Rep. and newspaper publisher); Herbert Putnam (8th Librarian of Congress); Don Carlos Seitz (NY City newspaper manager); William Nathan Harrell Smith (N.C. Congressman, lawyer, and judge); Waddy Thompson (S.C. politician and lawyer); and Platt Dickinson Walker (Wilmington lawyer and N.C. justice).

Collection contains numerous bound volumes, ledgers, account books, and photographs that have been given basic processing. One bound volume from the 1890s contains a detailed account of the Wilmington, N.C. insurrection and race massacre perpetrated by white supremacists in 1898; the account was apparently written a few days after the event by a woman, possibly Margaret Cronly, and is accompanied by a 6-page typed transcript.

Biographical / historical:

The Cronly family of Wilmington, N.C. included Michael Cronly (1826-1898), auctioneer, wife Margaret McLaurin Cronly, their son Michael (1854-1930), also an auctioneer, who seems to have been single, and their other eight children: Jane, Sally, Joseph, William, Robert, Douglass, Margaret, and Mary.

Acquisition information:
The Cronly Family Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift and purchase between 1968-1969.
Processing information:

Collection has been given partial processing and description. Some items may be in original order and condition.

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff. Encoded by Kimberly Sims, June 2010.

Enhanced description by Paula Jeannet, March 2022.

Accession(s) described in this collection guide: 1968-1969.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: Genealogy; Correspondence (1816-1944); Legal Papers (1806-1931); Financial Papers (1806-1942); Clippings and Other Printed Materials; Writings; Letter Book (1824-1826); Letterpress Books (1868-1885); Account Books (1837-1892); Bound Volumes; Photographs.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Cronly Family papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1jg83