Gregory family papers, 1762-1923

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Summary

Creator:
Gregory family
Abstract:
Correspondence, diaries, and other papers of the Gregory family and the related Pomfret, Beasley, Davis, Smith families of King William County, Va. and later of Granville County, N.C. Correspondence of the 18th century is largely that of Sally Pomfret Beasley with friends (mostly suitors) and relatives prior to her marriage to Stephen Beasley in 1786. From 1786-1830 the correspondence is with relatives of the Smith and Beasley families who are living in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio. There is a gap in the papers from 1830-1859. After 1859, the papers are largely those of William H. (Buck) Gregory while at the University of Virginia (1859-60), in the Confederate Army (1864-65), and in the merchantile and publishing business in Oxford and Stovall, NC in the 1870's and 1880's. This correspondence contains information on tobacco culture, social life and customs, amusements, and education in North Carolina. In 1888 he married Mary J. Davis, and there is much correspondence of their courtship. Collection includes lists of students at Belmont Academy, 1859, in Granville County and at the Oxford Classical and Grammar School, 1859-60,as well as genealogical information on the Pomfret, Gregory, Smith and Alexander families. Also includes diaries for various years between 1873 and 1903.
Extent:
1.2 Linear Feet (2 boxes, 416 items)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.10113

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of papers, principally those of William H. (Buck) Gregory, Stovall, North Carolina, while at the University of Virginia, 1859-60, in the Confederate service, 1865-65, and in the mercantile and publishing businesses in Oxford during the 1870s and 1880s. In 1888 he married Mary J. Davis of "Abram's Plains", Granville County, a descendant of Col. Sam. Smith, and there is much of the correspondence that was carried on while they were courting. The collection contains some information on tobacco culture, social life and customs, amusements, education (There are lists of students at Belmont Academy, 1859, in Granville County and at the Oxford Classical and Grammar School, 1859-60.), and a considerable amount of genealogical data on the Davis, Pomfret, Gregory, Smith, Downey, Alexander, Webb, and Winston families.

The Civil War letters are centered around W. H. Gregory and his service to the Confederacy. He was sixteen at the beginning of the war and suffered a physical disability which kept him in reserve units. Letters concern the Granville Greys, Co. K of the 23rd N. C Troops, later the 1st Jr. Reserve (Co. B 70th Regt. Jr. Res.). Dr. T. R. Gregory is in a Yankee prison, and other Gregory relatives write war letters. C. W. Broadfcot, Hugh Lawson Clay, Theophilus Holmes, Joseph Jonathan Davis, Walter Clark, Allen R. Boyd, and Wm. G. Stanard are among the correspondents.

The bound volumes, include a 9 volume diary by William H. Gregory for the years 1873, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1895, 1895, 1898, 1902, and 1903. The contents of these volumes, however, are very meager. See the Samuel Smith Downey Papers to which about 62 items of early Smith-Downey family MSS. were transferred, 8-24-65, from the W. H. Gregory MSS.

Biographical / historical:

The Gregory family, with their related Pomfret, Beasley, Davis, Smith families, originated in King William County, Virginia. The family moved prior to the Civil War to Granville County, North Carolina.

Acquisition information:
The Gregory Family Papers were acquired by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in 1950.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
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.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48-hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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], the Gregory Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.