Collection (1848-1931) of Johnston County (NC) family including journal, will, deeds, letter, certificates, etc.
Jacob Woodall was born in July of 1763 in Virginia. His parents were Sampson Woodall and Sarah Steele. In December of 1787 he married Rebecca Covington and had at least eight children: four daughters and four sons. His wife, Rebecca, died in 1805 and Jacob died in 1850.
Nathan T. Ryals was born in November of 1860 to Ransom and Emily Ryals. He was married to Lucy Ryals and had at least one child, Lillian Ophelia Ryals. In October of 1889, Nathan was certified to teach public school in Johnston County, N.C. He died in July of 1932 at the age of 71 and is buried in Four Oaks in Johnston County, N.C.
The Albert R. Smith Collection contains the papers of N. T. Ryals and his ancestors, all of Johnston County.
Of considerable interest is the personal journal (1896-1900) of Ryals in which he preserved a daily one-line account of his work, the weather, and occurrences. Among the events noted in the journal are political conventions, congressional nominations, attendance at an 1896 William Jennings Bryan speech in Rocky Mount, "Red Shirt" activity in 1900, and Democratic election victories during each campaign. The journal also contains comments on the weather, marriages, deaths, accounts of income and expenses, and a resumé of agricultural activities.
Other items include a copy of the will of Jacob Woodall (1848), Johnston County deeds and plat (1859-1869), an arbitrator's report, a letter discussing family matters, accounts, receipts, a Confederate twenty-dollar bill, Johnston County teachers certificates (1889, 1890), two newspapers (The Smithfield Herald, Smithfield, N.C., Sept. 9, 1898, and The Lash, Moravian Falls, N.C., Jan. 1920), and two copies of a U.S. Department of Agriculture pamphlet entitled The Peafowl and Their Care (Nov. 1931). Newspapers in the collection are in the oversize folder.
Gift of Mr. Albert R. Smith
Processed by D. Lennon, September 1967
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.