Mr. & Mrs. Philip S. McMullan Collection, 1766-1863

(Manuscript Collection #33)

Title:	Mr. & Mrs. Philip S. McMullan Collection
Creators:	McMullan, Philip S., Mrs. McMullan, Philip S.
Repository:	ECU Manuscript Collection
Languages:	English
Abstract:	Collection (1766-1863, undated) including correspondence, accounts, etc., of the Skinner and Hoskins families, who were prominent families of Eastern North Carolina.
Extent:	0.111 Cubic feet, 20 items, including correspondence, accounts, copies of wills, and genealogical material.

Accessions Information

November 6, 1967, 19 items; Papers (1766-1863) of Edmund Hoskins and of the Skinner family, including correspondence, accounts, copies of wills, and genealogical material. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. McMullan, Sr., Edenton, North Carolina.

November 5,2012, (unprocessed addition 1) .001 cubic foot, 1 item; Addition includes an 1802 letter from Walter Hubbell of New York City, N.Y., to Edmund Hoskins, a merchant living in Edenton, N.C. Donor: Mrs. Patricia N. Phillips.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

Copyright Notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Preferred Citation

Mr. & Mrs. Philip S. McMullan Collection (#33), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Acquisition Information

• Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. McMullan, Sr.
• Gift of Mrs. Patricia N. Phillips

Processing Information

• Processed by D. Lennon, January 1968

• Encoded by Apex Data Services

The Skinner and Hoskins families were prominent in eastern North Carolina during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Several members of both families served in the General Assembly, and two later Skinner brothers (Thomas Gregory and Harry Skinner) represented eastern North Carolina counties in the U.S. Congress. Mr. McMullan is descended from Fanny Skinner, sister of the congressmen.

Correspondence (1803-1827) is addressed to Edenton merchant Edmund Hoskins and is concerned primarily with business and legal matters. Letters from New York business firms comment on attempts to collect outstanding debts, efforts to sell wheat for Hoskins, current prices for wheat and other crops, and evacuation of the lower part of the city of New York [evidently because of flooding]. Correspondence from within North Carolina deals with proceedings in legal cases, procedure for certifying court sessions, and shipment of brandy from Murfreesboro.

Original Skinner family papers include a letter from William R. Skinner, who was in Raleigh attending a session of the General Assembly. He comments on the length of the session, dullness of Raleigh, and a temperance rally being held in the city (1842).

A Civil War letter from G. B. Dewese tells of duty in Caldwell County where his company was assigned deserter-scouting duty. He describes incidents involving deserters and their reasons for deserting, compares Caldwell and Wilkes counties, and comments on crops and corn mills in the area (1863).

Other items in the collection include copies of the Chowan County wills of Charles Roberts (1766), William J. Skinner (1811), and Jerusha Skinner (1826); Perquimans Countywills of Samuel Skinner (1781), William Skinner (1798), and Sarah Skinner (1851); and genealogical notes and a family tree for the Skinner and related families, including Eden, Johnston, Blount, and Harvey families of eastern North Carolina. The family tree has been placed in the oversize document file.

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Reading Room's card catalog. This system is no longer maintained, but it is left in place to help on-site researchers locate particular topics in the collection.

Geographic Entry :

• North Carolina, Edenton

Autograph Entries :

• Daniel, Bev[erly] (2) 1811, 1814
• Skinner, W[illia]m R. 1842

Subject Entries :

• AGRICULTURE--Corn
• AGRICULTURE--Wheat
• BUSINESS AND COMMERCE--Murfreesboro, N.C.
• CALDWELL CO., N.C.
• COURTS--1803-1814
• N.C.--GENERAL ASSEMBLY--1842
• PROHIBITION--Temperance
• RALEIGH, N.C.
• WAR--CIVIL--Deserters

Genealogy Entries :

• BLOUNT FAMILY
• EDEN FAMILY
• HARVEY FAMILY
• JOHNSTON FAMILY
• SKINNER FAMILY