November 27, 1967, ca. 300 items and 4 volumes; Papers (1809-1928) of Rowell family of Brunswick County, including correspondence, land records, maps, promissory notes, diary, receipts, accounts, account books, plantation records, bankruptcy papers, and miscellaneous. Deposited by Mrs. Eula Rowell Lennon, Leland, N.C.

No restrictions

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

Samuel James Rowell Papers (#36), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Gift of Mrs. Eula Rowell Lennon

Processed by D. Lennon, January 1968
Encoded by Apex Data Services

Samuel James Rowell (1857-1927) was a farmer and peace officer in Northwest Township of Brunswick County, N.C. In addition to serving as justice-of-the-peace and deputy sheriff, Rowell was an active leader of Goshen Baptist Church which is still located in the area. See genealogical chart for relationship of various members of the family.

Correspondence (1838-1928) in the collection is of limited historical significance apart from the family and personal news it contains. Subjects of interest include an account of current prices in Fayetteville, N. C. (1838); experiences of a Swedish sailor while visiting in Brunswick County and in Wilmington (1884); comments on farming at Blum, Texas (1887); and a description of life near Blanton, Florida, including references to fishing, raising of livestock, and the poverty of the people (1890).

Account books and diary fragments belonging to several generations of the Rowell family cover the period from 1837 to 1919 and reflect a variety of activities. A ledger book (1837-1850) of Samuel Rowell (grandfather of Samuel James Rowell) contains birth and death records, general store accounts, tavern or inn records, records of slaves, and comments on the weather, planting of crops, and production of turnpentine. The tavern or inn records include accounts for alcoholic beverages, lodging, and livery stable service. Other ledger books (1852-1859, 1852-1875, 1871-1873) belonged to John C. Rowell and James S. Melvin and contain financial accounts, store records, birth and marriage records, and notations concerning agricultural activities.

Memo books and diary fragments written by Samuel J. Rowell and his wife Mary [Minnie] contain scriptural references and notations, family information, notes of a trip through southeastern North Carolina, and an account of logging activities at Camp High (1907) in Brunswick County.

Brunswick County land records (1809-1928, undated) are concerned primarily with property in the Hood's Creek section of the county. The papers include deeds for sale of land belonging to General Benjamin Smith (1809, 1827), deed (1860) and plat (1916) for Roan [Rowan] Plantation on the Cape Fear River, a quantity of records for land transfers in the Hood's Creek area, and a map showing property boundaries along the upper reaches of this creek [ca. 1800]. The map and plat have been placed in the oversize document case as #36.4os.

Other papers include accounts (1846-1916), receipts (1843-1924), bankruptcy proceedings (1873-1875, 1906), civil suit records (1848-1861), contracts for turpentine tree rental (1871) and for sale of timber (1913), will and estate settlement for John C. Rowell (1915, 1918), and a report on the estate of Samuel James Rowell (1928).

Miscellaneous items include a lumber and log book (published in 1882), a remedy for hog cholera, obituaries, poems, certificates, commission for Grand Lodge of N. C. Knights of Pythias (1920), insurance policies, and a copy of the play The Pull Back, by T. S. Denison (Chicago: T. S. Denison, 1878).

The oversize folder contains the aforementioned Roan Plantation plat and map of property boundaries on Hood's Creek, a certificate of appointment of Samuel J. Rowell as a postmaster (1894), and copies of a pencil sketch (ca. 1860) of Mrs. Sarah Rowell.

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog.

Subject Entries

Date Entries

Images below are listed alphabetically by subject. This list reflects only those portions of the collection for which negatives have been prepared.

BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE--Dwellings--Auburn Plantation
Description: Rowell family in front of Rowell home
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1896
Call Number: p-36/7

BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE--Dwellings--Isaac Carey Powell Home
Description: Above Hood Creek where Blue Banks Road joints Mt. Misery Road
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1880's
Call Number: p-36/12

BUSINESS AND COMMERCE--Department Stores
Description: Geo. O. Garylord's Big Department Store
Call Number: logo-36.2 b

RELIGION--Baptist--Churches
Description: Mary Marsh Rowell in foreground Goshen Baptist Church congregation
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1890's
Call Number: p-36/11

ROWELL, SAMUEL JAMES
Description: Portrait
Date: 19th Century
Call Number: p-36/8

SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--Children
Description: Eula Rowell [Lennon] and Vera Rowell [Peterson] as youngsters
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1903
Call Number: p-36/10

SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--Family Life
Description: John and Caroline Rowell seated
Location: 19th Century
Call Number: p-36/2

SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--Family Life
Description: Old Hoods Creek Bridge Rowell, Butler and Byrd families
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1905
Call Number: p-36/3

SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--Family Life
Description: Lennon, Rowell and Mitchell families in front of a car in the woods
Location: Brunswick Co., NC
Date: 1900's
Call Number: p-36/4

WOMEN
Description: Marsh, Mary Butler Woman seated in chair
Date: 19th Century
Call Number: p-36/1