William L. Horner Collection: Gooding Family Papers

1799-1897, 1913
Manuscript Collection #265-002
Creator(s)
Gooding family
Physical description
0.87 Cubic Feet, circa 1000 items , correspondence (1835-1897, 1913) and financial records (1799-1894).
Preferred Citation
William L. Horner Collection: Gooding Family Papers (#265-002), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
Access to audiovisual and digital media is restricted. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection (1799-1897, 1913) including correspondence, 1835-1897, 1913, and financial records, 1799-1894, of New Bern, NC merchant, whose store was used by Union troops, and who was appointed "Superintendent of Poor Whites" for Craven County, NC.


Biographical/historical information

Jacob Gooding was a nineteenth century merchant of New Bern, N.C. During the Civil War, when New Bern was occupied by Union Forces, his store on Craven Street was utilized by the Union government, and Gooding was appointed "Superintendent of Poor Whites" for Craven County. Evidence indicates that Gooding supported the Confederacy while dealing with the U.S.


Scope and arrangement

Early correspondence (1835-1873) is primarily of a financial nature and is concerned with both the Gooding family and their business affairs. Some letters describe the spread of influenza (1842) and whooping cough (1845). Letters (1846) from Nathan Gooding and others describe the Episcopal Seminary of Valle Crucis in western North Carolina, including the location and community surrounding the school, its physical structure, and the daily routine. A hand-drawn diagram of its physical layout is also included.

The bulk of the correspondence concerns the Confederacy and troop maneuvers in western Virginia, eastern North Carolina, and Georgia. Letters from western Virginia (1861) comment on the movement of Confederate and Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley area of western Virginia. Other letters reveal the disillusionment of soldiers over hardships and bad weather, the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley, the receipt of provisions from home, various camp life experiences, and the death of the correspondent.

Letters from eastern North Carolina describe the movement of Confederate troops in the eastern section of the state, as well as the occupation and administration of New Bern by Union forces. Letters from Edward Stanley reflect his dealings with Gooding. One Confederate letter (1863) describes the New Bern Campaign of 1863, while others (1864) reflect the movement of Confederate troops around New Bern and Craven County. Other letters (1863-1864) concern the desertion of Confederate soldiers; duty at Fort Holmes on the Cape Fear, Plymouth, and Kinston; visits to Wilmington; the Union attack on a blockade runner and the capture of its crew; and the administration of the region under Union occupation. Additional comments (1864) reflect interest in the Holden-Vance N.C. gubernatorial election, the McClellan-Lincoln presidential contest, and the prospects of a Confederate victory at Richmond.

Letters (1864-1865) from Georgia concern the advance of Union forces under General William T. Sherman during his famous "March to the Sea" .These letters mention the Union Army's attack on Atlanta and the desperate condition of the Confederacy as it attempted to replenish the ranks of the Confederate Army. Other letters describe Sherman's progress across Georgia. Later letters mention the retreat of Confederate troops to Charleston and the demoralization of the civilian population of Savannah as the Confederate troops passed through the city.

Other letters (1865) describe the final days of the Confederate heartland as Sherman began his Carolina Campaign of 1865. These letters testify to the scarcity of goods in Wilmington, the landing of more Union troops at New Bern, the advancement of Union forces toward Charlotte, and the expected attack on Confederate positions at Kinston and Goldsboro.

The remaining correspondence chiefly concerns the family business in New Bern and the beginning of their pharmaceutical business. One letter (1891) describes the spread of typhoid in New Bern.

A file of Civil War records includes a list of enlisted black men on board the U.S. steamer COSSACK, a safeguard granted to Jacob Gooding by the military government at New Bern, a travel permit for H. Whitehurst, a list of soldiers issued supplies (1864), and a copy of "The Proclamation made by the Union Government at New Bern" sometime after the U.S. occupation of the city.

A file of legal records (1800-1893, undated) includes documents concerning marriage, enslaved persons seeking freedom, R. J. Gooding's will, and the Gooding business. Land records (1833-1888) describe the purchase and sale of land by the Gooding family.

The remaining material is composed almost entirely of financial records (1799-1894), including promissory notes, account ledgers, sale inventories, a list of taxable property, and purchase receipts. Financial records indicate that R. J. Gooding, from his base in New Bern, was able to import goods from the North and sell them in the Union occupied section of North Carolina. A legal record (Feb. 2, 1863) suggests that Gooding was sympathetic to the Confederate cause and that he materially contributed to the Confederacy by trading with them.

Oversize materials include financial records (1832-1837, 1893), advertisements, drug labels, and a sign language chart.


Administrative information
Custodial History

May 13, 1977, ca. 1,000 items; Papers (1820-1896) of New Bern, N.C., merchant. Gift of William L. Horner, Kinston, N.C. One hundred items are copies of material in the possession of Mr. Horner.

Source of acquisition

Gift of William L. Horner

Processing information

Processed by M. Quintanilla, February 1987

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023

Copyright notice

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


Related material

Jacob Gooding Papers (#0003), Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC USA


Key terms
Personal Names
Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Stanly, Edward, 1810-1872--Correspondence
Family Names
Gooding family
Corporate Names
Confederate States of America. Army--Military life
Confederate States of America. Army--Personal narratives
Cossack (Steamer)
Topical
Pharmaceutical industry--North Carolina--New Bern
Sherman's March through the Carolinas
Sherman's March to the Sea
Slavery--North Carolina
Places
Fort Holmes (N.C. : Fort)--History
Georgia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
New Bern (N.C.)--History, Military
North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Savannah (Ga.)--History--Siege, 1864
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Desertions
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
Valle Crucis (N.C.)--History
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Container list
Box 3 Folder b Correspondence, 1835-1847
Box 3 Folder c Correspondence, 1860-1863
Box 3 Folder d Correspondence, 1864-1865
Box 3 Folder e Correspondence, 1875-1891
Box 3 Folder f Correspondence, 1892-1897, 1913
Box 3 Folder g Correspondence, undated
Box 3 Folder h Civil War Records, 1862-1864
Box 3 Folder i Legal Records, 1800-1893
Box 3 Folder j Land Records, 1824-1891
Box 4 Folder a Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, 1799-1832
Box 4 Folder b Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, 1833-1835. Bills of Lading for Schooners (Ellen Douglas and Lion) docking at New Bern, N.C., 1835
Box 4 Folder c Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Bills of Lading for Schooners Brooks, and Topaz docking at New Bern, N.C. 1836
Box 4 Folder d Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Bills of Lading for Schooner John Stanley docking at New Bern, N.C, 1837-1838
Box 4 Folder e Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, 1839-1840
Box 4 Folder f Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts for Lancasterian School and elsewhere, 1841-1842
Box 4 Folder g Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts, 1843
Box 4 Folder h Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts for Newbern Academy and elsewhere. Receipts for tax on a pew in Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C, 1844-1845
Box 4 Folder i Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts for Newbern Academy and elsewhere. Receipts for tax on a pew in Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C, 1846-1847
Box 5 Folder a Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts. Receipts for tax on a pew in Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C, 1848-1849
Box 5 Folder b Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts. Receipts for tax on a pew in Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C, 1850-1851
Box 5 Folder c Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Receipts for tax on a pew in Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, N.C, 1852-1859
Box 5 Folder d Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts. 1861-1865. Includes documents created while New Bern was occupied by the U.S. Army during the Civil War such as Jacob Gooding's list of items taken from his store by U.S. military forces and damage done to his home on March 14, 1862, and a receipt for taxes paid in "insurrectionary districts within the United States."
Box 5 Folder e Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipt for Collegiate Institute, Dental Work Receipt, 1866-1888
Box 5 Folder f Promissory Notes, Receipts, Accounts, Tuition Receipts for Collegiate Institute and a High School, 1889-1894
Box 5 Folder g Promissory Receipt Book, 1850-1857
Box 5 Folder h Accounts Book 1881-1889. Stamped on the front cover is E. H. Meadows & Co., Druggists, New Berne, N.C. A handwritten name on the front cover is hard to read
Box 5 Folder i Miscellaneous Items including business cards from New Bern, Baltimore, and elsewhere; ads for medicines such as Kreol, Kodak Headache Powders, Frey's Vermifuge,and Liquor Uterans among others, for flavorings used in soda fountains, and for steam dye works, with particularly interesting ads for Lamson Cash Registers and Black Flag Insect Powder. Other items include an old handwritten cure for Horses Eyes, an 1891 Monthly School Report for New Berne Collegiate Institute, and handbills for an 1892 Entertainment given under the auspices of the "Young Men's Colored Democratic Club" (probably in New York City), and Pennsylvania Railroad schedules (1891-1892)
Folder os1 Financial Accounts (1828-1837) and Freight receipt (1893); ca. 1889 color paper label samples for Berlin Bronze Drawer Pulls; undated ad for Weinhagen's Thermometers, Medical Batteries, Aspirators, and Syringes; Undated ad for Munyon's Homeopathic Home Remedies