Papers (1748-1904, 1965) of the Taylor, Moore, Read and other families of Carteret County, NC, consisting of land grants, deeds, a will, postcards, a certificate, a bill of lading, receipts, a promissory note, newspaper clippings, selling of a young enslaved child.
The land grants (1762-1799) concern land in Carteret County, primarily in the vicinity of Goose Creek in the southwestern part of the County. Valentine Wallis, Thomas Britten, William Borden, and Thomas Wilson are names prevalent in these grants.
Deeds (1748-1919) cover the same area of Carteret County as the grants with Goose Creek and Bogue Sound being mentioned frequently. Valentine Wallis, Jr., Habakkuck Russel, Thomas Britton, George and Abigail Read, Reuben and Sarah Wallace, James Wallis, Sarah and Neville Russel, Abraham Sikes, Rebecca Pigott, and Thomas W. Taylor figure prominently in these deeds. Several are good sources for family history especially deeds dated February 17, 1807 and March 13, 1919 for Wallace (or Wallis) family information and a deed dated October 10, 1816 for Russel family information.
This collection also contains several miscellaneous items all pertaining to Carteret County. A promissory note (January 1, 1879) pertains to the sale of land with payment to be made in corn. Another paper (November 15, 1809) reflects the selling of a young enslaved child. There is also a hand-written copy of a will dated August 9, 1904 for Sidney O. Taylor (a woman). The four postcards date from the late 1880's and are printed cards containing advertisements. The certificate of warranty and bill of lading deal with a National Reformer sewing machine shipped on October 16, 1891 via the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to Thomas W. Taylor in Newport, N.C.
A newspaper article (March 2, 1965) written by F.C. Salisbury deals with the history of Graham Academy in Eastern Carteret County. Also mentioned are the Star of Bethlehem Church which was connected with the Academy, and biographical information of two of the Academy's leaders, Rev. C. M. Levister and Dr. Graham. A picture of the church (built in 1875) is shown. The second half of the article deals with the village of Smyrna in eastern Carteret County. Discussed are the development of the Baptist and Methodist Churches, the development of education, and the Civil War escapade of Capt. Robert Whitehurst, a Smyrna resident. A picture of the William Hancock place built in 1820 accompanies the article.
Many of the grants and deeds and the newspaper article are found in oversized document folder.
Gift of Mrs. Helon Taylor Moore
Processed by M. Elmore, October 1976
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.