Papers (1719-1923) including correspondence, land records, a journal, a genealogical chart, a poem, an essay, receipts, promissory notes, and photographs.
The Dixon, Murphey, and Taylor families were related by marriage and lived in Craven, Lenoir, and Greene counties in North Carolina. One of the Dixon daughters, Nannie, married into the Murphey family and one of her children married into the Taylor family.
Included in the papers is a journal written at Holliday Hill (the home of the Dixon family), dated January 1-15, 1838, noting Christian goals for the new year, the death of a friend, and the birth of a family member.
Correspondence (1852-1896) is primarily among family members and reflects the close religious and familial bonds that existed. Religion, the church, scriptural interpretation, and religious philosophy constitute the dominant themes throughout the correspondence. A second area of concern (1852-1857) reflects various aspects of schoolwork, primarily in Bethany, Virginia, and various locations in eastern North Carolina. A circular on the Female Institute, Clinton, N.C., for 1855, notes deportment and scholarship, courses available by grade, awards, and a general description of the school. A letter written from Salem Female Academy (1866) mentions the one-hundred-year anniversary of Salem and a "great gathering of Moravians." Tuition receipts are included for the Murphey family (1830s, 1840s) for Fairfield Academy, New Bern Academy, and Airy G. Academy as well as a number that give neither name nor location. Tuition receipts for the Taylor children (1860s, 1870s) indicate schools in Lenoir County, N.C.
Other topics mentioned include agricultural production and marketing (1852), the hire of enslaved persons (1862) *The Hiring-out system allowed a hirer to temporarily lease an enslaved person from an enslaver, generating revenue for the enslaver through the labor of the enslaved people completing the work.*, payment of Confederate taxes in Lenoir County (1863), and passing references to effects of the Civil War (1862, 1864, 1870). One postwar letter tells of a centennial trip to Philadelphia for the 1876 celebration and describes some of the exhibition halls and sights.
Legal records include the sale of enslaved persons (1837) as payment for a debt and several document the hiring out of enslaved persons (1850-1852, 1860)*The Hiring-out system allowed a hirer to temporarily lease an enslaved person from an enslaver, generating revenue for the enslaver through the labor of the enslaved people completing the work.*. Deeds and land surveys primarily relate to Craven County, N.C. Receipts from the 1800s-1850s belong mainly to the Murphey family while receipts from the 1860s-1870s concern the Taylor family. A miscellaneous folder includes a circular from the Female Institute in Clinton, N.C., a poem, an essay (1867) on Holliday Hill, and a genealogical chart and photographs of members of the Murphey, Dixon, and Taylor families.
An oversize folder contains land records for the years 1759-1808.
Gift of Lenoir County Historical Association
Processed by M. Boccaccio, March 1988
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.