Charles J. O'Hagan Papers

1840-1949; bulk 1840-1882
Manuscript Collection #1274
Creator(s)
O'Hagan, Charles J., 1821-1900; O'Hagan family
Physical description
0.75 Cubic Feet, 2 archival boxes, consisting of correspondence, testamonials, photographs, obituaries, local histories, a wallet, and calling cards
Preferred Citation
Charles J. O'Hagan Papers (#1274), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

This collection includes many letters written during the American Civil War by Dr. Charles James O'Hagan, an Irish immigrant who settled in Pitt County, North Carolina, and served in the North Carolina State Troops as a surgeon, to his daughters; and letters written by Confederate soldiers to his eldest daughter. Also included are letters (1840s) from family in Ireland and testamonials written to help Dr. O'Hagan find employment; letters written in the post-Civil War era 1860s through 1882; and letters, photographs, and obituaries concerning the related Laughinghouse and Grimes families of Pitt County, N.C., in the late 19th century and early 20th century.


Biographical/historical information

Dr. Charles James O'Hagan was born on September 16, 1821, in Londonderry County, Ireland, to John Patrick O'Hagan and Martha O'Kane O'Hagan. He was educated in Belfast, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States of America in 1842. Dr. O'Hagan taught school near Greenville, North Carolina, was an early North Carolinian daguerreotypist in 1845, and then embarked on a medical career in the same area. He graduated from New York Medical College in New York City, New York, with a M.D. degree in 1855. O'Hagan wed Ann Elizabeth "Eliza" Forrest of Greene County, North Carolina, in 1846. They had children Elizabeth "Eliza" Courtney Forrest O'Hagan (July 10, 1848 - January 29, 1919) who married Joseph John Laughinghouse Sr., and Martha O'Hagan (1850-July 19,1935).

During the American Civil War, Dr. O'Hagan served as Asst. Surgeon with the 1st North Carolina Cavalry (9th North Carolina State Troops) from June 1861 until May 1862 when he was transferred to the 35th North Carolina Regiment and appointed Surgeon under the command of Brig. General Ransom. He served in this capacity until his parole at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. In late 1862, Dr. O'Hagan was charged with "incompetence and ignorance of the duties of a Surgeon" and was dropped from the rolls, but he was reinstated after the requests of several Confederate physicians. He was tried by a Court Martial, found not guilty, and returned to the 35th NC Regiment in January 1863.

After the war's end, he returned to Greenville and continued practicing medicine. He served as a commissioner and as Mayor of Greenville, and as president of the NC State Medical Society and of the NC State Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. O'Hagan's wife Eliza died in 1871 and he remarried to Elvira Louisa Clark (February 19, 1835 - November 15, 1888) of Pitt County, North Carolina, on August 22, 1877. They had a son Charles James O'Hagan, Jr., born in December 1878. After she died in 1888, Dr. O'Hagan did not wed again. He died on December 18, 1900, in Greenville, North Carolina, and is buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery in Greenville.

The relationship with the Laughinghouse and Grimes families of Pitt County, North Carolina, is due to Elizabeth "Eliza" Courtney Forrest O'Hagan marrying Joseph John Laughinghouse, Sr. Their daughter Elizabeth Forrest Laughinghouse married John Bryan Grimes (a son of Confederate General Bryan Grimes) and they had sons Alston Grimes and Charles O'Hagan Grimes who both figure in the 20th Century material in this collection. Dr. Charles O'Hagan Laughinghouse Sr., a well-known Greenville doctor who was also involved in state medical groups, was another child of Eliza Courtney Forrest O'Hagan and Joseph John Laughinghouse, Sr.

Source: FindAGrave. Retrieved from: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19423255/charles-james-o'hagan


Scope and arrangement

The majority of this collection are letters written to and from Dr. Charles O'Hagan to his wife and daughters. Other items within the collection include photographs, a genealogy, and clippings.


Administrative information
Custodial History

March 29, 2016, 0.75 cubic feet; This collection includes many letters written during the Civil War between Dr. Charles James O'Hagan, an Irish immigrant who settled in Pitt County, North Carolina, and served in the North Carolina State Troops as a physician, and his wife Eliza, their daughters and friends of the family. Also included are letters (1840s) from family in Ireland and testamonials written to help Dr. O'Hagan find employment; letters written in the 1870s and 1880s; and letters, photographs, and obituaries concerning the related Laughinghouse and Grimes families of Pitt County, N.C. Purchased from William G. O'Quinn with Manuscript Collection Endowment funds.

Source of acquisition

Purchased from William G. O'Quinn

Processing information

Processed by Martha Elmore March 2024 with some processing help from Ashlyn Racine

Copyright notice

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


Key terms
Personal Names
O'Hagan, Charles J., 1821-1900
O'Hagan, Eliza--Correspondence
Family Names
Grimes family
Laughinghouse family
O'Hagan family
Topical
Immigrants--North Carolina--Pitt County
Irish Americans--North Carolina--Pitt County
Ku Klux Klan (1915-)
Physicians--North Carolina--Pitt County
White supremacy movements--North Carolina--Greenville
Places
North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Container list
Box 1 Folder a Correspondence written to Dr. O'Hagan from Ireland and England before he emigrates to the U.S., 1841
Box 1 Folder b Correspondence , 1843-1869
Box 1 Folder c Correspondence written to Dr. O'Hagan, 1870-1882
Box 1 Folder d Correspondence from Dr. O'Hagan to his daughters and niece, 1860-1861
Box 1 Folder e Correspondence from Dr. O'Hagan to his daughters , 1862
Box 1 Folder f Correspondence from Dr. O'Hagan to his daughters, 1863-1865
Box 1 Folder g Correspondence from friends to Miss Eliza O'Hagan (Dr. O'Hagan's daughter) and one letter written by Miss Eliza O'Hagan, 1860-January 1866
Box 1 Folder h Correspondence from friends to Miss Eliza O'Hagan (Dr. O'Hagan's daughter), February 1866-1869
Box 1 Folder i Correspondence written to Mrs. Eliza O'Hagan from friends and family, 1863-1865
Box 1 Folder j Correspondence--partial letters or undated. One 1870 letter to "Aunt Maria" who might be Mrs. Maria Franck.
Box 1 Folder k Valentines, Poems, Invitation, and Program, 1844-1939, undated
Box 1 Folder l Grimes - Laughinghouse families correspondence, 1908-1947, undated
Box 1 Folder m Charles O'Hagan Grimes 1929 passport and accompanying birth certificate
Box 1 Folder n J. Bryan Grimes's wallet and contents
Box 1 Folder o Biographical Sketches and Genealogy Notes
Box 1 Folder p Clippings, 1929-1949, undated
Box 1 Folder q Artifacts, 1914, undated
Box 2 Folder a Identified Photographs, 2 prints created by Bayard Wooten, and 2 photographs created by Sid Whiting (of St. Louis, Missouri) from 1825 portraits of John H. Bryan and Mary W. Sheppard Bryan
Box 2 Folder b Unidentified Photographs
Box 2 Folder c Negatives and Matching Prints of unidentified people
Oversize Folder os1 Oversize folder containing testimonials (Oct. 17, 19, 1840) about Charles J. O'Hagan's teaching experience; May 16 and July 20, 1842, letters; and a [undated but should be 1915] newspaper handout titled, "Latest World's News from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco" put out by the Editorial Board of the Exposition.