Collection (1760-1940) including land grants, deeds, bill of sale of enslaved persons, correspondence, Civil War documents, and an account book, pertaining to the land holdings and genealogy of the McIver, McLeod, Lane, Crawford, Mumford, and Faison families of Moore, Chatham and Columbus counties, North Carolina.
The McIver and McLeod families were among the early Scottish land owners (1790) in Moore, Chatham, and Lee counties, North Carolina, near the Deep River. Evander McIver held over 2000 acres along the Buffalo Creek near Sanford.
The Deep River area is the location for the "House in the Horseshoe", a plantation owned by Federalist Governor of North Carolina Benjamin Williams. A history and description of this area and the McIver family can be found in A History of the House in the Horseshoe: Her People and Her Deep River Neighbors by George Willcox (Wilmington: Historical Research Services, 1999).
McIver family descendants include Alexander McIver (1822-1902), North Carolina's first Superintendent of Public Instruction, whose papers are in the University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection (lib.unc.edu/mss/inv /f/McIver,Alexander.html); Alexander McIver's son Brigadier General George Willcox McIver (1857-1947), was a noted Army officer and West Point graduate (Class of 1883) who served in the American West, in the Spanish American War, in the Alaska gold rush, the San Franciso earthquake, the Philippine Insurrection, and served through World War I. His papers can be found in the J.Y. Joyner Library Special Collections at East Carolina University, along with his A Life of Duty: The Autobiography of George WillCox McIver, edited by Jonathan Dembo (Charleston: The History Press,2006).
Brigadier General Samson Lane Faison (1860-1940) was decorated during World War I for helping break through the Hindenburg Line. He served with General George Crook in the American West, and was present during negotiations with Geronimo. His papers are in the University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection (lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/f/Faison,Samson_Lane.html).
Captain William K. Lane, the donor's grandfather, served as quartermaster in Company C., 16th Battalion, (also called 75th Regiment, 7th Cavalry) North Carolina Calvary, during the Civil War.
The Fonville Collection is arranged in original order. The collection contains various papers and land records of the McIver, Mumford, and Lane families of New Bern, North Carolina, and Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Jones, Moore, Onslow, and Orange counties, North Carolina, 1760-1940s.
Land records include indentures (1760), grants (1796), deeds and land plats (1830); transactions of enslaved persons and land, deed book location and written descriptions (1830-1892) of property and division of holdings in Moore, Chatham, and Columbus Counties.
Records of enslaved persons include a bill of sale (1835), promissory note for yearly lease (1854), and a deed (1855).
An account book (1851) lists dry goods, receivables, cash, articles bought and prices.
Correspondence includes letter (1851) describing tobacco cultivation, social life, and politics, and letter (1931) containing genealogical information from Brig. Gen. Faison.
Civil War documents (1865, 1867) include William Lane's acceptance of Warrant of Pardon and confirmation of pardon by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
Genealogical records include family descriptions and division of land holdings, pertaining to the Mumgord and Lane families of Onslow, Jones, and Craven counties, North Carolina, 1931-1940s.
Gift of Mrs. Jean L. Fonville; Gift of Mrs. D. R. Fonville
Processing and finding aid by M. Mitchell, August 1, 1977;
Encoded by Apex Data Services, March 2002;
Reprocessed, final inventory and finding aid, by Matthew Harrup, May 8, 2011;
Finding Aid revised by Jonathan Dembo, June 20, 2012;
Encoded by Jonathan Dembo, June 25, 2012;
Encoding revised by Jonathan Dembo, 7/23/2012.
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.