Papers (1727, 1823-1896, 1924, 1947) of Martin County, NC family, including correspondence, land records, plats, mortgages, a recipe, promissory notes, summonses, account of estate sales, receipt, and miscellany.
The Hardison family was from Jamesville, North Carolina., in Martin County. James Hardison, Sr. had two sons, Hodges and Durham. Durham had three children, Durham L. (born May 21, 1861), Golden (born July 6, 1870) and Eva (born November 2, 1877). Eva married S.J. Perry. Other Hardison family members mentioned in the papers include Alice, Lenoir, Lula, Beasley, James F., Hodges, Clayton, Julious, Lewis, Mary and Margaret Ann.
The material in this collection covers more than three generations of the Hardison family. Most of the materials date from the middle to late nineteenth century. The bulk of the items associated with the Perry family date from the early twentieth century.
The Correspondence Series contains business-related matters, such as purchases of wheat, guano and shingles, as well as personal letters, including two written by soldiers stationed at Camp Martin near Kinston, N.C., and Camp Davis near Wilmington, N.C., during the Civil War.
The Land Records Series begin with a plat from 1727 and show a steady acquisition of land by various members of the Hardison family. Also included are land grants by James Hardison, Sr. to his sons Durham and Hodges, and by Durham Hardison to his children Eva and Golden.
The bulk of the Financial Records Series is made up of receipts and promissory notes, often in connection with the family's agricultural pursuits. Several contemporary Martin County businesses are mentioned in the documents, which are sometimes on company letterhead. Among these are The Roanoke, Norfolk & Baltimore Steamboat Company of Jamesville, North Carolina and J. G. Godard (Grocer) of Williamston, North Carolina. Some of the receipts are for state taxes, and a few are for a war tax during the Civil War. Also present are pages from a sales ledger listing several Martin County family names among the entries. Also of interest are documents related to the administration of the estate of James Hardison, Sr. These include a receipt for the sale transferring Harriet, a woman enslaved, from her previous enslaver to her new enslaver within the Hardison family in 1862, and two receipts that document the making of shoes for enslaved persons in 1861.
The Other Printed Materials Series includes several items of miscellany, most notably an undated, handwritten recipe, appearing to date from the nineteenth century. There is also an instructive religious letter and two lists of Hardison family names and birthdays. The names appear to be the children of Durham Hardison. Of particular interest are Civil War-related documents pertaining to Durham Hardison. These include a service exemption from the North Carolina governor, a guard pass, and an oath of allegiance to the U.S. government.
Gift of Miss Kathleen Perry
Processed by Keith Roberson, May 4, 2005
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.