Robert May Family Papers

1760-1937
Manuscript Collection #1227
Creator(s)
May Family
Physical description
3.05 Cubic Feet, 3 cubic foot boxes, consisting of correspondence, receipts, promissory notes, financial documents, account books, deeds, land surveys, land grant, indentures, catalogs, publications, and almanacs
Preferred Citation
Robert May Family Papers (#1227), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

This collection contains correspondence (1841-1937) received by members of the May family of Farmville, Pitt County, N.C., including letters written from Michigan and Tennessee; receipts, promissory notes, and judgments (1813-1910); financial documents (1820s-1920), and account books (1819-1830s). Other material includes grade reports and tuition receipts for Farmville Academy (1899-1900), Farmville Seminary (1887-1888), and Farmville High School (1891, 1900); deeds and other land records (1760-1891), some of which refer to the Flake and Shivers families in Pitt County; a list Black enslaved men, women, and children that includes their birthdates (1830s-1850s) and their mothers' names; catalogs for Trenton High School (1897), St. Mary's School in Raleigh (1842), and Trinity School in Chocowinity (1907/1908); and a 1900 reward poster for the man who robbed R. L. Davis Brothers of Farmville. Miscellaneous publications include among others The Primitive Baptist (1853-1860, 1870-1872), almanacs, telephone directories (1934 Greenville, 1930 Farmville), a 1919 Chicago war camp community service publication, and The Southern Women of the Second American Revolution . . . by H. W. R. [Jackson, 1863].


Administrative information
Custodial History

July 3, 2014, (unprocessed) 3.0 cubic feet; This collection contains correspondence (1841-1937) received by members of the May family of Farmville, Pitt County, N.C., including letters written from Michigan and Tennessee; receipts, promissory notes, and judgments (1813-1910); financial documents (1820s-1920), and account books (1819-1830s). Other material includes grade reports and tuition receipts for Farmville Academy (1899-1900), Farmville Seminary (1887-1888), and Farmville High School (1891, 1900); deeds (1815-1853); a list Black enslaved men, women, and children that includes their birthdates (1830s-1850s) and their mothers' names; catalogs for Trenton High School (1897), St. Mary's School in Raleigh (1842), and Trinity School in Chocowinity (1907/1908); and a 1900 reward poster for the man who robbed R. L. Davis & Brothers of Farmville. Miscellaneous publications include among others The Primitive Baptist (1853-1860, 1870-1872), almanacs, telephone directories (1934 Greenville, 1930 Farmville), a 1919 Chicago war camp community service publication, and The Southern Women of the Second American Revolution . . . by H. W. R. [Jackson, 1863]. Gift of Robert May and Elsie May Mason.

January 28, 2018, (unprocessed) .05 cubic feet; This addition (1760-1891) consists of a land grant, land division, indentures, a land survey, and documentation for estate administrators related to Flake and Shivers land in Pitt County, North Carolina. Gift of Robert May.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Robert May

Gift of Elsie May Mason

Copyright notice

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


Key terms
Family Names
Flake family
May family
Shivers family
Topical
Land titles--North Carolina--Pitt County
Slave records--North Carolina--Farmville
Slaves--North Carolina--Farmville--Registers