Papers include photocopies of transcriptions of correspondence (1863-1864) written by Josiah Robert Peele Ellis of Wilson Co., North Carolina, to his wife Elizabeth Grimes Ellis while he was serving in Company C of the 43rd N.C. Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The letters were transcribed in 1977 by Hugh Buckner Johnston who also provided supplementary information. Also included are genealogy records for the Ellis and Hill families of Eastern North Carolina.