Papers (1780-1969; bulk 1808-1924) including correspondence, land records, legal papers, financial papers, ledgers, etc., of two prominent Eastern North Carolina families--Grimes and Bryan--related through marriage. Other material concerns the Wharton and Conrad families of Clemmonsville, North Carolina, in Davidson County, who are also related by marriage to the Grimes family.
This collection (1821-2007) contains several groups of family history-related papers concerning eastern North Carolina and a large number of unrelated miscellaneous items such as photographs, church records, Bible records, and rare printed items on a variety of subjects. The majority of the family papers concern the Croom and Whitfield families of Lenoir County, N.C. Other family papers concern the Harvey family of Greene County, N.C., the Jordan and Waters families of Washington, N.C., the Meeks family of Pitt County, the Outlaw family of Lenoir County and the Thompson family of Georgia. A large part of this collection concerns the Ficklen family of Greenville, N.C., including scrapbooks, diaries, an autograph book and a post card collection. Some items concern the colorful poet, magazine editor, railroad speculator, paper mill owner, Civil War blockade-runner, and sea captain Appleton Oaksmith who lived in Carteret County, N.C., for fifteen years (1872-1887). Also included are ambrotype photographs of Confederate Civil War soldiers James Needham Alexander, who served in Company A, 11th North Carolina Troops (Infantry) and Stanhope Washington Alexander, who served in Company H, 35th North Carolina Regiment.