James Turner Morehead Family Papers

INTRODUCTION

This collection includes currency and scrip, certificates and diplomas, several military items, calling cards and invitations, newspaper clippings, photographs, silhouettes, paintings, drawings, a bible, and other miscellaneous material. The documentary materials deal chiefly with James T. Morehead, Jr. and his brother Joseph Motley Morehead. Photographic materials are portraits in various forms of family members. Also included are paintings, silhouettes and drawings.

Arrangement: The James Turner Morehead Family Papers are arranged in sixteen series by the person or organization to which they pertain, for documentary materials, or the type of image, for graphic materials.

Provenance: This collection was donated in large part by or from the estate of Mrs. Annie Morehead Whitfield and James T. Morehead III, descendants of James T. Morehead I. It includes the following accession numbers: 1935.345.17, 35-36, 39-46, 66-67; 1935.435.1-13, 40; 41.227-230, 232-237, 239-241; 47.766-768, 771-773; 1964.16.1-12, 32-33; 1973.38.1; 1976.237.1; L1980.135.1-2.

Processing: This collection was processed by Karen C. Carroll, and the finding aid was completed in August 1983.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

This collection concerns several generations of the Morehead family. James Turner Morehead I (1799-1875) was the son of Obedience Motley Morehead (1768-1863) and John Morehead. He married Mary Teas Lindsay, daughter of Robert and Letitia Harper Lindsay, in 1830. James’ brother John Motley Morehead, I, married Mary’s sister, Anna Elizabeth. Morehead was a Greensboro lawyer, having graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1819. His office was located at his home at 205 West Sycamore Street. In 1851-1853 he was a United States Congressman, a town commissioner in 1832, 1834, and 1835, and a North Carolina State Senator from 1835 until 1842. The Moreheads had six children: Annie Elizabeth (1836-1914) married Rev. Theodore Whitfield in 1859; Robert Lindsay Morehead; John Henry Morehead; James Turner Morehead Jr.; Joseph Motley Morehead; and Mary Harper Morehead.

Colonel James Turner Morehead, Jr. (1838-1919) was born on May 28, 1838, at his parents’ home on Sycamore Street in Greensboro. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1858 and was licensed to practice law one year later before the County Courts. In 1860 he received his license to practice before any bench in North Carolina. In 1861 he enlisted as a Second Lieutenant with the Guilford Grays (Company B, 27th Regiment, North Carolina Troops). In April 1862 he was promoted to Captain in the 45th Regiment, and one month later was Lieutenant Colonel of the 53rd. He later served as Colonel of this unit. Morehead was captured near Petersburg in March 1865, and was a prisoner the remainder of the war. After the Civil War he returned to Greensboro and the 205 W. Sycamore address (he later had the house torn down). He was a lawyer in Greensboro, with his office at 104 1/2 N. Elm Street. Morehead also served as a North Carolina Senator from 1872 until 1875 and in 1883. He died April 11, 1919.

Joseph Motley Morehead (1840-1911) was the son of James Turner and Mary T. Morehead and brother of James Turner Morehead Jr. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but poor health prevented his graduation. In 1861 he enlisted in the Guilford Grays and later accepted a Lieutenancy with Company E, Second North Carolina Troops. His health failed and he received a medical discharge. He resumed his study of law and was licensed in 1865. In 1883 he married Mary Christian Jones of Pennsylvania County, Virginia. Of their four children, only James Turner survived to adulthood. Joseph Motley was an early Vice President and later President of the Guilford Battleground Company. His home was located at 215 S. Eugene Street.

Colonel John Henry Morehead was the son of James Turner Morehead I, and he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1853. He served in the 45th Regulars, North Carolina Troops during the Civil War. He contracted malaria and died in 1863.

Major James Turner Morehead was born in 1840, son of Governor John Motley Morehead. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1861 and enlisted in the Confederate Army. In 1862 he was the First Lieutenant, and later served as Adjutant of the 63rd North Carolina Troops (5th Cavalry). He was severely wounded at Bristoe Station and later assigned staff duty in Richmond, Va. He surrendered with Johnson in 1865. A year earlier he had married Mary Elizabeth Connally. He was the founder of Willson Aluminum Company (1891-1893), but lost his fortune in the panic of 1893.

John Motley Morehead III (1870-1965) was the only son of Major James Turner Morehead. He attended primary school in Rockingham County, North Carolina, The Moravian Boy’s School, Bingham Military Academy, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1891. He was a chemist and engineer and later became associated with Union Carbide Corporation. In 1945 he created the John Motley Morehead Foundation (planetarium, scholarships, etc.) for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a long time benefactor of the College. He had no children.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This collection includes printed and manuscript documents and various forms of photographs. There is very little correspondence and none of a family nature. Several items relate to the Civil War, including currency, bonds, commissions, passes and medical certificates. Two diplomas are from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1853, 1858). Some items relating to Mary T. Lindsay, wife of James T. Morehead I, are a sketch of her father’s homestead (Robert Lindsay of Deep River) and Mount Hecla scrip (issued by her mother’s first husband, Henry Humphreys). The calling cards are from various prominent Greensboro citizens.

This collection is not a broad group of personal papers. It is rather a collection of “special” items of the type which would be preserved in a scrapbook. Its major strength is the collection of photographs, paintings, drawings, and silhouettes.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: James Turner Morehead (1799-1875). 1 item.

This series contains a photocopy of the marriage license (Guilford County) of James Turner Morehead and Mary T. Lindsay.

2. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: James Turner Morehead, Jr. (1838-1919). 6 items.

This series holds two letters involving Civil War legal cases; a certificate of membership in the Dialectic Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; two pages of German poetry dated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, June 1858; a military commission (1862); and a menu from a banquet held in Morehead’s honor at the Hotel Guilford, Greensboro, NC.

3. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Joseph Motley Morehead (1840-1911). 9 items.

This series includes: a surety bond (1864) for Joseph Motley Morehead as Clerk of the Court of Equity for Guilford County, and Signed by John Motley Morehead, I, Joseph Motley Morehead, and James Turner Morehead; a published speech “James Hunter,” delivered by Joseph Motley Morehead at the Guilford Battleground (1897); published poem “Address to the Battleground Oak” (1904); North Carolina law licenses for Joseph Motley Morehead for 1863 and 1864 (Signed by R. M. Pearson, William H. Battle and M. E. Manley); a military commission (1861), and papers relating to Morehead’s medical disability (1862, 1864); and a promotional brochure for the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (1945).

4. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: John Henry Morehead. 2 items.

This series includes: two passes to the rear, uncut (CSA), signed by J. H. Morehead, Colonel, 45th North Carolina Troops; and a diploma from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1853.

5. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: John Motley Morehead II (1870-1965). 3 items.

This series includes: a published speech of John Motley Morehead, May 14, 1910, to the United States House of Representatives regarding protective tariffs; TLS to McDaniel Lewis from John Motley Morehead, October 24, 1954; and a newspaper article concerning John Motley Morehead.

6. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Guilford Grays. 4 items.

This series includes: a security bond for arms and equipment for the Grays (May 19, 1881), Signed by Neil Ellington, J. T. Morehead, John A. Dillard, A. T. Eckel, W. E. Deveil, L. M. Scott, and James A. Albright; invitation card to the anniversary party of the Guilford Grays, March 15, 1861; a letter from William Adams to Col. James Morehead, April 2, 1860, announcing the arrival of the Grays uniform, and speaking of dress parade, receiving swords from the Greensboro Female College, and the flag presentation (May 5). Also included is a photocopy of a speech made by Mary Morehead at the flag presentation.

7. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Confederate States of America, miscellaneous. 8 items.

This series includes: $100 bond (February 20, 1863, issue); receipt for bond purchase, Greensboro, March 23, 1864, and attached are two $500 bond certificates; invitations to ball of “Danville Blues” (Feb. 22, 1860); currency from the Bank of Washington – $20; currency from the National School Bank – 1 cent, 5 cents, 5 cents, $2.

8. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Robert Lindsay family. 3 items.

This series includes: a handwritten “sketch” (map) of the Robert Lindsay homestead, Deep River, NC; letter, October 25, 1844 to J. M. Lindsay from John L. Littell (Philadelphia) regarding the receipt of a counterfeit $10 note from Ralph Gorrell via Lindsay; petition to Jesse Lindsay, 1835, to appoint a local Justice of the Peace, Signed By R. D. Lindsay, John M. Logan, Thomas Caldwell, James McNairy, J. M. Cuistin, Henry Humphreys, Jed H. Lindsay, Robert D. Gorrell, Benjamin Overman, et. al.

9. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Mount Hecla Steam Cotton Mill. 12 items.

This series holds scrip in the following amounts: $1 (beehive) three notes; $3 (ship) three notes; $5 (train) three notes; $1 (mill) three notes (one is unsigned, mint condition).

10. Documents, Manuscript and Printed: Miscellaneous. 23 items.

This series consist of calling cards, invitations and accompanying envelopes, both handwritten and printed. Names include Captain T. L. Scales, Letitia Walker, Thomas Tate, Mary Lindsay Morehead, Annie E. Morehead, Mr. & Mrs. R. G. Lindsay, and W. L. Scott. Impressive is a handwritten note “to the Misses. Dick,” May 1846, from Mr. & Mrs. Morehead “at Blandwood.”

11. Photographs, loose. 13 items. Arranged by accession number.

Three ambrotypes are included in this collection. See the photographic inventory records for full descriptions. Ambrotypes are: Mrs. Annette Lindsay Wright (1964.16.33); Henry Morehead (1964.16.32); and Minnie L. Morehead (1935.345.39). Photographs include: James T. Morehead, I; two photographs of Letitia Harper Lindsay; Rev. T. M. Whitfield and wife; James T. Morehead Jr. and wife; Mrs. O. M. Morehead; Gizeal Park Harper; Mary T. Morehead; and Annie M. Whitfield.

12. Photograph Album. 1 item.

A photograph album (1935.345.67) which belonged to Mrs. Annie M. Whitfield is included in this collection. It has 50 pages and contains tintypes and carte de visites of various family members including both Moreheads and Grays.

13. Silhouettes. 5 items. Arranged by accession number (framed).

Silhouettes of James T. Morehead (standing) (1964.16.5); Jeduthan Harper (photographic copy, 1964.16.7); Gizeal Harper (photographic copy, 1964.16.8); Robert Lindsay; and Letitia Harper Lindsay.

14. Paintings. 2 items. [See Collections Dept.]

The two paintings in this collection are: John Motley Morehead I, by Garl Brown; and Anna Elizabeth Lindsay Morehead, by Garl Brown.

15. Drawings. 2 items. Arranged by accession number (framed).

The two drawings in this collection are: in charcoal, James Turner Morehead I, unknown artist; and in charcoal, Mary T. Lindsay, unknown artist.

16. Book. 1 item.

This series includes the Bible which was awarded to Mary H. Morehead upon her graduation from Edgeworth Female Seminary in 1860 (embossed).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the James Turner Morehead Family Papers (1830-1954)

Note: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g., 1:1 — Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can found.

Adams, William: 6:1
Albright, James A.: 6:1

Banks–Bank of Washington: 7:1
Banks–National School Bank: 7:1
Battle, William H.: 3:1
Brown, Garl (Artist): 14

Caldwell, Thomas: 8:1 (1835)
Confederate States of America: 7:1
Cuistin, J. M.: 8:1 (1835)

Dillard, John A.: 6:1

Eckel, Alexander P.: 6:1
Edgeworth Female Seminary: 16 (1860)
Ellington, Neil: 6:1

Gorrell, Robert D.: 8:1 (1835)
Guilford Battleground: 3:1 (1897)
Guilford Battleground –Battleground Oak: 3:1
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park: 3:1
Guilford Grays: 6:1 (1860-1881)

Harper, Gizeal Park: 11; 13
Harper, Jeduthan: 13
Hotel Guilford, Greensboro, N.C.: 2:1
Houses–Blandwood: 10:1 (1846)
Houses–Lindsay, Robert: 8:1
Humphreys, Henry: 8:1 (1835)
Hunter, James: 3:1

Lewis, McDaniel: 5:1
Lindsay, Jed H.: 8:1 (1835)
Lindsay, Jesse: 8:1 (1835)
Lindsay, Letitia Harper: 11; 13
Lindsay, Mary T.: 1:1; 15
Lindsay, Robert. Family: 8:1; 10:1; 13
Lindsay, Robert—Home: 8:1
Logan, John M.: 8:1 (1835)

Manley, M. E.: 3:1
McNairy, James: 8:1 (1835)
Morehead, Annie E.: 10:1
Morehead, Henry: 11
Morehead, James Turner (1799-1875): 1:1; 11; 15
Morehead, James Turner (1838-1919): 2:1; 6:1 (1881); 11
Morehead, James Turner (1838-1919) (Mrs.): 11
Morehead, John Henry: 4:1
Morehead, John Motley, I (1796-1866): 10:1
Morehead, John Motley, II (1870-1965): 5:1
Morehead, Joseph Motley (1840-1911): 3:1
Morehead, Mary: 6:1
Morehead, Mary T.: 11
Morehead, Mary Lindsay: 10:1
Morehead, Minnie L.: 11
Morehead, Mrs. O. M.: 11
Mount Hecla Steam Cotton Mill: 9:1

Overman, Benjamin: 8:1 (1835)

Pearson, R. M.: 3:1

Scales, Capt. T. L.: 10:1
Scott, Levi M.: 6:1
Scott, William L.: 10:1

Tate, Thomas: 10:1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 2:1 (1858); 4:1 (1853)

Walker, Letitia: 10:1
Whitfield, Annie M.: 11
Whitfield, Rev. T. M.: 11
Whitfield, Mrs. T. M.: 11
Wright, Annette Lindsay: 11

Index to the Annie M. Whitfield Photograph Album (1935.345.67)

This carte de visite (CDV) album belonged to Mrs. Annie Morehead Whitfield. Its main subjects are Confederate military officers and Morehead family members.