Manuscripts

R.W. Murray Family Papers

ca. 1850s-1920. ½ box (21 folders), 50 items. MSS. COLL. #77

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The R.W. Murray Family Papers contain materials pertaining to the Moore, Murray, and Weatherly families, including correspondence, financial documents, literary works, photographs, and printed materials. The highlight is the correspondence between Sarah “Bettie” Moore and her brother Augustus while she was a student at Edgeworth Female Seminary. Also relevant to Edgeworth are a commencement speech and a short manuscript entitled “A Day Spent at Edgeworth,” written by Bettie Moore. Other materials include financial documents relating to A&M College (later North Carolina A&T State University) and photographs of members of the Weatherly family. Researchers interested in Edgeworth Female Seminary or the Moore, Murray, and Weatherly families may find this collection worthwhile.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into four series and arranged within series by document type and/or subject. The series are: Financial, 1865-1899; Moore Family, 1858-1866, Photographs, ca. 1850s-1890s; and Printed Materials, 1910-1920.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Katharine A. Hicks in June 1988 and assigned the accession number 1988.79.1. R.W. Murray was the donor’s maternal grandfather, and Sarah “Bettie” Moore was her maternal grandmother’s mother.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by intern Abigail Schleifer in July 2021.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Andrew Weatherly Sr. (1810-1877) married Margaret Gillespie (1816-1872) on January 9, 1833. The couple had seven children, including Mary Eliza (1835-1869), Robert Dudley (1840-1863), Margaret Andrew (1848-1935), and Andrew Jr. (1851-1910). Sergeant Major Robert Dudley Weatherly served in the 27th Regiment of the North Carolina Troops during the Civil War and died on October 24, 1863, in Richmond, Virginia. Mary Eliza Weatherly married Levi Scott (1827-1911), and gave birth to Lilly (1862-1905) and Maggie Marshall (1864-1871). Margaret Andrew Weatherly married William Rufus Murray (1836-1893) on March 13, 1867, and the couple had five children, most notably Robert Weatherly Murray (1868-1928).

R.W. Murray was the treasurer of A&M College (later North Carolina A&T State University) in the 1890s-1910s. He married Catherine Shaw (1873-1956) on November 10, 1896, and the couple had at least seven children, with the eldest being Mary Dimock (1897-1933). Mary Dimock Murray married Reverend Robert South Arrowood (1893-1974), and they had two children, Katharine and Mary Dickson (1931-2020).

Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Moore (1841-1883) was the daughter of Catherine Wesley Sheppard Floyd (1812-1843) and Edmund S. Moore (1806-1854), a farmer in Martin County, North Carolina. She attended Edgeworth Female Seminary from 1857-1859, where she wrote much of the correspondence in the collection to her brother, Augustus Moore (ca. 1839-1860s). After graduating from Edgeworth on May 25, 1859, she stayed with family while Augustus was traveling. Upon his death, she moved to her Uncle Thomas Sheppard’s home in Stokes, North Carolina, where she married William W. Shaw (1840-1920) on July 21, 1868. The couple lived in Washington, North Carolina, and had three children, most notably Catherine (1873-1956), R.W. Murray’s wife and the maternal grandmother of Katharine Arrowood Hicks.

Biographical Sources: The sources for this biographical note include findagrave.com, Ancestry.com, the donor’s family, and materials in the collection. Additional information was acquired from Edgeworth Female Seminary’s annual catalogues, primarily the 1857-58 catalogue.


SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This collection contains personal and professional correspondence, financial documents, literary works, a copybook, photographs, and printed materials.

Most of the correspondence is between Bettie Moore and her brother Augustus. These letters relate to personal matters of the Moore family, Bettie’s experiences at Edgeworth Female Seminary, and Augustus’ time in the North Carolina State Legislature (2:1). Of note, some of Bettie’s letters to Augustus are written on Edgeworth letterhead, including one detailing a lecture given to the Edgeworth senior class of 1859 (2:1). Other correspondence in the Moore family series is from various friends of Augustus (2:5).

This collection also contains three literary works produced by Bettie Moore while she was a student at Edgeworth. They include a commencement speech (2:8), a manuscript entitled “A Day Spent at Edgeworth” (2:9), and a copybook containing relevant newspaper clippings and handwritten notes from friends (2:7).

The financial documents pertain primarily to R.W. Murray, who was the treasurer at A&M College in 1896. Included are several letters that he received from the North Carolina Treasury Department and the North Carolina Auditor’s Department discussing appropriations to the college (1:1). The photographs consist primarily of portraits featuring members of the Weatherly family. Also of interest are an image of Buffalo Presbyterian Church (3:1) and one of a circus parade in Greensboro (3:2).


SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1.  Financial.  3 folders (13 items).  1865-1899.

This series consists of financial documents relating to R.W. Murray, treasurer at A&M College, and his family. Of particular note is correspondence from North Carolina State Treasurer W.H. Worth and North Carolina State Auditor Robert M. Furman regarding appropriations to A&M College (1:1). A group of empty envelopes is also addressed to R.W. Murray (1:2). The receipts were received by W.R. Murray and his wife from the Southern Express Company, the law office of Thomas B. Keogh, and Scott’s Family Grocery (1:3).

2. Moore Family.  10 folders (27 items).  1858-1866.

The Moore family series is arranged into three subseries: Correspondence, Literary, and Photographs. The correspondence is primarily between Sarah “Bettie” Moore and her brother Augustus. They discuss Bettie’s experiences as a student at Edgeworth Female Seminary, their respective friends, and several family members, such as their grandmother, mother, and father. Of note, Bettie’s friends Eleanor “Ella” Swain and Delphine “Delli,” or “Della” L. Worth, daughters of former UNC President David L. Swain and former North Carolina State Treasurer John Milton Worth respectively, are mentioned in several letters. The two also discuss financial concerns (2:1), Augustus’ role in the North Carolina State Legislature of 1858-1859 (2:1), Bettie’s handwriting (2:2), and her life at Edgeworth (2:1-2).

The Literary subseries consists of a copybook (2:7), a commencement speech (2:8), and a manuscript entitled “A Day Spent at Edgeworth,” by Bettie Moore (2:9). Within the copybook are numerous notes from friends, three newspaper clippings, and three illustrations. Two of the newspaper clippings relate to Edgeworth Female Seminary and mention Bettie Moore by name. The commencement speech, entitled “Sketch of our School Days: Their Sunshine and Shade,” was given by Bettie Moore at her graduation from Edgeworth on May 25, 1859. Of particular note, the unfinished manuscript entitled “A Day Spent at Edgeworth,” dated January 1858, includes descriptions of the campus, daily student activities and routines, and an early morning church service. The Photographs subseries includes two copy negatives and two copy prints depicting Augustus and Sarah “Bettie” Moore (2:10).

3. Photographs.  6 folders (6 items).  ca. 1850s-1890s.

The photographs in this series pertain mostly to the Weatherly family and their relatives. The individuals featured are Andrew Weatherly Sr. (3:4), Margaret Gillespie Weatherly (3:5), Robert Dudley Weatherly (3:6), and Maggie Marshall Scott (3:3). Also included are photographs of Buffalo Presbyterian Church (3:1) and a circus parade in Greensboro (3:2).

4. Printed Materials.  2 folders (4 items).  1910-1920.

The printed materials include a program for a production of the play “Mice and Men” at the North Carolina College for Women (later Woman’s College and then The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; 4:2) and three promotional postcards, all addressed to Mr. Henry Yow in Lynchburg, Virginia (4:1).


FOLDER LISTING

SeriesFolderContents 
11Financial-- A&M College (1896)
2-- Envelopes (empty; 1894-1899)
3-- Receipts (1865-1895)
21Moore Family-- Correspondence -- Moore, Bettie to/from Augustus Moore (1858)
2-- Correspondence -- Moore, Bettie to/from Augustus (1859)
3-- Correspondence -- Moore, Bettie to/from Augustus (1860)
4Moore Family-- Correspondence -- Moore, Bettie to/from Augustus (n.d.)
5-- Correspondence -- Moore, Augustus, from friends (1859-1863)
6-- Envelopes (empty; 1859-1860)
7Moore Family-- Literary -- Copybook (ca. 1858-1866)
8-- Literary -- Edgeworth Commencement Speech (ca. 1859)
9-- Literary -- "A Day Spent at Edgeworth" (by Bettie Moore; 1858)
10-- Photographs (ca. 1860)
31Photographs-- Buffalo Presbyterian Church (1894)
2-- Circus Parade (ca. 1890s)
3-- Scott, Maggie Marshall (ca. 1870)
4Photographs-- Weatherly, Andrew Sr. (ca. 1850s-1860s)
5-- Weatherly, Margaret Gillespie (ca. 1850s-1860s)
6-- Weatherly, Robert Dudley (ca. 1861-1863)
41Printed Materials-- Postcards (1910)
2-- Program -- "Mice and Men" (North Carolina College for Women; 1920)