Contact the Center
Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
UNCW Library, Discovery Hall, 2nd floor
5162 Randall Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28403
csencah@uncw.edu
910-962-7810
Visit the Center
Location
The Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History is located on the 2nd floor of Discovery Hall in the UNCW Library.
Hours
From May 19th through August 15th, 2025, the Center will be open by appointment only due to reduced staffing. 48 hours' advance notice is required for appointment requests. Visit our website to request an appointment.
Access Policies
Prior to visiting the Center, users should familiarize themselves with our access and use policies.
CSENCAH Manuscript Collections
The Center holds several manuscript collections that contain original primary sources dating from the 17th and 18th century, as well as research collections documenting southeastern North Carolina during the colonial and revolutionary periods.
A note about finding aids...
The links below will take you to each collection's finding aid, which provides more details about the collection and its creator(s) as well as a list of the collection's contents. Finding aids are only descriptions of archival materials and generally do not include scans of the materials themselves, although a finding aid may provide a link to a digital collection containing scans of material if that collection has been digitized. In most cases, you will need to visit the Center (or the archival repository described) in person in order to view these collections.
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MS 007 Thomas Smith Land GrantPhotocopy of 1688 deed for Oyster Poynt in Charlestowne, Carolina. In the winter of 1688, Thomas Smith purchased a six acre plot of land in Charlestowne, Carolina known as Oyster Point. Smith's grant was an ornately decorated, well delineated description, containing three major areas of information: a sketch of the location showing bounding lots; a surveyor's report; and a formal statement from the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina.
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MS 011 Moses Bartram Membership CertificateThis document certifies that Moses Bartram of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society. It was signed on January 20, 1786, by the Society’s President, Benjamin Franklin; Vice-Presidents John Ewing, William White and Samuel Vaughan; and Secretaries James Hutchinson, John Foulke, and two others.
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MS 013 Burgwin Family Private PapersThese papers are photocopied typescripts of New Hanover County, NC Deed Book and Will Book records and private letters, copied by Elizabeth McKoy of Wilmington, NC. The deed abstracts are occasionally accompanied by sketches of the area described in the deed. Some of this research material was in Elizabeth McKoy’s book, Early New Hanover County Records, published in 1973.
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MS 022 Craven County RecordsThese records are primarily deeds for land in Craven County, North Carolina ranging in date from 1724 to 1882. Included are a Lord’s Proprietors’ land grant, two king’s grants, a North Carolina state grant, several deeds, and some maps and descriptions of land tracts. Several deeds are transfers, made throughout the years, which consist of either part, or all the same parcel of land.
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MS 027 Duplin County, North Carolina Marriage BondsThis item is a photocopy of a listing of Duplin County, North Carolina marriage bonds that extends from the county's earliest recorded marriage bonds in 1730 to circa 1870. The original listing is in the office of the Register of Deeds for Duplin County, at Kenansville, North Carolina. The listing is alphabetical by grooms' last names and is followed by an index of brides' names. The listing includes the names of the groom, bride, bondsman and witness, the date of bond, and, occasionally, the place of marriage and the name of the person officiating.
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MS 029 Wilmington, North Carolina Historic Buildings SurveyThe files in this collection were created by the Junior League of Wilmington, who completed a survey of historic buildings in the 1970s for their Old Wilmington Guidebook. Folders are organized by address and include various kinds of documentation for each structure, such as survey forms, deed abstracts, sketches, letters, excerpts from books, magazines and newspapers, and brochures.
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MS 050 Colonial Dames, Lord Craven Chapter RecordsThis collection includes the charter, minutes, reports, budgets, newspaper clippings and other documents related to the Lord Craven Chapter of the Colonial Dames for the years 1961-1985. Also included, in alphabetical order, are membership applications with genealogical information for chapter members.
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MS 066 Dr. John D. Bellamy Family PapersJohn Dillard Bellamy was a prominent physician, wealthy planter, and enslaver who settled in Wilmington in the mid-19th century. His collection consists of photocopies of land grants, deeds, and land surveys for various properties in North and South Carolina dating from 1778 to 1865.
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MS 114 Store Ledger, Wilmington, NCThis collection contains a store ledger from Wilmington, North Carolina that is believed to have been in the Kittrell family since the late 1700s. The ledger indicates that a second store in "Fayette" was under the same ownership, with cash and debit accounts reflected in the ledger. Also listed are several city resident names that traded with the store at that time and are clearly noted, as well as a selection of poems or songs in the front.
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MS 126 Elizabeth Catharine DeRosset Land DeedThis collection contains the Deeds of Lease and Release for 960 acres of land originally sold by John Watts to Edward Bridgen and later by Edward Bridgen to his sister, Elizabeth Catharine DeRosset. The land was located near near New Topsail sound and Barren inlet, bordering land owned by Job Howes.
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MS 164 B. Frank Hall CollectionThis collection contains B. Frank Hall's writings and religious sermons, including from his work as a pastor at Pearsall Memorial Presbyterian and while a professor and head of the Philosophy and Religion department when UNCW first formed as Wilmington College. Material is from the 1930s-1950s, though a majority is undated.
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MS 169 St. James' Episcopal Church RecordsThe collection consists of original papers, handwritten ledgers, bills, account books, early personal checks, indentures, letters, church records, and hand drawn town maps. The early church was est. 1729 in Newtown (Wilmington).
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MS 172 Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood Family PapersPapers of the Dr. T. F. Wood family of Wilmington, NC. Includes Dr. Woods's Civil War recollections, correspondence, writings of Dr. Edward Jenner Wood, and genealogy of the Wood family.
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MS 189 Bob High CollectionThe collection contains letters, personal research material, newspaper clippings and memorabilia belonging to Bob High, a newspaper reporter and author, from Whiteville, North Carolina. High collected materials related to the history of this region, and his collection includes some documentation of southeastern NC in the late 18th century.
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MS 203 Vernon Keeter CollectionThis collection contains a variety of Columbus County court records and legal documents from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. Documents bills of sale, land deeds, warranty deeds, loan agreements, and court documents such as court summons, witness statements, depositions, jury decisions, and travel payments. Topics of the court cases include an 1874 Polling Place Riot in Wilmington, N.C., cases of indebtedness, illegitimate children cases, cases of affray, and assault and battery.
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MS 209 Dr. Samuel Chambers CollectionThis collection contains various large, historical prints and photographs from the mid-1700s to the mid-1900s, including an illustrated map of Orton plantation in 1725.
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MS 224 Onslow County Land RecordsThis collection primarily contains Onslow County land deeds dating from 1785 to 1918. Also included are documents pertaining to the will and estate of Elisha Walton and information regarding school attendence in the 5th district of Onslow County in 1853.
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MS 226 Willis and Amanda Wilson Family PapersThis collection contains the family papers of Willis Wilson (1807-1860) and Amanda Pollock Wilson (1813-1888), white landowners, farmers, and enslavers in Duplin County, North Carolina.
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MS 231 Orton Plantation Art CollectionThis collection contains late 18th, 19th century, and early 20th century artwork and prints from Orton Plantation.
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MS 249 Lewis J. Hardee, Jr. Family PapersThis collection represents the over twenty years of research that went into the creation of Mr. Hardee's privately published volume Three Southern Families - A History of Connecting Hardee, Jones, and Davis Families of Coastal North Carolina, published in 1994 by Southport Historical Society, Southport NC and printed by the Barefoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC. The papers contain letters, diaries, ledgers, notes and ephemera dating from the early 19th century and through the 20th century, relating to the Hardee, Jones, and Davis families of Southeastern North Carolina.
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MS 268 University of North Carolina Wilmington Landmark Committee RecordsThis collection contains the records of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Landmark Committee and Historical Events Committee, both of which were convened at the request of the University's Board of Trustees to complete work for a project associated with the University Commons site. The Landmark Committee was tasked with identifying an appropriate landmark to place in the University Commons outdoor space in companionship with its landscaping plan. Once the Landmark Committee's recommendations were approved, the Historical Events Committee was tasked with identifying important places and events to be included as part of the major landmark.
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MS 270 Lake Waccamaw HistoryConservation ecology, fauna and flora of eastern America, and fish and fishing at Lake Waccamaw are a part of this collection donated by John McNeill. Also included are histories of food, church, mollusks and shells of North Carolina, and general history of the area. Of interest is State Park Master Plan, House Document on Green Swamp, scenic travel guides. Also contains deed and land indentures for land in Bladen and Columbus Counties dating from 1735-1884.
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MS 277 Buffkin Family PapersThis collection contains papers documenting the political activities and business operations of Albert W. Buffkin (1855-1921), a white landowner, business operator, and farmer in Columbus County, North Carolina during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Types of materials include professional and personal correspondence, a 1782 land grant, deeds and indentures, court and legal documents, handwritten notes, political pamphlets, contracts, mortgage agreements, account books, and other financial documents.
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MS 324 Dr. Frank Ainsley PapersDr. W. Frank Ainsley was a long-time professor in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. These papers contain materials collected by him during his academic and research careers and focus geographical concerns in southeastern North Carolina primarily during the 1970s to 1990s. Included are journal articles, newspapers, magazines, brochures, pamphlets, notes, photographs, correspondence, maps, and other similar research materials.
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MS 332 Dr. Walter H. Conser Jr. PapersThis collection consists of the accumulated working papers of professor, historian, and author Dr. Walter Conser Jr. between 1970 and 2014. Conser compiled research on various topics in the early history of southeastern NC, including religion in the Cape Fear region and North Carolina's Indigenous populations.
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MS 395 North Carolina Visual Arts and Artists (NCVAA) CollectionThe North Carolina Visual Arts and Artists (NCVAA) Collection, begun by Wilmington artist and former head of the UNCW art department Claude Howell, is a unique collection of newspaper clippings, posters, brochures, exhibit programs, and other ephemera about North Carolina arts and artists. Most of the material relates to art exhibits held in North Carolina at various museums, galleries, and campuses, but there is some limited biographical information, as well as a few photographs. The collection primarily focuses on the 20th century, but a small number of artists from the late 18th century are included.
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MS 404 Rhinehart Collection of Lower Cape Fear Historical DocumentsThis collection contains late 18th century and 19th century documents related to areas in and around the Lower Cape Fear region of Southeast North Carolina, including parts of South Carolina. Material includes agreements, indentures, land deeds, bills of sale, and land surveys, the bulk of which focus on Brunswick County and Duplin County and connect to the Bellamy and Hill families.
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LCF MS 3 Lawrence Lee CollectionThis collection contains handwritten and typed lectures, speeches, notes, manuscripts, and drafts of books, including for an unfinished book on 18th century piracy in Southeast North Carolina, by author, historian, and archaelogist Lawrence Lee. Lee helped uncover the remains of old Brunswick Town in Brunswick County.
- Special Collections Vertical Files
The Special Collections vertical files are compiled by Special Collections staff on an ongoing basis and contain material such as articles, photocopied documents, maps, ephemera, etc. of various persons, places, organizations, and topical subjects related to UNCW and Southeastern North Carolina history. There are several files within this collection related to colonial-era history:- • Quince, Richard
• Fire and Fire Control in Colonial Wilmington
• Historic Sites (see finding aid for specific sites included)
• Early Salt Production in the Lower Cape Fear
• Plantations (see finding aid for specific plantations included)
• Early Medicine in the Lower Cape Fear Area
• Lower Cape Fear Revolutionary War Events
• Moores Creek National Battlefield
• The Settlement of the Cape Fear
• Wilmington: A Town Born of Conflict, Confusion, and Collusion, Part 2
- • Quince, Richard