M.A. Curtis Papers, 1720-1952

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M.A. Curtis Papers, 1720-1952

1720-1952

https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/00199/

Moses Ashley Curtis was born in Stockbridge, Mass., and educated at Williams College in Massachusetts. After graduating, he became a tutor for the children of former Governor Edward Bishop Dudley in Wilmington, N.C., returning to Massachusetts in 1833 to study theology. He married Mary de Rosset in 1834, was ordained in 1835, and obtained a post to teach at the Episcopal school at Raleigh, N.C. He became rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Hillsborough, N.C., in 1841 and in charge of a parish at Society Hill, S.C., in 1847 before returning to the Protestant Episcopal Church at Hillsborough in 1857. He died in Hillsborough, in 1872. Besides his clerical and teaching duties, Curtis was also a noted mycologist. The collection contains the correspondence, papers, journals and notebooks, and scientific materials of M.A. Curtis, along with the correspondence of his wife Mary Jane DeRosset Curtis, their children, and members of the Curtis and DeRosset families, chiefly in North Carolina and South Carolina. Correspondence primarily consists of early DeRosset papers; letters from M.A. Curtis's parents, Reverend Jared Curtis and Thankful Curtis, and his daughter, Caroline, to M.A. Curtis while at Williams College; correspondence between M.A. Curtis and Mary Jane DeRosset; letters from relatives of Mary Jane DeRosset Curtis of Wilmington, N.C., and Charleston, S.C.; letters from the Curtis childen while they were at school and as adults; letters from John H. Curtis while he was serving in the Confederate army; and scattered letters about activities of the Episcopal Church; letters to Curtis from other botanists, including Henry William Ravenel, Asa Gray, and M.J. Berkeley, primarily regarding fungi and related scientific topics. Topics are generally related to family news and daily life, along with some discussions of news and politics. Some letters mention slavery and particular slaves belonging to Curtis and DeRosset family members. Included is an 1841 letter discussing the trial of a man accused of murdering a slave, and letters, 1859-1860, discussing the dispersal of DeRosset family slaves after the death of Armand DeRosset. Later papers, 1873-1929, are family correspondence, papers relating to the disposition of Curtis's scientific materials, and letters from Catherine Fullerton describing her travels and teaching experiences in Cuba, 1910-1919. Also included are diaries, botanical notes, school notebooks, sermons, photographs, and church music, as well as Curtis's diary, 1830-1836 and undated, that contains descriptions of his life in Wilmington, N.C., and his employment as a tutor for the children of former Governor Edward Bishop Dudley.

9.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 5,850 items)

eng, Latn

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6626293

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection

Related Entities

There are 15 Entities related to this resource.

Curtis, Armand DeRosset, 1839-1856

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rk591k (person)

Curtis, Mary Jane DeRosset, 1813-1903

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wb61rw (person)

Mary Jane DeRosset Curtis (1813-1903) was the daughter of Armand John DeRosset (1767-1859), and wife of M.A. Curtis (1808-1872)...

Curtis, Jared, 1777-1862

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gb5sp0 (person)

Reverend Jared Curtis (1777-1862) of Massachusetts was a graduate of Williams College. He served as chaplain at the state prison for 30 years....

Ravenel, Henry William, 1814-1887

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p953gj (person)

Born in 1814 in St. John's Parish, South Carolina; Educated in South Carolina private schools and South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina; one of the few distinguished botanists of his time and received international acclaim for his research on non-flowering plants, Cryptogams. His earlier interest was Phaenogams, flowering plants. His collections were given to the Charleston Museum and Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. From the description of Henry William ...

Gray, Asa

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6st82nm (person)

Epithet: botanist British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001039.0x000310 Epithet: M D British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000839.0x0003dd ...

Billings, John S.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vc4h77 (person)

Botteri

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ph7sdr (corporateBody)

Curtis, M. A. (Moses Ashley), 1808-1872

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mm74fr (person)

Moses Ashley Curtis was born in Stockbridge, Mass., and educated at Williams College in Massachusetts. After graduating, he became a tutor for the children of former Governor Edward Bishop Dudley in Wilmington, N.C., returning to Massachusetts in 1833 to study theology. He married Mary de Rosset in 1834, was ordained in 1835, and obtained a post to teach at the Episcopal school at Raleigh, N.C. He became rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Hillsborough, N.C., in 1841 and in charge of a ...

Confederate states of America. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn4wfh (corporateBody)

The Savannah Ordnance Depot, Savannah, Georgia, was organized as a field depot during the Civil War. In April 1864, it became the Savannah Arsenal under the supervision of the Chief of Ordnance. From the description of Savannah Ordnance Depot employment roll, 1864. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38477938 The Confederate States of America Army may have created the position of Purchasing Commissary of Subsistence to oversee the distribution of food and other supplies to the Co...

Curtis family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b65khn (family)

Curtis, Jared, fl. 1823-1837.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bh0jfj (person)

DeRosset family (Wilmington, N.C.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67t8bpd (family)

The DeRosset family descended from French Huguenot Armand John DeRosset, who immigrated to the American colonies in the 1730s and settled in Wilmington, N.C., where four generations of DeRossets worked as physicians and merchants. Family members included Armand John DeRosset (1767-1859) and his wife Catherine Fullerton DeRosset (1773-1837) and children Moses John (1796-1826), Catherine Fullerton Kennedy (1800-1889), Eliza Ann (1802-1888), Magdalen Mary (1806-1850), and Mary Jane Curtis (1813-190...

Gray, Asa, 1810-1888

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62v2hg9 (person)

Botanist, ardent supporter of Charles Darwin, first professor appointed to the faculty of the University of Michigan, and Professor of Botany at Harvard University. From the description of Asa Gray collection, 1871-1885. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 68802268 Asa Gray is an American botanist. He was made Professor of Natural History at Harvard University in 1842 and held that position until 1873. He was the author of several works including Manual of the bota...

Episcopal Church

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dg0f6f (corporateBody)

In 1982, the General Convention of the Church deleted the words "Protestant" and "in the United States of America" from the official title of the Church, making it the Episcopal Church. From the description of Records of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America, Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, 1823-1975 (inclusive). (Yale University). WorldCat record id: 702152635 ...

Berkeley, M. J. (Miles Joseph), 1803-1889

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64n9w34 (person)

Reverend Miles Joseph Berkeley (1803-1899) of King's Cliff, Wansford and Sibbertoft, Harborough, England, Anglican minister and founder of British mycology. From the finding aid for M.A. Curtis Papers, 1720-1952, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University Libraries Rev. Miles Joseph Berkeley; born 1 April 1803, Benefield, East Northamptonshire Borough, Northamptonshire, England; died 30 July 1889, Sibbertoft, Daventry District,...