DeRosset family papers, chiefly 1821-1877, relating to family life and social, religious, political, and military activities of DeRossets in Wilmington and Hillsborough, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; New York, N.Y.; and other locations. Included is correspondence of several generations of DeRosset women, documenting the education of children, family health, fashion, social events, religious opinions, and household problems. Other correspondence relates to mercantile partnerships in Wilmington and New York City; family members' relocation to England because of interests in the Wilmington and Weldon Rail Road after the American Civil War; the family rice plantation in Brunswick County, N.C.; and slaves in North Carolina and South Carolina. Civil War era letters describe hardships on the homefront and shipping goods from Bermuda through the Union blockade of Wilmington. Included are some letters written by slaves. Some Reconstruction era letters discuss activities of former DeRosset slaves. Also included is correspondence with British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who was a family friend. Financial and legal materials include papers documenting land transactions; papers relating to slave sales and a volume listing births and deaths of DeRosset slaves, 1770-1854; wills and estate papers; and military commissions. Of special interest are a group of French documents, including a 1671 marriage contract and an 1817 deed of emancipation for a Charleston, S.C., slave. Other materials include records, 1801-1806, of the Nine-Penny Whist Club of Wilmington; a Civil War narrative describing running the Wilmington blockade; scattered diaries of DeRosset women; and materials relating to the history of Saint James Episcopal Church, Wilmington. The Addition of 2007 consists of Moses John DeRosset's travel diary documenting a trip to western Europe in 1854; Moses John DeRosset's autograph album containing autographs and quotes from schoolmates, 1855-1863; Adelaide S. Meares's autograph album containing autographs and quotes from schoolmates at the Patapsco Female Institute in Maryland; diplomas and certificates, 1850s-1870s.
