Finding Aid of the Caleb Winslow and Family Papers, 1712 - 1941, PC.90
Abstract
Caleb Winslow, a Quaker physician, was born in Hertford, Perquimans County in 1824.
He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1866, and died there in 1895. Caleb Winslow was
married to Jane Paxson Parry on January 14, 1852, and they had eight children.
The papers include correspondence of the Winslow family and several items of the Leiper
and Knowles families, deeds, land grants, bills of sale, bonds, accounts, receipts,
bills, promissory notes, wills, marriage certificates, estate papers, advertisements,
warrants, summons, miscellaneous court papers, account books, 2 letter books (including
c. 275 items), histories of the Winslow and Fayssoux families, account of Philip Jones'
descendants, genealogies of the Fayssoux and Winslow and allied families, newspaper
clippings, photographs, magazine excerpts, and miscellaneous material including envelopes.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Caleb Winslow and Family Papers
- Call Number
- PC.90
- Creator
- Winslow family
- Date
- 1712 - 1941
- Extent
- 3.200 cubic feet
- Language
- English
- Repository
- State Archives of North Carolina
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], PC.90, Caleb Winslow and Family Papers, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Collection Overview
The Caleb Winslow and Family Papers include material on the Winslow family as early
as Timothy Winslow, great-grandfather of Caleb, and as late as Nathan Winslow and
Jane Parry Winslow Carroll, grandchildren of Caleb. In addition to the material on
the Winslows, there are various items from families who were related to the Windows.
For example, there are six items of the Leiper family of Pennsylvania, dating from
1852 and the marriage of Mary Lewis Fayssoux and John Chew Leiper, parents of the
wife of Randolph Winslow. Three letters written to James G. Knowles, Delaware, 1891-1898,
have not been connected with the Winslow family in business or in ancestry.
The bulk of the papers are concerned with two major subjects: truck farming in Perquimans
County and speculation in land in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Caleb and especially
his brother John were both interested in land. When John died a bachelor in 1866,
Caleb took over the management of the western lands owned by both of them. The correspondence
concerning land, both to John and Caleb, concerns collecting interest on notes, paying
taxes, bringing suits to collect mortgages, selling land, collecting rent, extending
the time of notes, and various other business and legal matters connected with the
ownership of property. Most of the letters on land are those received by the Winslows
except for the letter books of John R. Winslow which cover the years of 1856-1866.
Most of the letters on truck farming were written by J. C. Perry, one of Caleb Winslow's
agents in North Carolina. Perry worked the farm in Perquimans County and perhaps owned
a part interest in it. From 1868 to 1873, there are numerous letters on crops, receipts,
and troubles of a farm. As a sideline to the farm, Perry also traded horses and mules.
Caleb Winslow bought the animals in Baltimore and shipped them south to be used by
Perry. There are several letters giving an account of the animals which had been sold
and the prices of each. Winslow also received letters from Thomas Gilliam and T. G.
Skinner, his legal representatives in North Carolina, concerning various other pieces
of property that he owned.
There is very little information on Caleb Winslow's professional life. There are a
few letters written by his patients about various medical matters, and there are also
some written by other doctors seeking his advice. The most information on the medical
profession comes from a typewritten copy of a history of the Winslow family written
by Randolph Winslow with additions by his son Nathan. Both of these men were physicians,
and both studied in Europe at various times. Nathan's letters from Austria, copies
of which are in the history, give some information on the study of medicine in Vienna.
A copy of a speech made before the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the University
of Maryland by Randolph Winslow on the occasion of his election to the presidency
of that getup in 1914 is included and gives some of his ideas on the ethics of the
medical profession. In another speech, he discusses some of the history of medical
schools, especially in connection with Maryland.
There is also very little information on the Civil War. A draft notice for John R.
Winslow, a receipt for $100 excusing Caleb Winslow from the draft, and a copy of the
safeguard granted to Quakers for their property, September 2, 1863, are among the
items in the collection. According to John Winslow, the people in Perquimans County
were being plundered by troops of both sides. In January, 1863, seven bags of salt
were given to Nathan Winslow (son of Caleb) for damage to his farm. In February, 1863,
cotton was taken from Perquimans County by a detachment of United States soldiers.
Several discussions on the conditions during the war as well as on various events
of the war are in the history of the family; however, there is very little original
information.
Numerous miscellaneous items in the collection include receipts, promissory notes,
accounts, bills, bills of sale, warrants, summons, wills, marriage certificates, and
an extensive collection of deeds. There are also several genealogical accounts of
the Winslow and Fayssoux families and an account of the descendants of Philip Jones.
Some of the miscellaneous items of interest include several letters from Raleigh in
1917 and one in 1921 which includes the comment that Raleigh people really delight
in mourning...; excerpts from the Bulletin of the School of Medicine, University of
Maryland, on the deaths of Randolph, John Randolph (brother of Randolph) and Nathan
Winslow in 1937; a small notebook telling of some of the financial affairs of the
Temperance Hall of Hertford, North Carolina; numerous bills of sale for slaves; a
document with the signature of Governor Josiah Martin in 1775 appointing Caleb Winslow
(grandfather of the latter Caleb) executor of the estate of Jacob, his brother; and
a deed for 1/6 part of twelve town lots in Winton, 1852.
Biographical Note
Caleb Winslow, a Quaker physician, was born in Hertford, Perquimans County in 1824. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1866, and died there in 1895. Son of Nathan and grandson of Caleb Winslow, he traced his ancestry back to William Bundy who died in 1692 in Perquimans County. Caleb probably attended the Academy at Belvidere, and may have gone to a the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island. He was graduated from Haverford College, Pennsylvania, in 1842, and also from the University of Pennsylvania in 1849, receiving his medical degree from the latter. Apparently he was an excellent physician, gaining prominence in Perquimans County as well as in Baltimore. After he had moved to Baltimore, he was called back to North Carolina many times to tend various patients. Caleb Winslow was married to Jane Paxson Parry on January 14, 1852, and they had eight children, only three of which lived to adulthood. The eldest child, Randolph, the donor of the bulk of these papers, died in 1937 at the age of 84.
Contents of the Collection
1. Correspondence,1808-1891
2. Legal and Financial Papers,1712-1937
3. Family History
4. Miscellaneous and Correspondence, 1852-1941
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
From the Biennial Report, 1924-1926, eight boxes of Winslow papers received from Randolph Winslow, Baltimore, Maryland; 1928-1930. Four manuscripts from Randolph Winslow; December 11, 1967, c. 65 items given by Mrs. Lloyd P. Tyler, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Processing Information
Collection re-foldered and re-boxed and folder listing created by Vann Evans, Cindy Bradley, Ian Dunn, and Mike Childs, January 10, 2023. The contents of 20 manuscript boxes were rehoused in 8 fibredex boxes; box indicaters maintain the original box numbers.