Joseph and William Peace Account Book, 1836-1863, PC.AB.132
Abstract
This collection contains one ledger describing store and real estate transactions, and other financial dealings of Joseph Peace (1766-1842) and his younger brother William Peace (1773-1865) between 1836 and 1863. Foldered separately are a small number of papers/notes removed from the ledger.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Joseph and William Peace Account Book, 1836-1863
- Call Number
- PC.AB.132
- Creator
- Peace family
- Date
- 1836 - 1863
- Extent
- 0.200 cubic feet
- Repository
- State Archives of North Carolina
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Private Collections: Account Books, AB.132, Joseph and William Peace Account Book, 1823-1864, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Collection Overview
Comprises a ledger with detached marbleized end pages and debossed leather covers.
The volume is identified on the spine as "D Journal" belonging to "J. & W. P", referencing
the daily ledger journal of Joseph and William Peace. There are approximately 300
pages and although these are numbered, the numbering restarts part way through the
volume.
The Peace brothers used this volume to keep track of transactions of merchandise,
property, and enslaved people, and other financial records. After Joseph Peace died
in 1842, William Peace continued to maintain the ledger, with the entries being much
more for interest, land, and notes received rather than merchandise.
There is also a small number of notes and other papers previously inserted in the
ledger that have been remobed and foldered separately.
Biographical/Historical
Joseph and William Peace were brothers born in Granville County, North Carolina. Their father, John M. Peace (1742-1821) was a wealthy planter who owned lands near his father and brother in the Wilton area. Their mother, Margaret Scott Barr Peace (1738-1820) had been married to a Barr, by whom she had one son and two daughters. Her second marriage to John M. Peace provided six additional children: four sons and two daughters.
In November 1798, Joseph and William Peace opened a general store on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh. For many years, they lived together on the store premises. In addition to being successful merchants, they purchased land, houses and other store buildings as rental properties. They continued to own land along Tabbs Creek in Granville County, probably inherited from their father.
In October 1832, a fire demolished the brothers' store, living quarters and $1,000 worth of stock. In addition, they lost two other stores occupied by tenants. The two brothers chose not to rebuild but continued to pursue their other business interests jointly.
Joseph Peace died intestate in 1842. Although he and William appeared to live much of their lives as bachelors, court documents from the 1840s reveal that he "had a family of children, whom he recognized, and for whom and their mother, he provided a house and servants and other necessaries, and defrayed the expenses of their education, as a parent. After the 1832 fire, Joseph and his family moved into a house owned by the partnership and lived there with them for the ten years preceding his death." The 1840 Census reveals that William was living there also.
Although Joseph's children are not explicitly identified, his son-in-law John Wynne Young (active 1815-1847) is named in the court proceedings. Marriage bonds show that John W. Young applied for a license to marry Nancy [or Ann] Peace (1794-1822) on 19 July 1815. In May 1817, minutes of the Wake County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions show that "Julia Langley natural daughter of Joseph Peace of the City of Raleigh" petitioned to have her name changed to Julia Peace (1801-1877).
By 1850, William Peace (1773-1865) had moved in with Joseph's granddaughter Ann Augusta Young (died 1852) and her husband William Woods Holden (1818-1892). Even after Ann's death and William's remarriage, he continued to reside with the Holden family.
Peace referred to his plantation as Swift Creek Plantation, sometimes using the initials S. C. to abbreviate it. According to an 1847 newspaper item regarding a lost or stolen filly, the plantation was located approximately seven miles southwest of Raleigh. William Peace's line and corner were referred to as boundaries in the 1864 Penny deed when the partnership of Briggs and Dodd sold 1,788 acres to James Penny (1817-1904). In addition, the deed noted a previous transaction in which Briggs, Dodd and Penny had sold their mill seat, pond, and ninety-four acres to Penny's son-in-law Pharis [Phares] Yates (active 1817-1902). The 1871 Bevers map of Wake County shows Yates Mill, Penney's Mill, and Peace's Plantation, all located in Swift Creek Township in close proximity to one another, thereby providing additional corroboration of the plantation's location.
Peace's name appears in the federal slave schedules of 1850 and 1860. Presumably, many enslaved people lived on his Swift Creek Plantation. Thirty-seven enslaved people were enumerated in the Western Division of Wake County in 1850, and a total of fifty-one were listed in the Southern Division of the county in the 1860 slave schedule.
In 1857, William Peace gave land and pledged $10,000 to establish an educational institution for women. In recognition of Peace's substantial contributions, the Presbyterian school was named Peace Institute (later Peace College, thereafter William Peace University). The street at the southern boundary of the campus carried the Peace name also. Although construction began in 1859, the opening of the institute was delayed due to the Civil War and Reconstruction. To ensure completion of the project, Peace added a codicil to his will, entrusting the money to the Reverend Joseph M. Atkinson (1820-1891) who was Peace's pastor at the First Presbyterian Church. The main building was completed hastily in 1862 so that it could be converted to a Civil War hospital. After the war, the building was pressed into service as the headquarters of the Freedmen's Bureau. Peace Institute opened its doors in 1872, seven years after Peace's death.
Contents of the Collection
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Unknown