Cameron Family Papers - Records of Enslavement

Patterson very recently. he sent me his picture, which is excellent & very highly prized, I assure you. I would like so much to have Mr. Cameron's photograph. do try to get him up to the proper [pitch?].

I am so glad for you dear [Ms.?] Cameron that you will have your [father?] & his family so near you. I went to see your sister Mrs. Gwyn when she was here. how very pleasant it was to talk about you all. I shall never forget you- but always think of you with the Sincerest affections for sure I am of a warm place in your heart.

Good night- with love for all. yours affectionatelyMary Rowland

Norfolk January 20 1866 P C Cameron Esq Hillsboro NC

Dear Sir Enclosed statement [&c?], to this date amount $104.40 please remit by draft or express.

We have on hand at all times a large stack of goods suited for family and plantation supplies- whenever in want, or we can in any way be of service please make use of us.

Cotton higher, we think [illegible] would have sold at 33 [cents] to day- but the very disagreeable weather intefered with all business- White [Corn?] $1[illegible]

Yours Truly G.W.Rowland H[illegible]

Goldsboro NC June 20 /66

Madam

I have for some years past had your butter & would like to get butter from you again. You will please let me know if you can furnish me again & what quantity & the price you can let me know soon

Yours Respectfully Richard [Gregory?] [illegible] [illegible] Goldsboro NC

Mr Paul Cameron Hillsboro NC

I would like to get the butter weekly.

[illegible] Office of Cartt, Stewart & Co. Mobile, January 12 1866

Mr Paul C. Cameron

Dear Sir: We had [this?] pleasure yesterday, and to day advantaged ourselves of a good demand for Cotton to effect a sale of your 511 bales at 47[cents], which hope will prove satisfactory. We will remit the [amt?] to Maj Collins early [next?] week. Your 511 bales [elasped?] about Middling a little under if anything. Had it been a full [style?] of Middling it would have brought 1/2[cent] to 1[cent] more.

Yours truly [illegible]

Our Mutual friend [W.N.Pratt?] is here on a visit; he exspects to locate in Liverpool as a [illegible] [illegible]

Mrs. Paul Cameron Hillsboro Orange Country N.C. Columbus. Jan 12th 1866

My dearest Cousin Ann I have thought so often since I left Hillsboro of writing to you but have had so many things to [prevent?]. I had proceeded this far with the letter last night when I was forced to give up the determination I had made of spending that evening in having a one sided chat with you [with slashed out] in order to spend it more agreeably (as chat with you was to be all from any side) in the society of one of my gentleman friends. It has been this way ever since my return, whenever I attempt to write, I am scarcely seated before some visitor arrives or something else occurs to interrupt me.

What did you think of me Cousin Ann when I left without saying good bye! I hope it has been fully explained to you, & that you understand how it was. I concluded Thursday about [12?] o'clock that I would leave the next day with [Mr?] Hill from [illegible] oclock one day to ten the next. I had to go to town buy a dress, go back home & with the assistance of every body (make it, besides getting my things together, packing & doing a hundred other things that always have to be done when one is going on a journey. I had no one by whom to send you a message. I do not regret not saying goodbye for it is a most disagreeable task to me, if it had been possible I would have left [illegible] without enduring the pain of a single goodbye to my dear, dear, friend there. I suppose you

have heard from those who have received letters from me of my journey & safe arrival at home. I find it very difficult having so many to write to in Hillsboro to find different topics to discuss in each letter. I would like to write to Cousin Becca & Maggie but really it is too great a tax on my time to keep up a correspondence with twelve or fourteen people in one place, so dear Cousin Ann if you [won't?] honor me a letter yourself, do make one of the girls write I dreampt last night that I had received a lovely letter from Maggie I hope it will not be all a dream.

I found Columbus so sadly changed. it is scarcely recognizable, the Yankees were made furious by the resistance offered them here, & behaved accordingly, murdered, pillaged, & burned to their hearts content. I fear Columbus will never recover from the injury she sustained during "the raid." Singularly enough the very day we were in such [dread?] expectancy in Hillsboro Easter Sunday was the very time Columbus was going through the fiery ordeal. There never was very much spirit of enterprise here & there is less now than there was before, there was never a time since I can remember that business appeared to be more flourishing, & yet they have not begun to rebuild the burnt district & Columbus presents the same ragged jagged appearance that it did the day after the fire. There is a very large garrison here, consequently it quite easy to account for the daring robberies, that are of dayly, yes almost hourly occurrence & in all kind of lights- day light, moonlight, gaslight & darkness, nothing is too heavy to be stolen. They entered one of the [hotells?] the other night through a chimney into the room occupied by the clerk, went to the bed where he was asleep, administered chloriform, took his watch & the keys of the safe (left the loaded pistol that was with the keys & watch

from under his head, opened the safe & took from it a large amount of money, replaced the keys under the pillow, & made good their escape. Night before last they entered the chamber of a friend of mine, took from the bed on which he was asleep a handsome new broadcloth coat in the pocket of which was a $250.00 watch & a purse containing 280 in money & a $150 diamond pin, this theft & robery is reduced to a perfect system. In Macon they had a negro garrison & the horrible deeds perpetrated by them constantly are too dreadful for me to tell you of. They were disbanded last week without any punishment being inflicted & now a great many of them have come here to seek employment, I hear every day of their being arrested for all sorts of misdemeanor. It seems that Columbus is suffering from "all the ills that flesh is heir to" small pox is all over the city, & notwithstanding the precautions taken by the city authorities, people are seen walking in the streets with this loathsome disease on them. Yesterday Morning Mother, a friend of ours, & myself, were standing on the sidewalk saying goodbye to [illegible] who was just about to return to [illegible] after making us a short visit, we saw a negro soldier walking towards us very slowly, we had our backs to him until he got in about a yard from us, we turned & to our horror saw that he had unmistakably the small pox, he was a most wretched looking object, he had come from a distance I do not know what became of him.

For the last several days we have been having real May weather, & notwithstanding it has been raining today I am writing by an open window where I occasionally receive a [wet?] mess [illegible] is from the violets [hyacinths?] & [narcissus?] who are now reigning in all their glory.

The desire to get away from this [despotism?] has taken possesion of a great many here, one colony has already left for Mexico & another expect to leave this month. Mother is anxious to go & says

she would leave tomorrow if her children would go with her. I would like so much to go, anywhere in the world to get away from the sight of Yankees & their rule.

[illegible] is looking dreadfully she is living in Crawford not keeping home, her baby is a splendid little fellow, very large & fine looking, & from the way he is humored bids fair to be completely spoiled. We have not heard from [Sis?] Jane since July & feel quite anxious about her.

Where is Cousin Annie Collins? not gone to Mississippi yet! I hope I will see her when she goes if she comes this way.

I will close this rambling style of scribbling for I know you are weary of it. Mother sends her best love to you & says she is going to North Carolina to see you all before she goes to Mexico. She also sends her thanks to you & all Hillsboro friends for taking much good care of me. Do give my especial & particular love to Mr Cameron Cousin Becca, Annie, Maggie Pauline,& the rest of your family. also to all friends at Ayr Mount, Labor [illegible] Collage, Cousin Browns, &[at?] Aunt [Annies?]. Has the latter moved to Hillsboro yet? I will write to them as soon as I learn where they are.

Oh! Cousin Ann I am so ashamed to send you such a poor appology for a letter, but if I defer it until I do better you won't hear from me in a long time.

Truly & lovingly yours [illegible]

Office of Wm Carrt, Stewart & co. Mobile January 12 ,1866

Mr. Paul C. Cameron

Dear SirL Your two favors of [2?] & [2?] Dec are at hand, also a letter from your [Sou???] law desiring us to permit a St. [aft?] in New York to your 54 bales Cotton, which we are affering. The amt. to be permitted is $7000, as you direct/ Uour 50 blaes which is the only lot thus far received classes Middling, and as it is is on sale we hope in a day or two to report its sale, and to advise the remittance to Maj. Collins. We had guarded your crop up [ag?] river risks prior to receipt of your letter, presuming you wanted it done, and were not mistaken. We insure in New York office, as our home [???] [?????] have been received by the War. Your losses have been havy, and so have ours. We are rebuilfing up our business, and hope for better times afterawhile. Our firm name was changed during the War by a law of our State Legislature, but the partners are the same Mr. Warrant & [???] Mr. Pright. He is still in the land of the lving, and hopes his friend Col. Ruffin is also on the top of the Earth, as tou are.

In Cotton [????] declined two days since in consequence of the receipt of telegrams reporting a heavy decline in Gold [???] in New York, but yesterday the demand was preserved, at better prices. We [???] quote Mdiddling firm at 4 [??]

With regard to yourself & Col Ruffin. We remain, Yrs truly wM. Warrants [???]

was very bad when we arrived cold & disagreeable & Annie & the children have all taken bad colds but I hope will soon be quite well again. There has been a great deal of sickness among the negroes & some threatened with pneumonia but I have litterally poured the [illegible] & Quinine into them & think I have succeeded in breaking up the most of their complaints all of which were plainly connected with disordered livers.

Our household is arranged as follows Old Lizzie cooks & milks (a borrowed cow) Mariah nurses & Ester, Molly York's, daughter is our house servant. Annie is her mother's own daughter & will have all sorts of washing & Scouring going on sometimes to my great discomfort. we are endeavouring to have breakfast so as to be through with it before sun rise but as yet have only succeeded in sitting down to table about sunrise I hope to improve in this respect. we have bought a cooking stove & Annie is learning to manage it very well. The Sewing machine is a perfect treasure it works to perfection Annie cuts off her work during the day & after supper I hem the sheets &c. I can easily do a pair or two pair in one evening. we are not half fixed yet but must be content to go on slowly. I find everything out of repair⏤ fences down, those that are not insufficient to keep out stock. ditches filled up: