| Scope and content |
The bulk of the correspondence contains letters to Spier Worthington from New York merchants that reflect the prices of tar, cotton, and pork. Correspondence from Washington, N.C., merchants concerns the price of bugging, rope, castings, and flour. New York Cotton Exchange Reports contain information on prices. A series of agricultural commodities reports from W. H. Wiggins of New York contain sales information on cotton, turpentine, rosin, tar, rice, corn, peanuts, beeswax, pork, hay, bagging, and gold. Sales account sheets refer to grocery items from Pitt County and to cotton and tar sales in New York City. Also includes store receipts that pertain to New Bern dealers in dry goods, groceries, and hardware. Land grants and deeds are related to property in Pitt County and provide genealogical information on the Cory family. Estates sales and divisions pertain to Pitt and Lenoir counties, N.C. Indentures are concerned with the sale of slaves in Pitt County. Also includes summonses, tenant farming contracts, and land mortgages. Tax receipts pertain to state and local taxes, the United States excise tax on brandy, and the United States special tax on retail and tobacco dealers. |
| Biographical note | Spier Worthington and his wife, Margaret, resided in Pitt County, N.C., in the late 19th century. Spier Worthington, who was a farmer, tobacco dealer, and retailer, also ran a distillery. He sold cotton and tar to New York City merchants and bought wholesale groceries and dry goods in New York City for retail sale in Pitt County. |
