| Physical medium | Paper handwritten typed printed. |
| Organization of material | Organized by type of material; arranged chronologically. |
| Summary |
Collection consists of correspondence, financial records, invoices, newspaper clippings, notebook, and miscellaneous published material. Correspondence from 1853-1868 deals primarily with family affairs and agriculture; one letter (1856) discusses slavery and the Missouri Compromise. Correspondence from 1868-1885 concerns the family's involvement with steamboats and shipping in eastern North Carolina sounds. Several letters describe the design for a new steam engine. Steamboat excursions, cargo, shipping routes taken, and mail contracts are discussed. Included is a broadside (1874) for an excursion on the steamboat Bertie to visit Wesleyan Female College in Murfreesboro, N.C. Fishing and Zephaniah Askew's work as a surveyor are mentioned frequently. Family news mentions boarding young boys so they could attend school or work, a small pox epidemic in Windsor, N.C., robberies in Plymouth, N.C., and the 1876 Centennial celebration in Philadelphia. Financial papers consist of account books, records of prices of farm goods, and papers delineating the boundaries of several farms. Miscellaneous materials include E. S. Askew's diary and account book, which records the words to two ballads; a list of policyholders for a life insurance company; an announcement of the opening of a school in Harrellsville (1872); information about the ratification of North Carolina's constitution; and a pamphlet by Tom Henderson entitled "Ann of the Ku Klux Klan." |
| Cite as |
Askew Family Papers, #298, East Carolina Manuscript Collection, East Carolina University. |
| Other forms | Images of selected items from this collection are available online via the Eastern North Carolina Digital History Exhibits. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- 230 items; Mrs. T. Collins Cooper; Windsor, N.C.; loan; Dec. 19, 1975. |
| Biographical note | Zephaniah Askew of Harrellsville, N.C., was a farmer and fisherman who served as a county surveyor (1854-1868) and justice of the peace (1860s). His four sons, Richard W. of Windsor, N.C.; Charles W. and Wilbur F., both of Plymouth, N.C.; and Edward S. of Edenton, N.C., and Baltimore, M.D., were involved in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, and shipping. |
