| Scope and content |
Most of the correspondence in the collection consists of letters directed to Elder Jeremiah Heath concerning requests for surveys, inquiries about deeds, land disputes, and religious matters. A significant segment of the correspondence was written by relatives in Alabama and Tennessee detailing the condition and cost of land in that state; the crops, economy, work, and pay of overseers; the price of food and cotton; the supply of wild game, and the plight of settlers. Civil War letters comment on the difficulty of raising a company, and the philosophy of the men to "... fight to protect freedom or die," and a discussion of a friend who was wounded in Richmond, Virginia. The bulk of the collection contains land grants, deeds, indentures, and surveying records for Craven, Dobbs (later divided into Lenoir and Greene), and Jones Counties. Other materials include: surveying papers and records; land grants; legal documents such as court summonses, state marriage licenses, Civil War military orders (passes), certificate of oath of allegiance, affidavit for family supplies, deed for slaves, estate of an African-American, wills, and a certificate of appointment to School Committee District Five, Craven County; articles, poems, cures, pamphlets, speeches, and The Masonic Journal. |
| Biographical note | The papers in this collection are concerned mainly with the career of Elder Jeremiah Heath (October 4, 1793-February 22, 1867), his son, William T. Heath, and grandson, Jeremiah Heath. Elder Jeremiah Heath was a prominent surveyor in Craven County, North Carolina, and served as pastor of the Free Will Baptist Church, New Bern, North Carolina. In addition, Heath served as a member of the School Commission of District Five, Craven County and in other local activities. |
