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Watson-Sanders Papers

 Collection — legal box: PC 161-168
Identifier: PC00162

Scope and Contents

The Watson-Sanders Papers consist of miscellaneous correspondence; Watson Family Bible Records; Plantation and Farm Account and Inventory Books; Slave records; Photographs; Copy of Henry Lyndall Watson’s Autograph Album (1865) and Journal (1846-1848).

Dates

  • Record Keeping: 1992 March 23
  • 1808-1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Please send requests to heritagecenter@johnstonnc.com or through the ArchivesSpace request form.

Conditions Governing Use

The nature of the Johnston County Heritage Center’s various collections means that copyright and other information about restrictions on the use of materials may be difficult or even impossible to determine. The Heritage Center claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U. S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility in the use of materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal state, county or municipal right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual’s private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Johnston County and the Johnston County Heritage Center assumes no responsibility. Researchers are advised that the Heritage Center maintains physical stewardship of these collections under varying terms and agreements. Collections that are given to the Heritage Center are done so under a Deed of Gift agreement in which the donor transfers physical ownership rights as well as, “all right and title to…items without limiting conditions to the Heritage Center.” To more fully understand rights restrictions for particular collections please consult with the Archivist or Director.

Biographical / Historical

Henry Bulls Watson was a farmer, land owner, and a 19th century Marine Corps Officer. His plantation, which he inherited from his Uncle Josiah Watson, was located on Brogden Road, Smithfield, Johnston County, NC.

Watson was born October 16,1812, to Willis and Elizabeth Bulls Watson. He married Mary Ann Higdon (the daughter of Gustavus and Elizabeth Rogers Higdon) on April 18, 1939, in Washington, DC, and they had the following children: Josiah Ogden (b. Jan. 14, 1839); Henry Lyndall (b. May 23, 1842); Mary Ferguson (b. Oct. 16, 1843); Aline Elizabeth (b. June 21, 1845); Mary Alice (b. Feb. 19, 1849); Elizabeth Bynum (b. May 1, 1852); Agnes Alwyn (b. August 23, 1855). Watson died January 25, 1869.

DeBernice Hooper Sanders was a farmer and land owner. Hooper and his family lived on the same plantation on Brogden Road that Henry Bulls Watson lived on previously. Sanders was born February 27, 1885, to Robert and Alice Gray Powell Sanders. He married Mary Byrum Peterson (1889-1966) on September 12, 1911 in Wake County, NC, and they had the following children: Mary Dobin (1912-1962); Elizabeth Bynum (1913-2000); D. Hooper Sanders, Jr. (1917-1919); Alice Powell (1920-1984); William Rodgers (1921-2003); Susan Ann (1925-2013); Martha Edmundson (1928-1994).

Sanders died September 5, 1945, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Smithfield, NC.

Elizabeth B. “Betsy” Sanders was born November 25, 1913, to DeBernice and Mary Byrum Peterson Sanders. After living and working in Buffalo, NY, for several years, she returned to Johnston County in 1944 to work on the family farm. She also worked and retired from the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield, where she drove the book mobile. Betsy died March 18, 2000, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Extent

.0384 Linear Feet (Four mailing envelopes containing letters, copies of Plantation and Farm Account books, copies of Bible records, and miscellaneous loose documents. One legal file folder containing several loose documents)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Attempts have been made to preserve the original order of materials.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Watson-Sanders Papers were was donated to the Johnston County Heritage Center.

Processing Information

Preliminary resource record created by Phoebe Landfried, December 2019.

Title
Finding aid to the Watson-Sanders Collection
Status
In Progress
Author
Sandra Broome
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The Johnston County Heritage Center Repository

Contact:
241 E Market St, Smithfield, NC 27577
Smithfiled North Carolina 27577 United States
(919) 934-2836