DACS

mordecaijacob Inventory of the Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936 Processed by: Rubenstein Library Staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Noah Huffman David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, N.C., USA

Aleph Number: 000868045

Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: January 2010Processed by Rubenstein Library Staff, ; finding aid encoded by Noah Huffman, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, January 2010 Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS and local Style Guide Inventory of the Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185 USA

Descriptive Summary David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Mordecai, Jacob, 1762-1838. Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936 Material in English 4.0 Linear Feet 2558 Items For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Educator, of Warrenton, N.C., and Richmond, Va. Collection (2474 items; dated 1784-1936, bulk 1784-1904) comprises correspondence, ledgers, personal and school accounts (1811-1818), personal journals (1858-1861), and other papers of Mordecai and of his family. The material concerns schools and teaching in Warrenton, N.C., Mobile, Ala., and New York; life in Mobile (1823-1860), and at the U. S. Military Academy (1819-1823); literature of the day and social life and customs; Samuel Mordecai's book, Richmond in by-gone days; and personal matters. Correspondents include Rachel Mordecai Lazarus, Alfred Mordecai, Ellen Mordecai, Isabel R. Mordecai, Samuel Mordecai, Samuel Fox Mordecai, Achille Plunkett, and Carolina Mordecai Plunkett. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Jacob Mordecai Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

Provenance

The Jacob Mordecai Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1940-1960.

Processing Information

Processed by Rubenstein Library Staff

Encoded by Noah Huffman, January 2010

Accessions were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Biographical Note

Educator, of Warrenton, N.C., and Richmond, Va.

Collection Overview

Collection contains personal correspondence and papers of Jacob Mordecai (1762-1838), educator and progenitor of a family long prominent in North Carolina and Virginia; and of his children and grandchildren. The majority of the letters are of a personal nature, but they include several important series of letters, as follows: copies of letters from Rachel (Mordecai) Lazarus (1788-1838) to Maria Edgeworth, beginning in 1816; of Ellen Mordecai (1790-1884) to her brother, Solomon Mordecai (1792-1869), while he was a medical student at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later as a physician in Mobile, Alabama; of Ellen Mordecai, regarding her long tenure as a teacher in her father's school at Warrenton, North Carolina, and later as a governess in New York City, 1848-1852; of Caroline (Mordecai) Plunkett (1794-1862) and her husband, Achilles Plunkett (d. 1824), while they conducted a school at Warrenton, North Carolina, and of her later life as a teacher in Mobile; and of Alfred Mordecai (1804-1887) to members of his family while a student at the U. S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1819-1823. The correspondence contains frequent comment on literature of the day, information on social life and customs in general, and especially in Warrenton and Richmond, and life in Mobile, 1823-1860.

Letters of Samuel Mordecai (1786-1865) refer in part to his writing of Richmond in By-Gone Days (Richmond: 1856), and to land in Wisconsin sold for taxes. There are letters from 1810-1812 describing the Richmond theater, its actors, performances, and scenery, both the old theater, which burned down in a famous conflagration in 1811, and the new theater that replaced it. Included also are Jacob Mordecai's ledger containing personal and school accounts, 1811-1818; Samuel Mordecai and Company's ledger, 1839-1865, Petersburg, Virginia; and Isabel R. Mordecai's journals, 1858-1861, Charleston, S.C. There is also a secretary's report of the Sick Soldiers Relief Society, Raleigh, North Carolina, October 1, 1861; a description by Marshall De Lancey Haywood of the Mordecai residence in Raleigh with related correspondence of Pattie Mordecai, 1936; correspondence of Emma Mordecai, daughter of Jacob, with relatives and friends, including Solomon Cohen, an attorney of Savannah, describing European travel, and with Sally Vaughn Norral, a former slave; and bills, receipts, and bank statements of various family members.

Addition (1986) (84 items, dated 1805-1881) contains correspondence (1805-1838 and 1869-1875), most of which is personal, to and from various family members. Some of the letters provide insight into Mordecai's life as a boarding school student in Oxford, N.C., and later as a student at the University of Virginia. Also includes essays by Samuel F. Mordecai and two manuscripts by Moses Mordecai.

Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.

Mordecai family. Mordecai, Jacob--1762-1838. Mordecai, Moses. Mordecai, Samuel--1786-1865--Richmond in By-gone Days. University of Virginia--Students. United States Military Academy. Education--Alabama--Mobile. Education--North Carolina--Warrenton. Oxford (N.C.)--History. Mobile (Ala.)--Social life and customs. Richmond (Va.)--Social life and customs. Warrenton (N.C.)--Social life and customs. Contents of Collection Jacob Mordecai Papers, 1784-1936 (6 boxes; 3 volumes)

Correspondence, ledgers, personal and school accounts (1811-1818), personal journals (1858-1861), and other papers of Mordecai and of his family. The material concerns schools and teaching in Warrenton, N.C., Mobile, Ala., and New York; life in Mobile (1823-1860), and at the U. S. Military Academy (1819-1823); literature of the day and social life and customs; Samuel Mordecai's book, Richmond society and customs in the 19th century, including the Richmond theater, which burned in 1811; and personal matters. Correspondents include Rachel Mordecai Lazarus, Alfred Mordecai, Ellen Mordecai, Isabel R. Mordecai, Samuel Mordecai, Samuel Fox Mordecai, Achille Plunkett, and Carolina Mordecai Plunkett.

1 Correspondence and papers, 1784-1817 2 Correspondence and papers, 1818-1821 3 Correspondence and papers, 1822-1824 4 Correspondence and papers, 1825-1832 5 Correspondence and papers, 1833-1855 6 Correspondence and papers, 1856-1936 and undated Papers, notes and fragments Financial papers Miscellaneous papers 5 Oversize items M-3002 Isabel R. Mordecai Journal (Charleston, SC), 1858-1859 M-3003 Isabel Mordecai Journal (Charleston, SC), 1859-1861 F-3006 Samuel Mordecai & Company Ledger (Petersburg, VA), 1839-1865 Addition (1986), 1805-1881 (1 box)

1 Correspondence, 1805-1881 Miscellany