Aleph Number:
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.
[Identification of item], Pearson Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Pearson Family Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a series of gifts between 1998-2012.
Processed by Meghan Lyon, February 2012
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, February 2012
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 1998-0454, 1999-0138, 2012-0007
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
The Pearson Family Papers stem from the letters and ledger of Laura Pearson Ray, a daughter of Robert C. and Jane S. Pearson of Morganton, North Carolina. Laura Pearson corresponded with and eventually married Neill W. Ray, a Civil War veteran. The couple's first child, Neill W. Ray, Jr., died in infancy in 1879. Their second son, Donald Ray, was born in 1888. The family settled in Fayetteville, where Neill W. Ray, Sr., was a lawyer and influential citizen. Neill W. Ray died in 1899. Donald became a lawyer as well and served on the Chief of Artillery staff in Washington, D.C.
Laura's sister, Jennie S. Pearson Tate, married Samuel McDowel Tate. The couple had several children, including Alexander, Claudia, Wilhelmina, Sue Virginia, and Irene. Less is known about the Tate family, although they seem to have been based in Morganton, N.C.
Learn more about the provenance of this collection and the genealogical research of this family at
The collection has been arranged into series of Correspondence, Financial Materials, and Miscellaneous. The Correspondence series, the largest of the three, includes family correspondence that has been sorted by family member. Correspondents include Laura Pearson Ray, Donald Ray, Wilhelmina Tate, Sue Virginia Tate, Jennie Pearson Tate, Gordan Tate, and other smaller amounts of letters from various Pearsons and Tates. Topics range widely, but notable subjects include courtship, particularly between Laura Pearson and Neill W. Ray; Reconstruction conditions and North Carolina politics (Governor Zebulon Vance, the state's Reconstruction governor, was Laura's cousin); family health; condolence letters following the death of Jennie's son in 1902; travel, particularly Donald Ray's accounts of his trip through Europe in 1912; World War I, including letters from Gordon Tate while he served in France; and various financial matters.
The Financial Materials series contains miscellaneous receipts, again sorted by family member. Most notable in this series is the account ledger kept by Laura Pearson Ray following her husband's death in 1899, which includes entries about Cumberland County families, including Ray, Lilly, McKay, Monroe, Thornton, Broadfoot, Pearson, Hale, McRae, Haigh, Remsburge, and more. This series also includes a typescript copy of the ledger, for research purposes, which also details its known provenance.
The Miscellaneous Materials series contains several miscellaneous notes and receipts, including a bound constitution from the Ladies Memorial Association of Burke County. Also included are Laura Pearson Ray's sewing patterns and some fabric, and several newsclippings with Tate family obituaries.
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.
The Correspondence series includes family letters that have been sorted by family member. Correspondents include Laura Pearson Ray, Donald Ray, Wilhelmina Tate, Sue Virginia Tate, Jennie Pearson Tate, Gordan Tate, and other smaller amounts of letters from various Pearsons and Tates. Topics range widely, but notable subjects include courtship, particularly between Laura Pearson and Neill W. Ray; Reconstruction conditions and North Carolina politics (Governor Zebulon Vance, the state's Reconstruction governor, was Laura's cousin); family health; condolence letters following the death of Jennie's son in 1902; travel, particularly Donald Ray's accounts of his trip through Europe in 1912; World War I, including letters from Gordon Tate while he served in France; and various financial matters.
The Financial Materials series contains miscellaneous receipts, sorted by family member. Most notable in this series is the account ledger kept by Laura Pearson Ray following her husband's death in 1899, which includes entries about Cumberland County families, including Ray, Lilly, McKay, Monroe, Thornton, Broadfoot, Pearson, Hale, McRae, Haigh, Remsburge, and more. This series also includes a typescript copy of the ledger, for research purposes, which also details its known provenance.
The Miscellaneous Materials series contains several miscellaneous notes and receipts, including a bound constitution from the Ladies Memorial Association of Burke County. Also included are Laura Pearson Ray's sewing patterns and some fabric, and several newsclippings with Tate family obituaries.