More about John S. Henderson: John Steele Henderson was born in Salisbury, N.C., on 6 January 1846, the son of Archibald II and Mary Ferrand Henderson. John S. Henderson was educated at Alexander Wilson’s school in Alamance County, N.C., and entered the University of North Carolina in January 1862. Five months after the death of his brother at Cold Harbor on 1 June 1864, Henderson, at the age of 18, left the University and enlisted as a private in Company B, 10th North Carolina Regiment. Following the Civil War, Henderson went on to become a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, a United States congressman, a Salisbury, N.C. city planner, a lawyer, and a founder of rural free delivery of the mail. (Adapted from the biographical note by James Shober Brawley in the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume III, 1988.)
[Item transcription available below images.]
Item citation: From folder 33 in the John S. Henderson Papers #327, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Item transcription:
Chapel Hill N.C. May 4th 1863 My Dear Mother The last week was a busy one for Chapel Hill; senior speaking speaking came off without a much excitement; eight graduates; the number in peace time was between eighty & ninety. The declamation on the whole was very good. I received your two letters; they both came without any delay. I would have mentioned the receipt of the first in my last, had I received it a moment sooner. It is very doubtful whether I can obtain a pair of shoes in Chapel Hill; the price here is twenty-five dollars, which I believe is much higher than than