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The North Carolina Collection, which is housed in the Wilson Library on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, seeks to document the history, literature and culture of the state by actively collecting, organizing and providing access to publications, photos and artifacts. It encourages use by the university community, the state’s residents and other researchers.

Among the treasures is a 12-page booklet, about 4½ inches by 8 inches, titled “Catalogue of the Methodist Protestant Female College, Jamestown, North Carolina, for the Collegiate Year, 1859-1860.” It was published in Greensborough, by Sherwood & Long, Printers, Patriot Office, in 1860.

Fortunately, it is not so fragile that it could not be handled, so I copied all the pages.

When did 12 pages ever hold so much information?

Some of it was familiar, but much of it was new to me.

As is widely known, the Jamestown Female College, organized by the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, opened its doors in 1859 and burned to the ground in 1861. It was located on a tract of land that included the area defined now by Robbins Avenue, Kearns Street and the Flowers Bakery property. It was west of Scientific Street and south of High Point Road.
My book, “Bending the Twigs in Jamestown: A History of Education in Jamestown, North Carolina, 1755-1945,” published by the Historic Jamestown Society in 2004, gives a good bit of information about the school, but this little booklet provides some very interesting details.

One not-so-insignificant detail is a list of all the students, with their classes and hometowns or counties. Here it is in alphabetical order:
Adams, A.E. (Alamance County); Ayers, Virginia (Guilford County); Baker, S.L. (Franklin County); Briles, Fannie E. (Randolph County); Brooks, Sallie E. (Randolph County); Carmalt, A.B. (Thomasville); Chamblee, Helen (Franklin County); Coffin, M.R. (Guilford County); Curtis, E.A. (Gibsonville); Daugherty, M.J. (Greensborough); Deans, H.M. (Guilford County); Donnell, E.P. (Guilford County); Field, Sallie E. (Jamestown); Fisher, L.L. (Jamestown); Forrest, Mary J. (Orange County); Freeman, M. (Guilford County); Fuller, Martha D. (Randolph County); Funderburk, Abbey (South Carolina); Funderburk, N.E. (South Carolina); Gossitt, J.H. (Guilford County); Gribble, Eliza (Guilford County); Hadley, S.J. (Chatham County); Harris, Mollie A. (Franklin County); Hayes, M. E. (Hillsboro); Hedrick, M.E. (Davidson County); Hilton, R. (Guilford County); Hislop, Mary J. (Goldsboro); Hodge, Ann E. (Wake County); Hodge, Bettie H. (Wake County); Hodge, Fannie R. (Wake County); Holton, Mary E. (Guilford County); Hunt, Lydia C. (Guilford County); Jones, Jane S. (Yadkin Institute); Lindley, M.A. (Chatham County); Moring, Columbia E. (Jamestown); Moring, M.E. (Jamestown); Moring, Rebecca A. (Jamestown); Moring, Rosa A. (Jamestown); Murdock, M.E. (Hillsboro); Neice, M.A. (Georgia); Nixon, Mary Ada (Randolph County); Nixon, Zella A. (Randolph County); Pair, Helen (Wake County); Perkinson, Fannie A. (Chatham County); Pitman, Mary E. (Enfield); Pittman, M.S. (Enfield); Potter, M.D. (Jamestown); Prather, E.L. (Guilford County); Prather, V.H. (Guilford County); Reece, M.E. (Jamestown Station); Ricks, E.S. (Guilford County); Robbins, Nannie L. (Jamestown); Snead, Katie (Smithfield); Stanley, R.A. (Jamestown); Terrell, L. Cornelia (Wake County); Thom, Nannie E. (Guilford County); Wheeler, Mary E. (Guilford County); Yancey, H.A. (Virginia); Young, Repsie A. (Franklin County).
Do you see anyone you know?

Mary Browning is a longtime resident of Jamestown. Contact her at maryab30@triad.rr.com.