Artifacts and Memorabilia

This collection contains the archival records of St. James Episcopal Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. Records span the founding of the church in the early 1700s through its modern era in the 21st century. Content represented includes the historical records of the church, day-to-day operations of the vestry, membership registers, clergy papers and correspondence, church events and celebrations, committee and service work, publications, and material related to the national Episcopal Church.

Early records include the articles of agreement of the church from 1765, correspondence regarding the construction of the new church in 1839, and land indentures from the mid-1800s to mid-1900s expanding the church property. Several church histories are included, as well as material from the 100th anniversary in 1939. Correspondence, land indentures, and architectural drawings of additional church properties, like Mount Lebanon Chapel and the Donald MacRae House, depict the growth of St. James. This includes historical information on the Spanish painting, Ecce Homo, which has belonged to the church since 1751, and original correspondence with Pembroke Jones regarding his purchase of the Mt. Lebanon Chapel property, now Airlie Gardens.

Records of the vestry illustrate the administration and management of the church, particularly through the vestry ledgers, which contain vestry minutes, financial tracking, and parishioner births, marriages, and deaths. Additional vestry material includes church finances, membership information, personnel correspondence, and the work of church organizations and committees. Renovation plans, repairs and fixture updates, and graveyard burials are also included, as well as information on the grave of local Revolutionary War hero Cornelius Harnett.

Content belonging to and about the clergy of St. James covers every rector (excluding Reverend Thomas Smith Webb Mott) from Reverend Solomon Halling's term in 1795 through Reverend Ronald G. Abrams's start in 1999. Material largely consists of biographical information, correspondence, and photographs of the rectors, also notably including Reverend Alfred Augustin Watson's unsent letter to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

Additional material includes church publications such as newsletters, profiles, yearbooks, and service programs; photographs of church property, parishioners, and events; memorabilia such as certificates, postcards, media tapes, and slides; content specific to the national Episcopal Church, its bishops, and the Diocese of East Carolina, including Bishop Thomas Henry Wright; and religious, local, and state documents and publications not directly connected to St. James.