This 1859 book, A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, is inscribed with “Mrs. M.A. Brooks”. According to the 1860 census, the only person in Elizabeth City with those initials was Margaret Ann Brooks, wife of George W. Brooks. Margaret Ann Costen of Gates County married Brooks in 1850. A prominent Whig and Unionist, George Brooks served in the antebellum state legislature. Appointed a federal district judge by Andrew Johnson in 1865, Brooks played a leading role in the “Kirk-Holden War” in 1870 by ordering the release of Colonel George W. Kirk’s prisoners. The book’s binding is damaged and missing its spine.

Estimated cost of conserving the book: $1275 (2023).

World War I jacket and cap worn by Walter Raleigh Parker of Northampton County.  Raleigh served as a US Naval Reserve medical officer during World War I.  Assigned to Hampton Roads, he performed physicals and other health checks on sailors and marines in the Norfolk area, especially during the outbreak of the Spanish influenza.  Due to manpower shortage during the epidemic, Parker did not receive his discharge until August 1919.  He returned to Rich Square, Northampton County, where he practiced medicine until his retirement. Together, Parker and his wife Mary Copeland Parker had three children. The donor of this collection is a grandchild.

Conservation will include cleaning, stabilizing holes in the wool, stabilizing the loss of structure and threading in the collar, and repairing the cap’s broken structure.

Estimated cost of conserving the jacket and cap: $1700 (2016).

This circa 1878 blue wool dress has long sleeves and is trimmed with blue embroidery.  The dress, at the back, has a smocking and flounce detail along the waist and a back closure of seven large buttons from the waist to the neck.  A small-box pleated satin flounce hangs out from underneath the hem.  A small ivory lace stand collar peeks out of the dress at the neck.  The wool jacket is trimmed with blue embroidery all over and at the collar and cuffs.

The outfit was used by Annie Ruffin Peebles (Webb) (1879-1928), daughter of Robert Bruce Webb (1840-1916) and Margaret Cameron (Peebles ) (1848-1896) of Northampton County.

Both pieces will need holes repaired and the interior blue silk lining stabilized.

Estimated cost of conserving the dress and jacket: $3000 (2024).

These five pieces were clothing worn by Emily Augustine Hollowell at her wedding to Zenas Fearing Jr. on May 27, 1903, at the First Methodist Church in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  After their marriage, the new couple rented the Lemuel S. Blades, Jr. house on Fearing Street.  From 1909 to 1911, Zenas Fearing served as the mayor of Elizabeth City.  He died in 1928. Emily Fearing passed away in 1947.

This collection includes a floor-length silk petticoat with train and ruffled hem; an under-petticoat of silk; a long-sleeved cotton or linen under blouse with boning; floor-length skirt with train, purple chrysanthemum-printed cotton batiste; long-sleeved blouse, purple chrysanthemum-printed cotton batiste with handmade lace.

The five pieces were assessed by Julia M. Brennan with Caring for Textiles in 2013.  She recommended specialty cleaning and the repair of small holes and tears.

Estimated cost of conserving the wedding clothes: $4250 (2013).