Willoughby Hudgins Papers
Reverend Willoughby Hudgins was born March 8, 1799, in Orange County, N.C. He resided in North Carolina until 1852 when he moved to Walton County, Georgia, where he later died on September 18, 1862. Materials in this collection include photocopies of various documents from Hudgins' life including some of his correspondence between family members. A small number of other items are also available such as a pension card and short biographies of his life.
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Summary Information
- Repository
- Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives
- Title
- Willoughby Hudgins Papers
- Date
- 1842-1903 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.21 Linear Feet / 1 folder in 1 half-document box
- ID
- MS441
Biographical and Historical Note
Reverend Willoughby Hudgins was born March 8, 1799, in Orange County, N.C. He remained in North Carolina until 1852 when he moved to Walton County, Georgia, where he died September 18, 1862.
Although he received little formal education in early life, he was able to become an ordained Baptist minister in 1824. Hudgins has been described as a "great preacher in his day" and one of the "ablest preachers among them." Hudgins married Sarah (Sally) Guess in June 1824. Throughout his time as a minister, Hudgins traveled North Carolina and later Georgia establishing churches, several of which grew to be of notable size.
Collection Overview
The majority of this collection consists of photocopies of various documents from Hudgins' time as a Baptist minister. There is a biography card including brief information about Hudgins along with copies of his correspondence, and a N.C. pension card. In these, he writes to his family including his wife and cousins. Some include: Hudgins to his sister, Nancy Hudgins, Prattsburg, N.C., May 7, 1851 and Hudgins to his cousin William, August 5, 1861 on patriotic paper.
Baptist history marterials such as the minutes of the Appalachee Baptist Association's meeting in September 1862, "Tribute of Respect," detailing Hudgins' life, characteristics, and influence on the Baptist community, and various excerpts from the Tar River Associational history which reference Rev. Hudgins in a short biography section.
There is a newspaper clipping written for The Biblical Recorder, a publication of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina that includes a brief reference to Hudgins in regards to his connections to James Southerland.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by: John Woodard; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex
- Revision Description
- Revised by Parker Beverly, 2019
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Willoughby Hudgins Papers (MS441), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.