The collection includes letters, financial and legal papers, and other items of John S. Henderson, Democratic Party politician, member of the North Carolina General Assembly, United States congressman, lawyer, and a founder of rural free delivery of the mail, and members of the Henderson and related families. Contains 1898 correspondence commenting on the racial situation in Wilmington and the coup. Items from the 1820s and 1830s chiefly relate to Archibald Henderson's plantation business dealings. There are also items relating to slavery, including lists of slaves hired out, slave bills of sale, and at least four letters from slaves.