Dear Alan, I greatly appreciate your e-mail. I recently found the UNC series of books, which were helpful. I have obtained the three volumes for the periods before 1870, and thank you for taking the time to investigate for me. The Robeson diary would be extremely interesting, since she certainly was familiar with the area, so I will look for it when I go to Bladen County later this year. Best Regards, Bill Mallory ----- Original Message ----- From: Allen Johannes Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 6:38 PM To: NCBLADEN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NCBLADEN-L] history reference Bill - After checking with a History Teacher in Fayetteville, NC for a good history book for Southeastern NC she suggested "THE DIARY OF ELIZABETH ELLIS ROBESON" who is my wife's 3rd great grandmothers half sister. It is fabulous reading for family and everyday life around Tar Heel, & Elizabethtown NC> I also found in my library a copy of the book entitled "AN INDEPENDENT PEOPLE: The way we lived in North Carolina, 1770-1820" published by The University of North Carolina Press, 1983. It is a 120 page paperback and easy reading, which I as a 74 yr old needs. They also have several other publications: 'NATIVES & NEWCOMERS (BEFORE 1770)" "CLOSE TO THE LAND (1820-1870)" "THE QUEST FOR PROGRESS(1870-1920)" "EXPRESS LANES AND COUNTRY ROADS (1920-1970) All these were published for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Of Course there is Samuel Ashe's 8 vols. (This is heavy work) Hope this may help some. Allen Betty & Allen Johannes abelj@htcomp.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Mallory" <wmmallory@msn.com> To: <NCBLADEN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 3:27 PM Subject: [NCBLADEN-L] history reference > I am looking for a good social history reference book for eastern NC; one that discusses people's everyday lives and way-of-life in the 18th and 19th centuries, rather than one concentrating exclusively on the wars and political activity. Does anyone have one to recommend, and where can it be purchased? > > Thanks, Bill Mallory >