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UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL
00033953437
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PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
BULLETIN NO. 39
SEVENTEENTH BIENNIAL REPORT
OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA
HISTORICAL COMMISSION
1936-1938
SEVENTEENTH BIENNIAL REPORT
OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL
COMMISSION
July 1, 1936,
TO
June 30, 1938
RALEIGH
North Carolina Historical Commission
1938
THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
M. C. S. Noble, Chairman, Chapel Hill
Heriot Clarkson, Raleigh
J. Allan Dunn, Salisbury
Mrs. George McNeill, Fayetteville
Clarence W. Griffin, Forest City
C. C. Crittenden, Secretary, Raleigh
LETTER OF TRANSMISSION
To His Excellency,
Clyde R. Hoey,
Governor of North Carolina.
Sir:—In compliance with Chapter 714 of the Public Laws of
1907, I have the honor to submit herewith for your Excellency's
consideration the Biennial Report of the North Carolina His-torical
Commission for the period July 1, 1936-June 30, 1938.
Respectfully,
M. C. S. Noble,
Chairman.
Raleigh, N. C, July 1, 1938.
BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
OF THE
North Carolina Historical Commission
July 1, 1936, to June 30, 1938
To M. C. S. Noble, Chairman, and Heriot Clarkson, J. Allan
Dunn, Mrs. George McNeill, and Clarence W. Griffin,
Commissioners
:
I have the honor to submit the following report of the North
Carolina Historical Commission for the period July 1, 1936-June
30, 1938:
ORGANIZATION
I. The Historical Commission.
On August 29, 1936, George McNeill, because of illness, re-signed
as a member of the Commission, and Governor J. C. B.
Ehringhaus appointed Mrs. George McNeill, his wife, to fill the
unexpired term, which ends March 31, 1941.
William Kenneth Boyd after a long illness died on January
19, 1938. The following resolutions were framed by a committee
appointed by the Chairman of the Commission
:
William Kenneth Boyd, Professor of History at Duke University and
member of the North Carolina Historical Commission, was born at Curry-ville,
Missouri, in 1879, and died at Durham, North Carolina, on January 19,
1938. He was educated at Weaver College (North Carolina), at Trinity
College (now Duke University), and at Columbia University. By the last
named of these institutions he was awarded the degree of doctor of philoso-phy
in 1906. He taught for long years at his alma mater (Trinity College).
He was the author of a History of North Carolina, 1783-1860 (1919) and The
Story of Durham: City of the New South (1925), and editor of Some Eigh-teenth
Century Tracts concerning North Carolina (1927) and William ByrcVs
Histories of the Dividing Line beticixt Virginia and North Carolina (1929).
He was also the author of many articles and book reviews, was joint author
of several school histories and syllabuses, and was for many years one of the
editors of The South Atlantic Quarterly.
Dr. Boyd had an iniinite capacity for painstaking—often termed genius.
His life was a full expression of the best in all things. As a writer and
teacher he always showed a thorough and comprehensive grasp of the subject
in hand. His funeral in the Duke University Chapel was largely attended
by men of all sorts and conditions, who thus showed the love, affection, and
esteem which all people had for him.
It is the desire of the Committee that this tribute be printed in the
Biennial Report of the North Carolina Historical Commission and that copies
be sent to the family of the deceased.
Heriot Clarkson,
J. Allan Dunn,
Mrs. George McNeill,
Committee.
6 Seventeenth Biennial Report
On February 2, 1938, Governor Clyde R. Hoey appointed
Clarence W. GrifRn to fill the unexpired term ending March 31,
1943.
II. The Office Force.
Secretary—C. C. Crittenden.
Collector for the Hall of History—Marybelle Delamar (Acting Collector),
July 1, 1936-March 31, 1937: Mrs. Caroline Stringfield (Acting Collector),
April 1-July 31, 1937; Mattie Erma Edwards, August 1, 1937-June 30,
1938. Miss Edwards had been on leave of absence from her position as
Collector for the Hall of History since February 10, 1936, in order to
serve as Assistant Regional Director of the Survey of Federal Archives.
(See below, p. 32.)
Chief Library Assistant—D. L. Corbitt.
Restorer of Manuscripts—Mrs. J. M. Winfree.
Senior Stenographer-Clerk—Sophie D. Busbee.
Senior Library Assistant—Mrs. W. S. West.
Manuscript Copyist—Mrs. J. C. Meconnahey.
Researcher-Highway Markers—Marybelle Delamar, March 23-June 30,
1938.
Temporary Copyist—Mrs. Izora McClure, 22 days in July, 1936.
Janitor-Messenger—Edward Freeman.
ACCESSIONS
With a limited staff in crowded quarters, it has been impossible
for the Commission to accession new materials as fast as they
have been acquired, though a great deal has been accomplished
in this respect by the use of relief workers.
A list of accessions for the biennium follows
I. Additions to Collections.
1. Personal Papers:
The Alexander Boyd Andrews, Jr., Papers. 1 pamphlet, Raleigh's
Roanoke Colony of 1585; 1 letter, J. M. Morehead to Alex. B. An-drews,
Feb. 15, 1938. Given by Mr. A. B. Andrews, Raleigh.
Samuel A'Court Ashe Papers. Letter, John Ashe to Governor Richard
Caswell, Feb. 23, 1778. Typescript copy. Deed, Samuel Porter Ashe
and Ezekiel Lane, March 1, 1814. Typescript copy. Given by Capt.
S. A. Ashe, Raleigh.
John Penn Papers. Letter, J. Penn to , 1778, (July ?). Photo-stat
purchased from Carolina Blue Printers.
Jefferson Davis Papers. Letter from V. Jefferson Davis [to James H.
Jones], Sept. 10, 1906. Transferred from Hall of History.
W. W. Holden Papers. "Recollections of W. W. Holden." Notes taken
by Dr. E. E. Folk at interview with Mrs. Henry Murdock, April 29,
1930. Typescript copy. Given by Dr. Edgar E. Folk, Wake Forest.
Southgate Jones Papers. 17 wills, deeds, and letters, 1814-1863; 1
marriage bond—John Williams and Nancy Arrendell, August 10,
1804, Franklin County. Given by Mr. Southgate Jones, Durham.
Kiffin Yates Rockwell Papers. Notes—Kiffin Yates Rockwell. Type-script.
Given by Mr. Paul Ayres Rockwell, Asheville.
Calvin H. Wiley Papers. 16 letters, 1855-1876. Given by Miss Mary
C. Wiley, Winston-Salem.
Winslow Papers. Miscellaneous genealogical material. Given by Dr.
Nathan Winslow, Baltimore, Maryland.
Paul C. West Collection. Statement of Salisbury Branch Bank, Nov.
20, 1816. Given by Mr. Paul C. West, Raleigh.
N. C. Historical Commission 7
2. General Court Records:
General Court papers, 1687, 169S, and 1713. Photostats purchased from
Carolina Blue Printers through the courtesy of Mr. Richard Dillard
Dixon, Edenton.
3. District Court Records:
Morgan District. 4,973 pieces miscellaneous court papers. Given by
Burke County Clerk of Superior Court.
New Bern District. 21 summonses, bonds, 1805-1806, etc., to sheriffs
of various counties from sheriff of Superior Court of District of
New Bern. Given by Mr. Wilmer L. Hall, Virginia State Librarian,
Richmond, Virginia.
4. County Records:
Bertie. 34 marriage bonds and 67,000 pieces of miscellaneous court
papers; letter, J. B. Blount to brother. May 28, 1812 (found tied
around a bundle of Bei'tie County wills). Given by Clerk of Su-perior
Court.
Burke. 2 marriage bonds and 8,523 pieces miscellaneous court papers.
Caswell. 3 wills. Also notes on James Terry taken from Wheeler's
History of North Carolina, and a History of Pittsylvania County,
Virginia. Given by Mr. Edwin L. Davis, Washington, D. C.
Edgecombe. 86 marriage bonds. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Gates. 6,738 pieces miscellaneous court papers. Given by Clerk of
Superior Court.
Halifax. 1 marriage bond, 1850. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Hyde. 48 marriage bonds and 25,000 pieces miscellaneous court papers.
Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Johnston. Summons for Samuel Smith, Jr., November 23, 1768. Given
by Miss Amelia L. Killips, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Will of Urias
Baucom, May 27, 1873. Typescript. Given by Mr. C. D. Baucom,
Raleigh. Receipt, May 1, 1805, Robt. Gulley, Jr., Sheriff of Johnston
County,- for money paid Henry Stevens as witness. Given by Mr.
Wilmer L. Hall, Virginia State Librarian, Richmond, Virginia.
Martin. 1 marriage bond, 1846. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Mecklenburg. 4 marriage bonds and 1 note granting permission to
obtain marriage license. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Moore. Unofficial list of Moore County marriages not recorded in the
county courthouse, from an old volume in possession of Miss Kate
Harrington Cameron. List made by a Historical Records Survey
worker, under supervision of Miss Cameron. Typescript. Given
by Historical Records Survey, Raleigh.
Northampton. 1 marriage bond, 1841. Given by Clerk of Superior
Court.
Onslow. Wills, court records, divisions and inventories of estates,
marriage certificate, and 11 census lists of Onslow County, 1786.
Given by Governor's Office.
Orange. Copy of will of James Sanders, 1776. Given by Mrs. Edwin
L. Davis, Washington, D. C.
Pasquotank. 1 marriage bond, 1822, and 7,524 pieces miscellaneous
court papers. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Perquimans. 204 marriage bonds. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Person. 8 pieces miscellaneous court papers. Given by Clerk of Su-perior
Court.
Richmond. Typescript copy of Sheriff's Tax Bocfks, 1792-1793; list of
aliens desiring United States citizenship, September 20, 1813. From
Minutes of Court of Law and Equity, 1807-1815. Given by Historical
Records Survey, Raleigh.
Rowan. Original in German and a typescript translation of the will
of Johannes Leinbach, 1766. Translated and given by Dr. Adelaide
L. Fries, Winston-Salem.
Rutherford. Public Officers of Rutherford County, 1779-1935. Type-script
copy. Given by Mr. Clarence W. Griffin, Forest City.
Seventeenth Biennial Report
Tyrrell. 4 marriage bonds and 20,175 pieces miscellaneous court
papers. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
Wake. Will of Allen W. Davis, 1820. Manuscript copy. And 5,061
pieces miscellaneous court papers. Given by Clerk of Superior
Court.
Warren. 3,423 pieces miscellaneous court papers. Given by Clerk of
Superior Court.
Watauga. Affidavit, September 16, 1867. Given by Clerk of Superior
Court.
Wilkes. 140 marriage bonds, 1780-1867; list of marriage licenses is-sued,
November 4, 1880-December 6, 1880; and miscellaneous court
papers. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
5. Supreme Court Papers:
Miscellaneous Supreme Court papers, 1857-1898; letter, August 21,
1861, K. Rayner to Justices of the Peace of the Court of Pleas and
Quarter Sessions. Appeal cases, transcripts of which were sent to
Hertford County. Given by Clerk of Superior Court.
6. Executive Records:
Buncombe County Land Entries, 1795. Original returns of United
States Census of 1850, 12 volumes; 1860, 18 volumes; 1870, 22
volumes. Received from Secretary of State's Office.
5 volumes, accounts, etc., of construction of State Capitol, and 1 box
of material. Given by State Treasurer's Office.
Council of State Papers, 1929-1932, and Minutes of Council of State,
1929-1933, Gardner administration; Minutes of Board of Public
Buildings and Grounds, 1925-1931, McLean and Gardner administra-tions.
Given by Governor's Office.
Comptroller's Statements, 1815. Given by Mr. Baxter Durham, State
Auditor, Raleigh.
7. Newspapers:
King's Weekly, Vol. I, No. 19. Greenville, N. C, May 17, 1895. Given
by Mrs. Leon Anderson, Halifax.
Journal—Extra, Wilmington, N. C, April 13, 1861. Given by Mr. John
S. Beck, Washington, D. C.
North Carolina Whig, Washington, N. C, Henry Dimock, editor, R. T.
Rea, printer, March 28, October 29, 1844. (In each case pp. 1 and
2 only.) Given by Clerk of Superior Court, Hyde County.
Henderson Daily Dispatch, No. 38, September 29, 1917. Contains list
of Granville Grays who served in the Civil War. Given by Mrs.
C. B. Cheatham, Raleigh.
Daily Evening Star, Washington, D. C, Vol. I, No. 1, December 16,
1862. Given by Mr. Hubert B. Hunter, Raleigh, through Mr. H. H.
Brimley, Raleigh.
Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, Baltimore. Printed by
William Goddard, August 20, 1773. 2 copies. Given by Olivia Raney
Library, Raleigh.
The Evangelical Lutheran, 1868. Given by Mr. Earle Lutz, Richmond,
Virginia.
8. Civil War:
Sketch of Samuel Waddell Dickens. Newspaper clipping. Given by
Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, Raleigh.
"Captain Ashe Reviews War Between States." Given by Captain S. A.
Ashe, Raleigh.
List of North Carolina soldiers buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Shep-herdstown,
W. Va. ; Confederate Memorial Dedication Elmwood
Cemetery, Shepherdstown, W. Va., by Henry Kyd Douglas Camp,
Sons of Confederate Veterans, September 18, 1937 (2 copies); Maga-zine
of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Vol. Ill, December,
N. C. Historical Commission 9
1937. Given by Mr. Sam M. Hendricks, Henry Kyd Douglas Camp,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.
9. World War:
Sketches of Halifax County World War soldiers. Newspaper clipping.
Given by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, Raleigh.
10. Maps
:
Photostats of maps purchased from the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill:
"Carte Des Deux Carolines et De La Georgie."
"Carte De La Caroline Meredionale et Septentrionale Et De La
Virginie."
"A General Map of the Southern British Colonies . . . Plan of
Charlestown. Plan of St. Augustine." (Inset.)
Originals in the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
3 printed maps given by North Carolina State College Raleigh:
"North Carolina." Map shows outline and names of counties.
32 7/8x12 7/16 inches.
"North Carolina." Map shows name and county seat of each
county. 31 7/8 x 11 inches.
"North Carolina." Map shows outline and names of counties.
39 11/16x15 3/4 inches.
Photostats of 2 John White maps: Map of Region occupied and ex-plored
by Raleigh's Colony (from John White's drawing, now in
the British Museum). Taken from Century Magazine, XXV, 73
(November, 1882). Map of Southern Part of Atlantic Coast of
North America, showing the Strait leading from Port Royal to
the So. (Drawn in 1685 by John White, Artist to Raleigh Colony.
Published by permission of British Museum.) From Century Maga-zine,
XXV, 66-67 (November, 1882). Given by Roanoke Island His-torical
Association, Manteo.
Negative photostats of 10 maps given by Roanoke Island Historical
Association, Manteo:
"Naval Battle of Roanoke Island, Battle of Roanoke Island, North
Carolina."
"Battle of Roanoke Island."
"North Carolina."
"A New Map of Carolina." By Robt Morden.
"Lower Cape Fear Section and Adjacent Country . . . 1775." By
Henry Mouzon.
"North Carolina. . . ." By James Wimble, 1738.
"Part of North America . . . 1709." By Jon Lawson.
"A New Description of Carolina ..." [1676].
"The South Part of Virginia now the North Part of Carolina"
[1657].
"Map of Virginia from De Dry's History of Virginia, p. 2.
"An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina. . . ." 1775. By
Henry Mouzon and others. London. Printed by Robt Sayer and
J. Bennett. 56% x 19% inches. Photostat. Purchased from Joseph
Merritt & Co., Hartford, Connecticut, courtesy of Dr. Burr, His-torical
Records Survey, Washington, D. C.
2 maps given by the State Department of Conservation and Develop-ment,
Raleigh:
"North Carolina." No date. 8% x 31/2 inches. Printed. Shows
outline and names of counties.
"North Carolina." No date. 8 7/16x10 15/16 inches. Printed.
Map shows outline and names of counties.
2 maps given by the State Highway and Public Works Commission,
Raleigh:
"State Highway System of North Carolina." 1936. 40 5/16x15 1/2
inches. Prepared by C. M. Sawyer. Printed. Illustrative col-ored
map.
10 Seventeenth Biennial Report
"State Highway System of North Carolina." 1936. 41% x 151/2
inches. Prepared by C. W. Sawyer & W. W. Hampton. Printed.
"An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina . . . 1777." By Henry
Mouzon and Others. . . . 151/2x20%; 151/2x2114, inches. Photostat
in two sections. Original in possession of Mr. Lewis H. Parry,
Mexico City, Mexico. Given by Mr. Josephus Daniels, Mexico City,
Mexico.
"Battle of Guilford, Fought on the 15th of March, 1781. London. Pub-lish'd
March 1st 1787." 111/4x13 5/16 inches. Photostat. Pur-chased
from Carolina Blue Printers through courtesy of Mr. Gavin
Dortch, Raleigh.
"Map of Wake County, Drawn from Actual Surveys by Feudal Bevers,
County Surveyor." [1878.] 171/2x22; 15i4x21% inches. Photo-stat
in two pieces. Chart of City of Raleigh on bottom of map.
Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers through courtesy of Mr.
William Henry Shaw, Raleigh.
"Map of Virginia." By Theodore De Bry. From De Bry's History of
Yirginia, p. 2. Given by Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
"A Mapp of Virginia discovered to Ye Hills, and in its Latt: From 35
deg: & 1/2 neer. Florida to 41. deg: bounds of New England." By
John Goddard. 1651. 11 x I41/2 inches. Photostat. Purchased
from Carolina Blue Printers through courtesy of Dr. Frederick
Tilberg, Raleigh.
"Plan of the Town of Halifax in Halifax County, North Carolina. . . .
Survey's & Drawn in June 1769. By C. J. Sauthier." Photostat.
Original in British Museum. Purchased from Carolina Blue
Printers, Raleigh.
2 surveys for the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association (land pur-chased
by the Association), November 28, 1896. Photostats pur-chased
from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh, through courtesy of
Dr. Frederick Tilberg, Raleigh.
Map of Davie County. Drawn by J. T. Alderman, 1887. Photostat.
Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh, through courtesy
of Miss Mary J. Heitman, Mocksville.
Roanoke Island. "This Plan represents Roanoke Island Containing
Twelve thousand Acres of Land and Marsh, as it was surveyed
Anno 1718 By W. Maule Surveyr Geni A true Coppy By E. Moseley
Survr Geni 1729." Photostat. Original in possession of Mr. John
Wood, Edenton. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers through
courtesy of Mr. Wood.
Purchased from Argosy Book Stores, Inc., New York, N. Y., 6 photostat
copies:
"The State of North Carolina from the Best Authorities." (Winter-botham).
Eng. by B. Tanner. 16x19% inches. N. Y. John
Reid. 1796.
"North Carolina." (Drawn & Engraved by Joseph Scott). 6% x8i/i
inches. (Phila., 1795).
"North Carolina." (Arrowsmith & Lewis). Drawn by S. Lewis.
Engr. by Tanner. Boston, 1804. 9xl0l^ inches.
"Map of North & South Carolina." (Morse). By J. Denison. Engr.
by Amos Doolittle. 8 x 91/2 inches. Phila., 1796.
"North Carolina." Engr. by W. Barker. (Carey). 6i/4x9 inches.
(Phila., 1796). 2 copies.
"Proposed Fort Raleigh National Historic Site North Carolina." 11 x
8 14 inches. Photostat. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers,
Raleigh.
"North Carolina. Areas recommended for new or closer settlement.
April, 1936. Resettlement Administration division of land utiliza-tion
land use planning section. Region IV, Raleigh." Colored chart,
24x1014 inches. Given by Resettlement Administration, Raleigh.
N. C. Historical Commission 11
"Historical map of Virginia sliowing the main points of historic in-terest
and the main traveled automobile routes." Prepared and
copyrighted by the American Automobile Association, Washington,
D. C. 11x181/4 inches. Printed. Given by Mr. McDaniel Lewis,
Greensboro.
The Old Northwest Territory. "Issued by the Northwest Territory
Celebration Commission in collaboration with participating states."
16%x22 inches. Printed colored map. Given by Northwest Terri-tory
Celebration Commission, Marietta, Ohio.
"A Map of North Carolina for Nature Lovers." Published by The
Garden Club of North Carolina. Colored illustrated map. 34 x 19
inches. 2 copies. Given by the Garden Club of North Carolina,
Mrs. R. L. McMillan, President, Raleigh.
"North Carolina. Department of Agriculture Crop Reporting Service,
Raleigh, North Carolina. 1930." 22 x 9 3/16 inches. Printed. Given
by Department of Agriculture Crop Reporting Service, Raleigh.
Photostats of maps purchased from the Carolina Blue Printers, Ral-eigh,
through the courtesy of Miss Ellen W. Wise, Richmond,
Virginia:
"A New and Accurate Map of North Carolina, and Part of South
Carolina, with the Field of Battle between Earl Cornwallis and
General Gates - London. Published as the Act directs, Novr.
30th, 1780 by J. Bew, Pater Noster Row. Jno. Lodge, Sculp."
15 1/16x10 11/16 inches.
"North Carolina." [1796.] 7 11/16 x 5 7/8 inches.
"North Carolina." [1805.] 7 3/4 x 5 13/16 inches.
"North Carolina. Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Map of
North Carolina. Drawn by E. Lucas, Jr." [1822.] 18 11/16 x
11 1/16 inches.
"Map of North & South Carolina. 1825. By H. S. Tanner. Entered
according to Act of Congress the 20th day of August 1823, by
H. S. Tanner, of the State of Pennsylvania." 19 x 14% inches.
"A New Map of Nth. Carolina with its Canals, Roads & Distances
from place to place along the State & Steam Boat Routes. 1845.
By H. S. Tanner." Insets of "Gold Region" and parts of "Craven
and Jones" counties. 13 1/2x115/16 inches.
"North Carolina. Entered according to Act of Congress in the
year 1843 by Sidney E. Morse and Samuel Breese in the Clerks
Office of the Southern District of New York." 15^4 x 12 inches.
"North Carolina." [1856.] 15 5/16 x 12 1/16 inches.
"North Carolina. Entered according to Act of Congress in the
year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co. in the Clerks Office of the District
Court of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 141^x11%
inches.
"North Carolina. [1856.] Entered according to Act of Congress
in the Year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co. in the Clerks Office of the
District Court of the United States for the Southern District
of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 14 1/8x115/16
inches.
"North Carolina. [1859.] Entered according to Act of Congress
in the year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co., in the Clerks Office of the
District Court of the United States for the Southern District
of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 14 1/8x117/16
inches.
"North Carolina." [1850.] Inset of "Western Part of N. Carolina."
6 1/8x5 1/16 inches.
"J. H. Colton's Map of North Carolina & South Carolina." [I860.]
10 11/16x7 7/8 inches.
"County Map of Virginia and North Carolina. Entered according to
Act of Congress in the year 1860 by S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr.
in the Clerks Office of the U. S. for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania." 13 1/^ x 10% inches.
12 Seventeenth Biennial Report
"Colton's North Carolina. [I860.] Published by Johnson & Brown-ing,
172 "William St., New York. Entered according to Act of
Congress in the Year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co., in the Clerks
Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 14 x II14
inches.
"Colton's North Carolina. [1864.] Entered according to Act of
Congress in the Year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co., in the Clerks
Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 11 1/16 x
11 3/8 inches.
"A New and Accurate Map of North Carolina, and Part of South
Carolina, with the Field of Battle between Earl Cornwallis and
General Gates. London. Published as the Act directs, Novr.
30th, 1870 by J. Bew, Pater Noster Row. Jno. Lodge, Sculp."
15 1/16x10 11/16 inches.
"Colton's North Carolina. Published by G. W. and C. B. Colton &
Co., No. 172 William St., New York. Entered according to Act
of Congress in the year 1855 by J. H. Colton & Co. in the Clerks
Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York." Inset of Beaufort Harbor. 14 x 11%
inches.
"Colton's North Carolina. [1875.] Published by B. W. and C. B.
Colton & Co., No. 172 William St., New York. Entered according
to Act of Congress in the Clerks Office of the District Court of
the United States for the Southern District of New York."
14 3/16x117/16 inches.
"North and South Carolina. Entered according to Act of Congress
in the year 1850 by S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr. in the Clerks Office
of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania."
Inset of "Map of Charleston Harbor," and "Plan of Charleston."
14 1/8x117/16 inches.
"Caroline Septentrionale. [1810.] Carte Geogrophique, Statistique
et Historique de la Caroline du Nord. Grave par B. de Beaupre,
Rue de Vaugirard No. 81; d Paris." 17 7/8x10 13/16 inches.
"North Carolina. [1838.] Morse & Tuttle, Sc." 8 x 10 inches.
"A Map of North Carolina from the best Authorities." [1794.]
Harrison, sc. 14 1/8x1117/16 inches.
"A Map of the Lands of the Cranberry Iron and Coal Co. in Mitchell
County, N. C." By J. R. Englebert, C. E. May, 1894. 23 x 19i^
inches. Linen drawing. Given by Mrs. E. B. Camp, Waynesville.
11. Genealogical:
Historical Sketch of the Schenck and Bevens Families with an Appen-dix.
Wa7-lick Genealogy. Printed. By Hon. David Schenck.
Given by Dr. Bruce R. Payne, Nashville, Tennessee.
7 maps, 1 scrapbook, 22 folders of tombstone data, and other genealogi-cal
material. Given by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
List of Emigrants from Memoranda Relating to James Hogg of Hills-boro,
1774-1805, by Bishop Jos. B. Cheshire, Raleigh. Typescript.
Given by Mrs. William Shaw West, Raleigh.
Shiloh Church Records. Lutheran, (l^^ miles north of Lewisville,
Forsyth County.) Typescript. Given by Dr. Adelaide L. Fries,
Winston-Salem.
"Mrs. A. R. Miller and her services to the Confederate Cause by her
daughter, Mrs. H. O. Hyatt." Typescript. Given by Miss Sybil
Hyatt, Kinston.
Records kept by Joshua Harris, son of Wm. Harris, Sr., and grandson
of Robert Harris, Sr., who came from Ireland. Copied by Joseph
Marcus Harris, son of A. N. Harris. Given by Mr. I. L. Harris,
Habana, Cuba.
Tombstone Records. The Old Cemetery or "The Presbyterian Burying
N. C. Historical Commission 13
Ground" in the City of Charlotte. Given by the Daughters of the
American Revolution.
Genealogical records. Granville County list of Revolutionary soldiers,
family Bible records, cemetery records. North Carolina tombstone
records, Lincoln County tombstone records; Virginia wills, copied
by the Liberty Hall Chapter, Charlotte; Chatham County abstracts
of deeds; Pennsylvania deeds; abstracts of North Carolina deeds
and grants; Richmond County tombstone records; Mecklenburg
County tombstone records; Elmwood Cemetery records, Charlotte;
historic monuments and markers, Mecklenburg County; miscellan-eous
records of Anson County. Typescript copies. Given by the
Daughters of the American Revolution.
North Carolina Bible Records, Church Records, and Genealogies. Com-piled
by Alexander Martin Chapter, D. A. R., High Point. 1936.
Typescript. Given by Alexander Martin Chapter, D. A. R., High
Point.
The Aydelott Family Association, Bulletin No. 20, July 28, 1937, and
Bulletin No. 21, December 25, 1937. Printed. Given by Mr. George
Carl Aydelott, New York, N. Y.
William Whitfield and Allied lines. Copy . . . loaned by Mrs. Charles
Duncan Bailey, Clarksville, Tennessee, . . . obtained from Mrs.
Needham Lewis Whitfield, Clarksville, Tennessee. Typescript.
Given by Mrs. L. P. Bosworth, Mount Kisco, New York.
Reminiscences of Rev. John H. McLean, D. D. Typescript. 2 photo-stats
of photographs of Hugh and Hector McLean. Life of Robert
Daniell, 1642-1718, by Mrs. Leslie B. Clark. Typescript. Life of
William Daniel, 1743-1840. Typescript. Photograph of his marker
and its donor. Given by Mrs. Leslie B. Clark, Dallas, Texas.
12. Miscellaneous:
The Catechism of the Protestant Episcopal Church, (Printed 1846-49)
. . . ; A New Guide for Travelers through the United States of
America, . . . 1850. Given by Mrs. William Shaw West, Raleigh.
Article, "Twelve Years Preparation for the Passage of the Weeks Bill."
By Joseph Hyde Pratt, August, 1936. Typescript. Silver Jubilee in
observance of the passage of the Weeks Laio and the Extension of
'National Forests in the East, under the auspices of Society for the
Protection of Neio Hampshire Forests and the United States Forest
Service. Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire,
September 13, 14, 15, 1936. Printed. Given by Dr. Joseph Hyde
Pratt, Chapel Hill.
3 letters: Dan'l Beidelman, Jr., to his father and mother, 1862, to-gether
with his photograph. Purchased from Mr. J. E. Parrish,
Henderson.
Article, "Inlets along the Coast of North Carolina." Editors: Frank
K. McClain, Lucy M. Cobb, and W. F. Marshall. Given by Federal
Writers Project, North Carolina Districts 1, 2, and 4. Raleigh.
1 volume. Minutes of District Council of the Friends of Temperance
for 3rd Judicial District, March, 1874-May, 1880. 1 deed, February
27, 1819, Lewis Bryan, Sheriff of Lenoir County, to John Washing-tQU.
1 volume, speeches by George Cookman of the Baltimore An-nual
Conference and Chaplain to the United States Senate. 1842.
Printed. Given by Miss Sybil Hyatt, Kinston.
De Bry's Edition, 1590, of Harlot's Brief and True Report of the New
Found Land of Virginia. Published in Frankfort, Germany. Pho-tostats
loaned by Mr. Joseph B. Cheshire, Raleigh.
Letters of Elizabeth Sterchi, 1867-1869, in Moravian Archives, Winston-
Salem. Typescript copy. Footnotes prepared by Dr. Adelaide L.
Fries. Given by Dr. Adelaide L. Fries, Winston-Salem.
Historical Records Survey Inventories: Californa, No. 22, Marin
County (San Rafael); Indiana, No. 6, Boone County (Lebanon);
14 Seventeenth Biennial Report
Idaho, No. 34, Minidoka County (Rupert) ; Texas, No. 3, Municipal-ity
of Brazoria, 1S32-1S37; Parish Arcliives of Louisiana, No. 45,
Saint Charles' Parish (Hahnville); Missouri, No. 82, Pike County
(Bowling Green); West Virginia, No. 38, Pocahontas County (Mar-linton);
Kentucky, No. 34, Fayette County (Lexington); Kansas,
No. 46, Johnson County (Olathe); Texas, No. 61, Denton County;
Oklahoma, No. 51, Muskogee County (Muskogee); Kentucky, No.
61, Knox County (Barbourville) ; New York State, Albany County
Archives; Washington, Pend Oreille County (Newport), No. 26;
Illinois, No. 8, Carroll County (Mount Carroll); Mississippi, No. 3,
Amite County (Liberty) ; South Dakota, No. 8, Buffalo County
(Gann Valley); Oklahoma, No. 7, Bryan County (Durant); and
Tennessee, No. 33, Hamilton County (Chattanooga), (2 copies).
Given by the Historical Records Survey through Dr. Luther H.
Evans, National Director, Washington, D. C.
Memoirs in Moravian Archives, prepared by Dr. Adelaide L. Fries.
Typescript. Given by Historical Records Survey, Raleigh.
20 Tennessee Census Reports, 1820: Bedford County, Davidson County,
Hickman County, Humphreys County, Lawrence County, Lincoln
County, Maury County, Montgomery County, Overton County,
Perry County, Robertson County, Rutherford County, Shelby
County, Smith County, Stewart County, Sumner County, Warren
County, Wayne County, White County, and Wilson County. Type-script.
Given by Miss Martha Lou Houston, Washington, D. C.
Leaflet, "To be sold, one moiety or half Part of Roanoak . . . ." Con-tained
in Mr. Edward A. Oldham's column, "North Carolina in
New York." Wmston-Salem Sentinel, August 15, 1937. Printed.
Given by Mr. Edward A. Oldham, New York.
13. Pamphlets:
A 17th Century Letter of Gabriel Diaz Vay-a Calcleron, Bishop of Cuba,
Describing the Indians and Indian Missions of Florida. . . . 1936.
Given by Dr. Lucy L. Wenhold, Winston-Salem.
Memorial to Confederate Soldiers. . . . Sept., IS, 1937; and Magazine
of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Vol. Ill, December, 1937.
Printed. Given by Mr. Sam M. Hendricks, Shepherdstown, W. Va.
Historical Sketch, Ellerbe, N. C. Town Schools 82rri7igs. By A. D.
Spivey. September 29, 1936. Printed from Post-Dispatch, October
1, 1936. Compliments Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Isaac S. London,
Editor, with co-laboration of W. H. Covington. Printed. Given by
Mr. A. D. Spivey, Ellerbe.
Minutes of the Seventy-Sixth Annual Ses.sion Tennessee River Baptist
Association . . . August 20-21, 1936. Printed. Given by Tennessee
River Baptist Association, North Carolina.
Ordinances for the Town of Kinston, N. C. for the year 1893-94. Print-ed.
Given by Miss Sybil Hyatt, Kinston.
Grove Presbyterian Chxirch, Kenansville. N. C. Bi-Centennial Celebra-tion.
Sunday, Xor. 2U, 1936. Printed. Given by Mr. A. T. Outlaw,
Kenansville.
Directory of Federal Agencies and Departments in North Carolina.
Compiled by the National Emergency Council .... (Revised Sep-tember
1, 1936.) Mimeographed. Given by Mr. R. M. Gantt, State
Director, National Emergency Council, Durham.
The Significance of the Transylvania Company in American History.
By Archibald Henderson, President of The Transylvanians. De-livered
at the Transylvania Memorial Celebration, Boonesborough,
Kentucky, October 12, 1935. Printed. Given by Dr. Archibald
Henderson, Chapel Hill.
1 volume. Minutes Epworth M. E. Church South, Raleigh, 1907-1911. 10
loose pages, 1911, and undated. 8 pamphlets. 1 jewelry catalogue.
7 speeches. The volume manuscript; the remainder printed. Given,
by Miss Lillian Dodd, Raleigh.
N. C. Historical Commission 15
A Dangerous Pamphlet in the Old South. By Clement Eaton. Re-printed
from The Journal of Southern History. Vol. II, No. 3 (Au-gust,
1936). Given by Mr. Clement Eaton, Easton. Pa.
The Prophet Joseph Smith Tells His Oicn Story. Printed. Rays of
Living Light. By President Charles W. Penrose. Printed. The
Plan of Salvation by Elder John Morgan. Printed. A card, "Arti-cles
of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
Given by Miss Lillian Dodd, Raleigh.
"William Willard Ashe, f 1872-1932)." By William A. Dayton. Multi-graphed.
Given by Mr. Wm. A. Dayton, Senior Forest Ecologist in
charge of Range Forest Investigations in United States Department
of Agriculture.
The Constitution and By-Laics of the Catauba County Historical Asso-ciation.
[1936.] Given by the Catawba County Historical Asso-ciation.
Response to the Toast Our Sister State. By Justice Heriot Clarkson at
Annual Banquet of the South Carolina Bar Association, Columbia,
S. C, February 18, 1938. Printed. "Address of Heriot Clarkson
. . . . , Founders' Day Anniversary . . . Johnson C. Smith Uni-versity,
April 7, 1938." Mimeographed. Given by Justice Heriot
Clarkson, Raleigh.
Parish Directory of Christ Church. Raleigh, N. C, 1938. Printed. Star
of the South. Published Monthly by Seaboard Air Line. March, 1891.
Printed. Given by Mr. D. L. Corbitt, Raleigh.
II. New Collections.
1. Personal Papers:
John Huske Anderson Papers. Letters, deed, powers of attorney, etc.
Given by Mr. John Huske Anderson, Raleigh.
Sophia Partridge Papers. School accounts of private school, 1849-1865;
1 album, 1834-1839; 4 letters, 1861-64 and undated, from Sophia
Partridge to Ellen Calhum (Mrs. Richard Seawellj; and 1 recipe.
Given by Miss Sophia P. Busbee, Raleigh.
George W. Connor Papers. Letter—Miss Lucy Edwards to Judge Con-nor,
June 5, 1935. Tj-pescript. Pamphlet: Memoir of Xathaniel
Macon, of Xorth Carolina, by Weldon N. Edwards. Raleigh, 1862.
Printed. Given by Judge George W. Connor.
Sally Joyner Davis Collection. 2 letters: R. R. Heath to Governor
Thomas Bragg, Julj' 4, 1858, and Thomas Bragg to R. R. Heath,
July 20, 1858. Given by Miss Sally Joyner Davis, Greenville.
Mrs. Robert L. Gray Collection, 1792-1897. Deeds: Frederick Hargett,
Willie Jones, and others to Ephraim Parsons, June 9, 1792; Thomas
Hamilton to Patsey McKethan, 1806; Maria McKethan and Martha
Brickell, January 9, 1826; Drury and Mary R. Lacy to Benjamin
Rice Lacy, July 14, 1874; Benjamin R. Lacy, to Drury Lacy, Oct.,
1879; Mrs. Grissy L. Ryan to Rev. Drury Lacy, Dec. 27, 1866.
Loaned by Mrs. Robert L. Gray, Raleigh.
John A. Green Collection, 1832-1857. 13 letters and accounts. Given
by Mr. John A. Green, Wilson, through Miss Sophia P. Busbee,
Raleigh.
A. J. Maxwell Papers. Radio address "Neglected North Carolina,"
delivered by him November 17, 1937. Mimeographed. Given by
Mr. A. J. Maxwell, Raleigh.
General Lafayette Papers, 1825-1826. Letter from Lafayette to John
McRae, Fayetteville, Jan. 27, 1826; address by Lafayette during
his visit to Fayetteville in 1825; toast offered by him while there.
Loaned by Mrs. Dora Virginia McRae, Chapel Hill.
John A. Cobb Papers. 46 deeds, grants, etc., 1767-1875 and undated.
Loaned by the heirs of John A. Cobb, 4 miles from Conetoe, N. C,
through Mrs. J. L. Jackson, Raleigh.
Albert Ray Newsome Papers. Address made at the unveiling of the
D. A. R. Memorial in Raleigh, Jan. 28, 1936, by Dr. Albert Ray
16 Seventeenth Biennial Report
Newsome, Head of Department of History, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. Typescript copy. Given by Mrs. O. A.
Lester, Raleigh.
Cornelia S. MacMillan Collection. 64 grants and deeds, and Neil Mc-
Millan's commission as lieutenant signed by Rd. Caswell, Sept. 22,
1787. Loaned by Miss Cornelia S. MacMillan, Red Springs.
William M. Sweeny Collection. Photostat and typescript copy of a
letter: Jas. Read to Gen. Sumner, Sept. 12, 1780. Given by Mr.
William M. Sweeny, Astoria, N. Y.
Mary B. Harding Collection. 1 letter, Jane A. Blakeley to Edward
Jones, March 6, 1817. Given by Miss Mary B. Hardin, Salt Lake
City, Utah.
Kate McKimmon Papers. 242 letters, invitations, sketch of St. Mary's
Chapel, engraving of A. N. McKimmon, and 13 cancelled stamps.
Loaned by Mrs. Carl K. Hill, Raleigh.
Mrs. Ray Palmer Collection. 7 deeds, 1796-1804, and 1 petition, 1850.
Given by Mrs. Ray Palmer, Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Strickland Papers. 16 business letters, deeds, etc., 1847-1870. Pur-chased
from Mrs. R. A. Ricks, Raleigh.
2. Diaries:
Typescript copies of diary of Rufus Barringer. The original diary
was loaned to the Commission for copying by Mr. Osmond L. Bar-ringer,
Charlotte, and later returned to him.
Henry King Burgwyn, 1840-1848, 2 volumes; John Fanning Burgwyn,
1855-1856, 1 volume, diary and accounts. Loaned by Mrs. Thos.
W. M. Long, Roanoke Rapids.
3. County Records:
Granville County Records. Certified copy of marriage bond of Na-thaniel
Macon and Hannah Plummer, 1783. Given by Miss Susan
Davis, Oxford, through Miss Lillian Dodd, Raleigh.
Onslow County Records. Wills of Jinkin Averitt, 1801, and Richard
Averitt, 1800. Typescript copies given by Mrs. Louis A. Mahler,
Raleigh.
Marriage licenses: 43 from Friedburg, Davidson County, 1826-1860.
8 from Friedburg, Forsyth County, 1850-1859. 100 from Salem and
Friedburg, Stokes County, 1843-1847. Given by Moravian Church
in America, Southern Province, through Dr. Adelaide L. Fries,
Winston-Salem.
4. Account Books:
Ledger said to be that of John C. Ehringhaus, merchant, Elizabeth
City. Given by Rev. George F. Hill, Elizabeth City.
93 miscellaneous account books, 1809-1915. Loaned by Person County
Commissioners through courtesy of Mr. W. L. Younger, Roxboro.
251 miscellaneous account books from merchants of Wilson, Farmville,
and other North Carolina towns. Given by Mr. Abram Slopack,
Extension Division, State College, Raleigh.
5. Civil War:
Special Order No. 6 [of General Sherman], April 27, 1865. Given by
Mr. Cecil Bell, Raleigh.
Confederate Scrap-Book, 1861-65. Prize winning scrap book compiled
by Mary Vanice Laughlin, Tarboro, N. C. Also scrap book. State
of North Carolina. Given by Miss Mary Vanice Laughlin, Tarboro.
6. Genealogy:
"Parentage of Richard Dobbs Spaight (1758-1802) Governor of North
Carolina." Typescript. Given by Mr. Edward T. Langford, Yonkers,
N. Y.
Birth certificate of Virginia Dare, August 18, 1587. Given by the
State Board of Health, Raleigh.
Records of births, deaths, and marriages of Nisbets and allied families.
N. C. Historical Commission 17
1800-1887. Copied from fragments of a family Bible owned by
Mrs. R. P. Townsend, Millbrook, and given by her. Three typescript
copies.
Toast to North Carolina by S. Janie Brown and a short sketch of
her life by Mrs. James L. Josey of Scotland Neck, N. C. Given by
Miss Ruth Davenport, Raleigh. Typescript and manuscript.
Chart of Stephens-Massie lines. Given by Mrs. Nils Anderson, Plain-field,
N. J.
"Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary of Patrick Van Buren Webb and Fanny
Hagins of Edgecombe County, N. C." Mimeographed. Given by
Mr. Mark Byron, Jr., New York. Lithographed. Ann Arbor, Mich-igan:
Edwards Brothers, Inc. 1936. Pp. xv, 1195. Given by the
publishers.
7. Miscellaneous:
Chart of "The Government of North Carolina." Prepared by North
Carolina State Planning Board, October, 1937. Printed. Given
by North Carolina State Planning Board, Raleigh.
Reminiscences of Judge Walter A. Montgomery, 1843-1921. Typescript.
Loaned by Mrs. Walter A. Montgomery, Raleigh.
Broadside "To Tobacco Planters. The Inspection of Tobacco is revived
in the Town of Clarksville, Situated on the Roanoke ... in County
of Mecklenburg. . . . March, 1832." Printed sheet. 2 copies.
Given by Mr. W. L. Younger, Roxboro.
National Park Museum, Cherokee Indians, Items 12 through 18—1802.
Given by Mr. H. C. Wilburn, Waynesville. Items 1 through 11,
photostats. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh,
through courtesy of Mr. Wilburn.
Presentation speech by Dr. J. Fred Rippy introducing Dr. Ralph Mc-
Donald during the political campaign of 1936. Typescript. Given
by Dr. J. Fred Rippy, Durham.
Hiram Lewis Grant—Commission as Additional Paymaster U. S. Vol-unteers,
December, 1903. Given by Mr. Howard Snipes, Princeton.
Geographical Notes on the Mountain District of North Carolina by
Arnold Guyot, and Copy of Notes of Wm. Davenport. Survey N. C-Tenn.
State Line (1821). (Copy of book of field notes.) Typescript.
Given by Mr. W. C. Wilburn, Waynesville.
"The Joseph Hewes Shipyard," by W. D. Pruden. Typescript. Given
by Mr. W. D. Pruden, Edenton.
Old books: 1 volume Book of Common Prayer and Bible bound to-gether.
1773. 1 volume bound newspapers, Halifax Minerva, Jan-uary
24, 1829-February 24, 1831. Halifax. Loaned by Mrs. Helen
Marshall through Mr. Richard D. White, Baltimore.
Fire Engine Co., No. 2. Minute Book, 1833-1853. Manuscript volume.
Given by Mr. George McNeill, Fayetteville.
Social Security Survey of Emergency Relief Cases Covered by the
Federal Social Security Act. Mimeographed. Given by North Caro-lina
Emergency Relief Administration, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, Ad-ministrator,
Raleigh.
"County Histories of the United States of America." Compiled by
F. Douglas Halverson. Reference book. Purchased from Mr. F.
Douglas Halverson, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Address, "The Historical Records Survey in North Carolina," by Dan
Lacy, Assistant State Director, Historical Records Survey, Raleigh.
Typescript. Given by Mr. Dan Lacy, Raleigh.
Report of the Medicinal Plants, Roots, etc., grown in the State. Pre-pared
for the Agricultural Society of . . . North Carolina . . .
Raleigh, . . . Oct. 17-19. Manuscript. By A. A. Scroggs, Lenoir,
Caldwell County. Given by Dr. R. W. Leiby, Raleigh.
Copies of 17 letters of John J. Armfield, Guilford County. Typescript.
Given by Historical Records Survey, Raleigh.
"Some Poems of the Coast Lands," written and read by Rev. Andrew
18 Seventeenth Biennial Report
J. Howell before the State Literary and Historical Association,
December 3, 1937. Typescript. Given by Rev. Andrew J. Howell,
Wilmington.
Lists of Federal Archives in North Carolina. Typescript. Given by
Survey of Federal Archives, Raleigh.
Newspaper clipping from Massachusetts Federalist, Dec. 21, 1803, con-cerning
discovery of gold in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Pur-chased
from Mr. E. H. Frost, Yonkers, N. Y.
Transcripts of papers in Bayard v. Singleton. In Craven County Su-perior
Court. New Bern Courthouse. Made by Miss Mary Louise
Stapleford, May, 1937. Typescript. Given by Historical Records
Survey, Raleigh.
Photostat of a testimonial presented to Governor J. C. B. Ehringhaus,
signed by constitutional officers and heads of departments. Pur-chased
from Carolina Blue Printers through courtesy of Mr. Harry
McMullan, Raleigh.
Photostat of Plans of State Capitol Building, Atwood & Nash, Inc.,
Architects and Engineers, Chapel Hill, N. C. Measured and drawn
by Philip Schwartz and Ross E. Shumaker, 1924. Scale, 14 inch
to 1 foot. 18 pieces. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers
through courtesy of Budget Bureau, Raleigh.
Article, "Nathaniel Batts and the First Permanent Settlement in the
Carolinas," by W. P. Gumming, Davidson. 1936. Typescript. Given
by Dr. Gumming.
1 copy of Bulletin of the Archaelogical Society of North Carolina, Vol.
Ill, No. 2, September, 1938. Mimeographed. Given by the Archaeo-logical
Society of North Carolina.
The First Hundred Years. A Short History of Cobb County in Georgia,
by Sarah Blackwell Gober Temple. Printed. Given by Miss E.
Katherine Anderson, Marietta, Georgia.
Received by purchase from the Carolina Blue Printers the following
photostats: Confederate States Copyright Records, 1858-1865; 10
title pages of books to be copyrighted; 4 letters 1862-64, from Wm.
Bingham and Frank J. Wilson on copyrights. Included also is a
copy of a letter from Dr. C. C. Crittenden to Dr. P. M. Hamer,
November 13, 1936, concerning these records.
History of Woodbury and Cannon County, Tennessee. 1936. Print-ed.
Given by Miss Grace Christine Brown, Woodbury, Tennessee.
8. Pamphlets:
North Carolina Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 1 . . . 1893. Printed.
Given by Mrs. E. B. Camp, Waynesville.
Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, October, 1935.
Printed. Given by Miss Mae McMichael, Washington, D. C.
Year Book of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812,
State of Tennessee, June 1, 1933-June 1, 1935. Organized May 7,
1909. Contains list of soldiers of War of 1812 buried in Tennessee.
Compiled by Mrs. L. W. McCown and Mrs. W. P. Bailey. Printed,
Given by Mrs. Leonidas W. (Mary Harden) McCown, Johnson City,
Tennessee.
The Moravian Graveyard, Salem, N. C, by William A. Blair. Printed.
Given by Mr. William A. Blair, Winston-Salem.
Hodge's North-Carolina Almanack for the year of our Lord 1199. Pur-chased
from Mr. C. F. Cagney, State Prison, Raleigh.
"Geography of North Carolina." Set of questions and answers. Com-piled
by Fifth Grade of Franklinton Public School, Franklinton,
N. C. Lessie V. Chandler, teacher. Published by Betsy Winston.
Mimeographed. Given by Miss Lessie V. Chandler, Franklinton.
Memorial of Nash Cheek. Printed. Given by Mrs. Margaret Chapin,
Raleigh.
Report of the Roanoke Colony Commission of the United States,
Joseph T. Robinson, Chairman. Submitted to the 72nd Congress
N. C. Historical Commission 19
of the U. S., Jan. 14, 1933. Printed. Given by Dr. Frederick Til-berg,
Raleigh.
200th Anniversary of the building of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. . . .
By Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Darst, D. D., Bishop. Rev. Charles Aylett
Ashhy. Rector. Printed. Given by Mrs. J. M. Winfree, Raleigh.
Address, North Carolina Prophets and the Twentieth Century. Deliv-ered
by William T. Polk before the annual meeting of the State
Literary and Historical Association, December 3, 1936. Printed.
Given by Mr. William T. Polk, Warrenton.
Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, North Carolina edi-tion,
September, 1936. Printed. Given by Mrs. R. R. Stone, Wil-mington.
DIVISION OF DOCUMENTS
I. Classification and Arrangement.
Most of the accessions listed in this report have been classified,
arranged, and filed during the biennium. They comprise ap-proximately
95,000 pieces of miscellaneous court papers from
Bertie, Burke, Gates, and Pasquotank counties and from Morgan
District; 40 maps; 10 issues of newspapers; and miscellaneous
items.
II. Cataloging.
Some cataloging has been done, but since classification and
arrangement have had to be undertaken first, much cataloging
is yet to be done. During the biennium approximately 1,200
volumes from the office of the Secretary of State, the State
Treasurer, and the Comptroller, as well as volumes from Wake,
Burke, and Wilkes counties, have been cataloged. About 500 vol-umes
of personal account books have been cataloged. The 93,000
pieces of miscellaneous court papers mentioned above have been
cataloged. The National Youth Administration project has com-pleted
abstracting all of the marriage bonds (664 boxes) and
has verified the contents of 651 of these boxes. Of the latter,
159 boxes have been alphabetized and typed. All newspapers and
maps received during the biennium have been cataloged.
III. Repair.
The Restorer of Manuscripts has prepared 15,373 sheets of
manuscript for binding. Of these, 8,542 sheets were mended
with tissue paper, 367 were covered with crepeline, 40 were
reinforced on the back with heavy paper, and 369 were treated
with gelatine size (a process recently adopted by the Restorer).
Of these sheets, 12 volumes were bound by the Restorer in loose-leaf
binders and 99 volumes were made ready for the bindery.
20 Seventeenth Biennial Report
Approximately 33,000 small pieces of paper with arsenate of lead
(insect poison) spread upon them were placed in boxes of manu-scripts
in the archives.
IV. Binding.
The following volumes were bound or rebound during the
biennium
:
Indexes to marriage bonds of various counties. Typed. 18 volumes.
First Census of the United States. Printed. 11 volumes.
The No7-th Carolina Historical Review, Vol. Xlll (1936). 14 copies.
Ihid., Vol. XIV (1937). 14 copies.
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Censuses of the United States (1850, 1860,
and 1870). Original manuscript returns. 52 volumes.
Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Beaufort County.
Manuscript. 1 volume.
Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Hyde County.
Manuscript. 1 volume.
V. Use of Records :
During the biennium visits to the offices of the Commission for
the purpose of consulting the manuscript records of North Caro-lina
history numbered 3,423. Of these, 2,646 were made by
North Carolinians; and 777 were made by persons from Ala-bama,
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, the District
of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ken-tucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minne-sota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Caro-lina,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Vir-ginia,
Wisconsin, Canada, and England—a total of thirty-four
states, the District of Columbia, and two foreign countries.
Of the total number of visits, 719 were made by graduate
students and faculty members of various educational institutions,
and other persons engaged in serious research. Among the col-leges
and universities represented were the following: the
University of North Carolina, Duke University, Miner Teachers'
College, Elon College, Teachers' College at Buffalo, New York,
St. Mary's School, Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University,
Meredith College, the University of Durham, England, New York
University, Harvard University, the University of Virginia, and
Davidson College,
Among the topics of research in which these visitors were
engaged were: land titles in western North Carolina, Loyalism
in North Carolina during the American Revolution, the middle
classes in North Carolina before 1861, a history of Alamance
N. C. Historical Commission 21
County, the Southern free Negro before the Civil War, the life
of Peter Stuart Ney, the life of E. J. Hale, population move-ments
and linguistic changes, the state university movement in
the South before 1861, the history of plank roads in North Caro-lina,
a biography of G. W. Campbell, the secession movement in
North Carolina, the administration of Governor Daniel Russell,
the business activities of John Gray Blount and his family, the
cartography of early Carolina, a biography of Governor Mont-fort
Stokes, the life of L. L. Polk, an historical novel on Recon-struction
in North Carolina, a biography of James Iredell, the
history of Fort Fisher, the life of Joseph Blount Cheshire, the
history of tobacco in North Carolina and Virginia since 1860,
land distribution in eighteenth-century North Carolina, the his-tory
of lotteries in North Carolina, the beginnings of scientific
forestry in North Carolina, Zebulon B. Vance as Civil War
governor, the life of John Forsythe, ratification of the Federal
Constitution in North Carolina, the battle of Moore's Creek
Bridge, and the mercantile activities of Thomas Macknight,
colonial merchant and planter.
A total of 616 certified copies from the records of the Com-mission,
necessary for pension claims and for admission to
patriotic societies, have been prepared and furnished without
charge to North Carolinians and others. Of these, 366 were
supplied to North Carolinians, and 250 to persons outside the
state, as follows: Alabama, 3; Arkansas, 13; Colorado, 3; Dis-trict
of Columbia, 38; Florida, 13; Georgia, 44; IlHnois, 4;
Indiana, 17; Kentucky, 3; Louisiana, 4; Maryland, 2; Michigan,
1 ; Missouri, 23 ; Mississippi, 12 ; New Mexico, 2 ; New York, 17
;
North Carolina, 366; Oklahoma, 3; Oregon, 2; South Carohna,
11; Tennessee, 15; Texas, 6; Virginia, 13; West Virginia, 1.
Research has been done by the staff to establish the eligibility
of many Civil War and Revolutionary soldiers for gravestones
which are suppled by the United States War Department.
During the biennium more than 5,000 letters have been writ-ten
in the conduct of the business of the Commission. Questions
concerning the history of North Carolina, often involving re-search
by members of the staff, have been answered in many
cases, but inquiries of a personal or genealogical nature have
been referred to independent researchers or genealogists. In
order to answer fully all genealogical inquiries the state would
22 Seventeenth Biennial Report
have to spend $10,000 or more annually, and the expenditure of
so large an amount of public funds in order to serve a private
purpose would hardly seem justifiable.
PUBLICATIONS
Among the most essential functions of the Historical Com-mission
is the publication of materials relating to North Caro-lina
history. During the biennium the program along this line
has been continued, and the following publications have been
issued
:
1. Bulletin No. 3S. Sixteenth Biennial Report of the North Carolina
Historical Commission, July 1, 1934-June 30, 1936. (Raleigh: 1936. Pp. 31.)
2. The North Carolina Historical Review. Volumes XIII, Nos. 3-4; XIV,
Nos. 1-4; XV, Nos. 1-2. (Raleigh: 1936-38. Pp. 204; 430; 182.) The
eight issues of this quarterly journal have contained 22 articles and 11 sec-tions
of documents, in addition to book reviews and historical news.
3. The Historical Records of North Caroliiia. Volume I, Alamance-
Columbus. Prepared by the Historical Records Survey of the Works Prog-ress
Administration. Edited by C. C. Crittenden and Dan Lacy. (Raleigh:
1938. Pp. xii, 491.)
In press is: The Historical Records of North Carolina, Volume II,
Craven-Moore. Prepared by the Historical Records Survey of the Works
Progress Administration. Edited by C. C. Crittenden and Dan Lacy.
In preparation are the following
:
1. The Historical Records of North Carolina. Additional volumes con-taining
lists of the remaining county records, the state records, public
manuscript collections, church records, and miscellaneous manuscript ma-terials.
2. History of the North Carolina Counties. By D. L. Corbitt.
3. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Edited by Adelaide L.
Fries. Volume V.
4. Handbook of Historical Highway Markers in North Carolina.
HISTORICAL MARKERS
The historical highway marker program, authorized by the
Legislature in 1935 and conducted co-operatively by the High-way
and Public Works Commission, the Department of Con-servation
and Development, and the Historical Commission, has
been continued. During the early part of the biennium the
necessary research and travel were done mainly by the Collector
for the Hall of History, but this arrangement, which took her
away too much from her regular duties, was found unsatisfac-tory
and was abandoned. For several months the work was
almost at a standstill, but in March, 1938, a special appropria-tion
was made for this purpose from the Contingency and
Emergency Fund, Miss Marybelle Delamar was placed on the
N. C. Historical Commission 23
pay roll as Researcher-Highway Markers, and the program was
resumed.
Each legend was approved by the historians of the Executive
Committee on Historical Markers, who without remuneration
generously gave many hours of their time. These historians
were A. R. Newsome, H. T. Lefler, and Cecil Johnson of the
University of North Carolina ; D. A. Lockmiller and L. W. Earn-hardt
of State College ; F. W. Clonts and G. W. Paschal of Wake
Forest College ; W. K. Boyd, W. A. Mabry, and J. T. Lanning of
Duke University ; and T. W. Lingle and F. W. Johnston of David-son
College.
During the biennium the legends for 87 markers (making a
total of 139 since the beginning of the program) were sent to
the foundry, as follows:
HOME OF THOMAS J. JARVIS, Currituck Countv.
"HOPE," THE BIRTHPLACE OF DAVID STONE, Bertie County.
SITE OF THE BATTLE OF SOUTH MILLS, Camden County.
"HAYES," THE HOME OF SAMUEL JOHNSTON, Chowan County.
SITE OF "EDEN HOUSE," Bertie County.
CHOWAN COUNTY COURTHOUSE, Chowan County.
DISMAL SWAMP CANAL, Camden County.
FIRST ASSEMBLY, Pasquotank County.
FIRST SCHOOL, Pasquotank County.
SITE OF BATTLE OF ROANOKE ISLAND, Dare County.
ST. THOMAS CHURCH, Beaufort County.
KILL DEVIL HILL, Dare County.
SITE OF "KIRBY GRANGE," THE HOME OF CHRISTOPHER GALE,
Beaufort County.
FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY, Beaufort County.
GRANVILLE GRANT, Hyde County.
BATTLE OF PLYMOUTH, Washington County.
PLACE WHERE RAM ALBEMARLE WAS SUNK, Washington County.
FORT MACON, Carteret County.
LANDING OF BARON DE GRAFFENRIED, Craven County.
BATTLE OF NEW BERN, Craven County.
SITE OF FORT TOTTEN, Craven County.
GRAVE OF ALEXANDER LILLINGTON, Pender County.
FORT JOHNSTON, Brunswick County.
FORT CASWELL, Brunswick County.
HOME OF THOMAS BRAGG, Northampton County.
ROCKY MOUNT MILLS, Nash County.
MASONIC LODGE, Halifax County.
SITE OF "THE GROVE," HOME OF W^ILLIE JONES, Halifax County. HOME OF MATT W. RANSOM, Northampton County.
HOME OF CHARLES BRANTLEY AYCOCK, Wayne County.
GRAVE OF RICHARD CASWELL, Lenoir County.
PLACE WHERE JOHN LAWSON WAS KILLED, Greene County.
GROVE CHURCH, Duplin County.
GRAVE OF WILLIAM HOOPER, Orange County.
FARM ON WHICH BRIGHT LEAF TOBACCO WAS FIRST GROWN,
Caswell Countv.
CASWELL COUNTY COURTHOUSE, Caswell County.
SITE OF HOME OP FRANCIS NASH, Orange County.
GRAVE OF THOMAS RUFFIN, Orange County.
OXFORD ORPHANAGE, Granville County.
"ROSE HILL," HOME OF BEDFORD BROWN, Caswell County.
24 Seventeenth Biennial Report
GRAVE OF ARCHIBALD DEBOW MURPHEY, Orange County.
SITE OF GOVERNOR'S PALACE, Wake County.
WAKE FOREST COLLEGE, Wake County.
SITE OP "ROCKREST," WHERE CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY
LIVED, Chatham County.
BIRTHPLACE OF ANDREW JOHNSON, Wake County.
GRAVE OF JOHN OWEN, Chatham County.
JOHN CHAVIS MEMORIAL PARK, Wake County.
GRANVILLE GRANT, Chatham-Lee line.
SITE OF HOME OF WM. RUFUS KING, Sampson County.
SITE OF HOME OF GABRIEL HOLMES, Sampson County.
SITE OF HOME OF JOHN OWEN, Bladen County.
SITE OF BIRTHPLACE OF DOLLY MADISON, Guilford County.
"LAND OF EDEN," Rockingham County.
BROTHERS HOUSE, Forsyth County.
SHALLOW FORD, Forsyth County.
TOMB OF WALTER HINES PAGE, Moore County.
SITE OF HOME OF JONATHAN WORTH, Randolph County.
TRINITY COLLEGE, Randolph County.
SITE OF HOME OF FLORA MacDONALD, Randolph County.
SANDY CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH AND GRAVE OP SHUBAEL
STEARNS, Randolph County.
SITE OP CONFEDERATE PRISON, Rowan County.
LAST FULL MEETING OF CONFEDERATE CABINET, Mecklenburg
County.
HOUSE IN WHICH JEFFERSON DAVIS SPENT THE NIGHT, Ca-barrus
County.
BRANCH OP U. S. MINT, Mecklenburg County.
REED GOLD MINE, Cabarrus County.
HOME OP NATHANIEL ALEXANDER, Cabarrus County.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE, Mecklenburg County.
THYATIRA CHURCH, Rowan County.
BIRTHPLACE OF ANDREW JACKSON, Union County.
HOME OF JOHN W. ELLIS, Rowan County.
GRANVILLE GRANT, Rowan-Cabarrus county line.
HOME OF MONTFORD STOKES, Wilkes County.
GRAVES OF DANIEL BOONE'S PARENTS, Davie County.
FORT DEFIANCE, Caldwell County.
WALDENSIANS, Burke County.
QUAKER MEADOWS, Burke County.
PLEASANT GARDENS, McDowell County.
YELLOW MOUNTAIN ROAD, Avery County.
BATTLE OF RAMSOUR'S MILL, Lincoln County.
GILBERT TOWN, Rutherford County.
SUMMER HOME AND GRAVE OP C. G. MEMMINGER, Henderson.
County.
BIRTHPLACE OF DAVID L. SWAIN, Buncombe County.
HOME AND GRAVE OP EDGAR W. ("BILL") NYE, Henderson
County.
SITE OF "HIGH HAMPTON," THE SUMMER HOME OF WADE
HAMPTON, Jackson County.
GRAVE OF JUNALUSKA, Graham County.
SPOT WHERE TSALI SURRENDERED TO GENERAL SCOTT,
Swain County.
JUDACULLA ROCK, Jackson County.
N. C. Historical Commission 25
STIMULATION OF HISTORICAL INTEREST AND
INVESTIGATION
In many ways the Historical Commission has worked to stim-ulate
interest and promote research in history, especially North
Carolina history. In the Commission's archives are vast quanti-ties
of state and county records and of personal papers. These
have been made constantly available to the public, and members
of the Commission's staff have assisted researchers in every way
possible. Hundreds of queries on the history of the state have
been answered. The published volumes and pamphlets of the
Commission, together with its quarterly journal, The North
Carolina Historical Revieiv, have publicized many phases of the
state's history. The Secretary of the Commission has made
numerous addresses over the radio and directly to patriotic and
historical groups. He has represented the Commission at the
annual meetings of the American Historical Association and of
the Southern Historical Association. He has been appointed
Chairman of the Committee on the Publication of Archival Ma-terial
of the Society of American Archivists. Mr. D. L. Corbitt
attended the 1937 session of the Society of American Archivists,
and Miss Mattie Erma Edwards was present the same year at
the annual session of the Association of American Museums.
The historical highway marker program (see above, pp. 22-24)
and the various Works Progress Administration projects with
which the Commission has cooperated (see below, pp. 31-33)
have resulted in increased public interest in matters historical.
HALL OF HISTORY
During the past biennium three persons have served as Col-lector
for the Hall of History: Miss Marybelle Delamar (Acting
Collector), July 1, 1936-March 31, 1937; Mrs. Caroline String-field
(Acting Collector), April 1-July 31, 1937; and Miss Mattie
Erma Edwards, August 1, 1937-June 30, 1938. Miss Edwards
had been on leave of absence since February 9, 1936, serving as
Assistant Regional Director of the Survey of Federal Archives.
During the first part of the biennium it was necessary for the
Collector to spend almost all her time in research for historical
highway markers. For the past year, however, she has devoted
her full time to the museum.
One of the most important accomplishments of the past year
was to plan the space tentatively allotted to the Hall of History
in the new state office building, now under construction. In an
26 Seventeenth Biennial Report
effort to make certain that the new quarters would incorporate
architectural features needed to develop a modern, effective his-torical
museum, the Collector visited museums in other cities
and consulted authorities in the museum field. The new quarters
have been planned as nearly in accordance with modern trends
in museum design as has seemed possible in a building most of
which is to be used for offices.
Enlarged space will make possible a much needed reorganiza-tion
of exhibits, and careful plans have been worked out for this
purpose. The various collections have been analyzed and are to
be arranged by subject and by period. The division of the new
quarters into a number of separate rooms will make it possible
to follow these plans effectively.
The Collector planned and arranged the Fort Raleigh Museum
exhibit for the celebration on Roanoke Island of the 350th anni-versary
of the coming of the "Lost Colony," 1937. She assisted
in arranging the exhibits for the same museum the following
year.
In the fall of 1937 a special exhibit commemorating the 150th
anniversary of the Federal Constitution was arranged in the
Hall of History. In March, 1938, an exhibit of North Carolina
in the Revolution was prepared at the Sir Walter Hotel, Raleigh,
in connection with the annual state convention of the Daughters
of the American Revolution.
Much thought has been given to the problem of erecting a
suitable memorial to the late Col. Fred A. Olds, creator of the
Hall of History. Such a memorial was authorized by the Legis-lature
in 1937, when $500 was appropriated for the purpose. In
accordance with the modern museum practice of erecting "living"
memorials in the form of special memorial exhibits, the His-torical
Commission, following the recommendation of the Col-lector,
resolved that the Olds memorial should take the form of
a special exhibit on the history of transportation in North Caro-lina.
A model of the airplane used by the Wright brothers in
their famous flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 has been secured, and
arrangements have been made to obtain models of the Hattie
Butner stagecoach, of a Nissen covered wagon, and of other
vehicles relating to the history of the state. No stone is being
left unturned in the effort to provide a memorial which will be
worthy of the founder of the museum.
As in past years, tens of thousands of visitors have come to
the Hall of History. Classes of school children, who formed a
N. C. Historical Commission 27
large proportion of the visitors, have been shown the various
exhibits. The Collector has co-operated with the schools by giv-ing
talks on special topics to history classes and by helping
individual children obtain information on topics assigned to
them. She prepared the script for Tar Heel Tales, a series of
radio broadcasts from Station WPTF, Raleigh, in the spring of
1938.
Since in the past the acceptance of loans has given rise to
various problems, this practice has now been abandoned except
in rare cases. Loans are now accepted only upon the advice of a
special advisory committee.
Material accessioned during the biennium is as follows
:
Books:
1. Facsimile of Thomas Hariot, A Brief and True Report of the New
Found Land of Virginia. London, 1588. Given by Dr. Randolph G.
Adams, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
2. Lionel Yexley, The Third Great War Number of the Fleet Annual and
Year Book. London, 1917. Loaned by Mr. Frank King, Raleigh.
Clothing
:
1. Dress-coat and hat worn by R. M. Saunders and court dress and train
worn by Mrs. Saunders at the Spanish court when the former was
minister to Spain. Given by Mrs. Bradley S. Johnson, Richmond,
Virginia. .
2. Pair of hand-tanned leather shoes. Loaned by Mrs. V^. B. Humphries,
Woodsdale.
3. Two ladies' hats made about 1857. Given by Mr. J. E. Adams, Raleigh.
4. Silk scarf with map of Greenville, South Carolina. Loaned by Mrs.
N. E. Edgerton, Sr., Raleigh.
5. Gloves, fur cap, and fur cape of General James G. Martin. Given by
Miss Lida S. Martin, Norfolk, Virginia.
Coins:
1. Virginia Dare-Sir Walter Raleigh commemorative half-dollar. Given
by Roanoke Island Historical Society, Manteo.
2. Four Spanish milled dollars, and one quarter-dollar. Given by Mr.
Southgate Jones, Durham.
Currency
:
1. Two North Carolina five-cent notes, 1863. Given by Mr. Amos P.
Breneisor, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
2 Two five-cent notes, one ten-cent note, one fifty-cent note, and one
dollar note, all issued by the Bank of Tennessee, December 1, 1861.
Given by Mr. W. McK. Bryan, Hermitage, Tennessee.
3. Twenty-dollar Confederate note. Given by Miss Sophie D. Busbee,
Raleigh. ,^ tt i-.
4. One-hundred-dollar certificate of exchange, 1865. Given by Mr. H. B.
Hunter, Raleigh. . .-, .-^
5 Three pieces North Carolina colonial currency and eight pieces North
Carolina currency issued during the Civil War. Given by Mr. South-gate
Jones, Durham. .^ .. . o. ^
5. One collection North Carolina bank notes. Given by United States
District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, Raleigh.
Flags
:
1. Henry Clay campaign banner. Given by Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Camp,
Sanford.
28 Seventeenth Biennial Report
2. Two Whig campaign banners, 1840. Given by Miss Bettie Caldwell,
Greensboro.
3. Confederate flag of the Fourth Regiment, North Carolina State Troops.
Given by Mr. James R. Seltzer, Steubenville, Ohio.
4. Confederate flag which was flown over Fort Caswell during the Civil
War. Given by Mrs. John Huske Anderson, Raleigh.
5. Confederate flag made by the women of Washington, North Carolina,
and presented to the Washington Grays. Loaned by Mr. James Mc-
Kimmon Saunders, Williamston.
6. Fragment of regimental flag presented to the Pamlico Rifles during
the Civil War. Loaned by Mr. James McKimmon Saunders, Wil-liamston.
7. North Carolina flag, design adopted 1861. Loaned by Mr. Samuel W.
Worthington, Wilson.
8. North Carolina flag, present design. Given by United States Flag
and Signal Company, Norfolk, Virginia.
Maps
:
1. Historical map of Rowan County. Given by Miss Carrie Hammer,
Salisbury.
2. Photostat map of the world from Sebastian Munster, Cosmographiae
Universalis, Lib. VI. Basileae, 1550. Purchased from Carolina Blue
Printers, Raleigh.
Miscellaneous :
1. Medal commemorating 350th anniversary of the birth of Virginia Dare,
Given by Dr. C. C. Crittenden, Raleigh.
2. Desk of Miss Sophia Partridge, teacher in Raleigh. Given by Miss
Sophia Partridge Busbee, Raleigh.
2. Section of hand-made rope of basswood bark. Given by Mr. H. C.
Wilburn, Waynesville.
4. Gavel made from holly tree which grew at Fort Raleigh. Loaned
by State Literary and Historical Association of North Carolina.
5. Pair of wool cards. Given by Mrs. Ada C. Ehrman, Raleigh.
6. Six Indian arrowheads. Given by Mr. Horace Faulkner, Dover.
7. Three loving cups awarded for accomplishment in music and poetry
Loaned by North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs.
8. Footwarmer. Loaned by Mrs. T. A. Brooks, Bath.
9. Wax doll of 1870. Given by Miss Lizzie Lee, Raleigh.
10. Piece of cloth used in the wings of the Wright aeroplane. Given by
Mrs. K. B. Blood, New York.
11. Sewing kit which formerly belonged to Miss Sophia Partridge. Given
by Miss Sophia Partridge Busbee, Raleigh.
12. Piece of beam from the White House. Given by Mrs. Charles F.
Taylor, Goldsboro.
13. Hand-worked sampler. Loaned by Mrs. Margaret Chapin, Raleigh.
14. Self-acting blow torch. Given by Mr. Billy Howell, Raleigh.
Pictures
:
1. Moss picture of house near Pittsboro in which Cornwallis is said to
have spent the night on his march to Wilmington after the battle of
Guilford Courthouse, 1781. Made by Mrs. Lucy W. Jackson. Given
by Miss Carrie Jackson, Pittsboro.
2. Crayon portrait of Kiffin Rockwell. Given by Mrs. Loula Rockwell
and Mr. Paul A. Rockwell, Asheville.
3. Miniature of William Francis Collins. Bequeathed by Miss Katherine
W. Collins, New Orleans, Louisiana.
4. Photograph of Judaculla rock. Given by Mr. Thomas A. Cox, CuUow-hee.
5. Photograph of Kiffin Rockwell II with portrait of Kiffin Rockwell,
taken at the unveiling of the portrait of Kiffin Rockwell listed above.
Given by Mr. J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Jr., Raleigh.
6. Photograph of the birthplace of Governor Vance. Given by Mrs. Edith
W. Tait, Montreat.
N. C. Historical Commission 29
7. Drawing of "Pleasant Gardens," the Joseph McDowell home, McDowell
County. Given by Mrs. A. G. Barnett, Asheville.
8. Photograph of a Negro baptism about 1903, "Wake County. Given by
Miss Sophie D. Busbee, Raleigh.
9. Daguerreotype of Captain William Hamilton Overman. Given by Mrs.
B. K. Van Wyck, Anderson, South Carolina.
10. Oil portrait of John White, agent for the state of North Carolina to
Great Britain during the Civil War. Given by Mr. John W. Arrington,
Greenville, South Carolina.
11. Picture of crypt of John Paul Jones in the Naval Academy, Annapolis,
Maryland. Given by Mrs. Charles F. Taylor, Goldsboro.
12. Engraving of Joseph Holden, Albion Tourgee, Robert W. Winston,
James A. Weston, A. C. Wilson, Charles D. Mclver, John Pool, and
John A. Wheeler. Given by Mr. Charles L. van Noppen, Greensboro.
13. Photostat negative of Visscher engraving of London, 1616. Given by
Roanoke Island Historical Association, Manteo.
14. Nine photographs of Indian mound in Montgomery County and cere-monies
initiating excavation of the mound by the North Carolina
Archeological Society. Purchased from The Journal-Sentinel, Winston-
Salem.
15. Photographs of paintings of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Richard
Grenville. Purchased from Mr. Albert Barden, Raleigh.
16. Photograph of ruins of Saint Philips Church at old Brunswick. Given
by Mr. H. K. Witherspoon, Raleigh.
17. Photograph of exterior of John Gray Blount home in Washington,
N. C. Given by Mrs. William B. Rodman, Washington.
18. Lithograph of monument at Fort Raleigh. Given by Miss Mary Thorn-ton,
Chapel Hill.
19. Photograph of engraving of Elizabeth Throckmorton. Purchased from
Mr. Albert Barden, Raleigh.
20. Thirty-nine photographs of Indian mounds in North Carolina. Given
by Mr. H. C. Wilburn, Waynesville.
21. Photographs of home of William Blount near New Bern, Richard
Dobbs Spaight's grave, and historic cypress tree at New Bern. Given
by Miss Gertrude Carraway, New Bern.
22. Photograph of birthplace of Daniel Boone, marker to Boone at Farm-ington,
North Carolina, and foundation of Boone cabin at Farmington.
Given by Mr. George H. Maurice, Eagle Springs.
23. Two photographs of Franklin County courthouse. Given by Dr. D. T.
Smithwick, Louisburg.
24. Photograph of marble statuette of George Washington in Virginia
Historical Society. Given by Mr. L. McK. Judkins, Richmond, Va.
25. Five prints from nineteenth century magazines illustrating historic
events in North Carolina. Purchased from American Library Service,
New York.
26. Photographs of scenes at New Garden (Guilford College) in 1874-75.
Purchased from Mr. M. C. Henley, Guilford College.
27. Photograph of Robert E. Lee. Given by Dr. C. C. Crittenden, Raleigh.
28. Six photostats of engravings of Indians from De Bry edition of Harlot's
Virginia. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
29. Photograph of Fred A. Olds. Given by Mrs. Alexander Krett, Raleigh.
30. Eight pictures of items related to 0. Henry. Purchased from Mr.
Early W. Bridges, Greensboro.
31. Souvenir calendar of Bath, 1905. Given by Mrs. W. B. Rodman, Wash-ington.
32. Nineteen photographs of articles owned by Richard Dobbs Spaight
and the Blount family. Purchased from Mr. Elliot Lyman Fisher,
Asheville.
33. Photograph of miniature of Maurice Moore. Purchased from Mr.
Albert Barden, Raleigh.
34. Pictures of the Presidents of the United States. Given by Mrs
William West, Raleigh.
30 Seventeenth Biennial Report
35. Eleven photostats showing methods used by Indians in making various
articles. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
36. Photograph of remains of home of Anna MacNeill (mother of James
Whistler, the artist) near Clarkton. Given by Mrs. William H. Elliott,
Fayetteville.
37. Print covering the erecting card of the old locomotive "Raleigh."
Given by Mr. E. L. Roy, Norfolk, Virginia.
38. Photostats of pictures of the old hotel at Kittrell, tobacco warehouse
at Durham, and the first steamboat on the Cape Fear. Purchased
from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
39. Photostats of pictures showing methods of transporting tobacco in
the 18th and 19th centuries. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers,
Raleigh.
40. Photostat drawings followed in constructing boats in Fort Raleigh
museum representing vessels used to bring colonists to Roanoke
Island in the 16th century. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers,
Raleigh.
41. Photostat diagram showing position of discoidal stones and "bowling
alley" uncovered in the excavation of an Indian mound in Georgia.
Given by the Roanoke Island Historical Association, Manteo.
Photostats and Facsimiles of Documents :
1. Photostats of three broadsides issued in North Carolina on the Federal
Constitution. Purchased from the United States Constitution Sesqui-centennial
Commission, Washington, D. C.
2. Facsimiles of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of
Independence. Purchased from United States Constitution Sesqui-centennial
Commission, Washington, D. C.
3. Photostat of letter from George Washington to Richard Dobbs Spaight
concerning the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.
Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
4. Photostat of order of Chowan County court, 1747, setting rates to be
charged by ordinary keepers. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers,
Raleigh.
5. Photostat of bond given by Elizabeth Horniblow, Richard Benbury,
and James Horniblow, 1803, for license to operate ordinary at Edenton.
Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
6. Photostat of first page of log book of the schooner Franklin, April,
1788. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
7. Photostat of bill of lading for goods shipped on the sloop Salley from
New Port to North Carolina, July 26, 1769. Purchased from Carolina
Blue Printers, Raleigh.
Photostats of Title Pages and Text of Books:
1. Title page of Sebastian Munster, Cosmographiae Universalis, Lib. VI.
Basileae, 1550. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
2. Title page of Richard Hakluyt, Principall Navigations, Voiages and
Discoveries of the English Nation. London, 1589. Purchased from
Carolina Blue Printers, Raleigh.
3. Title page and first three pages of Peter d'Anghiera, The Historic of
Travayle. London, 1577. Purchased from Carolina Blue Printers,
Raleigh.
Stamps and Cachets:
1. Stamp issued by France in honor of the sesquicentennial celebration
of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. Given by
Dr. C. C. Crittenden, Raleigh.
2. Envelope mailed in Auckland, New Zealand, brought by the Samoan
Clipper in the first package of air mail to leave New Zealand. Given
by Mr. John A. Park, Raleigh.
3. Mail envelope, first Baltimore-Bermuda flight, first United States
transatlantic air mail. Given by Mr. John A. Park, Raleigh.
N. C. Historical Commission 31
4. Envelope from Cristobal, C. Z., commemorating the twenty-fifth anni-versary
of the first ocean-to-ocean flight over the Panama Canal, made
by Robert G. Fowler in 1913, and an envelope dated May 15, 1938,
from Washington, D. C, bearing the post office and American Airlines
cachets, the air mail stamp commemorating the twentieth anniversary
of air mail service, and cachet of Flag-ship Station. Given by Mr.
John A. Park, Raleigh.
5. Post card carrying air mail stamp and cachet of commemorative flight
from Kitty Hawk to Dayton, Ohio, in honor of the Wright Brothers,
marking the twentieth anniversary of the inauguration of regular air
mail service. Loaned by Mr. Samuel W. Worthington, Wilson.
6. Air mail envelope carrying air mail week cachets from Ponca City,
Oklahoma, and Warrenton, North Carolina. Given by Dr. C. C. Crit-tenden,
Raleigh.
7. Envelope carrying Juneau-Fairbanks first flight cachet. Given by
Mr. John A. Park, Raleigh.
8. Envelope with cachet of commemorative flight from Kitty Hawk to
Dayton on twentieth anniversary of the inauguration of regular air
mail service. Given by Mr. John A. Park, Raleigh.
9. Envelope with air mail week cachet of Crewe, Virginia. Given by Mr.
John Crittenden, Crewe, Virginia.
War Relics:
1. Part of sword cane. Purchased from Mr. T. H. Liles, Richmond,
Virginia.
2. German World War helmet. Loaned by Mr. Frank King, Raleigh.
3. Revolver used about 1870. Given by Mr. George William Britton,
Ocean View, Virginia.
4. Gun of Civil War period. Loaned by Mr. G. S. High, Neuse.
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION PROJECTS
As during the 1934-1936 biennium, a large part of the time
and energy of the Secretary and other members of the Commis-sion's
staff has been devoted to various Federal relief projects.
A total of more than $200,000 (five times the biennial appro-priation
of the Commission) has been spent on the various
Works Progress Administration projects with which the Com-mission
has co-operated, and a great deal of historical work,
which could not have been handled by the Commission alone,
has been prosecuted vigorously and successfully.
As previously, these Federal relief projects fall under five
heads: (1) miscellaneous projects, (2) the Fort Raleigh restora-tion,
(3) a National Youth Administration project, (4) the
Survey of Federal Archives, and (5) the Historical Records
Survey.
(1) Miscellaneous projects. Workers from the Library
Project, the Art Project, and other projects have assisted in the
preparation of catalogs and indexes, and have performed various
tasks which were assigned to them.
(2) The Fort Raleigh restoration. The buildings under con-struction
at the end of the preceding biennium have been com-
32 Seventeenth Biennial Report
pleted, a large open-air amphitheatre has been built, and other
work has been done.
(3) A National Youth Administration project. Under the
direction of Mr. D. L. Corbitt, this project has continued the
work of abstracting the marriage bonds in the archives of the
Commission. To date 664 boxes or approximately 250,000
bonds have been abstracted. Of this number about 240,000 have
been verified, and approximately 45,000 have been alphabetized
and typed. Also, about 72,000 names in John W. Moore, com-piler,
Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the
States, have been indexed. There remain only about 15,000
names to be indexed, after which all the names are to be verified,
arranged, and typed.
(4) The Survey of Federal Archives. This project, begun
on a nation-wide basis early in 1936, was continued on that basis
through June 30, 1937. During that period the Secretary of the
Historical Commission acted as Regional Director of the Survey
in North Carolina and Miss Mattie Erma Edwards, who had
been granted a leave of absence as Collector for the Hall of
History, served as Assistant Regional Director. After June,
1937, the project was organized on a state-wide basis under the
direction of Miss Emily Bridgers. At the end of the biennium
the preliminary listing of Federal records in North Carolina had
been completed and a descriptive inventory of these records was
in process of preparation. Copies of the various sections of this
inventory were being placed in the Historical Commission's
archives, and it was expected that they would prove useful to
researchers.
(5) The Historical Records Survey. From the standpoint of
the Historical Comission, this was the most important of all the
Works Progress Administration projects with which it was con-nected.
Begun early in 1936, the Survey reached a high level
of activity during the 1936-1938 biennium, and a total of almost
$150,000 was spent in North Carolina during this period. With
its major task, the inventorying of county records, well in hand,
the Survey broadened its scope to include the listing of town,
state, and church records, the preparation of calendars of manu-script
collections, the listing of early American imprints, and
the systematized collecting and filing of vital statistics from the
older cemeteries in the state. By the end of the biennium the
first volume of The Historical Records of North Carolina (pub-lished
by the Historical Commission), containing lists of the
N. C. Historical Commission 33
records of 26 counties, Alamance through Columbus, had been
published; the second volume, covering 40 additional counties,
Craven through Moore, was in press; and copy for the third
volume of county lists, which was expected to include the last 34
counties, Nash through Yancey, was being prepared. In addi-tion,
initial listings had been made of more than 70 per cent of
the state records and of the archives of more than 1,000 towns;
more than 1,200 church records forms had been filled out; more
than 1,000 pages of calendars of manuscript collections had been
prepared; more than 2,000 cemeteries had been surveyed; and
more than 69,000 individual tombstone cards had been typed and
filed.
From the beginning of the Survey until June 30, 1937, the
Secretary of the Historical Commission acted as its State Di-rector
and Mr. Dan Lacy was Assistant State Director. On
July 1, 1937, Mr. Lacy became State Director and at the end of
the biennium still held that position.
FINANCES
The expenditures of the Historical Commission are made from
biennial legislative appropriations, as allowed quarterly by the
Budget Bureau. The following classified table shows the appro-priations
and expenditures for each year of the biennium, 1936-
1938:
1936-1937
Appropriation Expenditures Appropriation Expenditures
Salaries and Wages
Supplies
Postage, Telegrams, Telephone, Express.
Drayage
Travel
Printing and Binding
Repairs
General Expense
Equipment
Additions and Betterments
Totals
Less estimated receipts
Net expenditures from Appropriation..
$12,955
190
312
500
3,371
15
54
522
3,075
$20,994
700
$20,295
$12,950
189
309
497
3,336
11
53
521
2,796
$20, 662
677
$19,985
$15,125
300
315
650
4.998
25
77
733
1,400
$23,623
1,780
$21,843
$14,961
297
288
539
4,939
25
73
689
455
$22,266
1,790
$20,476
34 Seventeenth Biennial Report
FORT RALEIGH
In May, 1936, before the beginning of the biennium covered
by the present report, the Historical Commission offered the
Fort Raleigh tract to the National Park Service and that agency
undertook to investigate the history of the site. As a result of
this investigation, the Park Service announced in June, 1938,
that it was ready to accept title to the fort. At the end of the
biennium actual conveyance had not yet been made, but the
transaction was expected to be completed within the near future.
In the summer of 1937 a celebration of the 350th anniversary
of the coming of "the Lost Colony" was held at Fort Raleigh.
The chief attraction was Paul Green's historical drama, "The
Lost Colony," which was presented in an amphitheatre at the
fort several nights each week from July 4 through Labor Day.
The play drew tens of thousands of visitors and succeeded so
brilliantly that plans were made to continue it the following
summer.
NEW QUARTERS
Probably the biennium's most significant development for the
Historical Commission has been the allotment to it of space in
a new building. Years ago the present quarters on the second
floor of the State Administration Building, completed in 1914,
were outgrown, but, largely because of the business depression
beginning in 1929, no remedial action was taken until the
1936-38 biennium.
The successful movement for new quarters got under way in
1936. The State Literary and Historical Association, which had
been instrumental in the creation of the Historical Commission
and which had always been closely allied with that agency, at
its annual session on December 3-4, 1936, passed a resolution
authorizing the Association's President to appoint a committee
to bring to the attention of the Legislature at its forthcoming
session the Commission's need for more space. President W. T.
Laprade of Durham appointed the following legislative commit-tee:
Willis Smith, Raleigh, Chairman; A. R. Newsome, Chapel
Hill; W. D. Pruden, Edenton; J. M. Broughton, Raleigh; and
Mrs. J. V. Higham, Raleigh. At a meeting in January, 1937,
the committee discussed the proper method of procedure and
the Chairman agreed to present the matter to the proper author-ities.
He later stated the case to the Governor.
N. C. Historical Commission 35
In the meantime other state departments had been clamoring
for more space, and the Governor appointed a commission to
investigate and report. Every state department claiming to
need additional space was invited to state its requirements at a
hearing of the commission. At such a hearing the Secretary of
the Historical Commission explained the needs of that agency.
As a result of the report of the Governor's commission of
investigation, the Legislature passed a bill appropriating $675,-
000 for the erection of a new building and the Governor ap-pointed
a building commission to carry on this work. Judge
Walter D. Siler of Siler City, a member of the House of Repre-sentatives,
was made Chairman, and Mr. Willis Smith was
appointed a member. The building commission purchased a
site at the northwest corner of Edenton and Salisbury streets,
diagonally across from Capitol Square, and employed the firm
of Northup and O'Brien of Winston-Salem as architects.
The Historical Commission was allowed to deal directly with
the architects, and several conferences were held with them. The
Commission had already assembled a great deal of information
concerning the quarters of historical agencies and museums else-where,
and this information was used to good advantage. The
building commission assigned to the Historical Commission the
entire first floor and approximately one-half the basement floor
of the new building.
The essential features of the new quarters are as follows
:
(1) For the Hall of History there will be six large display
rooms and three smaller display rooms, together with an office
and a work room for the Collector and her assistants and sev-eral
storage rooms of varying sizes. The latest and most
approved devices of museum display will be employed, and
it is believed that considerable improvement over the present
system will result.
(2) More adequate office and work space will be provided for
the staff. Most of the offices will be on the first floor, and the
several basement rooms will be used mainly for receiving, pack-ing,
photography, the cleaning and repair of manuscripts, and
similar purposes.
(3) There will be suitable search rooms for the public. At
the present time the researchers who use the manuscripts in the
Commission's archives have to be crowded into one small office.
In the new building they will have both a large search room and
36 Seventeenth Biennial Report
a small search room. In each room there will be special desk,
chair, and lighting equipment.
(4) Most essential of all, there will be far more stack space
than at present. In the existing quarters, archives are stored
not only in the one small archive room, but also in the base-ment,
in offices, and in every other available place. In the new
building there will be three large archive rooms, one on the first
floor and two in the basement. Each room will be sufficiently
high-pitched to include two tiers of stacks.
At the end of the biennium construction of the new building
was proceeding apace and the work was expected to be com-pleted
within a few months. It was believed that in its new
quarters the Historical Commission would be able to serve the
public more efficiently than ever before.
A PROGRAM FOR THE FUTURE
The North Carolina Historical Commission enjoys an enviable
position as one of the leading historical agencies in the entire
nation. Created and raised to a high standard of achievement
under the able administration of Dr. R. D. W. Connor, now
Archivist of the United States, the Commission, though sup-ported
by smaller appropriations than a number of similar
agencies throughout the country, neverthless is recognized as a
pioneer in historical work. On no account should this position
be lost or should the Commission fall behind similar agencies in
other states.
For more than a decade the Commission has been so crowded
for space that it could not function in the most efficient manner
or take full advantage of its various opportunities. Now that
larger and better designed quarters are to be provided, however,
an enlarged program can be undertaken. Probably it will not
be possible to inaugurate this program all at once. Rather, each
part will have to be undertaken as opportunity offers.
As the time approaches when the Commission's new quarters
will be ready, it seems appropriate to consider what problems
will be faced and what ends should be sought within the next
few years.
First and most fundamental of all, the new quarters will need
to be adequately equipped. Three large rooms have been ear-marked
for archives, and these should be provided with shelving,
manuscript boxes, and other archive equipment. For the several
display and storage rooms designed for the Hall of History,
N. C. Historical Commission 37
additional museum cases and other items will be needed. It
would be illogical for the state to provide this space and then
to fail to equip it suitably.
Second, certain scientific and technical equipment will be
needed. Within the past few years a number of new devices for
archives have been developed, and the Commission should make
use of at least a portion of these, as follows
(a) A microfilm camera, a projecting machine, and related
equipment. These devices, invented only a short time ago, make
possible the reproduction of a manuscript or a printed page at
very low cost. By using them the Commission will be able to
secure copies of large numbers of manuscripts of which the
originals cannot be obtained, thereby serving users of manu-scripts
by making the latter available at a central point, and at
the same time insuring that if the original document is destroyed
a copy will still remain in existence. These devices will also
make it possible for the Commission to provide the public at low
cost with copies of manuscripts in its archives. The microfilm
is rapidly becoming indispensable for an up-to-date archive
agency.
(b) A photostating machine. Frequently it is necessary to
have made full-sized or near-full-sized facsimiles of manuscripts,
either to be placed in the Commission's archives or to be sold
to the public. At the present time this work is done for the
Commission by a commercial concern in Raleigh, but it could
be more advantageously performed by the Commission itself.
The cost could be met in part by the profit from the sale of photo-stats.
The Library of Congress and many other agencies are
provided with such equipment.
(c) A fumigating vault. As is generally known, one of the
gravest dangers to manuscripts is from the various types of
insects which attack them. In a fumigating vault all such insect
life can be easily and quickly killed—as has been shown by the
success of this process in the National Archives. The purchase
of such equipment would be a wise investment for the state,
yielding large returns in the preservation of priceless old papers.
(d) A laminating machine. In the National Archives and
elsewhere a new process for preserving old manuscripts, known
as lamination, is being developed. On each side of the paper to
be repaired is laid a sheet of cellulose acetate, with perhaps other
reinforcing transparent or semi-transparent paper. The whole
is placed in a steam press for a few minutes, and when it comes
38 Seventeenth Biennial Report
out has been welded into a single unit. In this way a fragile old
sheet of paper can be made stronger and more durable even
than when it was new.
Third, an enlarged program of acquiring and preserving his-torical
records should be undertaken. This is the fundamental
work of the Commission, and no other activity or interest should
be allowed to interfere with it. Several different classifications
of records are involved:
(a) The state archives. If the Commission is to do its full
duty along this line, it will eventually work out a system whereby
the records of every state department and agency are trans-ferred
to its jurdisdiction as soon as they become non-current. A
two-fold benefit will result : On the one hand there will be made
available badly needed space in the various state offices, none of
which are provided with sufficient room to house quantities of
old records. On the other hand, the preservation and expert
care of these records will be insured. The Commission is not
ready at the present time to undertake this function in its en-tirety,
but a move in that direction should soon be made and
the ultimate goal should constantly be borne in mind.
(b) The county archives. In the courthouses of the state's
one hundred counties are vast quantities of old records, useless
in the conduct of current business but valuable for historica*
purposes. Many of these records are carelessly stored in attics,
in halls, in warehouses, in damp basements, and the like, where
they are steadily deteriorating and are constantly in danger of
total destruction. A large quantity of the county records have
already been brought to the archives of the Historical Commis-sion,
but many more should follow.
(c) The records of individuals, merchants, churches, and the
like. Systematic effort should be made to round up such ma-terials
and to provide for their permanent preservation. Already
the Commission and other agencies have accomplished a great
deal along this line, but much remains to be done. It is a work
which will never be completed and which should be continued
indefinitely.
Fourth, after records of various types have been acquired,
they should be cleaned, repaired, classified, cataloged, and placed
on the shelves. This is a tedious and laborious process, but is
absolutely essential. It is of little use to collect records unless
they receive adequate care and unless they are made available
to the public.
N. C. Historical Commission 39
Fifth, an expanded program of publication should be under-taken.
In the past the Commission has published more than two
dozen volumes of source materials and lists of such materials,
together with numerous pamphlets. It publishes The North
Carolina Historical Review, begun in 1924 and now in its fif-teenth
volume. These publications represent a valuable invest-ment
for the state, for they have done much to acquaint the
nation with North Carolina history, concerning which a few
decades ago most Americans were almost totally ignorant.
Before 1931 the Commission was publishing every year, in
addition to The Revieiv and various pamphlets, one or more
volumes of documents. During the business depression of the
early 1930's publication of such volumes was suspended, but in
1935 the program was resumed. At the present time one volume
is being published each year.
This rate should be accelerated. In the Commission's archives
and elsewhere in the state are many important series of records,
official and unofficial, which ought to be printed. In addition,
a larger number of pamphlets and leaflets of general popular
interest should be produced, especially for distribution to school
children.
Sixth, the Hall of History should increase its eifectiveness.
In the past the average historical museum was a catch-all for
almost anything old and curious, and seemed to attract especially
guns, uniforms, and other paraphernalia of war. Recently, how-ever,
many new practices have been adopted by such institutions.
Not only have they become much more careful about what they
acquire, but they have developed new and improved methods of
displaying their acquisitions. The chief purpose of the Hall of
History should be to tell the story of North Carolina's past,
simply and so that anyone can understand it. Displays should
be arranged according to a well planned system, and their
effectiveness should be increased by such devices as dioramas,
varied types of cases, lighting within cases, and the like. The
present staff of the Commission is aware of the possibilities
along such lines and rapid progress toward the desired goal
may be expected.
Seventh, the historical-highway-marker program should be
continued. The markers already in place have won general
approval and have shown the way to many significant historic
spots previously unknown to the public. The work should be
continued until every important historic place in the state has
40 Seventeenth Biennial Report
been marked. Necessarily, the program will have to proceed
slowly and carefully, and several years will be required to com-plete
it.
Eighth, historical places throughout the state should receive
better care than at present. The Commission's aid is frequently
sought in the care of old houses, of the graves of eminent per-sons,
and of other historic spots, but at present it has no funds
for such a purpose. Perhaps the best solution will be the crea-tion
of a society to acquire and care for such places. An example
of what can be done is furnished by the Association for the Pres-ervation
of Virginia Antiquities. Formed half a century ago, this
corporation now owns property worth perhaps half a million
dollars and is caring for a number of historic old houses, some
of which otherwise would have been destroyed. Though the
Commission would co-operate in many ways with such an organi-zation,
the latter would have a separate and distinct existence.
Ninth, the Commission should continue to co-operate with such
Federal relief projects as the Historical Records Survey, the
Survey of Federal Archives, and the National Youth Adminis-tration
project which it has been sponsoring. While such projects
are limited in that they are designed primarily for the relief of
the needy, they nevertheless make it possible for the Commission
to perform various important tasks which otherwise could not
be undertaken.
Tenth, interest in local history should be promoted and local
historical organizations should be encouraged. In the state there
should be several times the present number of local historical
societies. A history of every county should be published. Better
care of local historical records should be encouraged, for it is
not practicable to place all these records in a central depository.
Finally, the Historical Commission should be ever vigilant to
take advantage of every opening to increase its usefulness and
to serve the public. It should study and try to meet the needs
of the people of North Carolina and of the nation. It should
keep informed of what similar organizations elsewhere in the
United States and in foreign countries are doing, so as to remain
abreast of new developments and methods. The Commission
has a fine opportunity to serve. Every possible advantage should
be taken of this opportunity.
Respectfully submitted,
C. C. Crittenden,
Raleigh, N. C, July 1, 1938. Secretary.
^