Abstract: The Lewis family arrived in Raleigh, N.C., in 1923, when John D. Lewis Sr. took a job as a district manager for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company of Durham, N.C. He and his wife, Luella Alice Cox Lewis, and their two children, J.D. Lewis (John D. Lewis Jr.) (1919-2007) and Vera Lewis Embree (1921-2004), lived in southeast Raleigh and were members of First Baptist Church. J.D. Lewis was a Morehouse College graduate, one of the first African American members of the United States Marine Corps, and the first African American radio and television personality, corporate director of personnel, and director of minority affairs for WRAL of the Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC). J.D. Lewis also worked as the special markets representative for the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company; as the project director of GROW, Incorporated, a federally funded program for high school dropouts; and as the coordinator of manpower planning for the state of North Carolina. Lewis was active in many civic and community organizations as well. Vera Lewis Embree (1921-2004) graduated from the Palmer Institute for Young Women and Hampton Institute. She built a successful and celebrated career as a choreographer and professor of dance at the University of Michigan. The collection consists of papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials that chiefly relate to J.D. Lewis’s working life and the civic and community organizations he supported. Lewis’s career is documented by materials from Capitol Broadcasting Company, including editorials he wrote and produced; GROW, Incorporated; Manpower; Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company; National Association of Market Developers; and the National Business League. Lewis’s civic leadership is evident in records of the Raleigh Community Relations Committee, which worked to integrate Raleigh public schools; political campaigns; and the Team of Progress, a group interested in political leadership at the city and county levels of government. Community organizations represented in the collection include the Garner Road YMCA; Alpha Kappa Alpha Debutante Ball; the Eastside Neighborhood Task Force; the Citizens Committee on Schools; Omega Psi Phi; and Meadowbrook Country Club, which was founded in 1959 by a small group of African American community leaders. Other materials document the Method Post Office dedication in 1965; the Montford Point Marine Association; and a youth charrette, possibly on integration of Durham schools. There are also clippings and printed materials on such topics as black power, African American history, Morehouse College, and Shaw University. There are several issues of Perfect Home, a home design and decorating magazine published by John W. Winters, a real estate broker, home builder, city councilman, state senator, and civic leader. Family materials are mainly biographical and include newspaper clippings, funeral programs, school materials, awards and certificates, and photographs. There are a few family letters, including one from 1967 with a first-hand account of rioting on Twelfth Street in Detroit and a copy of a 10 January 1967 letter in which the Lewis family opposed the selection of Mark Twain’s Mississippi Melody for student performance on the grounds that it perpetuated stereotyped images of African Americans. Photographs include portraits and snapshots of four generations of the Lewis and related Cox families, documenting family life from the 1910s through the 2000s. There are non-family group portraits of Omega Psi Phi members of Durham, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company employees on its 21st anniversary, and of unidentified groups at other civic and community events. There is one folder of J.D. Lewis photographs that depict him in various work contexts. Also included is a portrait of a young Clarence Lightner, who owned a funeral home business and later served as the first African American mayor of Raleigh. Audiovisual materials chiefly relate to J.D. Lewis’s work at Capitol Broadcasting Company/WRAL and his interest in African American community and history. Included are audiotapes of his editorials for WRAL; videotape of Harambee, a public affairs program about the concerns of the general public and especially African Americans; audiotape of musical performances, possibly for Teen-Age Frolic, a teenage dance and variety show; audiotape of Adventures in Negro History, an event sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Raleigh; and film of unidentified wedding and seashore scenes. Also included are several published educational film strips on African American history with accompanying audio.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Of particular note are the letters J.D. Lewis received from musicians and students desiring to appear on Teen-Age Frolic, the dance/variety show Lewis hosted on WRAL (Folder 140). There are also numerous editorials Lewis did during his years as a broadcaster, on a variety of topics (Folders 21-140). Additionally, there is corresponding audio for many of these transcripts (See Series 3).

Folder 16 also contains a 1967 letter with a first-hand account of the rioting in Detroit and a copy of a 10 January 1967 letter in which the Lewis family opposed the selection of Mark Twain’s Mississippi Melody for a school-wide student performance on the grounds “it will by no means further relationships in an integrated situation, where students as a whole, do not have a sufficient background or appreciation of Negro History to comprehend this as perhaps an exaggerrated situation of a particular and past era, but rather, would perpetuate an image already deeply established as stereotyped.”

There are also numerous photographs of the Lewis and Cox Family, including J.D. and Vera Lewis’s father during his time at Morehouse College. There are also photographs of J.D. Lewis on the set of Teen-Age Frolic, introducing different bands, and at different community events (Image folders 1-10).

Abstract: George W. Robertson (fl. 1807-1855) of Caswell County, N.C., was a physician who also operated a tobacco warehouse and bought and sold slaves. He married Sarah Allen (1803-1871) and together they had eight children, including Willie P.M. Robertson, who enlisted with the Yanceyville Greys, Company A, 13th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, and died at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill in Virginia. The collection documents the slave and tobacco dealings of George W. Robertson and his business partners in Yanceyville, Caswell County, N.C., as well as the Civil War and Reconstruction experiences of other Robertson family members and friends. Financial papers consist of records with the names, ages, and prices of enslaved people purchased and sold by Robertson and his partners. The slave and tobacco ledger chiefly contains a record of purchase and sale of tobacco, but there are also numerous references to buying and selling slaves in North Carolina and Virginia and evidence of three separate trips to Alabama to sell slaves. Letters describe two of the slave sales trips; anticipation of the Civil War; courtship; the Yanceyville homefront during the war; the concerns of Eliza Baldwin Skidmore Carraway, a newlywed bride in Clinton, Miss., in 1860 and later in the aftermath of the fall of Vicksburg when her slaves departed and Union soldiers encamped on her land; and Mary Royal Robertson Alexander’s everyday concerns in 1870, including her fear of and frustration with African Americans. Other materials include clippings of recipes, housekeeping advice, and home remedies for illnesses and pests; a tintype of Willie P.M. Robertson in Confederate Army uniform; and several copies of the Bible and other volumes, some with marginal notes recording births, deaths, marriages, and thoughts of their owners. There is also a file of background information on curing yellow or bright leaf tobacco; family history; Willie P.M. Robertson’s death and the Battle of Gaines’ Mill; and transcriptions from the slave and tobacco ledger and of the marginal notes in Sallie Robertson’s Bible.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: This collection contains numerous materials related to Robertson’s slave trading and tobacco enterprises. Of particular interest in Folder 1 in background information on the process of curing yellow leaf tobacco, discovered by an enslaved man named Stephen. Folder 3 contains bills of sale for enslaved men and women (which are noted in the ledger in Folder 4), as well as list of 45 free people of color in 1865 with notations about their health.

Correspondence in Folder 5 contains letters from Eliza Baldwin Skidmore Carraway to Eliza Ann Robertson describing the aftermath of the fall of Vicksburg when her slaves departed and Union soldiers encamped on her land, and from Mary Royal Robertson Alexander to her mother Sarah Allen Robertson, about everyday concerns, as well as her fear of and frustration with African Americans (1870).

 

Abstract: Howell Begle is an entertainment and media lawyer and long-time activist on behalf of early rhythm and blues recording artists. In 1982, Begle met Ruth Brown, recording artist with the Atlantic Recording Corporation in the 1940s and 1950s, who had had difficulty securing royalty payments. He agreed to represent her pro bono against the recording company. Over time, his list of pro bono clients grew to more than 30 artists who had recorded for Atlantic. Begle was also a major figure in the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, founded in 1988 in Washington, D.C., with $1.5 million in initial funding from Atlantic in partial fulfillment of a legal settlement with Brown and others represented by Begle. The collection includes detailed royalty statements from the Atlantic Recording Corporation that document payments to Ruth Brown, 1955-1964. There are also copies of contracts and correspondence related to royalty payments owed to other artists who recorded for Atlantic and other labels during the 1950s and 1960s, among them Nellie Lutcher, Jimmy Scott, Joe Turner, Harry Van Walls, the Clovers, the Coasters, and the Drifters. Also included are legal documents, articles of incorporation, correspondence, news articles, and other materials relating to the formation and administration of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation; scattered correspondence between Begle and Atlantic executives, including Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Michael Resnick, and Sheldon Vogle, documenting negotiations leading to the royalty settlement of 1988; correspondence with musicians involved in the Foundation, particularly board member Bonnie Raitt; letters relating to Begle’s dissatification with and 1998 resignation from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation; photocopied news and periodical articles relating to Foundation; and calendars and promotional materials for the Foundation, some relating to the Foundation’s annual award ceremony. Other items include Billboard chart research documents, 1950s-1960s; a chronology documenting efforts to reform royalty payment accounting at Atlantic Records, 1983-1993; programs from Ruth Brown’s memorial service in 2006; correspondence with activists including Jesse Jackson, politicians including Congressmen John Conyers Jr. and Dennis J. Kucinich, and members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); and 45rpm, 78rpm, and LP record albums collected by Begle.

Repository: Southern Folklife Collection

Collection Highlights: Series 1 contains correspondence, contracts, and news clippings related to Begle’s work with the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, which included a number of African American musicians such as Ruth Brown and the Drifters.

Folders 7-10 also contain correspondence with political activists such as Jesse Jackson as well as Democratic representative John Conyers.

Series 2 (Audio Recordings) also contain Begle’s personal collection of albums, which include records by Bessie Smith and B.B. King.

Abstract: Carhart & Roff was a merchant firm based in Macon, Ga., that was founded in 1841. The firm was named for its originators and principal investors, Elijah H. Carhart (1827-1885) and Aaron A. Roff (1815-1880). The collection consists of a letterpress copybook maintained by Carhart & Roff in its business from 13 September 1854 to 27 January 1855. The firm dealt in a wide variety of goods with parties across Georgia. Letters are frequently directed to merchants in Savannah, Ga., with whom Carhart & Roff appear to have numerous dealings; there are also letters to a number of customers with regular accounts. The letters often indicate shipment of goods, receipt of payment, the need for cash remittance, or payment overdue. Topics addressed in the letters include yellow fever in Savannah, the difficult economic environment, and the purchase or sale of whiskey. There are a small number of references to the use of slaves in business dealings. There are also numerous, regular letters addressed to a Mr. F.J. Ogden of Savannah, who was possibly the firm’s purchasing agent there. The letters urge him to send goods quickly and regularly direct him to invest amounts of money on the New York Stock Exchange, with further directions to remit payments to Carhart Brothers and Co., likely the grocery owned by the brothers of Elijah H. Carhart in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: A letter from 15 November 1854 alerted the Savannah firm of Bingham, Kelly, & Co. of the impending arrival of four slaves. Another letter on 7 December 1854, likely in response to a client’s complaint, apologizes for the quality of the buyer’s liquor upon arrival, but blamed the issue on the slaves responsible for handling and transporting the shipment.

Abstract: Architect, pioneer cotton manufacturer, state legislator, of North Carolina. Chiefly business correspondence and papers, 1850-1869. Included are Fries’s correspondence as president of the Haw River Company, millers of flour, and of a cotton mill in Salem, N.C., with Thomas Michael Holt (1831-1896) of the Granite Cotton Factory; company account books showing records of grain bought and flour sold; and a letterpress copybook, 1862, of J. A. Lineback of the Haw River Factory. Letters after 1863 are addressed to Henry William Fries (1825-1905), brother of Francis Fries.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Included is Fries’ personal diary, which documents the construction and operation of his woolen mill in Salem, North Carolina, work chiefly carried out by slave labor (Folder 23).

Abstract: The Southeastern Cooperative League, an interracial organization established as the Southeastern Cooperative Education Association in 1940, became a federation of cooperatives in 1941. It worked to promote agricultural, consumer, manufacturing, and housing cooperatives throughout the Southeast from 1940 until its demise in the early 1950s. Correspondence of Southeastern Cooperative League officers Lee M. Brooks, Edward Yeomans, Elizabeth Lynch, Charles MacGill Smith, and Morris Mitchell; organizational records; educational materials; and materials relating to the cooperatives that were members of the Southeastern Cooperative League.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Of particular interest is correspondence of members the African American Executive Committee, as well as the League overall and its members in Series 1. (Of particular note, see folder40 with correspondence of Gillis Cheek from Shaw University about North Carolina Cooperatives).

In Series 4, there are pamphlets and other information related to nine local cooperatives, including African American cooperatives in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Abstract: Operating broadly in the areas of health, education, and the arts, the Lyndhurst Foundation has, beginning in the late 1970s, supported the work of institutions, local groups, and individuals in eastern Tennessee and throughout the South. The Foundation has encouraged education initiatives, centers, and leaders; environmental protection and improvement activities and organizations; community health, development, and minority improvement programs, centers, and leaders; and cultural events, centers, leaders, documentation, and interpretation. Files relating to programs, projects, grants, etc., in which the Lyndhurst Foundation has been involved. Included are grant proposals, correspondence, tax records, reports, pamphlets, brochures, seminar agendas, and other materials. There are also materials relating to Lyndhurst Foundation boards, 1978-1997, including minutes of board meetings, monthly budgets, and grant proposals and evaluations. The additions of May and June 1999 contain records of Southern Community Partners, Inc., a program funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation to support young people trying to strengthen their communities through working with public schools, developing community service programs, or connecting the arts with community organizing.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Operating broadly in the areas of health, education, and the arts, the Lyndhurst Foundation has supported institutions, local groups, and individuals in eastern Tennessee and throughout the South. Files relating to community health, minority improvement programs, and related materials are available.

There are several files related to various groups, such as the Chattanooga Afro-American Heritage Council and the Chattanooga Afro-American Museum, and the Chattanooga Urban League. See particularly Boxes 33, 59, and 64.

Abstract: Gordon family of Savannah, Ga., included W. W. Gordon, cotton merchant; his wife, Eleanor Lytle Kinzie Gordon (Nelly); her mother, Juliette Magill Kinzie (Mrs. John) of Chicago, author; and their children, especially G. Arthur Gordon, cotton merchant; Juliette Gordon Low (Daisy), founder of the Girl Scouts; and Mabel Gordon Leigh. Many items relate to W. W. Gordon’s family life, Confederate Army service, cotton trade activities, and military and diplomatic service during the Spanish American War. Correspondence and account books relate to W. W. Gordon & Company and its predecessor firms. Family materials include much correspondence between Nelly and her mother in Chicago. During the Civil War, these letters show the fear of family members separated by the struggle.Also included are several letters documenting the great Chicago fire of 1871 and its aftermath and letters relating to Nelly’s difficult relationship with Daisy, who struggled with deafness as a child. G. Arthur Gordon papers reflect his cotton merchant activities; interests in politics, including correspondence with brother-in-law, Richard Wayne Parker, lawyer and long-time New Jersey congressman; Gordon’s civic and the Georgia State Troops involvement;and his position as chief family confidant. While there are some Juliette Gordon Low papers relating to the Girl Scouts, among them correspondence with Robert Baden-Powell, most items relating to Daisy document her life in England, her unhappy marriage to William Mackay Low (Willie), and the economic consequences of his death as the couple contemplated divorce.Mabel Gordon Leigh papers relate chiefly to family affairs and to her World War I relief activities. Margaret Gordon Seiler (Peggy), daughter of George Arthur Gordon, and her husband, the Reverend Robert S. Seiler, are represented by letters relating to their posting to Manila, Philippines, with Church World Service, 1963-1968.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Correspondence in Sub Series 1.7 depict G. Arthur Gordon’s civic work beginning in 1915, including his participation in the Negro Industrial Employment Exchange, an employment agency for cotton pickers, maids, cooks, and delivery boys.

Abstract: William Jesse Kennedy, Jr. (1889-1985), businessman, author, and community leader, was born in Andersonville, Ga. He began his affiliation with North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1916 in Savannah, Ga. He later relocated to Durham, N.C., and, in 1952, was elected the fifth president of the company. Correspondence, speeches, photographs, organizational records, and other items that document the business, civic, social, humanitarian, and professional activities of William Jesse Kennedy, Jr. Included are records relating to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and the White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, N.C.There are also materials relating to Kennedy’s activities with the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys’ Clubs of America, the Durham Committee of 100 (a group focused on developing the Research Triangle Park), 4-H clubs, Durham’s Lincoln Hospital, the NAACP, and the North Carolina Board of Higher Education, among other groups.Also included are deeds and correspondence belonging to Kennedy’s mentor, John Moses Avery, and a series of audiotaped interviews with Kennedy’s relatives, friends, and associates conducted by Carter Cue in 1994. Materials show Kennedy’s contributions to social and economic progress in North Carolina and demonstrate his interest in civil rights, integration, recreation, and industrial development, particularly in the Research Triangle Park.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Included are records relating to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and the White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. Materials show Kennedy’s contributions to social and economic progress in North Carolina and demonstrate his interest in civil rights, integration, recreation, and industrial development, particularly in the Research Triangle Park. This includes photographs and oral histories with friend and contemporaries of Kennedy’s.

Series 1 (Correspondence) contains a number of letters from youths in Nigeria, Ghana, and other African countries in 1963, following publication of his article, “If I Were Young Today,” in Ebony Magazine.

Of particular interest are the publications, correspondence, and materials in Series 4 (Business and Civic Associations). Kennedy was very involved in a number of diverse community organizations. This series contains records from various groups, such as the Boy Scouts, Delta Sigma Theta, Stanford Warren Library, and Lincoln Hospital.

Abstract: Account book of a Richmond firm that bought slaves in Virginia and sold them in the lower South, showing Virginia price of slaves, purchaser, and price received. The firm also dealt in mules, horses, wagons, and harnesses.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: This collection is Microfilm only.