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Otis N. Pruitt and Calvin Shanks Photographic Collection, circa 1920s-1986

Creator: Pruitt, Otis N. (Otis Noel), 1891-1967.
Shanks, Calvin, 1926-1981.
Collection number: 5463
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Abstract: Otis N. Pruitt and Calvin Shanks photographed life in Columbus, Miss., between the 1920s and 1980s. Pruitt, born in Mississippi in 1891, became interested in photography while photographing his children. He moved to Columbus to work in Henry Hoffmeister’s photography studio, also attending the Illinois School of Photography early in his career. In or around 1920, Pruitt bought Continue reading “Otis N. Pruitt and Calvin Shanks Photographic Collection, circa 1920s-1986”

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Bedford Brown Papers, 1779-1906.

Creator: Brown, Bedford, 1795-1870.
Collection number: 92-z
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Abstract: Bedford Brown was a state legislator and United States senator from Caswell County, N.C. The collection includes scattered papers of the family of Bedford Brown and of his son, Livingston Brown, whose wife was a daughter of John Bullock Clark (1802-1885), United States and Confederate congressman of Fayette, Mo. Papers include Brown and Clark family letters, beginning in 1836; political correspondence of Bedford Brown only in 1860, and of Livingston Brown, 1866-1876; and Caswell County deeds and miscellaneous papers.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Folder 3 contains a 12 May 1860 letter from an enslaved man in Arkansas (name unknown) to his Uncle Ned on another plantation. There is also a bill of sale dated 31 August 1863 for an enslaved woman named Lucy.

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Harriet Jacobs Family Papers Project Records, 1890s-2005 (bulk 1989-2005)

Collection number: 5464
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Abstract: Harriet Jacobs was an escaped slave and abolitionist who wrote about her experiences in her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861). Jean Fagan Yellin, head of the Harriet Jacobs Family Papers Project, is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Continue reading “Harriet Jacobs Family Papers Project Records, 1890s-2005 (bulk 1989-2005)”

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Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972

Creator: Ramsey, Ruth West.
Collection number: 5502
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Abstract: Ruth West Ramsey worked for the Wayne County (N.C.) Welfare Department in the 1960s and attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, first for a masters in social work, 1961-1962, and then for a supervisory certificate, 1964-1965. The collection contains letters, graduate school papers, a lecture transcript, and Continue reading “Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972”

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Blackwell Markham Papers, 1879-1988

Creator: Markham, Blackwell.
Collection number: 5427
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Abstract: Blackwell Markham (1897-1977) was a general surgeon in Durham, N.C. He received his medical training at the University of North Carolina and at Harvard University. He served in the United States Army in World War II in North Africa and Europe. The collection contains correspondence, greeting cards, diaries, personal papers, a few business Continue reading “Blackwell Markham Papers, 1879-1988”

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Ernest B. McKissick Papers, 1918-1924

Creator: McKissick, Ernest B. (Ernest Boyce), b. 1895.
Collection number: 5299
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Abstract: Ernest Boyce McKissick (Mack) was born in Kelton, S.C., in 1895. His family moved to Asheville, N.C., around 1900. McKissick served in France, 1918-1919, with the African American 92nd Infantry Division during World War I. Returning to Asheville after the war, McKissick Continue reading “Ernest B. McKissick Papers, 1918-1924”

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R. Stanley Woodward Collection, 1932-2004

Creator: Woodward, R. Stanley.
Collection number: 20446
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Abstract: Stan Woodward is a southern auteur and documentary filmmaker. The Woodward Studio Limited produces documentaries on southern folk culture through the themes of American foodway and related traditions. In the 1980s, Woodward served as director of the Media Arts Center and the Communication Wing at the Capital Children’s Museum in Continue reading “R. Stanley Woodward Collection, 1932-2004”