Correspondence

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This collection contains letters, correspondence, and financial records that were once part of John B. Nicholson’s estate in Charlotte, NC. Nicholson was a Civil War Infantryman from the 37th Regiment Co. I who fought under the leadership of General Daniel Harvey (DH) Hill.

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The Alexander and Sample families are two well known and documented families in the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County area. This collection follows certain genealogical lines within these two families. Collection materials include correspondence and genealogical research dated c1958-c1961.

Abstract Founded in 1896, the American Guild of Organists (AGO) is a national professional association that serves the organ and choral music fields. As an educational and service organization, AGO seeks to “foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ.” This collection contains materials relating to the Charlotte Chapter of the American Guild of Organists from 1956-1969. Examples of documents include correspondence, newsletters, newspaper...

Abstract The American War Mothers organization was founded in September 1917, developed a constitution and by-laws in August 1918, and was granted a Congressional charter on February 24, 1925. The purpose of this organization was for mothers of young men and women at risk during World War I to engage in patriotic service to those serving their country. At the time, their membership was strictly limited to mothers whose sons and daughters served between April 6, 1917 and November 11, 1918. Among their...

Abstract In the aftermath of World War I, a number of volunteers from American agencies went overseas to help with the return to peacetime and assist the military with this and other projects. Annie Lee Hoffman was one of these volunteers, serving as part of the YMCA. Annie was born on August 9, 1887 in Morganton, NC to Julius and Martha Hoffman. She attended Oxford Seminary in Oxford, NC where she studied office administration. She moved to Rocky Mount, NC where she was employed as a private...

Abstract Bonnie Alice Austin was born to James A. and Wilma Duncan Austin on May 27, 1896 in Union County, North Carolina. She married George Henry Petteway on November 23, 1914, but later divorced. Bonnie and George had three daughters: Martha, Mary, and Jean. Bonnie Austin Petteway accumulated a wealth of genealogical information on a variety of families in and around Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Some of the more heavily documented families included in her notes are: Shelby, Stevenson,...

Abstract “The Book Shop,” opened in Charlotte in 1915, and was owned and operated by the Brockmann and Legerton Company. Herbert Victor Brockmann (1892-1949), was the manager of the store. Two years later, Herbert and his brother, Charles Raven Brockmann (1889-1970), took over interest in the store as Brockmann and Company. Together, they owned and operated the Brockmann Bookstore from 1917-1928, when the store closed. There is one scrapbook in this collection that features correspondence,...

Abstract Carla DuPuy chaired the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners from 1984 to 1990, and spent six years lobbying for Carolinas Healthcare System, eight years on the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, and chaired the Charlotte Chamber’s Environmental Concerns Committee. The focus of much of her community work was on children, education, healthcare, and the environment. Materials in this collection heavily focus on AIDS/Metrolina AIDS Project in the city of...

Abstract Charles Crutchfield (1912-1998) started his career as an announcer and radio programmer for a variety of radio stations in the Carolinas. In the 1933 he joined the WBT staff, where he became famous for putting together the “Briarhoppers.” Crutchfield stayed at the station and its parent company until retiring in 1977 as president of the Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting Company. He was also active in a number of professional and civic organizations, to include: a U.S. State Department appointment...

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This collection contains correspondence, land records (deeds, deeds of trust, property surveys), tax receipts, and documentation on the re-surveying of the US Post Office, Assay Site, and Courthouse in Charlotte. Land records largely reference properties including Brevard, Myers-Cedar Groves Farm, Chatham Estates, present-day Plaza Midwood, and other areas in Mecklenburg County. Materials are dated 1873-1957.

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This collection spans items related to the John C. and Ruth Kilgo family, as well as Charles Paty. The Kilgos were residents of Mecklenburg County and active members of the community. Charles Paty is a World War II veteran and was a friend of the Kilgo family. Both the Kilgos and Paty lived in the Plaza Midwood area of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Materials include: Clippings, Correspondence, Ephemera, Postcards, Printed Materials, Rosters, Negatives, and Photographs.

Abstract Edward Dilworth Latta founded the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company, also known as the Four Cs, in 1890. Latta and five other influential Charlotteans, including Mayor F.B. McDowell, developed the Dilworth area, had their own trolley system, and had control of gas and electric power in Charlotte. Incorporating other companies into his own, such as the Charlotte Gas Light Company and the Charlotte Electric Railway, Latta and his group maintained an effective monopoly in Charlotte....

Abstract Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters in 1920 during the National American Woman Suffrage Association’s annual convention. It was designed to be a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that would assist the 20 million new female voters in understanding and executing their new civic duties. The League was, and continues to be, a strong advocate of politically educated citizens and government and social reform legislation. Formed in 1922, the Charlotte League of...

Abstract The National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) is “a multi-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political process and creating a political power base designed to achieve equality for all women.” This group was founded in July 1971 in order to increase the number of women in all aspects of political life. The Charlotte Women’s Political Caucus also began in the early 1970s, and some of its founding members included Betty Chafin Rash,...

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The Commercial National Bank Records, 1874-1939 contains documents associated with the establishment of the Commercial National Bank in Charlotte, NC. Examples of materials include shareholder and Board of Directors certificates, condition reports, loan documentation, business reports, correspondence, meeting minutes, by-laws, and other documents pertaining to the bank’s operation. Materials dated 1874-1948.

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This collection contains documents that cover Mrs. Cornelia Beery Fore’s (Mrs. J.A. Fore) work as the historian for the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It consists primarily of historical research and collected testimonies pertaining to the United States Civil War as well as genealogical research into Fore’s own lineage. Included as well are letters and other documents from the life of her daughter, Ms. Cornelia (Cornie) Fore. Materials are dated 1864-1944 and are in good condition.

Abstract The Country Club Acres Garden Club was organized in 1958. The club’s flower was the Dogwood, and their colors were pink and white. The group met on the third Thursday of each month at 8pm to discuss club matters and gardening techniques. The purpose of the club was to improve the member’s knowledge of horticulture and to beautify their homes and gardens, thus beautifying their neighborhoods and community. The members referred to the club as a “learning club” because many of those involved...

Abstract The Hood Family Bible was given to Lester Alexander Puckett (of Puckett’s Meats) and Alice Goodrum Puckett by Raymond V. Hood Sr. and Pauline Jane Puckett. Lester Alexander Puckett was the son of James Puckett and Violet Davidson Alexander, Violet being the great-granddaughter of John McKnitt Alexander. Dates of birth, marriage, and death may be found in the Bible. Other miscellaneous genealogical information is found in this collection as well, but through newspaper clippings and other...

Abstract Donald Ralph Martin was born to Otis R. and Eva Lena Griffey Martin on September 16, 1917, in Malvern, Iowa. Martin was an Army photographer during World War II and served as a staff photographer in Camp Butner, North Carolina. Following the war’s end, Martin moved to Charlotte, and began working for the Tom Franklin Studio, which also served as the photographers for the Charlotte News. This collection contains Martin's photographs, correspondence, and newspaper clippings. Materials are in...

Abstract Douglas Corwin was a pharmacist in Pineville, North Carolina. Prior to leaving North Carolina for Wisconsin c2004, he and his wife their collection donated this collection of Pineville materials to local institutions so that the information would be retained in the area. This collection contains business records for local businesses in Pineville, North Carolina. A majority of the collection contains pharmaceutical records and prescriptions from the Pineville Drug Company, as...

Abstract The Downs/McCachren and Cappiello/Piscitelli Collection contains a variety of materials for the Downs, McCachren, Cappiello, and Piscitelli families. The Downs and McCachren families have been longtime residents of Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties, while the Cappiello and Piscitelli families came from Italy and settled in New Haven, Connecticut. Anthony Piscitelli settled in Charlotte after marrying Alice McCachren in 1947. Members of these families for whom materials may be...

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Dr. Marcus Cyrus Hunter (1857-1936) was one of the most widely known doctors in Mecklenburg County in the late 19th and early 20th century. HDr. Hunter studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, MD, and later returned to Huntersville, NC where he practiced medicine for nearly half a century. This collection contains three ledgers and a letter addressed to Dr. Hunter. Materials are dated 1885-1921 and in poor condition.

Abstract In 1905, brothers James and Benjamin Duke founded the Southern Power Company, which in 1924 became known as the Duke Power Company. Its headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina, primarily serving the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. The Duke brothers worked very closely with William States Lee, an electrical engineer, and brothers Walker and Robert Wylie, founders of the Catawba Power Company. This collection contains surveys, maps, applications for service, financial...

Abstract The Dulin Family Papers consists of a variety of materials from the family of Thomas Leroy “Lee” Dulin (1842-1914). Thomas Dulin married Sarah C. Pharr (1841-1881) in 1862, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and their children were: Harvey C. (1864-?), John Walter (1867-?), Lula Ellen (1869-1957), Cornelia Vashti (1871-1951), Sallie Wilson (1873-1956), and Ella Elizabeth (1878-1960). This collection contains books, clippings, diaries, documents, and photographs. Materials are dated...

Abstract Elizabeth College was a four-year college for women, founded in 1896. It was located at what was then the end of Elizabeth Avenue, on property that had been the old Torrence homestead. Due to the Watts family’s large donation to the college, college president Dr. Charles B. King named it for his mother-in-law, Ann Elizabeth Watts. It was under the charge of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, whose objectives were to provide a broad education for women in the classics, mathematics, and...

Abstract Frank Bishop was a real-estate agent with deep experience in the Charlotte, North Carolina area during the 1960s to the early 2000s. He graduated from The Realtor’s Institute (a collaboration between UNC Chapel Hill and the N.C. Association of Realtors) in 1968 and worked for the Howey Company and Touchberry Realty in the 1960s-1970s before being named executive vice president of Touchberry, Bishop, and Livingston. He eventually opened his own real estate company, Frank Bishop Realtors, in...

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The Golden Circle Theatre Guild was formed by the Dorothy Masterson and the Mint Museum Theatre Guild in 1954. It was also called Mint Museum Drama Guild, Inc. and Mint Museum Theater Guild. The Golden Circle Theatre was built in 1960.

This collection contains brochures, budgets, correspondence, playbills and photographs. Materials dated 1969-1992 and in good condition.

Abstract This collection contains materials relating to the Guion family of Charlotte, North Carolina. Many of the items in the collection pertain to military service, including the Spanish-American War and World War I. Clyde Doyle Guion served in US Army from 1918-19 and in the American Expeditionary Forces for 3 months. C.D. Guion was also a pharmacist in Cornelius. Several items are related to the USS Relief, a hospital ship in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War, confined to...

Abstract This collection spans items related to the Haigler family, who lived in Union and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina. The collection consists primarily of correspondence between members of the H.M. Haigler family in the 1940s. The H.I. Ha[i]gler and H.M. Haigler families lived on farms close to Charlotte and grew cotton. Some items in this collection allow a view into agricultural practice in the early and mid-1900s, including cotton ration books. Many family members also fought in World...

Abstract

This collection consists of 14 scrapbooks of memorabilia kept by W.T. Harris and his family. The bulk of the materials are from the 1970s, with a few scrapbooks from the 1960s and 1980s. Examples of scrapbook materials include congratulatory letters, programs, awards, involvement in community organizations, speaking engagements, correspondence, and “Man of the Year” awards.