Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Shepard Bryan Papers, #2969, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Shepard Bryan of Atlanta, Ga., September 1953.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, January 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Bingham, Robert Worth, 1871-1937.
• Bryan, Shepard, 1871-1970.
• Chapel Hill (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• College students--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948.
• Davies, William W. (William Watkins), 1868-1945.
• DeRosset, Armand L.
• Hillsborough (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Lawyers--Georgia--History.
• Lawyers--Kentucky--History.
• Lucas, Arthur.
• Morehead, John Motley, 1870-1965.
• United States--Politics and government--1901-1953.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Alumni and alumnae.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--History--19th century.
• Voyages and travels.
• World War, 1939-1945--Public opinion.

• William Watkins Davies's "Southborough" Manuscript (#1831), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Shepard Bryan (1871-1970), native of New Bern, N.C., was a graduate of the University of North Carolina and a lawyer and judge in Atlanta, Ga.

William Watkins Davies (1868-1945), a native of Hillsborough, N.C., was a graduate of the University of North Carolina and practiced law in Atlanta with Shepard Bryan. Davies served in the Spanish-American War as captain of the 3rd Georgia Volunteers. He later practiced law in Louisville, Ky., and was a Red Cross Captain in World War I. Davies retired to New Canaan, Conn., and New London, N.H.

The papers are chiefly letters, 1909-1945, from William Watkins Davies (1868-1945) to Shepard Bryan. Beginning in 1941 there are also carbon copies of Bryan's letters to Davies. The correspondence is concerned with reminiscences of the University of North Carolina, life in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, N.C., anecdotes from the past, and news and memories of friends; current affairs, including comments on national and international events, political figures and trends, opinions, analyses, and predictions; books being swapped and read and discussed; and personal news of family, health, gardens, birds, travel, including Davies's trip around the world in 1928-1929, and other trips. Included in the correspondence are letters dealing with Davies's efforts to get his manuscript, "Southborough," published; plans for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1891 at Chapel Hill; and many letters written during World War II about the war's progress, armchair strategy, and predictions. In addition to the letters of Davies and Bryan, there are scattered letters of Robert W. Bingham, Arthur Lucas, Josephus Daniels, John M. Morehead, and Armand L. DeRosset. One folder contains articles and speeches by Davies.