Restrictions to Access

Donor had stipulated that legislative and congressional materials not be available for examination and study until 1 January 1999 and that political materials not be available for examination until 1 January 2004. All materials are now open except for those closed pending processing.

This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed materials for access can be a lengthy process.

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 H. Martin Lancaster papers #4740, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from H. Martin Lancaster of Goldsboro, N.C., in January (Acc. 95018) and July (Acc. 95096) 1995, and in March 1998 (Acc. 98065).

Received from H. Martin Lancaster in March 1998.

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: Roslyn Holdzkom and Nick Graham with the assistance of Brandi Brown November 1997, Updated December 2004

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Conscious Editing Work by: Nancy Kaiser, July 2023 (added statement about "Croatan")

NOTE: "Croatan" (or "Croatoan") is an identity term that was used by the Indigenous peoples of the Hatteras and Roanoke Islands in the late 16th century. In subsequent centuries, the Indigenous peoples of Sampson, Craven, Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke and Scotland counties in North Carolina were thought to be the descendants of the Croatan Indians and were so called by North Carolina state officials; however, many tribal nations existed and exist now in this area who prefer to use their own identity terms, including the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina, and others.

In 2023, archivists examined the use of "Croatan" in Wilson Library archival collections and decided to leave this term in places where it refers to the Indigenous peoples of the Hatteras and Roanoke Islands, is part of a title, or is the proper name of a geographic feature or location. We have replaced "Croatan" with the appropriate identity term for materials that refer specifically to the groups noted above. When we are unable to make a determination, we use "Indigenous peoples." We recognize the complexity of this issue and welcome feedback on this decision at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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.

• Lancaster, H. Martin (Harold Martin), 1943-
• Legislators--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Legislators--United States--History--20th century.
• North Carolina--Politics and government--1951-
• North Carolina. General Assembly. House of Representatives.
• United States. Congress--Constituent communication.
• United States. Congress. House--History--20th century.

Harold Martin Lancaster was born on 24 March 1943 in Patetown Community, N.C. In 1957, he served as a Page in the North Carolina House of Representatives and in 1959 as Chief Page. He attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he served in the Student Legislature and the North Carolina State Student Legislature. In 1964, he served as an intern in state government and in 1966 was a research assistant for Senator Sam J. Ervin's Constitutional Rights Subcommittee. Lancaster received the A.B. degree in 1965 and the J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina Law School in 1967.

After law school, Lancaster served three years as a Judge Advocate in the Navy, eighteen months of which were spent on the U.S.S. Hancock off the coast of Vietnam. He continued as an active reservist and retired as a Captain in 1993. Following his naval service, Lancaster returned to Wayne County to begin practicing law with his college and law school classmate, Phil Baddour, Jr.

Lancaster served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1978 to 1986, his last two terms as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Lancaster was elected to represent the Third North Carolina District in the United States House of Representatives beginning in 1987. He served as freshman whip and on many House committees, including Armed Services, Agriculture, and Small Business. His membership on the Armed Services Committee, which he secured as a freshman, was a particular coup, since Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and Seymour Johnston Air Force Base are within the Third District and Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, and the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station are in adjoining counties.

As a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives Lancaster served on the following committees:

1983-1986: Judiciary Committee (Chairman)

1981-1983: Highway Safety Committee (Chairman)

1979-1986: Government Ethics

1979-1986: Veterans Affairs

1978-1982: Appropriations

1982-1986: Finance

1983-1984: Corrections

1983-1984: Housing

1979-1983: Judicial Council

1979-1980: Product Liability Study Commission

1981-1982: Health Occupational Licensing Boards Study Commission (Chairman)

1981-1982: Investment of Public Funds Study Commission

1981-1982: Separation of Powers Study Commission

1983-1984: Neuse River Basin Study Commission (Chairman)

1983-1984: Computer Literary Study Commission

1981-1986: Mental Health Study Commission

1985-1986: Joint Committee on Governmental Operations

1986-1986: Simplified Business Licensing Commission (1985-86)

1985-1986: Venture Capital Study Commission

As a member of the United States Congress, Lancaster served on the following committees:

1987-1995: Committee on Armed Services

1993-1995: Committee of Merchant Marine and Fisheries

1987: Committee on Public Works and Transportation

1987-1995: Committee on Small Business

1994: Congressional Study Group on Germany (Chairman)

Lancaster left Congress in 1994 to return to Goldsboro. In 1995, he served as Special Assistant to the President on Chemical Weapons. He was nominated by President Clinton in 1995 to become Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and was confirmed in January 1996.

Chiefly North Carolina General Assembly and United States House of Representatives legislative materials (bills, committee reports, etc.) and correspondence relating to the issues discussed in the legislative materials. About 20% of the collection relates to Lancaster's tenure in the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1978-1986. The rest of the collection relates to his time in the United States Congress as representative from the Third North Carolina District, 1987-1994.

For the most part, the order and titles of original boxes, folders, and envelopes has been maintained. Most material is filed by issue, committee, or other subject-based classification. Some correspondence, however, is filed alphabetically by correspondents' last names.

Unprocessed addition includes correspondence files, financial information, Naval Reserve files, biographical information, personal files, and other material. Most of the files from 1995 and 1996 relate to Lancaster's work as Special Advisor to the President on Chemical Weapons and to his appointment, confirmation, and work as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.