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Collection Number: 05502

Collection Title: Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 200 items)
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 newspaper clippings about the welfare program in North Carolina. Letters relate to both Ruth West Ramsey's studies and to her professional work. Academic papers are from both her masters in social work program courses and supervision certificate courses; some are written in the first person and document her personal and professional experiences. There is also a copy of "Christian Maturity and the Helping Process," lectures given in 1964 by Alan Keith-Lucas, social work professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and clippings, primarily from the Goldsboro News Argus, 1963-1972, that focus on the public image of welfare in the 1960s.
Creator Ramsey, Ruth West.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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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 Ruth West Ramsey Papers #5502, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Jann Ramsey Soud in 2011 (Acc. 101474)
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.
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Processed by: Sara Mannheimer, November 2011

Encoded by: Sara Mannheimer, November 2011

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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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection contains letters, graduate school papers, a lecture transcript, and newspaper clippings about the welfare program in North Carolina. Letters relate to both Ruth West Ramsey's studies and to her professional work. Academic papers are from both her masters in social work program courses and supervision certificate courses; some are written in the first person and document her personal and professional experiences. There is also a copy of "Christian Maturity and the Helping Process," lectures given in 1964 by Alan Keith-Lucas, social work professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and clippings, primarily from the Goldsboro News Argus, 1963-1972, that focus on the public image of welfare in the 1960s.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972.

About 400 items.
Folder 1-5

Folder 1

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Letters and academic papers, 1961-1965

Letters relate to both Ruth West Ramsey's studies and to her professional work. Academic papers are from both her masters in social work program courses and supervision certificate courses. Some letters are about the end of her work at the Polk County Welfare Department, Columbus, N.C., 1961. Academic papers are often written in the first person and document her personal and professional experiences. Many include instructor comments. Paper topics include the effects of childcare institutions on children, Ramsey's childhood relationship with her African American housekeeper, reflections on a caseworker's experience in a parole office, folk medicine in Polk County, whether mothers should work outside the home, and Ramsey's emotions upon nearing the end of her field experience. Also included are copies of Ramsey's masters thesis and supervisory certificate thesis.

Folder 6

"Christian Maturity and the Helping Process" by Alan Keith-Lucas, 1964

Printed version of "Christian Maturity and the Helping Process," lectures given in 1964 by Alan Keith-Lucas, social work professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Folder 7

Clippings, 1963-1972

Clippings chiefly from the Goldsboro News Argus, regarding the welfare system. Clippings focus on the public image of welfare in the 1960s and include editorials and profiles of Wayne County Welfare Director Floyd Evans, who was an advocate of voluntary sterilization.

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