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Size | 7.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,700 items) |
Abstract | Josephus Daniels was the owner and editor of the Raleigh News and Observer; secretary of the Navy in the administration of Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921; and U.S. ambassador to Mexico in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1941. The collection includes correspondence, writings, diaries, and other materials. Most correspondence relates to Daniels's activities as secretary of the Navy and ambassador to Mexico rather than to his personal life or to his work as owner and editor of the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer . Also included are letters to his mother; letters, 1887-1889; to his future wife, Adelaide Worth Bagley; a file of "important letters"--Wilson, Bryan, Watterson, Walter Hines Page, and others; and selected excerpts of letters, probably arranged by Daniels's son, Jonathan Daniels. Writings include a typescript of the first three volumes of Daniels's autobiography, genealogies of the Daniels and Seabrook families, and drafts of speeches, editorials, and books. The diary series contains a notebook about military bases and supplies, 1917-1918; and diaries, 1913-1921, 1933, and 1940-1941. Other material includes a calendar Daniels kept as ambassador to Mexico, January 1937-August 1939; clippings of articles about Daniels; and correspondence and writings of Adelaide Worth Bagley Daniels. Some slight material relates to Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
Creator | Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Lisa Tolbert, Roslyn Holdzkom, Jackie Dean, October 1995
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, April 2006
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, June 2010; Nancy Kaiser, October 2020
Back to TopThe 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.
Newspaper editor, lawyer, Southern liberal, and politician who never ran for office, Josephus Daniels was born in Washington, N.C., in 1862. He started his career as newspaper editor in 1880 at the Wilson Advance in Wilson, N.C. After attending the University of North Carolina, Daniels passed the state bar examinations in 1885, but never actually practiced law. In 1891, he assumed editorial control of the Raleigh News and Observer.
An ardent, life long Democrat, Daniels was appointed Democratic national committeeman from North Carolina in 1896 and held that post until 1916. Woodrow Wilson appointed him secretary of the Navy in 1912. Daniels was one of four cabinet members who served throughout Wilson's two terms. In 1921, Daniels returned to the Raleigh News and Observer. He supported Franklin D. Roosevelt in the election of 1932. Roosevelt, who had served as assistant secretary of the Navy under Daniels from 1913 to 1921, always called his former boss "chief," and, in 1933, appointed him ambassador to Mexico. Daniels helped to implement Roosevelt's good neighbor policy for eight years, resigning in 1941 to resume his editorial duties in Raleigh. He continued to write editorials for the News and Observer almost until his death in 1948.
A devoted family man throughout his life, Daniels married Adelaide Worth Bagley (1869-1943) in 1888. They had six children. Two daughters died in infancy. Four sons survived: Josephus (1894-1964), Worth Bagley (born 1899), Jonathan Worth (1902-1981), and Frank Arthur (1904-1986). For more information see the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, edited by William S. Powell. See also Subseries 2.1.
Back to TopThe collection includes correspondence, writings, diaries, and other materials of Josephus Daniels, newspaper editor, secretary of the Navy and United States ambassador. Most correspondence relates to Daniels's activities as secretary of the Navy and ambassador to Mexico rather than to his personal life or to his work as owner and editor of the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer. Also included are letters to his mother; letters, 1887-1889; to his future wife, Adelaide Worth Bagley; a file of "important letters"--Woodrow Wilson, William Jennings Bryan, Henry Watterson, Walter Hines Page, and others; and selected excerpts of letters, probably arranged by Daniels's son, Jonathan Daniels. Writings include a typescript of the first three volumes of Daniels's autobiography, genealogies of the Daniels and Seabrook families, and drafts of speeches, editorials, and books. The diary series contains a notebook about military bases and supplies, 1917-1918; and diaries, 1913-1921, 1933, and 1940-1941. Other material includes a calendar Daniels kept as ambassador to Mexico, January 1937-August 1939; clippings of articles about Daniels; and correspondence and writings of Adelaide Worth Bagley Daniels. Some slight material relates to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Originals, photocopies, and typed transcriptions, some of which are related to Daniels's duties as secretary of the Navy during the Woodrow Wilson administration and as ambassador to Mexico during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. There is little personal correspondence and few letters pertain to Daniels's work as editor/owner of the Raleigh News and Observer.
Folder 1 |
1863, 1894-1914 |
Folder 2 |
1915 |
Folder 3-4
Folder 3Folder 4 |
January 1916 |
Folder 5-7
Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7 |
February 1916 |
Folder 8-10
Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10 |
March 1916 |
Folder 11-13
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13 |
April 1916 |
Folder 14-15
Folder 14Folder 15 |
May 1916 |
Folder 16-18
Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18 |
June 1916 |
Folder 19-20
Folder 19Folder 20 |
July 1916 |
Folder 21-22
Folder 21Folder 22 |
August 1916 |
Folder 23-24
Folder 23Folder 24 |
September 1916 |
Folder 25 |
October-December and bound correspondence, 1916 |
Folder 26 |
Bound correspondence, 1916 |
Folder 27a |
Bound correspondence, 1916 |
Folder 27b |
Bound correspondence, 1916 |
Folder 28-29
Folder 28Folder 29 |
Bound correspondence, 1916 |
Folder 30 |
1917-1919 |
Folder 31 |
January-July 1920 |
Folder 32 |
August 1920 |
Folder 33 |
September 1920 |
Folder 34 |
October 1920 |
Folder 35 |
November 1920 |
Folder 36 |
December 1920 |
Folder 37 |
January 1921 |
Folder 38 |
February-March 1921 |
Folder 39 |
1924-1929 |
Folder 40 |
1931-1939 |
Folder 41 |
1941-1947 |
Folder 42 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Exclusively typed transcriptions of letters to and from Josephus Daniels, including complete letters and selected excerpts, probably arranged by Jonathan Daniels. Included are files of Josephus Daniels's letters as a young man to his mother, letters to Adelaide Worth Bagley (1887-1889), and "important letters Wilson, Bryan, Watterson, Walter Hines Page, and others."
Folder 43-49
Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49 |
Selected correspondence |
Autobiographical materials, speeches, editorials, and other writings of Josephus Daniels.
Typescript of Daniels's autobiography, which was eventually published in six volumes. This draft appears to cover the first three volumes: Tar Heel Editor, Editor in Politics, and The Wilson Era. This subseries also contains various typescript drafts from the autobiography and related materials, such as genealogies and notes on the chronology of Daniels's life.
Chiefly typescripts with a few holograph drafts, this subseries contains speeches, editorials, drafts of The Book and of Life Begins at Seventy, and miscellaneous notes.
Folder 78-83
Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82Folder 83 |
Other writings |
Chiefly photocopies, this series does contain an original notebook about military bases and supplies, 1917 1918, and an original diary, March May 1919. There are also typed transcriptions of original diaries and excerpts from diaries. The earliest diaries document Daniels's activities as secretary of the Navy. His duties as ambassador to Mexico were recorded in the 1933 and 1940 1941 volumes. The diary notes are chiefly typed transcriptions of excerpts taken from original diaries, possibly compiled by Jonathan Daniels. Some of the information in this series has been published in The Cabinet Diaries of Josephus Daniels, 1913 1921 , edited by E. David Cronon.
A calendar kept by Josephus Daniels as ambassador to Mexico from January 1937 to August 1939, chiefly indicating meetings and events attended; clippings of articles about Daniels; some correspondence and writings of Adelaide Bagley Daniels; Daniels's diplomatic passport to Mexico; and typescript and holograph copies of wills composed by Daniels from 1935 to 1946.
Folder 155 |
Calendar, January 1937 August 1939 |
Folder 156 |
Clippings |
Folder 157-158
Folder 157Folder 158 |
Adelaide Bagley Daniels materials |
Folder 159 |
Democratic Party materials |
Folder 160 |
Diplomatic passport |
Folder 161-162
Folder 161Folder 162 |
Navy materials |
Folder 163 |
Wills |
Folder 164 |
Writings by others |
Folder 165 |
Miscellaneous |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 97060
Correspondence and a few other items, most of which are related to Daniels's duties as secretary of the Navy during the Woodrow Wilson administration and most of which are from people in North Carolina.
Folder 166 |
1912-1915 |
Folder 167 |
January-March 1916 |
Folder 168 |
April-May 1916 |
Folder 169 |
June-July 1916 |
Folder 170 |
August-December 1916 |
Folder 171 |
1917-1919 |
Folder 172 |
July-October 1920 |
Folder 173 |
November-December 1920 |
Folder 174 |
1921-1922 |
Folder 175 |
Undated |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 98479
Correspondence, 1916-1921; two financial items, December 1920 and January 1921, relating to circulation at the Raleigh News and Oberserver ; and eight undated photographs of an unidentified ship and sailors. The letters chiefly relate to Daniels's duties as secretary of the Navy during the Woodrow Wilson administration and to the News and Observer. Included are materials, April 1916, about the payment of an account from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Folder 176 |
Correspondence and financial materials |
Image Folder PF-203/1 |
Eight photographs |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101930
Separated Folder SEP-203/1 |
Memorandum from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 13 April 1916Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
Folder 177 |
Miscellaneous papers |
Folder 178 |
Ledger, June-July 1955 |