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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.
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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 5.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,200 items) |
| Abstract | Robert Brent Drane was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C. The collection includes family, business, historical, and genealogical correspondence and other items of Robert Brent Drane. Early correspondence is of Drane's parents, Catherine Caroline Parker and Robert Brent Drane Sr., and of Robert Brent Drane with friends and family while studying theology in New York. Correspondence, 1877-1932, reflects Drane's genealogical and historical interests, including his involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. There is corrrepondence with his cousin, North Carolina bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire, as well as letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane, serving as a missionary and later Archdeacon of the Yukon among the native peoples in the Yukon and Alaska. Later correspondence includes letters to Frederick Blount Drane from American soldiers serving in World War II and the Korean War and letters from prominent alumni of the University of North Carolina Class of 1912. Notable correspondence includes letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials: two letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Collier's Weekly editor Arthur Ruhl describing his attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and one 1929 letter mentioning Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders. The collection also includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds; church records; financial records; historical research materials; genealogical notes, charts, and sketches; printed material; and clippings relating to Drane and Webb family members and to ecclesiastical history in the American colonies. Some papers relate to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. of Edenton, N.C., and their mercantile endeavors and involvement with the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy in Edenton. There are also some records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955; sermons of Robert Brent Drane and others; blueprints and architectural plans, chiefly relating to the Fort Raleigh monument; and photographs, including a set of portraits, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform. |
| Creator | Drane, Robert Brent, 1851-1939. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
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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Biographical Information
Robert Brent Drane (1851-1939) was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C. He was born in Wilmington, N.C., to Reverend Robert Brent Drane and Catherine Caroline Parker Drane. After his father's death in 1862, he was raised in the homes of his uncles, the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire and Governor Henry Toole Clark. He was educated at Saintt Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., and the General Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.
Drane was ordained deacon at Saint James Episcopal Church, Wilmington, N.C., 1875; served as assistant to the rector, 1875-1876; ordained as priest at Calvary Church, Tarboro, N.C., 1876; rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C., 1876-1932; and rector of the Church of Saint Andrew's-by-the-Sea, Nags Head, N.C., 1934-1939. Drane also minstered to Saint John-the-Evangelist, Edenton, N.C., an Episcopal AfricanAmerican parish. He was involved with the Diocese of East Carolina and held many positions therein, including president of the convention and of the standing committee; examining chaplain; and delegate to the provincial convention and to the general convention, 1890-1929. He also acted as trustee of Saint Mary's College, Saint Augustine's College, and the University of the South.
In addition to his religious service, Drane was interested in history, particularly of the Episcopal Church and of North Carolina. He was a member and sometime president of the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the Roanoke Island Historical Association and member of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
In 1878, Drane married Maria Louisa Warren Skinner. They had seven children: Eliza Harwood (1879-1932), who married Joseph Cheshire Webb; Frank Parker (died 1917); Robert; Frederick Blount; Katherine Parker, who married Bennett Perry; and Marian, who married Frank Porter Graham.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes family, business, historical, and genealogical correspondence and other items of Robert Brent Drane. Early correspondence is of Drane's parents, Catherine Caroline Parker and Robert Brent Drane Sr., and of Robert Brent Drane with friends and family while studying theology in New York. Correspondence, 1877-1932, reflects Drane's genealogical and historical interests, including his involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. There is corrrepondence with his cousin, North Carolina bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire, as well as letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane, serving as a missionary and later Archdeacon of the Yukon among the native peoples in the Yukon and Alaska. Later correspondence includes letters to Frederick Blount Drane from American soldiers serving in World War II and the Korean War and letters from prominent alumni of the University of North Carolina Class of 1912. Notable correspondence includes letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials: two letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Collier's Weekly editor Arthur Ruhl describing his attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and one 1929 letter mentioning Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders. The collection also includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds; church records; financial records; historical research materials; genealogical notes, charts, and sketches; printed material; and clippings relating to Drane and Webb family members and to ecclesiastical history in the American colonies. Some papers relate to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. of Edenton, N.C., and their mercantile endeavors and involvement with the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy in Edenton. There are also some records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955; sermons of Robert Brent Drane and others; blueprints and architectural plans, chiefly relating to the Fort Raleigh monument; and photographs, including a set of portraits, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence and Related Photographs, 1837-1980 and
undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly family and genealogical correspondence of Robert Brent Drane. There is also some correspondence of Drane's mother, Catherine Caroline Parker Hargraves Drane; of his children, Frederick Blount Drane and Eliza Drane Webb; and of other family members and relatives. The earliest correspondence, 1837-1866, consists chiefly of letters to Catherine Caroline Parker Hargraves, both before and after her marriage to Robert Brent Drane Sr., from her children and other family members and relatives. There are also some early letters to Robert Brent Drane Sr. relating resolutions of the vestry of his parish and discussing church affairs and the construction of a new church in Wilmington, N.C.
Correspondence, 1867-1876, is chiefly of Robert Brent Drane while at Saint Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., and at the General Theological Seminary in New York, N.Y. Letters are to and from his mother, his uncle, Joseph Blount Cheshire, and other friends and relatives, giving family news and discussing the progress of his education. There is also some correspondence with scholarship agencies related to Drane's application for assistance in funding his ministerial education.
Correspondence, 1877-1932, largely reflects Drane's historical and genealogical interests. Many of the items relate to the lineage of the Drane family in England and the United States; the history of the Church of England in the colonies, particularly the baptism of Virginia Dare; and Drane's involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. Among the genealogical and historical correspondents are near and distant Drane relatives including Herbert J. Drane, United States Representative from Florida; other members of the clergy including Drane's cousin, Joseph Blount Cheshire, bishop of North Carolina; and historians including J.D. Sprunt, Samuel A. Ashe, and Collier Cobb. There are also letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., discussing her social life and education, and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane who was serving in Alaska as a missionary and later the Episcopal Archdeacon of the Yukon, describing the native peoples and his work there. Correspondence also includes large groups of congratulatory letters from parishioners, clergy, and friends upon Drane's 50th anniversary as rector at Saint Paul's, 1926, and his retirement, 1932, and a group of loosely related letters, mostly 1891-1894, to Mrs. E.D. Foxhall of Tarboro, N.C., from her son John H. Foxhall (died 1901), an agent of the Richmond and Danville Railroad (later Georgia Pacific Railway Company) in Anniston, Ala., and insurance agent in Texas.
Correspondence after 1933 is chiefly of Frederick Blount Drane and includes letters to and from American soldiers serving in Europe and the South Pacific in World War II and in Korea during the Korean War. There is also material relating to Frederick Blount Drane's organization of reunions for the University of North Carolina Class of 1912, including letters concerning achievements of prominent alumni, particularly Thomas Moore Price and Thompson Webb.
Other notable items include a letter, 1938, to Robert Brent Drane and Marian and Frank Porter Graham describing a concert given by two violinist relatives to President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, and three letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials. Two of the letters letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Arthur Ruhl, an editor for Collier's Weekly, describe Ruhl's attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The third letter, 1929, alludes to Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders.
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Series 2. Genealogical and Historical Material.
Arrangement: by type.
Chiefly research materials and genealogical notes, charts, and sketches of Robert Brent Drane and Eliza Drane Webb, related primarily to the lineage of the Drane and Webb families. There are also photographs, blueprints, and other materials related to Robert Brent Drane's historical interests, particularly his involvement with historical organizations including the Roanoke Island Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C., and some information about Saint Paul's activities and history. There is also a set of papers related to the University of North Carolina Class of 1912 reunion and photographs, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform.
Folder 88-90
Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90 |
Biographical and historical sketches #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 88-90Includes sketches of Robert Brent Drane, Josiah Collins, and members of the Drane and Webb families and related lines. |
| Folder 91 |
Genealogical charts #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 91 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/2 |
Genealogical charts #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." OPF-2987/2 |
Folder 92-93
Folder 92Folder 93 |
Genealogical notes #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 92-93 |
| Folder 94 |
Genealogy notebook with enclosures #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 94Contains some interleaved correspondence from relatives and genealogy hobbyists. |
| Folder 95 |
Family grave marker inscriptions #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 95 |
| Folder 96 |
Virginia Dare and Roanoke Island material #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 96Includes speeches and other writings, programs, and notes related to various celebrations of Virginia Dare Day. |
| Folder 97 |
Saint Paul's material #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 97Includes lists and copies of vestry records related to parshioners' service in the military and Red Cross. There is also an annotated pageant script and items related to celebrations of Robert Brent Drane's milestones with the congregation. |
| Folder 98 |
University of North Carolina Class of 1912 material #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 98Includes mailing lists, programs, and other material related to reunions of the class of 1912. |
Folder 99-100
Folder 99Folder 100 |
Printed material #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 99-100Includes "Historical Notices of Saint James' Parish," by Robert Brent Drane Sr., 1843; "A Sketch of the Life of Tristrim Lowther Skinner," by Robert Brent Drane, 1931; "Last Advice of the Reverend Charles Pettigrew to His Sons," 1797; "Old Trinity Church: From the Life of Joseph Blount Cheshire, D.D., 1814-1899, by his son Bishop Cheshire"; and "A Century and a Half of Medicine in North Carolina: Introductory Remarks," by William de B. MacNider. Also includes programs and pamphlets related to historical celebrations and memorials. |
Folder 101-103
Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103 |
Clippings #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 101-103 |
| Folder 104 |
North Carolina ecclesiastical history notebook, undated #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." Folder 104 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/2 |
Fort Raleigh memorial blueprints and plans #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." OPF-2987/2 |
Image Folder PF-2987/1-2
PF-2987/1PF-2987/2 |
Photographs and pictures of Drane family members and historical sites #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." PF-2987/1-2Includes photographic portraits of Drane relatives, and postcards and photographs related to Fort Raleigh and Roanoke Island, N.C. |
| Image Folder PF-2987/3 |
Photographs of University of North Carolina athletes, circa 1910 #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." PF-2987/3 |
| Image Folder PF-2987/4 |
University of North Carolina Class of 1912 Reunion, 1962 #02987, Series: "2. Genealogical and Historical Material." PF-2987/4Includes photographs of reunion attendees. Also includes photographs of the Webb School, Claremont, Calif., founded by Thompson Webb, member of the Class of 1912. |
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Series 3. Financial and Legal Material, 1694-1939 and undated.
Arrangement: by type.
Includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds pertaining to members of the Drane and Webb families. The earliest documents are scattered items and groups of papers relating to Robert Brent Drane's historical interests and are chiefly connected to the Edenton, N.C., area and to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. The Collins items are related to mercantile endeavors, including ship accounts and subscriptions lists, and to the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy. Later papers include Robert Brent Drane's financial and personal records including bills and receipts, inventories of books and stocks, an account book, 19th-century advertisements, and other items.
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Series 4. Sermons and Other Writings, 1818-1931 and undated.
Arrangement: by type.
Includes sermons by Robert Brent Drane and others. There are also notes kept by Robert Brent Drane and Marian Drane while students and other miscellaenous notes and fragments, including notes and figures written by Frederick Blount Drane about the Wright brothers' flight trials.
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Series 5. Church Records, 1925-1955.
Includes records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955, and a guest book, 1926-1932, signed by visitors to Robert Brent Drane's parish in Edenton, N.C.
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Items Separated
Processed by: SHC Staff, Kate Stratton, March 2010
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton, March 2010
Updated for addition, July 2017
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.
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