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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
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 | 10.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 10,000 items) |
| Abstract | Thomas F. (Thomas Felix) Hickerson was a professor of civil engineering and applied mathematics at the University of North Carolina and an expert in highway design. The collection includes professional and technical correspondence related to Hickerson's work as professor at the University of North Carolina; papers, photographs, and genealogical and other data connected with the writing of his two books about the history and families of the Happy Valley area in Wilkes county and Caldwell county, N.C.; and about fifty items concerning the slaying of William C. Falkner (great-grandfather of the novelist William Faulkner) at Ripley, Miss., in 1889. |
| Creator | Hickerson, Thomas F. (Thomas Felix), 1882-1968. |
| 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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Processing Information
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, December 2009
Updated by: Laura Hart, February 2021
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.
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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
Thomas F. Hickerson (1882-1968) was a professor of civil engineering and applied mathematics at the University of North Carolina and an expert in highway design. Hickerson was educated at the University of North Carolina and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hickerson's book Route Location and Design was published by McGraw-Hill.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes professional and technical correspondence related to Thomas F. Hickerson's work as professor at the University of North Carolina; papers, photographs, and genealogical and other data connected with the writing of his two books about the history and families of the Happy Valley area in Wilkes and Caldwell counties, N.C.; and about fifty items concerning the slaying of William C. Falkner (great-grandfather of the novelist William Faulkner) at Ripley, Miss., in 1889.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Engineering Series, 1911-1967 and undated.
Correspondence includes letters from students, private construction firms, North Carolina Society of Engineers, various state highway commissions, copies of reports, correspondence with McGraw-Hill Publishing Company regarding Route Location and Design, and book orders from various libraries.
| Folder 1 |
1911-1921 |
| Folder 2 |
1929-1942 |
| Folder 3 |
1945-1949 |
| Folder 4 |
1950-1952 |
| Folder 5 |
1953-1954 |
| Folder 6 |
1955 |
| Folder 7 |
1956 |
| Folder 8 |
1957 |
Folder 9-10
Folder 9Folder 10 |
1958 |
Folder 11-12
Folder 11Folder 12 |
1959 |
| Folder 13 |
1960-1961 |
| Folder 14 |
1962-1964 |
| Folder 15 |
1965 |
Folder 16-17
Folder 16Folder 17 |
1966 |
| Folder 18 |
1967 |
Folder 19-20
Folder 19Folder 20 |
Undated proofs, diagrams, and reports |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-3908/1 |
Certificate, Educational Society, Christian College of Virginia |
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Series 2. Happy Valley Series, 1930-1967 and undated.
Hickerson's hobby was the genealogy and family history of his and other old families living along the Yadkin River in Wilkes and Caldwell counties in the region known as Happy Valley. In 1940 Hickerson published a book on this region called Happy Valley, History and Genealogy. Much of the correspondence in this series is with descendents of the Lenoirs, Gwyns, Finleys, and other families of the valley, trying to piece together lines of descent. In 1962 Hickerson published a sequel, Echoes of Happy Valley, which was expanded to include excerpts from old letters and diaries with a special section on Civil War narratives, heretofore unpublished. Other correspondence is from friends in Happy Valley, N.C., and their relatives scattered around the country, giving information and encouragement. There are also letters ordering copies of the books, and many letters praising them, as well as letters from Dorothy D. Lenoir of Hattiesburg, Miss., concerning her research on the Lenoir family. There are also letters concerning the restoration of Fort Defiance. Also includes historical and genealogical material Hickerson used in writing his Happy Valley books.
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Series 3. Falkner's Feuds Material, 1963-1964 and undated
Hickerson wrote a 32 page monograph entitled "Falkner's Feuds," a study of the Falkner-Thurmond feud of the 1800s which culminated in Thurmond fatally shooting Falkner, being tried in court, and acquitted. The papers include Hickerson's correspondence, mainly 1963-1964, concerning his research into the slaying of William C. Falkner on 9 November 1899 in Ripley, Mississippi, and promotional materials. William C. Falkner was the great-grandfather of the novelist William Faulkner.
| Folder 76a-76c |
"Falkner's Feuds" |
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Series 4. Pictures, circa 1800-1961 and undated.
Includes photographs, cartes-de-visite, and cabinet cards primarily of members of families represented in the Happy Valley materials.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
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Series 5. Addition of July 1970
Restriction: 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.
Box 3-4
Box 3Box 4 |
Happy Valley materialsCorrespondence and data connected with Happy Valley, Echoes of Happy Valley, and Hickerson's kin. |
| Box 5 |
Professional and technical correspondence |
| Box 6 |
Personal and Hickerson family letters |
| Box 7 |
Photographs |
Clippings |
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Items Separated