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.
Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 420 items) |
Abstract | Primarily narratives compiled from oral history interviews (called "life histories"), folkways, legends, and other items written and collected by workers of the Federal Writers' Project of North Carolina, 1938-1941, with accompanying administrative material, including instructions to writers. Most of the life histories are variants of items in the Federal Writers' Project Papers (#3709) in the Southern Historical Collection, but there are 10 that do not appear in that collection. The folkways and legends are chiefly stories concerning North Carolina in the colonial, Revolutionary, and Civil War periods. A number of essays relate to Raleigh, N.C. T. S. Ferree collected this material in the course of his work as a research editor with the Federal Writers' Project in Raleigh, N.C. |
Creator | Ferree, Thaddeus, circa 1881-circa 1972. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Sandra Nyberg, January 1984
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Conscious Editing Work by: Nancy Kaiser, August 2020 (updated title, abstract, biographical note, scope and content note, and container list); by: Anne Wells, April 2021; by Nancy Kaiser, July 2023 (added statement about "Croatan")
NOTE: Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
NOTE: Select documents, titles, and description found in this collection contain harmful and racist language used by the creators of these documents. Titles and descriptions provided by creators of the collection are indicated with quotation marks. Some of these original titles and descriptions contain harmful language. In 2020, archivists removed transcriptions of the harmful portions of the titles from the finding aid and replaced them with [racist slur]. The original titles and harmful language remain on the physical documents and digitized access copies. We have not removed racial terms "Negro" or "Colored" because we feel they provide important historical context about the materials and who created them and they facilitate the research process. We recognize that these terms also may cause harm and will periodically revisit our decision to include them. We recognize the complexity of this issue and welcome feedback on this decision at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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.
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.
The Federal Writers' Project, a New Deal program that from 1935 to 1942, was a component of the Works Progress Administration. From its inception, the Federal Writers Project in North Carolina had three objectives: to provide jobs for the unemployed, to rehabilitate workers by helping them to maintain and improve their skills, and to produce publications of lasting merit as a contribution to the culture of the state and local communities. At one point as many as 130 North Carolinians were on the rolls of the Federal Writers Project.
The signal achievement of the FWP in North Carolina was the Guide to the Old North State, which was published to favorable reviews in 1939 and subsequently appeared in two reprint editions. North Carolinians also contributed to These Are Our Lives (1939), a compilation of interviews with ordinary working people in the state.
Adapted from the Federal Writers Project entry for NCpedia.org.
Thaddeus S. Ferree, a white man, was born about 1881, possibly in Randolph County, N.C. At various times he worked as a lawyer, teacher, salesman, and intermittently for the Wake County Emergency Relief Administration Service. By 1938, T. S. Ferree had begun to work in Raleigh for the Federal Writers' Project. From 1 October 1939 to 7 April 1941, he worked continuously for the Federal Writers' Project as a research editor, apparently supervising the work of several others. Ferree was also employed occasionally as a private researcher, probably in genealogy, during this time. He was discharged from the Federal Writers' Project on 7 April 1941 ("removal required by law after 18 months of continuous employment.")
(Additional biographical information is available in the control file of these papers.)
Back to TopThaddeus Ferree Papers on the North Carolina Federal Writers Project consist of records produced between 1935 and 1941, with most materials dating from between 1938 and 1941. Included in the collection are narratives compiled from oral history interviews (called "life histories"); folkways and legends; essays on North Carolina's history, culture, and geography; and some administrative materials, primarily writers' guides and manuals.
Items have been divided into two series. Series I, Writings is divided into three subseries: narratives compiled from oral history interviews ("life histories"), folkways and legends, and other writings. "Other writings" (Subseries IC) is further divided into writings relating to the American Guide Series: North Carolina Guide and How They Began; writings about Raleigh, N.C.; writings about the rest of North Carolina; and drafts of two longer pamphlets--N. C. Browder's "The Co-op That Failed" and T. P. Matthews's "Secrets of a Dixieland Trapper."
Writings included in Series I were composed by many workers of the Federal Writers' Project in North Carolina, including Mary A. Hicks, Gertrude Gunter, W. O. Saunders, Travis Jordan, Claude Dunnagan, Edwin Massengill, Frances L. Harriss, and others. T. S. Ferree seems to have written only on the educational institutions of Raleigh and on epitaphs. However, his work as a research editor is evident in items throughout Series I.
Series II is composed of administrative materials of the Federal Writers' Project. It is also divided into three subseries: correspondence, writers' manuals and instructions to workers, and miscellaneous items. These administrative materials reflect the framework within which the writings in Series I were composed.
Back to TopNarratives compiled from oral history interviews by Federal Writers' Project workers are called "life histories" in the records. All subjects are from North Carolina. Arrangement is alphabetical by last name of interviewer. Many of the narratives written by W. O. Saunders are accompanied by carbon copies of letters to W. T. Couch and, occasionally, by a manuscript note to George L. Andrews. All of these letters were written in 1939.
The citations to the narratives below identify the interviewer, title of the life history, name of person interviewed, occupation of person interviewed, and residence of person interviewed. Narratives that have a variant form available in the Federal Writers' Project Papers (#3709) are indicated at the item level.
Processing Note: Select documents, titles, and description found in this series contain harmful and racist language used by the creators of these documents. Titles and descriptions provided by creators of the collection are indicated with quotation marks. Some of these original titles and descriptions contain harmful language. In 2020, archivists removed transcriptions of the harmful portions of the titles from the finding aid and replaced them with [racist slur]. The original titles and harmful language remain on the physical documents and digitized access copies. We have not removed racial terms "Negro" or "Colored" because we feel they provide important historical context about the materials and who created them and they facilitate the research process. We recognize that these terms also may cause harm and will periodically revisit our decision to include them. We recognize the complexity of this issue and welcome feedback on this decision at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
Folder 1 |
"A Quiz Kit? A Casket?" Samuel B. Barnwell, casket finisher and interior decorator, Gastonia, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by John H. Abner. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
"I Live a Full Life," John Plummer, doctor of medicine, Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Russell Houston. |
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"Bill Saunders, Landowner," Bahama, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Hazel Wicker," housewife (?), Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"John Lincoln," insurance salesman, Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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Folder 2 |
"Life in Erwin Village," several subjects living in a cotton mill village, West Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
"Martha Hinton--A Good Woman," former owner of a boarding house, Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Millie Markham's Story," formerly enslaved person in Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. |
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"Pearl Phillips," occupation undeterminable, Durham, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Travis Jordan. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Mrs. Nancy Gill's Lodging House," Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by R.O. King. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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Folder 3 |
"Teach 'er off, Charlie," Charlie Jackson, tobacco farmer, Smithfield, N.C. (two variant copies)Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Samuel Kluttz. |
"Born to Be a Hero," Nick Stewart, World War I veteran, Danbury, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Thurmand D. Martin. |
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"Hubert Harris," formerly enslaved person, Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by T. Pat Matthews. |
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"Jacop Thomas," formerly enslaved person, Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by T. Pat Matthews. |
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"Lafayette Miles," son of a formerly enslaved person, Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by T. Pat Matthews. |
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"Walter Boone," son of formerly enslaved person, Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by T. Pat Matthews. |
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Folder 4 |
"Hold, Hell! I've Got to Have the Money Now," Horatio S. Seymour, tenant farmer, Camden, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Frank L. Overton. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
"A Late Education," E. C. Shue, minister, Robersonville, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by Anna Belle W. Rogerson. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Business is a Pleasure," George A. Twiddy, Merchant, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Hopes It Will Be Twins," Wilma Alexander (pseud.), housewife, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"I Didn't Raise My Children to Want Meet," Georgia Rice, housekeeper, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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Folder 5 |
"Just Stays Home an' Minds His Own Business," John H. Bunch, saw-mill hand, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
"Some Things That Never Change," S. S. Nixon, fisherman, Stumpy Point, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"A Taskmaster in the Vineyard of the Lord," Rev. Carey Miles Cartwright, minister, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"When a Good Coffin Cost Only $4.50," G. Riley Swindell, carpenter, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Where Toime Is Kind," Morris Beasley, houseboat occupant, Collington Island, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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Folder 6 |
No title. Tom Burnett, scavenger, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
No title. Arthur Graham Harris, doctor of medicine, Fairfield, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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No title. Isaac (Big Ike) O'Neal, retired merchant and former seaman, Ocracoke, N.C. (two variant copies)Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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Folder 7 |
No title. Joe Singleton, barber, Elizabeth City, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
No title. John W. Twiford, ex-moonshiner, East Lake, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by W. O. Saunders. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Joseph Mandell," interview of John A. Mayo, attorney, Washington, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by William L. Vaughn and George L. Andrews. A variant form of this document is available in the Federal Writers Project Papers (#3709). |
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"Mary Anngady (Princess Quango Hennadonah Perceriah)," formerly enslaved person, married to an Abyssinian prince captured by P. T. Barnum. Raleigh, N.C.Federal Writers Project life history compiled by unknown author. |
Stories collected by Federal Writers' Project workers, dealing primarily with North Carolina history of the colonial, Revolutionary, and Civil War periods. Some of these stories have been published, an example being "Woman Trouble" by Travis Jordan, (in Bundle of Troubles, Federal Writers' Project, 1943). Authors whose stories appear in this subseries include Mary A. Hicks, T. Pat Matthews, Travis Jordan, W. O. Saunders, N. H. Bartlett, Furman Bisher, Frances L. Harriss, Edwin Massengill, Claude Dunnagan, John H. Abner, Ethel M. Cottingham, James Larkin Pearson, Christine Taylor, Cassie Gant, Sue Orice, Adyleen Merrick, Esther Searle Pinnix, and many others. These folkways and legends are arranged alphabetically by title or first line of text.
Processing Note: Select documents, titles, and description found in this subseries contain harmful and racist language used by the creators of these documents. Titles and descriptions provided by creators of the collection are indicated with quotation marks. Some of these original titles and descriptions contain harmful language. In 2020, archivists removed transcriptions of the harmful portions of the titles from the finding aid and replaced them with [racist slur]. The original titles and harmful language remain on the physical documents and digitized access copies. We have not removed racial terms "Negro" or "Colored" because we feel they provide important historical context about the materials and who created them and they facilitate the research process. We recognize that these terms also may cause harm and will periodically revisit our decision to include them. We recognize the complexity of this issue and welcome feedback on this decision at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
Essays composed by Federal Writers' Project workers, dealing with the history, culture, and geography of North Carolina.
"The Co-op That Failed" by Nat C. Browder. Three versions are included.
Folder 27 |
Browder, "Co-op," version 1 |
Folder 28 |
Browder, "Co-op," version 2 |
Folder 29 |
Browder, "Co-op," version 3 |
Correspondence relates primarily to projects being worked on, or special projects being developed, such as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Constitution and Community Activity Week. None of the letters is from or to T. S. Ferree, and none directly involves him. Arrangement is chronological. Further correspondence (letters from W. O. Saunders to W. T. Couch) can be found attached to items in Subseries IA, Life Histories.
Folder 56 |
Correspondence, 1936-1940 |
Manuals and instructions describe the appropriate structure for the topics to be included in the projects assigned to workers. Included are a copy of the "American Guide Manual," October 1935; supplementary instructions to the "American Guide Manual," issued in 1935 and 1936; specific instructions pertaining to tours, city guides, folklore from formerly enslaved people, life histories, and tall tales; and writers' manuals.
Folder 57 |
"American Guide Manual" |
Folder 58 |
Supplementary Instructions to the "American Guide Manual" |
Folder 59-60
Folder 59Folder 60 |
Instructions on Specific Topics |
Folder 61 |
Writers' Manuals |
Miscellaneous materials are divided into two categories: miscellaneous administrative items, including T. S. Ferree's work cards, a "List of Stories (folklore)," and a "Summary of Organization, Purposes, Achievements, and Plans" of the North Carolina Federal Writers' Project; and miscellaneous jokes and poems.
Folder 62 |
Miscellaneous Administrative Material |
Folder 63 |
Miscellaneous Jokes and Poems |