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Collection Number: 04299

Collection Title: James Crawford Biggs Papers, 1893-1960.

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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Size 4.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1,800 items)
Abstract James Crawford Biggs was an attorney in various North Carolina locations, 1894-1933 and 1935-1950; solicitor general of the United States, 1933-1935; and federally-appointed trustee for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Company. Correspondence, chiefly 1915-1924 and 1933-1939; organizational records and financial and legal material relating to the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway; notes for court cases; speeches and other writings on law, politics, and North Carolina history; miscellaneous financial and legal material; and photographs of Biggs and friends from the 1930s and 1940s. Correspondence comprises about three-quarters of the collection. The earlier correspondence concerns legal cases, points of law, and Democratic politics in North Carolina. Major correspondents include Henry Groves Connor, O. Max Gardner, William B. Guthrie, and Angus W. McLean. The larger group of correspondence, 1933-1939, consists of Biggs's generally routine and professional letters to and from North Carolina citizens, friends and acquaintances, railroad officials, attorneys, and Cabinet officials. There are letters from J. Melville Broughton, B. H. Griffin, William B. Guthrie, Stanley Reed, N. C. Hines, Robert R. Reynolds, William B. Snow, John J. Parker, and Frank Daniels. There are also a number of personal letters from Josephus Daniels during these and other years.
Creator Biggs, James Crawford, 1872-1960.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

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 James Crawford Biggs Papers, #4299, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Edwin R. MacKethan, Jr., of Norfolk, Va., March 1982.
Additional Descriptive Resources
A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.
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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, December 2009

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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

1872 James Crawford Biggs born in Oxford, N.C.
1883-1887 Educated at the Horner Military School, Oxford, N.C.
1889-1893 Educated at the University of North Carolina
circa 1893-1894 Taught at St. Alban's School, Radford, Va.
1894-1898 Served in North Carolina National Guard as adjutant general
1897 and 1898 Elected mayor of Oxford, N.C.
1898-1900 Associate professor and acting dean of the University of North Carolina Law School
1899 Helped found the North Carolina State Bar Association
1899 Returned to private law practice in Durham, N.C.
1905 Served as a representative to the North Carolina General Assembly from Durham County, N.C.
1905-1906 Appointed North Carolina Supreme Court Reporter
1906 Married Marjorie C. Jordan
1906-1911 Served as Judge of the North Carolina superior court from the Ninth Judicial District
1911 Birth of daughter, Marjorie
1911 Resumed private practice; appointed professor of law at Trinity College
1912 Floor manager for Woodrow Wilson at the State Democratic Convention; moved to Raleigh, N.C.
1914 Supported the Progressive Democratic Convention in Raleigh, N.C.
1917 Appointed special assistant to the United States attorney general, Southern Pacific Railroad Case
1919-1960 Served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina
1920 Managed Democrat O. Max Gardner's campaign for governor of North Carolina.
1920-1922 Served as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States in the Camp Bragg condemnation suits
1928 Co-managed Al Smith's presidential campaign in North Carolina with Senator Josiah Bailey
1929 Chaired North Carolina Board of Elections
1933-1935 Served as solicitor general of the United States
1935 Appointed to try the case of United States v. Northern Pacific Railway Company, involving the adjustment of land grants made to the railway
1935-1936 Director of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company
1950 Retired from public life
1960 Died at Hardimont near Raleigh, N.C.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Correspondence, chiefly 1915-1924 and 1933-1939; organizational records and financial and legal material relating to the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway; notes for court cases; speeches and other writings on law, politics, and North Carolina history; miscellaneous financial and legal material; and photographs of Biggs and friends from the 1930s and 1940s. Correspondence comprises about three-quarters of the collection. The earlier correspondence concerns legal cases, points of law, and Democratic politics in North Carolina. Major correspondents include Henry Groves Connor, O. Max Gardner, William B. Guthrie, and Angus W. McLean. The larger group of correspondence, 1933-1939, consists of Biggs's generally routine and professional letters to and from North Carolina citizens, friends and acquaintances, railroad officials, attorneys, and Cabinet officials. There are letters from J. Melville Broughton, B. H. Griffin, William B. Guthrie, Stanley Reed, N. C. Hines, Robert R. Reynolds, William B. Snow, John J. Parker, and Frank Daniels. There are also a number of personal letters from Josephus Daniels during these and other years.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Subject Files

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Solicitor General Years, 1933-1935.

About 600 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Chiefly professional correspondence of James Crawford Biggs during his tenure as United States Solicitor General, 1933-1935. Mostly letters and telegrams filed by correspondent or subject, the papers contain both incoming and outgoing correspondence and occasional other items, such as memoranda by Biggs to Attorney General Homer Commings. A significant number of letters are from North Carolina citizens, Biggs's friends and acquaintances, and others requesting assistance in application for positions in the administration. The papers also include invitations, congratulatory letters, and letters on the occasion of Bigg's retirement, as well as correspondence with cabinet officials, leaders of the American bar, prominent North Carolina attorneys and other well-known citizens of the state. There are, in addition, about twelve personal letters between the Biggses and Mr. and Mrs. Josephus Daniels, as well as other correspondence with members of the Daniels family of Raleigh, N.C.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

Andrews, Alexander B.

Folder 2

A (miscellaneous)

Folder 3

Bailey, Josiah W.

Folder 4

Battle, George Gordon

Folder 5

Broughton, J. Melville

See also Folder 69.

Folder 6

B (miscellaneous)

Folder 7-8

Folder 7

Folder 8

Congratulatory telegrams, April 1933

Folder 9

C (miscellaneous)

Folder 10

Daniels, C. C.

Folder 11

Daniels, Frank

Folder 12

Daniels, Jonathan

Folder 13

Daniels, Josephus

See also Folder 72.

Folder 14

D (miscellaneous)

Folder 15

E (miscellaneous)

Folder 16

F (miscellaneous)

Folder 17

Graham, Frank Porter

Folder 18

Griffin, B. H.

See also Folder 75.

Folder 19

Guthrie, William B.

See also Folder 76.

Folder 20

G (miscellaneous)

Folder 21

Hines, N. C.

Folder 22

Hoover, J. Edgar

Folder 23

Hughes, Charles Evans

Folder 24-28

Folder 24

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

H (miscellaneous)

Folder 29

I (miscellaneous)

Folder 30

J (miscellaneous)

Folder 31

K (miscellaneous)

Folder 32

L (miscellaneous)

Folder 33

Memoranda for the Attorney General

Folder 34-35

Folder 34

Folder 35

M (miscellaneous)

Folder 36

Notes on speeches, addresses, etc.

Folder 37

N (miscellaneous)

Folder 38

O (miscellaneous)

Folder 39

Parker, John J.

Folder 40-42

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 42

Patronage requests, 1933

Folder 43

Perkins, Frances

Folder 44

Personal (letters of congratulations, 1933)

Folder 45

Personal (letters of recommendation)

Folder 46-47

Folder 46

Folder 47

Personal (recommendation letters for Biggs, 1933)

Folder 48

Phillips, William

Folder 49

Public relations

Folder 50

P (miscellaneous)

Folder 51

Resignation (of Biggs, March 1935)

Folder 52

Reynolds, Robert W.

Folder 53

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano

Folder 54

Roper, Daniel C.

Folder 55

R (miscellaneous)

Folder 56

Snow, William B.

Folder 57

Stevenson, Adlai E.

Folder 58

S (miscellaneous)

Folder 59

T (miscellaneous)

Folder 60

VanHecke, M. T.

Folder 61

Wachovia Bank and Trust Company

Folder 62-65

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

Folder 65

W (miscellaneous)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. Office Files, 1935-1950.

About 300 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Chiefly personal and professional correspondence of James Crawford Biggs, beginning immediately after the announcement of his resignation as solicitor general. Although a number of letters relate to the resignation, most of the material consists of correspondence, relating to Biggs's financial and legal dealings with J. Melville Broughton and others. Also included is an address by Biggs relating to Durham, N.C., in the late nineteenth century, and correspondence with Josephus Daniels, 1935-1936.

Folder 66

Addresses

Folder 67

A (miscellaneous)

Folder 68

Biographical material (Biggs)

Folder 69

Broughton, J. Melville

See also Folder 5.

Folder 70

B (miscellaneous)

Folder 71

C (miscellaneous)

Folder 72

Daniels, Josephus

See also Folder 13.

Folder 73

D (miscellaneous)

Folder 74

F (miscellaneous)

Folder 75

Griffin, B. H.

See also Folder 18.

Folder 76

Guthrie, William B.

See also Folder 19.

Folder 77

G (miscellaneous)

Folder 78

H-K (miscellaneous)

Folder 79

Lawrence Brothers Company (Raleigh, N.C.)

Folder 80

Lawyers' Building (Raleigh, N.C.)

Folder 81-82

Folder 81

Folder 82

L (miscellaneous)

Folder 83

M (miscellaneous)

Folder 84

North Carolina Wine Act

Folder 85

N (miscellaneous)

Folder 86

Personal (letters upon resignation, 1935)

Folder 87

P (miscellaneous)

Folder 88

Reed, Stanley

Folder 89-90

Folder 89

Folder 90

Resignation (of Biggs, March 1935)

Folder 91

R (miscellaneous)

Folder 92

S (miscellaneous)

Folder 93

Taplin, Frank E.

Folder 94

T-V (miscellaneous)

Folder 95

W (miscellaneous)

Folder 96

Y (miscellaneous)

Folder 97

Z (miscellaneous)

Folder 98

Unidentified items

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.3. Miscellaneous, 1916-1956.

About 100 items.

Chiefly correspondence, research notes, writings, and assorted printed material, relating to North Carolina history, Biggs family history, financial and legal matters, and Biggs's major court cases. Included are letters from Archibald Henderson, Frank Porter Graham, Paul Green, Josephus Daniels, Hubert M. Poteat, Kay Kyser, Jonathan Daniels, and others largely relating to the Raleigh (N.C.) Sesquicentennial Commission, and a number of business letters from Governor J. Melville Broughton.

Folder 99

Research

Folder 100

Writings

Folder 101

Financial and legal matters, 1936-1938

Folder 102

Financial and legal matters, 1947-1948

Folder 103

Correspondence: General

Folder 104

Correspondence: Legal and financial

Folder 105

"Old Cases Papers," 1917-1947

Folder 106

"Old Correspondence: Personal," 1916-1920

Folder 107

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, 1939-1946

Folder 108-109

Folder 108

Folder 109

Miscellaneous items

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Correspondence, 1932-1940 and undated.

About 350 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly routine business and professional correspondence, 1935-1937, between Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company trustee James Crawford Biggs, officers of the railroad, and businessmen and government officials. Arranged chronologically, most of the letters are between Biggs and W. M. Duncan, chairman of the board of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company, and James H. Agate, general attorney for the New York, Chicago, and St. Louis Rairoad, principal stockholder in the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company. Some correspondence of James Crawford Biggs with creditors of the Wheeling and Lake Erie is included, yet most letters are routine notifications of recent financial transactions or of unpcoming board meetings. This subseries does not include any of Biggs's personal correspondence.

Folder 110-113

Folder 110

Folder 111

Folder 112

Folder 113

1935

Folder 114-116

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folder 116

1936

Folder 117-118

Folder 117

Folder 118

1937

Folder 119

1938

Folder 120

1939-1940, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Financial and Legal Material, 1916-1939.

About 50 items.

Chiefly miscellaneous financial and legal records of James Crawford Biggs in his position as trustee of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company, 1935-1939. Material includes balance sheets (called "income accounts"), bank statements, receipts, and financial reports.

Folder 121-122

Folder 121

Folder 122

Income accounts

Folder 123-124

Folder 123

Folder 124

Miscellaneous financial and legal

Folder 125

Undated items

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Organizational Records, 1929-1939.

About 35 items.

Arrangement: chronological within type.

Chiefly administrative memoranda, reports, and records of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company, 1935-1939. There is much statistical information on the railroad, as well as notices to shareholders and other miscellaneous records. There are copies of agendas for meetings, but no actual minutes of the board meetings of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company.

Folder 126-127

Folder 126

Folder 127

General organizational records

Folder 128-129

Folder 128

Folder 129

Agendas for board meetings

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1915-1960.

About 100 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly scattered professional correspondence of James Crawford Biggs, including incoming and outgoing letters. Nearly half of the letters date from the period between 1915 and 1918, covering Bigg's years in private practice in Durham, N.C., and the first years of his involvement in the federal government's "Elk Hills" Case. Most of the letters deal with points of law, endorsements, and Biggs's government appointment, and include correspondence with North Carolinians such as Henry Groves Connor, Josephus Daniels, O. Max Gardner, and William B. Guthrie. The letters for these years do not reflect Biggs's involvement in North Carolina Democratic politics.

Correspondence for the remaining years is largely professional between Biggs and clients and also with prominent members of the North Carolina bar concerning matters of law, individual legal cases, endorsements, and Democratic politics in North Carolina. Included are a letter, 1924, from Angus W. McLean seeking Biggs's assistance in a controversy with Senator Josiah Bailey about the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company; occasional letters from Josephus Daniels to Biggs and his wife, Marjorie; and a copy of a 1924 Daniels letter to Calvin Coolidge. There are also a few letters from Robert Watson Winston, Archibald Henderson, and Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy.

Folder 130

1915

Folder 131

1916

Folder 132

1917

Folder 133

1918

Folder 134

1919

Folder 135

1920

Folder 136

1922

Folder 137

1923

Folder 138

1924

Folder 139

1927

Folder 140

1928

Folder 141

1929

Folder 142

1930

Folder 143

1932

Folder 144

1938

Folder 145

1940

Folder 146

1941

Folder 147

1942

Folder 148

1960

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Writings

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.1. Speeches and Essays, circa 1915-1944.

About 20 items.

Chiefly addresses by James Crawford Biggs to civic groups, historical societies, and attorneys in North Carolina that generally fall under four headings: the American legal system, North Carolina history, the role of women in society, and politics. Included in the latter category are two drafts of a speech, "Smith As A Man and Candidate," 1928, defending the stands taken by Democratic presidential nominee Al Smith on temperance, the race question, and other issues.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.1.1. American Legal System

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.1.2. North Carolina History

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.1.3. Women's Roles

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.1.4. Politics

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.2. Notes and Memoranda, circa 1930-1940.

5 items.

Mostly notes relating to court cases of James Crawford Biggs. Included is Biggs's transcription of an article in the Greensboro (N.C.) News of 1933, speculating on candidates for the United States solicitor general.

Folder 157

Notes and memoranda

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 4.3. Other Writings, 1933-1949.

3 items.

Copies of writings by others relating to Biggs family ancestors, the banking industry (circa 1935), and the Bill of Rights.

Folder 158

Other writings

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Miscellaneous Financial and Legal Material

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.1. Court Cases Papers, circa 1917-1935.

About 75 items.

Arrangement: roughly chronological.

Chiefly notes and other writings pertaining to James Crawford Biggs's court cases, circa 1917-1935. Well over half of the items are Biggs's "notes for cases argued by Solicitor General," chiefly for the fall term of 1934 and for the case of the United States versus Northern Pacific Railway Company et. al. Other items include a few 1934 memoranda from the attorney general's office to the solicitor general. Papers relating to Biggs's other cases before, during, and after his term as solicitor general are largely absent.

Folder 159-192

Folder 159

Folder 160

Folder 161

Folder 162

Folder 163

Folder 164

Folder 165

Folder 166

Folder 167

Folder 168

Folder 169

Folder 170

Folder 171

Folder 172

Folder 173

Folder 174

Folder 175

Folder 176

Folder 177

Folder 178

Folder 179

Folder 180

Folder 181

Folder 182

Folder 183

Folder 184

Folder 185

Folder 186

Folder 187

Folder 188

Folder 189

Folder 190

Folder 191

Folder 192

"Notes for Cases argued by Solicitor General"

Folder 193-194

Folder 193

Folder 194

U.S. v. Northern Pacific Railway

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 5.2. Other Material, 1863-1957.

About 25 items.

Chiefly deeds and other legal and financial papers, circa 1940, relating to James Crawford Biggs's "Hardimont" estate in Raleigh, N.C., and other real estate interests. Included are two property maps and a sketch. Also included are two Civil War era medical documents tied to Dr. B. W. Robinson.

Folder 195-199

Folder 195

Folder 196

Folder 197

Folder 198

Folder 199

Miscellaneous financial and legal material

Folder 200

Miscellaneous financial and legal material, 19th century

Folder 201

Folder number not used

Extra Oversize Paper Folder X-OPF-4299/1

Maps and sketch

Includes a map and sketch, 1929, related to the development of the grounds of the James Crawford Biggs estate. Also includes a map, circa 1917, showing federal oil lands in the San Joaquin Valley, Calif., relating to the federal government's case against the Southern Pacific Railway.

Folder 202

Account book, 1893-1894

Folder 203

Passports

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. Miscellaneous Printed Material, circa 1902-1960.

About 80 items.

Arrangement: chronological

Chiefly clippings from North Carolina newspapers relating to the public career of James Crawford Biggs, particularly his two years as solicitor general of the United States, 1933-1935. A few clippings of newspaper articles by Biggs are included, as well as items about Biggs's court cases, his wife Marjorie, and obituaries.

Folder 204

1902-1932

Folder 205-208

Folder 205

Folder 206

Folder 207

Folder 208

1933-1935

Folder 209

1936-1939

Folder 210

1943-1952

Folder 211

1956-1960

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 7. Pictures, circa 1927-1942.

About 30 items.

Almost entirely photographs of James Crawford Biggs, seperately and with friends, during his years as solicitor general, 1933-1935. Also included are photographs of North Carolina governors Angus W. McLean, circa 1927, and J. Melville Broughton, 1942, and a photograph album containing fifteen photos taken at the dedication ceremonies for the Department of Justice Building, 1934.

Image P-4299/1-2

P-4299/1

P-4299/2

Biggs, James Crawford, circa 1933-1945

Photographer: Underwood & Underwood, Washington, D.C.

Image P-4299/3-10

P-4299/3

P-4299/4

P-4299/5

P-4299/6

P-4299/7

P-4299/8

P-4299/9

P-4299/10

Biggs, James Crawford, circa 1933-1945

Photographer: Blackstone Studios, New York, N.Y.

Image P-4299/11

Biggs, James Crawford and others at a meeting

Photograph was presumably taken at the meeting of the executive committee of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, Raleigh, N.C., 1948.

Oversize Image OP-P-4299/1-2

OP-P-4299/1

OP-P-4299/2

Biggs, James Crawford and United States Justice Department officials, 1935

Photographer: Harris and Ewing, Washington, D.C.

Image P-4299/13

Biggs, James Crawford and friends at a formal dinner, circa 1933-1945

Photographer: Underwood and Underwood, Washington, D.C.

Image P-4299/14

McLean, Angus W., circa 1927

Photographer: Harris and Ewing, Washington, D.C.

Image P-4299/15

Broughton, J. Melville, 1942

Caption reads, "To my old and former law partner J. Crawford Biggs, with best wishes, J. Melville Broughton."

Image SF-P-4299/16

Unidentified individuals, tintype, circa 1900-1920

Photograph Album PA-4299/1

Photograph album and scrapbook

Contains photographs taken at the dedication ceremonies for the Department of Justice Building, 1934.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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