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Size | 4.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2050 items) |
Abstract | Correspondence, subject files, speeches, and photographs of William Thomas Joyner, attorney of Raleigh, N.C., covering family matters; Joyner's law practice, including his work as attorney for the Southern Railway Company; his interest in public education, military affairs, and politics in North Carolina and the nation; and his many civic activities. Included are letters, 1970, about school busing for desegregation from Jesse Helms (1921-2008), later U.S. senator; materials concerning an inspection of U.S. Army bases in the Far East, 1949; and a case involving the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan (1817-1871), 1964. The nineteenth- century materials are a few letters of Joyner family members. |
Creator | Joyner, William T. (William Thomas), 1891-1981. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Harry McKown, November 1984; Connie Cartledge, March 1986; Mark Beasley, December 1986; Marion Presler, with processing assistance from Barbara Logsdon and Kelly Grady, February 1987
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, February 2022
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.
William Thomas Joyner was born in Goldsboro, N.C., on 11 April 1891. His mother was Effie Harper Rouse Joyner. His father, James Yadkin Joyner, was a leader in education in North Carolina, ultimately becoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1903.
William Thomas Joyner was educated in the public schools of Raleigh, N.C., and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an A.B. degree in 1911. After teaching school briefly, Joyner entered Harvard Law School, receiving an LL.B. degree in 1916.
Joyner began the practice of law in Raleigh in 1916 and remained an active attorney in civil practice until his retirement in 1979. He formed partnerships with Kale K. Burgess in 1917, Willis Smith in 1926, and Robert C. Howison, Jr., in 1939.
Joyner served in the field artillery during World War I, ultimately becoming a major in the 45th Field Artillery. In 1923 he was made colonel of the 113th Field Artillery of the North Carolina National Guard, serving until 1932. For the remainder of his life Joyner maintained an interest in military affairs and was regularly addressed as Colonel.
Joyner was a prominent figure in the Democratic Party in North Carolina. He was secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee in 1920; chairman of the North Carolina Elections Board, 1944-1947; and chairman of the North Carolina Highway Commission in 1957. Joyner considered himself a political moderate, but increasingly in the 1950s and 1960s he sided with the Democratic Party's conservative wing. While he never formally left the Party, Joyner endorsed Republicans Richard Nixon in 1968 and Jesse Helms in 1972.
Joyner participated in a number of civic groups and was an active Southern Baptist. He frequently taught Sunday school and was in demand as a public speaker.
Joyner married Sue Arrington Kitchin in 1920; their children were William T. Joyner, Jr., Walton K. Joyner, and Sue Kitchin Joyner Sprunt.
William Thomas Joyner died in Raleigh on 30 December 1981.
Back to TopCorrespondence, subject files, speeches, and photographs of William Thomas Joyner, attorney of Raleigh, N.C., covering family matters; Joyner's law practice, including his work as attorney for the Southern Railway Company; his interest in public education, military affairs, and politics in North Carolina and the nation; and his many civic activities. Included are letters, 1970, about school busing for desegregation from Jesse Helms (1921- ), later U.S. senator; materials concerning an inspection of U.S. Army bases in the Far East, 1949; and a case involving the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan (1817-1871), 1964. The nineteenth- century materials are a few letters of Joyner family members.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Joyner's correspondence relates for the most part to family matters, his law practice, and his social and political activities. On the whole, the correspondence deals with routine activities and concerns. Of notable interest is Joyner's correspondence with Jesse Helms, executive vice-president of WRAL-TV, about school busing, February 1970.
These files reflect Joyner's many professional, political, and personal interests. Particularly important material concerns Joyner's trip of inspection to the far eastern bases of the United States Army with Secretary of the Army Kenneth C. Royal in 1949, Joyner's participation in a legal case involving the trustees of the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan in 1964, and Joyner's support for Jesse Helms's campaign for the United States Senate, 1972.