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Collection Number: 04412-z

Collection Title: Harriet Burt Parker Spruill Papers, 1879-2007 (bulk 1879-1921)

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.

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Size 14 items
Abstract Letters from Harriet Burt Parker Spruill, a homemaker, to various relatives concerning social and personal matters in Littleton, Halifax County, N.C., and other matters, including a trip Spruill made to Washington, D.C., in 1918, which she described in great detail in a 137- page letter. The addition of September 2022 includes typed copies of letters written primarily by Spruill, 1879-1919.
Creator Spruill, Harriet Burt Parker, b. 1860.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
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 Harriet Burt Parker Spruill papers #4412-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcription available.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Katharine Harrison of Rocky Mount, N.C., in June 1985 and from the estate of Katharine Harrison via Tim West in September 2022 (Acc. 20221220.2).
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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Processed by: Carolyn Roff, July 1986

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas and Rebecca Stubbs, February 2023

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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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Harriet Burt Parker Spruill was born 13 March 1860, in Enfield, N.C. She was the daughter of Col. Francis Marion Parker, a distinguished Civil War soldier, and Sally Tart Phillips. One of her ancestors was John Haywood, who settled in Edgecombe County and was a surveyor for Lord Granville. She was one of nine children.

In 1881, at the age of 20, she married Peter Arrington Spruill. They lived in Littleton, N.C.

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Letters written by Harriet Burt Parker Spruill to different family members. They discuss her wedding and various parties she attended, as well as a celebration occasioned by the delivery of a new piano. The most notable item is Harriet's 133-page letter to her sister Kate that describes a trip to Washington, D.C., in 1917. The addition of September 2022 includes typed copies of letters written primarily by Spruill, 1879-1919.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Harriet Burt Parker Spruill Papers, 1879-2007 (bulk 1879-1921).

Folder 1

Loose letters, 1881-1916

Folder 2

Loose letters, 1917-1921

Folder 3

Loose letters Undated

Folder 4

Bound letters

Folder 5

Letters of Harriet Burt Parker Spruill, 1879-2007

Acquisitions information: Received from the estate of Katharine Harrison via Tim West in September 2022 (Acc. 20221220.2). West notes that most of the letters might also be in the Harrison & Smith Family Papers (#5144).

Includes typed copies of letters written primarily by Harriet Burt Parker Spruill, originally assembled in a three-pronged report cover titled Letters of Harriet Burt Parker Spruill and presented as a gift from Katharine (Kate) Harrison to Spruill's great-granddaughter Mary in 1985. The preface to the letters includes a letter from Harrison explaining the gift, and a relative's letters about their discovery of the correspondence. The letters from Spruill ("Hattie") are described with a brief heading (recipient and some context), likely added by Harrison. Most of the letters are written by Spruill and describe the events of her life and family interactions, but there are a couple from her relatives and one from her husband's military colleague discussing Spruill's husband’s death in France during the 1918 influenza pandemic. There is also documentation of Spruill's parents' wedding. There is a list, "People Mentioned In The Letters," listed chronologically by appearance with brief descriptions. Copies of letters to Harrison from former Southern Historical Collection director Carolyn Wallace and Southern novelist Allan Gurganus are included at the end.

Folder 6

Letters of Harriet Burt Parker Spruill, 1986-2007

Acquisitions information: Received from the estate of Katharine Harrison via Tim West in September 2022 (Acc. 20221220.2).

Includes seven letters and notes, dating from 1986 to 2007, from relatives and other parties expressing appreciation for Spruill's letters. Items were removed from an enclosure in the back of Letters of Harriet Burt Parker Spruill.

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