Arrangement: chronological.

Letters to and from several generations of McColl family members dealing chiefly with the courtship, education, child-rearing, and related matters. The majority of the earliest letters were from Duncan Donald McColl (1842-1911) to his future wife, Nellie Thomas (1846-1917). In his letter of 13 February 1870, Duncan McColl wrote, "I am candid to confess the greatest pleasure I have in writing to you, is the gratification of my own selfishness--the hope and expectation of hearing from you in return." Duncan McColl wrote of family, friends, school, church, and his daily life as an attorney in Bennettsville, S.C. On 30 April 1870, Duncan McColl announced that he and a few friends had organized a debating society: "I wish you could see with what dignity and formality [Mr. S] presides! Is woman man's equal? And ought she to be allowed to vote?' is our next query. I know you are ready to say the ladies don't stand the ghost of a chance of getting fair play in such a crowd." Duncan wrote that he would side with the ladies if it were not for the voting clause.

After the marriage of Duncan McColl to Nellie Thomas in September 1870, the correspondence between family members becomes less frequent. The notable exception is Duncan D. McColl's visit to Europe in 1906. On 6 July 1906, Duncan wrote to his sons, Kenneth and Hugh, about the region around Appin, Scotland. "Pass through the Appin Country today and was on the look out for the McColls. Found and [sic] old man named John McColl. Another Hugh McColl and another whose first name I do not remember. None are well off all just tenants of some land owner. This is fine country for scenery etc. but a poor country to get on in."

Duncan Donald McColl and Nellie Thomas McColl had three sons. Their eldest, Hugh Leon McColl (1874-1911) married Gabrielle Palmer Drake (1882-1964). The remainder of the correspondence in this subseries took place between members of Hugh L. McColl's family. In the 1920s, the primary correspondent was Hugh L. McColl (1905-1994). The younger Hugh wrote to his parents from his high school, Bailey Military Institute in Greenwood, S.C. In these letters, he wrote about his grades, his friends, his studies, and how much he missed hunting and his dogs Boob and Snow. After graduation, Hugh L. McColl attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. McColl was a rather lackluster student, although in many of his letters assured his parents he was studying very hard: "am studying and like all of my teachers fine..Yes C's' & D is a passing mark and I once heard Dr. Connor tell Lawrence Watt that a C' was a gentleman's grade." (11 January 1925) Hugh's two sisters, Marjorie and Gabrielle, also wrote to their parents. Marjorie attended Wellesley College, and Gabrielle went to Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. Gabrielle later transferred to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. In a long letter to her father, dated 21 April 1930, she elaborated her reasons for wanting to leave Converse. "It seems to me, although it may be a prejudice of mine, that Converse will not give me as much as North Carolina would..I am very much interested in both secretarial and library work, and of course, you have to have special training for both of those..I have really two main purposes in the N.C. idea. First, I believe that I would have a broader choice of academic work and probably more informative..Secondly, I do feel cramped rather here at Converse. I do not think it is exactly broadening to be confined as much as we are here..I do the same thing every day, see the same people, and do not have any opportunities to get out and see people."

In the 1930s and 1940s, Hugh and his sisters married and began to raise children of their own. Much of the correspondence during World War II came to the McColls from relatives serving in the Army and from friends in Great Britain. Herbert Davies, a friend of the family, wrote to Gabrielle Drake McColl on 8 March 1940 to calm her fears about the situation in England: "So far, believe it or not, the war has made singularly little difference to the tenor of life in England..We are 'blacked-out' at night as a safeguard against air attacks on towns..The first bomb which kills a man, woman, or child (particularly the woman or child) will send in train such a retribution as will make Master Hun sorry he started. We in this country have been trained to expect raids, they in Germany have been told they are immune that Britain is decadent..What will Hitler's foul regime be worth when we adopt a form of war which we will not start but which we cannot prevent once the Huns start?"

Arrangement: chronological.

Post cards sent to various McColl family members from friends and relatives travelling in the United States, Canada, and overseas. The majority of the post cards in the subseries date from the 1910s and 1920s.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, bank reports, bonds, deeds, insurance Papers, and other records pertaining chiefly to the Bank of Marlboro and other McColl family business interests. This subseries begins with the business papers of Duncan Donald McColl (1843-1911), who was an attorney in Bennettsville. In 1884, D. D. McColl along with ten other Bennettsville businessmen founded the Bank of Marlboro. The bank's charter stated that it would have capital of not less than $50,000, that shares were $100 each, and that the bank would have open books for subscription to capital stock. Although the $50,000 capital met the National Bank Act of 1863 standards, the Bank of Marlboro suffered in the early years. As McColl reported to his fellow shareholders on 6 September 1888, "owing to the fact that we have only one money crop in county, cotton, and with no other industry in the County [sic.] bringing in money, our deposit account is bound to run low in summer. In my judgement all proper means should be used by the officers and stockholders of the Bank to induce the general public to use the Bank as a depository. It is mutually of benefit to the Bank and to the Depositor [sic], and also to the community."

Under the leadership of Duncan D. McColl and his sons, the Bank of Marlboro became a sound financial institution, even through the Depression. On 10 January 1931, W. H. Wood, president of American Trust Company in Charlotte, N.C., wrote to congratulate Hugh McColl (1874-1931) on the soundness of the bank, "I read your financial statement of December 31 with a great deal of interest. You have a distinction that is unique, in that you have the strongest bank in the world, with far more cash on hand and in banks than you have on deposit. The Bank of England and the Federal Reserve cannot match you in strength." However, despite its durability, the Bank of Marlboro was liquidated in 1933. Hugh McColl (1905-1994) sold off the bank's assets to provide money for many of the stockholders who were experiencing financial difficulties because of the Depression. Both Hughs had considered selling the bank and there is considerable correspondence from bankers in North and South Carolina, as well as, New York to obtain the Bank of Marlboro. The selling off of the Bank did not sit well with every member of the McColl family. In a letter to his sister, Pearl M. McLeod, David K. McColl expressed his resistance to the liquidation, "largely for sentimental reasons I have been bitterly opposed to this liquidation. I feel after the bank has been a prosperous institution for nearly fifty years there is no fundamental reason why it cannot be properly carried on and earn money for its stockholders and prove a means to help legitimate business. But Little Hugh seems to feel it is detrimental to his financial and physical interest to continue the bank..therefore, I see nothing to do but to agree to their plans regardless of my personal feelings." (11 December 1933) In 1933, the Bank of Marlboro had resources amounting to $831,430.30, including cash in banks in New York; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Richmond, Va. (11 March 1933). Hugh McColl (19105-1994) kept the Bank of Marlboro in a liquidated state until 30 December 1953. During that twenty year period, the bank did not conduct any business and no liens were made. There would remain, in the vault, enough money to pay the last of the depositors, even after McColls death in 1994. After effectively liquidating the Bank of Marlboro, Hugh McColl, Jr. began work for McColl & Co. Cotton Merchants on 2 December 1935.

Although the McColls ran the Bank of Marlboro efficiently, a few of the letters indicate that banking was a hazardous industry in the 1920s. On 24 July 1922, Hugh McColl (1874-1931) wrote to his brother-in-law, Ernest H. Pringle asking Pringle to write a letter to Governor Wilson G. Harvey on behalf of Thomas B. McLaurin. McLaurin was the president of the Mutual Savings Bank in Bennettsville. In November 1920, he and two of his assistants disappeared leaving the bank with a deficit of $109,000. McColl had been put in charge of the receivership of the Mutual Savings Bank. In the letter, McColl told his brother-in-law why he felt that mercy should be shown to McLaurin, "now if this man McLaurin had stolen or used the bank's funds for his own personal gain I would not raise my hand to assist him, but it is not this way. He got to the place where he would pay one cent a pound over the market price for cotton and as high as 16% for money, all of his acts showing a lack of judgment instead of rascality."

Hugh McColl (1874-1931) also found himself in the position of petitioning for clemency on behalf of a former Bank of Marlboro employee, Ruric Sampson. McColl recommended Sampson to a West Palm Beach bank in May of 1921. Two years and half years later, McColl wrote to the Superintendent of Prisons for a parole for Sampson, "for this unfortunate man as I believe he has had a lasting lesson and is anxious to get out and support his family." (17 November 1923) Sampson had been found guilty of theft from the West Palm Beach bank and sent to the Federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Ga.

In addition to records on the Bank of Marlboro, the subseries also contains correspondence on public works projects in Bennettsville in the early 20th century, routine letters about stock and bonds holdings for various McColl family members, and correspondence about rental agreements and other related business matters.

Arrangement: chronological.

Primarily personal income tax returns for federal, state, and local taxes for Hugh McColl (1874-1931) and his son, Hugh McColl (1905-1994). This subseries also contains a 1923 return for the Bank of Marlboro.

Arrangement: chronological.

Stockholders and boards of directors meeting minutes, resolutions passed, financial statements, and other similar documents for the Marlboro Trust Company, a banking institution founded in Bennettsville in 1919. Although none of the McColls are listed on the corporate charter, both David K. McColl (1883-1952) and Hugh L. McColl (1905-1994) served on the boards of directors. Over the years, Hugh McColl (1905-1994) would become one of the major stockholders in the Marlboro Trust Company.

Arrangement: by person and by topic.

Correspondence, legal documents, receipts, and ledger books concerning estates of various McColl family members and the household expenses of Hugh McColl (1874-1931) and Hugh McColl (1905-1994). The female McColls left wills that stated how family jewelry and heirloom pieces would be divided up. Gabrielle Drake McColl stipulated that her daughter-in-law, Frances Carroll McColl (1906-1987) have "my diamond sunburst pin, and my silver service which includes tray, coffee pot, tea pot, sugar bowl and cream pitcher." The male McColls wrote wills that tried to keep their estates from lengthy and costly probating. In a letter to his son, dated 3 May 1988, Hugh McColl (1905-1994) stated "I believe it is best to have you, Kenneth, and Jimmy as my executors. I know it will be lots of trouble but I believe it will save around $75,000."

Articles, notes, poems, rough drafts, notes, and correspondence about publishing. Gabrielle Drake McColl wrote primarily about gardening and irises. She also wrote poetry, book reviews, and essays on diverse topics, such as, South Carolina history and North Carolina writers. One paper, written in the 1920s, pondered the question of what future historians would label the second quarter of the twentieth century; "[n]evertheless, let us try to give it a name. Shall we call it Bursting the Bonds of the Spirit? You has cast off Victorian convention which shackled its fast moving stride.." (folder 146). This subseries also has a photocopy and transcript of an essay by Gabrielle Drake McColl written on 21 May 1897 upon her completion of Marlboro Graded School. In the composition entitled "What shall I do with it?," Gabrielle Palmer Drake wondered What shall the future appalling now in its emptiness, its dread uncertainty bring to me?' (folder 147)

Two typescripts of a letter written by Duncan Donald McColl (1877-1930) to his niece and typewritten notes on the town of McColl, S.C. In the letter, to Mary Ford Pringle Fenhagen Anderson, D. D. McColl wrote about his father, Duncan Donald McColl (1842-1911). McColl told his niece about his father's childhood, education, and businesses. The notes on the town of McColl, S.C., are dated 1925. They may have been intended for another book on Marlboro Co., S.C. D. D. McColl had previously authored a book entitled Sketches of Old Marlboro (1916).

Frontpiece of a poetry volume, two typescripts of short stories, and one typescript of a travel diary. The frontpiece is for a volume of poetry written by Mary J. MacColl [sic]. The short stories were written by Nellie Thomas McColl (1846-1917), wife of Duncan Donald McColl (1842-1911). This subseries also contains a typescript of a travel diary kept by Nellie T. McColl on a trip abroad in 1912. The trip took her to England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Despite her poor health, Nellie McColl looked forward to the trip. "American tourists are not supposed to know any foreign history, or whether Shakespeare is dead, or who painted all those queer old Madonnas with blue eyes and adolescent juvenile faces with not a line nor shadow on them, all of them with an over-fat baby somewhere about. But not withstanding our ignorance, some of us long for the pictures, the art treasures, the dim cathedrals, the wonderful scenery, the grand castles, the neat wayside homes, as for the return of a beautiful dream."

Arrangement: by topic.

Correspondence, genealogy charts, notes, family histories, and other research material on the McColl family in Scotland and in North and South Carolina. Included with the various family members own notes and charts is a bound family history entitled McColl Scottish Settlers. This volume traces the McColl families in Marion and Marlboro Counties, S.C., from 1773 to 1966.

Correspondence, research notes, genealogy charts, family histories, and other related documents on the Drake family of South Carolina. This subseries also contains a manuscript volume and typescript of a journal kept by Gabrielle Palmer Drake about her daughter, Gabrielle Drake McColl. The journal begins in February 1888 and continues through until August 1899. Gabrielle Drake discussed her daughter's illnesses, her education, and other changes through the years.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Letters, genealogy charts, notes, family histories, and related material on families related through marriage to either the McColl or Drake families.

Arrangement: chronological.

School report cards, essays, assignments, and yearbooks for various McColl family members. The earliest material in this subseries are the yearbooks for Gabrielle Drake McColl from her collegiate years at Converse College. There are also annuals from Bailey Military Institute, the University of North Carolina, and Bennettsville High School.

Arrangement: chronological.

Day books, diaries, and calendars primarily belonging Gabrielle D. McColl. The diaries and day books kept by Gabrielle D. McColl contain mostly entries about weather and gardening. On occasion she did write about personal matters. On 18 April 1931, she wrote "One week today!" remarking on the recent death of her husband. On 26 February 1932, she wrote elated over the birth of her first grandchild, Frances Carroll McColl, "Fran's darling baby born at 5:04 in the afternoon..I am so happy this little thing is here.." Hugh McColl (1905-1994) kept a travel diary on his European trip in the summer of 1927. McColl left New York on the Cunard line S.S. Tusania. He visited London, Edinburgh, Paris, Marseille, Nice and Geneva. The diary has his comments on the weather, the scenery, and the local people.

Arrangement: chronological.

Civic awards, summer camp certificates, diplomas, and legal credentials for various McColl family members.

Arrangement: chronological.

NewsPapers, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and magazines about the McColl family or topics of interest to the McColls. The newspapers are primarily The Charlotte Observer, The New York Times, the Marlboro Herald-Advocate, The News and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), and school newspapers from the University of North Carolina and Bailey Military Institute. Most of the clippings come from these newsPapers, as well. Most of the magazines and their articles are on Hugh McColl (1935- ). They include write-ups from Southern Living, Tar Heel Banker, and Business North Carolina. In addition to articles about the McColl family, this subseries contains an article on the sinking of the Titanic (19 April 1912), many book reviews from The New York Times Review of Books, and articles on World War II.

Arrangement: chronological.

Civil War muster roll for the 21st South Carolina Infantry; service papers for Hugh McColl (1905-1994) from the South Carolina Defense Forces for 1941-1947; and paperwork involving Hugh McColl's service in the Marine Corps, 1957-1960.