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Size | 62.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 35,000 items) |
Abstract | O. Arthur Kirkman was a white businessman and politician born in 1900 in High Point, N.C. He served in many positions, including executive vice-president, with the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad, from 1930 to 1965. He also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1949-1953, and in the North Carolina Senate, 1953-1961. His wife, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, was a city councilwoman in High Point, N.C., from 1951 to 1959, and was on the Guilford County Board of Education from 1963 to 1976. The collection consists of correspondence, business records, financial and legal papers, photographs, and other materials related to O. Arthur Kirkman, his wife, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, and their family. Kirkman family correspondence covers many topics, including O. Arthur Kirkman's collegiate studies at the University of Virginia and Oxford University in England; his membership in Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity; his work as city councilman and mayor of High Point, N.C.; and his service as legislator in the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate. Correspondents include O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman; their children, Alvin Larkin Kirkman, Caroline Elizabeth Kirkman McGuinn, John Manliff Kirkman, and Susan Gwynne Kirkman Honeycutt; O. Arthur Kirkman Sr. and Lulu Hammer Kirkman, Arthur's parents; Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan and Lois Morgan Johnson, siblings of Katharine Morgan Kirkman; Lina Keller, Katharine's cousin; and Henry Foscue, Holt McPherson, William Bradley Umstead, Luther Hartwell Hodges, and Terry Sanford. Kirkman business records include correspondence, meeting minutes, and financial documents from Arthur's involvement in railroads, including the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad and the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico, as well as other business interests. The collection also includes materials related to political and civic organizations in which O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman were involved, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Democratic Party, the Advisory Budget Commission, the North Carolina Committee for the Study of Public School Finance, the city government of High Point, N.C., the Guilford County Board of Education, Alpha Kappa Psi, and the Klein-Saks Economic and Financial Mission to Chile. Other Kirkman papers include financial and legal papers; birth certificates of Kirkman family members; speeches given by O. Arthur Kirkman; educational records; engagement calendars; photographs; and documents from travel to Europe, Asia, and the Americas by Arthur and his family. There is also a large number of documents related to Katharine Morgan Kirkman's family, including her parents, Reverend J. L. (Jacob Levi) Morgan and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan; her siblings, Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan, and Lois Morgan Johnson; and her nephews and nieces. Letters are mostly between J. L. and Virginia Morgan and their children. Topics include Gladys's service as a medical missionary in India and her family life, as well as Karl's studies in physics; his work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; his role in the development of health physics; and his advocacy for arms control, radiation protection, and international nuclear regulation. Non-family correspondence largely deals with Lutheran Church activities, and especially Reverend J. L. Morgan's tenure as president of the North Carolina Synod of the United Lutheran Church of America. Also included are financial and legal documents relating to the estates of Reverend J. L. Morgan and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan. Other Morgan family documents include genealogy notes; printed materials from the Lutheran Church; texts of speeches, sermons, and poems written by Morgan family members; calendars, guest books, clippings, photographs, and photograph albums of various Kirkman and Morgan family members; scrapbooks; an audio recording of O. Arthur Kirkman's "life's recollections", and other items. |
Creator | Kirkman family. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English |
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.
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O. Arthur Kirkman was born in 1900 in High Point, N.C., to O. Arthur Kirkman Sr., general manager of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad (HPT&D), and Lulu Hammer Kirkman. O. Arthur Kirkman attended the University of Virginia, graduating with a Master's Degree in economics in 1924. He then studied law at the University of Virginia in 1924-1925, and at Oxford University in England in 1926-1928. Kirkman was admitted to the bar in 1929, then, upon his father's death in 1930, took over as general manager of the HPT&D railroad.
Kirkman's career in politics began in 1939, when he was elected mayor of High Point, N.C. He left this position in 1943, when he was appointed by the federal government to serve as general manager of the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico. In 1945, he resumed his political life by serving on the High Point City Council. In 1949, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives, and in 1952 was elected to the North Carolina Senate. While in the Senate, Kirkman was known as a strong backer of Governor Luther Hodges. He served on the Advisory Budget Commission from 1959 to 1961, was chair of the Senate Finance Committee from 1959 to 1961, and was chair of the North Carolina Committee for the Study of Public School Financing from 1958 to 1959. After leaving the Senate in 1961, Kirkman served as chair of the Heritage Square Commission and the State Capitol Planning Commission, which were charged with the planning of public buildings surrounding the North Carolina state capital building in Raleigh, N.C. In 1964, he was named to the North Carolina Commission on Human Relations, which was charged with implementing the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Outside the political arena, O. Arthur Kirkman occupied many positions at the HPT&D Railroad from 1930 to 1965, including general manager, secretary, treasurer, and executive vice president. He also served on the boards of directors of the High Point office of Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, the Southern Furniture Exposition Building, and the Southern Packing Corporation. Throughout Kirkman's professional career, he maintained a relationship with his college fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, and was Grand President of the nationwide fraternity from 1929 to 1933. In 1956, Kirkman traveled to Chile as a member of the Klein-Saks Economic and Financial Mission to Chile, a group of management consultants advising the Chilean government on monetary policy and other economic matters.
In 1933, O. Arthur Kirkman married Katharine Morgan (1910-1985), daughter of Rev. J. L. (Jacob Levi) Morgan (1872-1960) and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan (1875-1964). Katharine was raised in Rowan County, N.C., and graduated in 1931 from the North Carolina College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. She was a member of the High Point City Council in 1951 to 1959, and served on the Guilford County Board of Education from 1963 to 1976. O. Arthur and Katharine Morgan Kirkman's children are Alvin Larkin Kirkman (1937- ), Caroline Elizabeth Kirkman McGuinn (1939- ), John Manliff Kirkman (1941- ), and Susan Gwynne Kirkman Honeycutt (1948- ).
Rev. J. L. Morgan was president of the North Carolina Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America from 1920 to 1947. Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan, was active in Lutheran Church affairs, acting as president of the Women's Missionary Society of the North Carolina Synod from 1925 to 1928. Their children were Gladys Morgan Happer (1904-1963), a doctor and missionary to India; Karl Ziegler Morgan (1907-1999), a prominent health physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project; Katharine Morgan Kirkman (1910-1985); and Lois Morgan Johnson, a mother and store owner in West End, N.C.
Back to TopCorrespondence, business records, financial and legal papers, photographs, and other materials related to O. Arthur Kirkman, his wife, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, and their family. Kirkman family correspondence is extensive, and documents O. Arthur Kirkman's various civic, business, educational, and political efforts, including his collegiate studies at the University of Virginia and Oxford University in England; his membership in Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity; his work as city councilman and mayor of High Point, N.C.; and his service as legislator in the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate. Correspondents include O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman; their children, Alvin Larkin Kirkman, Caroline Elizabeth Kirkman McGuinn, John Manliff Kirkman, and Susan Gwynne Kirkman Honeycutt; O. Arthur Kirkman Sr. and Lulu Hammer Kirkman, Arthur's parents; Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan and Lois Morgan Johnson, siblings of Katharine Morgan Kirkman; Lina Keller, Katharine's cousin; Henry Foscue and Holt McPherson, Arthur's friends; and William Bradley Umstead, Luther Hartwell Hodges, and Terry Sanford, governors of North Carolina.
Kirkman business records include correspondence, meeting minutes, and financial documents from Arthur's involvement in railroads, including the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad (HPT&D) and the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico, as well as other business interests. The collection also includes brochures, newsletters, reports, official documents, and clippings related to political and civic organizations in which O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman were involved, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the city government of High Point, N.C., the Guilford County Board of Education, Alpha Kappa Psi, and the Klein-Saks Economic and Financial Mission to Chile. Other Kirkman papers include birth certificates of Kirkman family members, speeches given by O. Arthur Kirkman, educational records, engagement calendars, and documents from travel taken to Europe, Asia, and the Americas by Arthur and his family. Kirkman financial and legal papers contain O. Arthur Kirkman's educational expense records, investment accounts, bank statements, property deeds and documents, and retirement papers. Also included are photographs taken of various Kirkman family members, and of travels taken by the Kirkman family.
The collection includes a large number of documents related to Katharine Morgan Kirkman's family, including her parents, Reverend J. L. Morgan (Jacob Levi Morgan) and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan; her siblings, Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan, and Lois Morgan Johnson; and her nephews and nieces. The vast majority of the letters are between J. L. and Virginia Morgan and their children. Correspondence is particularly extensive with Gladys and Karl. Gladys's letters document her medical studies; her service as a medical missionary in India; her marriage to William Happer, a British medical officer; and her children, William Happer Jr., Ian Happer, and Elizabeth Happer. Karl's letters relate to his studies in physics; his work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; his role in the development of health physics; and his advocacy for arms control, radiation protection, and international nuclear regulation. Non-family correspondence largely deals with Lutheran Church activities, and especially Reverend J. L. Morgan's tenure as president of the North Carolina Synod of the United Lutheran Church of America.
Other Morgan family documents include genealogy notes for a history of the Morgan family compiled by Reverend J. L. Morgan; various printed materials from the Lutheran Church; texts of speeches, sermons, and poems written by Morgan family members; calendars; guest books; and clippings documenting the accomplishments of the children and grandchildren of Reverend J. L. Morgan and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan. Financial and legal documents are largely legal records and correspondence, tax returns, and bank statements relating to the estates of Reverend J. L. Morgan and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan. Also included are photographs and photograph albums of various Kirkman and Morgan family members, scrapbooks; an audio recording of O. Arthur Kirkman's "life's recollections", and other materials.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological, then alphabetical by author.
Chiefly correspondence between O. A. Kirkman ("Arthur" or "Ot") and family members, friends, and business acquaintances. The earliest letters between 1861 and 1871 are between J. C. Horney and Keezia Horney of Deep River, N.C., from A. A. Wheeler and Lydia Wheeler, and from Charles Pidgeon and Katherine Pidgeon. Their relationship to the Kirkman family is unknown.
From 1905 to 1917 letters. are between family members, friends, and business associates of O. A. Kirkman Sr. (1877-1930) and Lulu Hammer Kirkman, with some letters from the young O. A. Kirkman (1900-1985) to his mother. From 1918 to 1927, the correspondence is chiefly between the Kirkmans and their son, Arthur, in school in Charlottesville, Va.; in Cuba, 1919-1920, and in England, 1926-1928. These letters primarily concern Arthur's life at school, family matters, and events in High Point, N.C. Letters from his time in England also includes letters and postcards from various places he visited in Europe.
From 1928 to 1930, there are some letters from Katharine Morgan ("Kat") to her father, Reverend J. L. Morgan, written while Katharine was attending North Carolina College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.
From 1929 to 1933, the correspondence is chiefly from O. A. Kirkman to friends and family. There is correspondence related to his membership and leadership of Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity. O. A. Kirkman Sr. died as the result of an automobile accident in July 1930, and there are condolence letters from family and friends related to this. From 1931 to 1936, there is correspondence between Arthur and various physicians about his mother (Lulu)'s medical condition resulting from injuries she sustained in the same automobile accident. Of interest is a report completed by Dr. Douglas Vanderhoof of the Tucker Sanitarium in Richmond, Va., in April-May 1933. His report is a review of her prior medical treatment and present condition.
Correspondence from 1933 contains the wedding announcement of O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman (1910-1985), as well as correspondence related to their honeymoon in the Caribbean. From 1933 through the early 1940s, there are letters between Katharine and her sister, Gladys Morgan Happer (1904-1963), and brother, Karl Ziegler Morgan (1908- ); correspondence from Arthur regarding various professional associations, investment interests, and High Point civic matters. Some correspondence relates to Arthur's service as mayor of High Point.
From 1942 to 1943, Arthur served as chair of the state Volunteer Industrial Salvage Committee for the War Production Board, and there is a great deal of correspondence related to this work. From May 1943 to late 1944, there are letters from Katharine to Arthur while he was in Puerto Rico working for the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico, as well as letters from friends in High Point. Katharine and the children joined Arthur in Puerto Rico in late 1943. There are letters from Katharine and the children, Larkin and Caroline, to her parents.
Of particular interest in the correspondence immediately following World War II are letters, dating from 1945 to 1947, from O. Arthur Kirkman and Karl Ziegler Morgan, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. These letters discuss the growing concern of scientists over atomic energy and its dangers, and advocate civilian and international control over the development of atomic energy.
In 1948, Arthur Kirkman was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Correspondence from 1949 to 1952 largely consists of letters from constituents and citizens' groups, discussing issues such as liquor control, public education, and taxes. In 1952, Arthur was elected to the North Carolina Senate. Correspondence with constituents deals with issues such as the annexation of land by the cities of Greensboro, N.C. and High Point, a minimum wage law for North Carolina, and the division of profits from state-run ABC liquor stores. Katharine Kirkman's work with the High Point City Council is sporadically documented in this series; however, there is some material related to her work on the High Point annexation issue. Correspondents from this time period include Luther Hartwell Hodges and Terry Sanford, both North Carolina governors.
After leaving the Senate in 1961, O. Arthur Kirkman remained involved in community affairs. Much of the correspondence from 1960 to 1965 relates to Arthur's service in community groups and special commissions. Material of note includes correspondence, meeting minutes, and plans from the Heritage Square Commission, and meeting minutes from the North Carolina Commission on Human Relations, which document efforts to evaluate and enforce compliance with the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Much of the correspondence after 1965 documents Arthur Kirkman's withdrawal from public life, including his resignation from his position at the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad Company in 1965, and his retirement from the Board of Directors of Wachovia Bank and Trust Company in 1970. Most of the correspondence after 1970 is between Arthur and Katharine Kirkman and their family and friends. Correspondents include Arthur and Katharine's children, Alvin Larkin Kirkman, Caroline Elizabeth Kirkman McGuinn, John Manliff Kirkman, and Susan Gwynne Kirkman Honeycutt; as well as Karl Ziegler Morgan and Lois Morgan Johnson, siblings of Katharine Morgan Kirkman; Lina Keller, Katharine's cousin; and Henry Foscue and Holt McPherson, friends of O. Arthur Kirkman. Items of interest include an April 1976 clipping from the High Point Enterprise announcing Katharine's retirement from the Guilford County Board of Education, where she had served since 1963, as well as a June 1979 letter from Katharine to a publisher in High Point who was working on a book about prominent women in Guilford County, detailing her accomplishments as a member of the High Point City Council.
Kirkman correspondence can also be found in Series 13. Additional Correspondence, 1931-1937.
Chiefly correspondence, meeting minutes, financial documents, and other business records of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad. O. Arthur Kirkman served as Director, Secretary, Treasurer and Executive Vice President of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad Company from 1930 to 1965. Also in the series are the business records for the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico, for which O. Arthur Kirkman served as the General Operating Manager, as well as other businesses in which O. Arthur Kirkman had either invested or served on the Board of Directors.
Arrangement: chronological, then roughly alphabetical by name, then subject.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, contracts, accounts, and other business records of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad, or HPT&D. Records arranged by date are mostly business correspondence. Correspondence from before 1930 relates to O. Arthur Kirkman Sr.'s service as general manager of the railroad, while correspondence dating from 1930 and later documents O. Arthur Kirkman's work with the railroad in the positions of Director, Secretary, Treasurer, and Executive Vice President. While serving in public office, much of O. Arthur Kirkman's correspondence is with certain intermediaries, in particular Fred J. Flagler, General Freight Agent from 1937 to 1955. Most of the correspondents in the materials organized by name of correspondent are representatives of other railroad companies, and the materials are mostly related to the 1960 purchase of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad by the Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad. Materials organized by subject deal with various organizations related to the HPT&D, including the High Point Chamber of Commerce, the Securities Investment Company, a holding company for the HPT&D, and the Yadkin Development Company, which appears to have been a subsidiary of the HPT&D. Also included are bound copies of the director's meetings for the HPT&D.
Arrangement: alphabetical by type.
Correspondence, financial records, administrative files, and other documents related to O. Arthur Kirkman's work as General Operating Manager of the American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico from 17 May 1943 to 1 July 1944. Arthur was appointed to the position by the United States government, which had taken control of the railroad due to a labor dispute that had shut the railroad down. The federal government deemed the railroad necessary for the successful prosecution of the American war effort in World War II. Some of the material deals with the efforts of Arthur and others to avert a strike and keep the laborers at work. Other material deals with logistical matters associated with the operation of the railroad. Also included is correspondence between Arthur and executives at the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad (HPT&D), discussing what was happening at the HPT&D in Arthur's absence.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Correspondence, reports, accounts, and other documents related to businesses with which O. Arthur Kirkman, or his father, O. Arthur Kirkman Sr. were involved, either as an investor or as a member of their Board of Directors.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Correspondence, reports, newspaper and magazine clippings, circulars, notes, and other printed material related to organizations and civic groups in which O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman were involved. Much of the material dates from the 1950s and 1960s, when both Arthur and Katharine were highly involved in political and civic matters. Particularly well-documented subjects include the North Carolina General Assembly; High Point, N.C., city government; politics; the Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity; and the Klein-Saks Economic and Financial Mission to Chile, in which Arthur participated in 1956. Katharine's service in the High Point City Council and the Guilford County Board of Education are also well-documented.
Arrangement: by type.
Included are materials related to the family, personal, and social lives of the Kirkman family. Much of this material documents the Kirkmans' travel to various countries. Other materials include birth certificates, diaries, and brochures, as well as essays and other materials from the studies of O. Arthur Kirkman and his family.
Arrangement: type and subject.
Certificates, travel documents, brochures, record books, and other materials related to the professional and family life of O. Arthur Kirkman. Included are birth certificates and other official documents concerning O. Arthur Kirkman, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, and their children. Also included are diaries, brochures, souvenirs, and other material related to the Kirkmans' travels to various countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The Miscellaneous folder contains two summonses of the Wake County, N.C., court from 1826 and 1828. The people mentioned in the summonses are of unknown relation to the Kirkmans.
Arrangement: chronological and alphabetical.
Class notes, essays, financial records, leaflets, official college documents, and other material related to the educational pursuits of the Kirkman family. The bulk of the material documents O. Arthur Kirkman's studies at the University of Virginia and Oxford University in England. Included in these materials is Arthur's master's thesis for the University of Virginia, entitled "The Tax System of North Carolina." Other documents are related to the studies of Katharine Morgan Kirkman, Alvin Larkin Kirkman, and Lulu Hammer Kirkman, Arthur's mother. There is also material documenting Katharine Morgan Kirkman's service in the Guilford County schools, both as teacher and as school board member, including printed information about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
Arrangement: chronological.
Bound engagement calendars of O. Arthur Kirkman and Katharine Morgan Kirkman, containing business and family appointments.
Arrangement: chiefly chronological.
Clippings from newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. The majority of the clippings are news stories and editorials dealing with O. Arthur Kirkman's work as member of the North Carolina General Assembly, Mayor of High Point, N.C., and leader in the Guilford County Democratic Party. These clippings also cover speeches made by Arthur to various civic and business groups in High Point and Guilford County. Other clippings deal with the High Point, Thomasville, and Denton Railroad, as well as other railroads and railroad issues. A few clippings document Katharine Morgan Kirkman's work on the High Point City Council.
Arrangement: chiefly chronological.
Mainly of radio broadcasts on WFMR. There are a few speeches from other engagements as well as programs from some of the events at which speeches were given.
Arrangement: type.
Chiefly documents related to family financial and legal matters, including estate planning, estate settlements, household expenses, property management, investments, insurance policies, taxes, and personal expenses.
Educational expense records include O. Arthur Kirkman's record of expenditures as a college student, including the years he studied in Cuba (1919-1920) and at Oxford, England (1927-1928). Included are tuition statements, various invoices and receipts, and cancelled checks. Estate papers include wills, estate planning documents, funeral planning, and some related correspondence. Included are records for estates in which O. Arthur Kirkman acted as an executor.
Family records and ledgers contain household income and expenditures covering the years noted. Financial statements include annual statements submitted to Wachovia Bank for credit purposes. Annual expense and income statements prepared by an accountant cover all of O. Arthur Kirkman's personal investments.
Insurance papers include policies, receipts, claims, and correspondence related to the family's life insurance, as well as medical, accident, property, and automobile insurance. Investment files include chiefly correspondence about and listings of bond and stock investments. Miscellaneous financial and legal papers of O. Arthur Kirkman Sr. include invoices, receipts and correspondence related to various commercial enterprises and personal accounts.
Property-related documents cover the Kirkman family homes and various properties the family owned as investments. Included are blueprints for some properties, and invoices and receipts for improvements and repairs for various properties. Deeds generally range from 1905 to the mid-1970s. The folder for the Roaring Gap cottage includes plans for a Better Homes and Gardens Five Star Home Plan.
Retirement papers include information about O. Arthur Kirkman's retirement benefits from his service in the North Carolina State Legislature and from the Railroad Retirement Board. Tax documents include receipts for local and county property taxes, and information relating to federal income tax filings.
Arrangement: chronological begining with the Kirkman family. Other related families, Morgans, Buehlers, Shoups, Zieglers and Hammers follow. Photographs that do not appear to feature a Kirkman or a Morgan are arranged chronologically by decade. Photographs of various rail roads and depots are filed separately. Travel photographs, mostly from the 1920s are arranged by trip or event.
Arrangement: alphabetical by person and family. There are several folders of family snapshots in no particular order.
Arrangement: chronological and by subject.
Photographs that do not appear to include Kirkman family members.
Arrangement: by subject.
Postcards that appear to have been purchased as souvenirs. Many of the postcards are in collector sets.
Image Folder PF-4832/67-70
PF-4832/67PF-4832/68PF-4832/69PF-4832/70 |
Postcards #04832, Subseries: "6.3. Postcards, 1920s-1930s and undated." PF-4832/67-70 |
Arrangement: by railroad.
The photographs show a variety of rail cars, rail workers, and depots.
Image Folder PF-4832/71-72
PF-4832/71PF-4832/72 |
Railroad #04832, Subseries: "6.4. Railroad Photographs, 1900s-1960s and undated." PF-4832/71-72 |
Image Folder PF-4832/73 |
Railroad: Cuba #04832, Subseries: "6.4. Railroad Photographs, 1900s-1960s and undated." PF-4832/73 |
Image Folder PF-4832/74-76
PF-4832/74PF-4832/75PF-4832/76 |
Railroad: High Point, Thomasville and Denton #04832, Subseries: "6.4. Railroad Photographs, 1900s-1960s and undated." PF-4832/74-76 |
Image Folder PF-4832/76a |
Railroad: American Railroad Company of Puerto Rico #04832, Subseries: "6.4. Railroad Photographs, 1900s-1960s and undated." PF-4832/76a |
Arrangement: by destination or event.
Most of the photographs are from O. Arthur Kirkman's travels in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Some photographs may be picture postcards.
Arrangement: chronological.
The Morgan family is related to the Kirkmans via Katharine Morgan Kirkman. The bulk of the correspondence was written to Rev. J. L. Morgan and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan from their children Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, and Lois Morgan Johnson. Letters from before 1919 are mostly from siblings of Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan discussing family-related subjects, including the death of Virginia's sister, Maude.
J. L. and Virginia Morgan's correspondence is particularly extensive with their children Gladys and Karl. Correspondence from 1920 to 1935 documents Gladys Morgan Happer's undergraduate education at Lenoir-Rhyne College, her medical education at the University of North Carolina and the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, and her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. From 1935 to 1941, and again from 1946 to 1948, Gladys served as a Lutheran medical missionary in India, working as a doctor at various hospitals, including Vellore Medical College, Kugler Memorial Hospital in Guntur and the hospital at Highclerc School in Kodaikanal (now Kodaikanal International School). While in India, she married Colonel William Happer, a medical officer in the British Army. Her letters to J. L. and Virginia Morgan during these periods describe in great detail her medical work in India, her impressions of Indian society and culture, and her feelings about Christian proselytization in India. Letters written after World War II deal more with daily life in India, and how her young sons, William Happer Jr. and Ian Happer, adjusted to life in a different culture.
Karl Ziegler Morgan's correspondence with his parents documents his education at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, as well as his career as a physicist. After earning his Ph.D. from Duke in 1934, Karl taught at Lenoir-Rhyne College until 1943, when he was selected to work on the Manhattan Project. Letters from 1943 to 1945 track his work on the project at the University of Chicago and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., although there is no specific information on the work he was doing. After the end of World War II, he continued at Oak Ridge, where he was instrumental in developing the field of health physics, studying the effects of radiation on the human body, and attempting to minimize human exposure to radiation. He also became a public advocate of arms control and international nuclear regulation. Much of his correspondence from the late 1940s and 1950s was written from various cities around the world where he was attending conferences on health physics and nuclear regulation, including the Atoms for Peace conference in 1955. In his letters, Karl relates his activities at the conferences and during his travels, as well as his home life with his family at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and comments on the future of atomic energy.
Other correspondents include Anna Shafer, Ruth Buckley, and Ida Willis, sisters of Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan; Lina Keller, Virginia's niece; William H. Germann, a Lutheran pastor from Kirkland, Wash.; and Kathe and Gerd Nagel, a couple in Tubingen, Germany, to whom J. L. and Virginia Morgan sent aid packages in the years following World War II. Much of the non-family correspondence deals with Lutheran Church activities, particularly those related to J. L. Morgan's tenure as president of the North Carolina Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America. In addition, there is a long run of correspondence related to Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan's efforts to persuade the United States Park Service to erect a monument to Rupert Livingston, a soldier in the Union Army who was killed and buried in Salisbury, N.C., in 1864. Virginia and others believed that he was actually Robert Livingston, son of David Livingston, the famed British missionary to Africa.
Arrangement: by subject and chronological.
Genealogy notes are letters to J. L. Morgan, mostly about Morgan family lines as well as some Shoup and Ziegler family material. The correspondence is arranged chronologically. Also included are clipping files, K. Z. Morgan speeches, Gladys Morgan Happer prose and poetry, and sermons and speeches by J. L. Morgan and others.
Arrangement: by subject.
Printed materials from the Lutheran Church include missionary accounts, convention proceedings and minutes, printed sermons, hymns, and histories of various Lutheran churches in North Carolina. Materials from Mont Amoena Female Seminary include copies of "The Mont Amoenian," a journal edited by Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan from 1898 to 1899. Also included are programs from events involving the children and grandchildren of J. L. and Virginia Morgan.
Arrangement: chronological.
Included are clippings from newspapers dealing with the accomplishments of J. L. and Virginia Morgan's children and grandchildren. Also included are obituaries and memorials on the deaths of Gladys Morgan Happer and Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan, as well as newspaper clippings documenting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Arrangement: chronologically and by family.
Reverend J. L. Morgan corresponded with Morgan family relations about various Morgan family lineages in an attempt to write a history of the Morgan family. The correspondence is arranged by date. Some of the letter writers attempt to trace the Morgan family lineage back to the English nobility of the 1100s, but it appears that J. L. Morgan was only able reliably to trace his family back to Nathan Morgan, born in 1756. Also included are genealogical notes, copies of official records, and histories of the Shoup-Buehler and Ziegler lines.
Arrangement: by author.
Texts from speeches and sermons, essays, poetry, and other writings by members of the Morgan family. Included are many speeches given by Karl Ziegler Morgan concerning various aspects of health physics, atomic energy, nuclear regulation, and radiation control. Also included are essays and diary entries from Gladys Morgan Happer, written while working as a medical missionary in India.
Arrangement: chronological by year.
Mostly pocket-sized calendars documenting appointments, sermons, and travels of J. L. Morgan. The calendars also contain notes on expenses incurred while traveling, as well as addresses. Also included are record books listing sermons given by J. L. Morgan.
Arrangement: chronological.
Most items are autograph books containing names of visitors to the home of J. L. and Virginia Morgan. Also included are an address book, a book containing birthdays of Morgan family members and friends, and a record of gifts to the Morgan family in 1949-1950.
Arrangement: by type.
Financial and legal documents, including bank statements, tax returns, receipts, legal records, and correspondence, mostly relating to the estates of Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan and J. L. Morgan. Virginia Morgan's estate records include court documents relating to the partition of land among the surviving children and the children of Gladys Morgan Happer, who had died before Virginia's death. J. L. Morgan's insurance forms include policies and correspondence related to his life insurance and pension received through the Lutheran Church, as well as widow's benefits received by Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan after J. L. Morgan's death.
Folder 1323 |
Chilson, Mrs. Bessie Trexler #04832, Series: "9. Morgan Family Financial and Legal Papers, 1907-1965 and undated (bulk 1960-1964)." Folder 1323 |
Folder 1324-1331
Folder 1324Folder 1325Folder 1326Folder 1327Folder 1328Folder 1329Folder 1330Folder 1331 |
Morgan, Virginia Clay Shoup #04832, Series: "9. Morgan Family Financial and Legal Papers, 1907-1965 and undated (bulk 1960-1964)." Folder 1324-1331 |
Folder 1332-1342
Folder 1332Folder 1333Folder 1334Folder 1335Folder 1336Folder 1337Folder 1338Folder 1339Folder 1340Folder 1341Folder 1342 |
Morgan, J. L. #04832, Series: "9. Morgan Family Financial and Legal Papers, 1907-1965 and undated (bulk 1960-1964)." Folder 1332-1342 |
Folder 1343 |
Morgan Family Deaths #04832, Series: "9. Morgan Family Financial and Legal Papers, 1907-1965 and undated (bulk 1960-1964)." Folder 1343 |
Arrangement: by subject.
Scrapbooks include baby books containing childhood information, photographs, and birth certificates of the children of Katharine Morgan Kirkman. Also included are photograph albums containing pictures of Morgan family members.
Arrangement: by subject.
Photographs of members of the Morgan family, including J. L. Morgan, Virginia Clay Shoup Morgan, and their children, Gladys Morgan Happer, Karl Ziegler Morgan, Katharine Morgan Kirkman, and Lois Morgan Johnson. Included are photographs of J. L. Morgan at the opening of various Lutheran churches in North Carolina.
Arrangement: by subject.
Miscellaneous volumes include a biology notebook of Charlotte Purcell Spencer, whose relationship to the Kirkman and Morgan families is uncertain. Also included are journals of pressed leaves by Lulu Hammer Kirkman and another student, as well as a scrapbook about famous musicians compiled by Gladys Morgan in 1917.
Arrangement: alphabetical by last name.
This correspondence was originally filed separately by the donor and was organized alphabetically by the name of the correspondent. The vast majority of the correspondence dates from the 1930s, and deals with O. Arthur Kirkman's public activities, including his memberships in civic and social organizations, such as Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, High Point College, American Business Club; his business interests, including his role as general manager of the High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad; and his governmental activities, including his service on the Board of School Commissioners for High Point, N.C., and the State Advisory Council of the North Carolina State Employment Service. There is considerable correspondence relating to the declining health of Lulu Hammer Kirkman, O. Arthur Kirkman's mother. There are also many exchanges of letters in which family members and friends ask Arthur for assistance in dealing with financial difficulties, and Arthur endeavors to help them. Frequent correspondents include Karl Ziegler Morgan, Rev. J. L. Morgan, Arthur's friends Thomas McEachern and Conrad Roser; James Lovelace, Arthur's law partner; and William Bradley Umstead, then representing the 6th District of North Carolina in the United States House of Representatives.
Acquisitions information: Accession 103524.
Processing information: Title compiled from original container.
Audiocassette C-4832/1 |
O. Arthur Kirkman Life's Recollections, part 1, circa 1990s #04832, Series: "14. Audio Recording, 1990s (Addition of January 2019)." C-4832/1Audiocassette |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4832/1 |
Oversize papers #04832, Series: "15. Oversize Papers." OPF-4832/1Service awards, maps, scrapbook page, political ephemera, financial form. |
Processed by: Jesse Brown, Linda Sellars, Rachel Canada, and Cecelia Moore, July 2005
Encoded by: Jesse Brown, Linda Sellars, Rachel Canada, and Cecelia Moore, August 2005
Updated by: Anne Wells, January 2019; Nancy Kaiser, March 2021
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.
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