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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.
Size | 7.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3650 items) |
Abstract | Art and architectural historian M. Ruth Little (1946-) of Raleigh, N.C., was the principal investigator on the NEH-funded North Carolina Cemetery as Cultural Artifact Project, 1981-1982, directed by Terry Zug of the Curriculum in Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Project supported Little's 1984 doctoral dissertation, later published as Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (UNC Press, 1998). The collection includes survey information, photographs, and other materials relating to the Project, which focused on photographic documentation, recording, and cataloging of cemeteries in three North Carolina counties: Cumberland, Davidson, and New Hanover. Other counties were added for comparison. Intended to link demographic and cultural traits with regional practices, one of the Project's primary focus points was to identify gravemarker artisans and carvers throughout the region and to trace their movements within, and influences over, the carving tradition. Included are master cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Photographic materials include black and white prints, negatives, and color slides, many of which are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Also included are research notes; keysort cards; grant materials; audiotapes of an interview with gravestone carver J. Thomas McLean of Lincolnton, N.C.; and other items. |
Creator | Little, M. Ruth (Margaret Ruth), 1946- . |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Folklife 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.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Architectural historian Margaret Ruth Little (Stokes) was born in 1946 in Tacoma Park, Md., and completed her Ph.D. degree with a major in art history and a minor in folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984. Little has been involved in many projects within North Carolina, including a number of historic architectural surveys, the creation of nominations for National Register of Historic Places registrations, and cemetery surveys. A resident of Raleigh, N.C., she consults with the state's Historical Preservation Office and has her own firm, Longleaf Historical Resources.
M. Ruth Little was awarded the Harriette Merrifield Forbes Award in 2001 by the Association for Gravestone Studies for "an outstanding contribution to the field of gravestone studies" through her book, Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (University of North Carolina Press, 1998).
Back to TopSurvey information, photographs, and other items relating to the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded North Carolina Cemetery as Cultural Artifact Project, 1981-1982, directed by Professor Terry Zug of the Curriculum in Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with M. Ruth Little as the principal investigator. The Project supported Little's 1984 doctoral dissertation, later published as Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (University of North Carolina Press, 1998) with photography by Tim Buchman.
The Project was intended to be "the first investigation in the state of historic cemeteries and graveyards as cultural benchmarks with aesthetic characteristics and iconographical content," and focused on photographic documentation, recording, and cataloging of cemeteries in three counties: Cumberland County, N.C.; Davidson County, N.C.; and New Hanover County, N.C. The intensive survey covered Cumberland, New Hanover, and Davidson counties completely, and Lincoln County, N.C., and Catawba County, N.C., on a selective basis. Other counties were added for comparison. Intended to link demographic and cultural traits with regional practices, one of the Project's primary focus points was to identify gravemarker artisans and carvers throughout the region and to trace their movements within, and influences over, the carving tradition.
Included are master cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Each master card contains the cemetery name; location; inclusive dates; topography; landscaping; boundaries; marker descriptions and design motifs; an overall site plan; and a brief history, if known. Photographic materials include black-and-white prints, negatives, and color slides, most relating to specific master cards. Many of the images are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Also included are research notes; keysort cards; grant materials; audiotapes of an interview with gravestone carver J. Thomas McLean of Lincolnton, N.C.; and other items.
Back to TopMaster cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Each master card contains the cemetery name; location; inclusive dates; topography; landscaping; boundaries; marker descriptions and design motifs; an overall site plan; and a brief history, if known. Areas were surveyed in quadrants, and topographical maps of each quadrant surveyed have research notations on exact locations of cemeteries.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Black-and-white prints, negatives, and color slides, most relating to specific master cards. Most of the images are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Organization of these materials parallels Series 1 and offers a visual overview of county and regional traits.
Materials labeled "unidentified" did not correlate with specific master cards or counties/quads and appear at the end of the series, along with the slides. Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Research materials relating to specific counties, including correspondence, research notes, and contact information.
Folder 154 |
Alamance County |
Folder 155 |
Bertie County |
Folder 156 |
Bladen County |
Folder 157 |
Cabarrus County |
Folder 158 |
Caswell County |
Folder 159 |
Catawba County |
Folder 160 |
Chowan County |
Folder 161 |
Cumberland County |
Folder 162-163
Folder 162Folder 163 |
Cumberland County |
Folder 164-165
Folder 164Folder 165 |
Davidson County |
Folder 166 |
Duplin County |
Folder 167 |
Forsyth County |
Folder 168 |
Gaston County |
Folder 169 |
Guilford County |
Folder 170 |
Harnett County |
Folder 171 |
Haywood County |
Folder 172 |
Hertford County |
Folder 173 |
Hoke County |
Folder 174 |
Iredell County |
Folder 175-176
Folder 175Folder 176 |
Lincoln County (Peter Harmon--gravestone carver) |
Folder 177 |
Moore County |
Folder 178 |
New Hanover County |
Folder 179 |
Orange County |
Folder 180 |
Pasquotank County |
Folder 181 |
Perquimanns County |
Folder 182 |
Rowan County |
Folder 183 |
Watauga County |
Folder 184 |
Wilkes County (Wilkesboro) |
Folder 185 |
York County, S.C. |
General research materials not related to specific counties. Included are articles on cemetery research, research notes, contact information, M. Ruth Little's primary and secondary notes, and notecards listing bibliographic sources and other research information.
Folder 186-187
Folder 186Folder 187 |
Articles |
Folder 188 |
Correspondence |
Folder 189 |
Miscellaneous |
Folder 190 |
Notes |
Folder 191 |
Gravestone contacts in North Carolina counties |
Folder 192 |
Primary notes and information |
Folder 193 |
Scottish and Irish gravestones |
Folder 194 |
Secondary notes and information |
Box 11 |
Notecards |
Arrangement: numerical.
Keysort cards used in the cemetery survey and results from a computerized tally. There is also information about the computer-tally survey system provided by McBee Systems.
Each keysort card, which relates to a specific master card number and gravemarker, includes the following: name of cemetery, master card number, U.S.G.S. code, location, date surveyed, and descriptive elements regarding the stone itself. Most keysort cards also include a copy of the inscription and a sketch of the stone, and a small picture (taken from contact sheets) if applicable.
Folder 195-211
Folder 195Folder 196Folder 197Folder 198Folder 199Folder 200Folder 201Folder 202Folder 203Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206Folder 207Folder 208Folder 209Folder 210Folder 211 |
Keysort cards |
Folder 212 |
Keysort procedure information |
Folder 213-214
Folder 213Folder 214 |
Survey Materials |
Grant application and supporting documents about project funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Folder 215 |
Application materials and notes |
Folder 216 |
Correspondence |
Folder 217 |
Miscellaneous |
An interview conducted by M. Ruth Little with J. Thomas McLean, an gravestone carver from Lincolnton, N.C.; newspaper clippings; miscellaneous correspondence; unaffiliated maps; shards from broken gravemarkers; and other materials.
FS-5710 and FS-5711: Interview with J. Thomas McLean, gravestone carver, Lincolnton, N.C., 1982 |
|
Folder 218 |
Clippings |
Folder 219-220
Folder 219Folder 220 |
Correspondence |
Folder 221-222
Folder 221Folder 222 |
Maps |
Folder 223 |
Other materials, including gravemarker shards |
Separated items include sound recordings (FS-5710 and FS-5711).
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