Biographical/historical information

Ralph Hardee Rives was born November 24, 1930, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of Ralph Cooper Rives and Lossie Day Hardee Rives. After his mother's early death, his father remarried to Lossie's sister Blanche Hardee. He grew up in Halifax County, North Carolina, and called Enfield home. He attended Hardrawee Elementary School, graduated from Enfield High School, and received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from East Carolina Teachers' College (now East Carolina University) which he attended from 1948 to 1953. After serving two years in the United States Army, Dr. Rives attended the University of Virginia and taught for three years while completing his Doctorate in Education in Rhetoric degree in 1960. After receiving his doctorate, he joined the faculty of the Department of English at his alma mater, then called East Carolina College, from which he retired in 1992. He also attended summer programmes at Oxford University and the University of London.

Dr. Rives acted with the East Carolina Players, the Wyvern Players, and the St. John Players (both of Georgia) and directed productions in North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.

He was also a noted speaker in the United States and Great Britain and was the founder and first president of the (eastern North Carolina) Colonial Branch of the English-Speaking Union. He was an active member (and often the founder) of many historical and cultural organizations as well as being the author of numerous publications. His wide-ranging interests and activities included the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Coastal Plains Development Commission, the Halifax County Historical Association, the Pitt County Historical Society, the Society of the War of 1812 in North Carolina, the North Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, St. Andrew's Society of North Carolina, and many others.

The Hardee-Rives Award for Dramatic Arts given by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association was endowed by Ralph Hardee Rives in memory of his family, and he made the award's inaugural presentation in 2009.

Dr. Rives was enthusiastic about genealogy and local history and donated materials in twenty-eight separate collections in the East Carolina Manuscript Collection to preserve the history of eastern North Carolina and specifically Halifax County and Enfield. Ralph Hardee Rives died in Enfield, North Carolina, on May 20, 2016, and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Enfield. In his will, he established an endowment to be used to ensure continued preservation of the manuscript collections he started and to further development of the East Carolina Manuscript Collection.

Additional sources:

Find a Grave

Information from retired ECU English Professor Lorraine Hale Robinson.

Scope and arrangement

Among the correspondence in this collection are three letters dealing with the Civil War years. A letter (1862) from William R. Cheek while stationed at Camp Arrington, Virginia, relates the strategy the commander of the Merrimack employed against Union ships near Old Point in April, 1862. Two other letters (1864, 1865) of interest are from Eliza M. Groner to Sergt. George W. Davis, a Confederate prisoner of war in Elmira, New York.

A letter (1918) from Pvt. George Wynne, a member of the American Expeditionary Force in France, tells of such Allied activities as breaking the Kaiser's Hindenburg Line and liberating French civilians from the Germans. The letter also relates that the Americans are in good spirits and confident of victory.

A letter (1923) from Margaret Hardee describes the reaction in Pinehurst, N.C., to President Harding's death. Also included is a letter (1954) from George Wills describing the conditions in Maryland during Hurricane Hazel and the peaceful transition that the people of Baltimore were making in enforcing desegregation in the public schools as a result of the 1954 Supreme Court desegregation decision.

Of particular interest is an extensive sketch book (1857) containing sermons by Dr. William Henry Wills and lists of members of the Bethesda Church Sunday School. Dr. Wills (1809-1889), a native of Tarboro, was a founder and principal contributor to Bethesda Church, which was built in 1853. He was one of North Carolina's most distinguished nineteenth century clergymen and educators.

Other items include minutes of the organizational meetings (1856) of the Bethesda Church Sunday School and a list of the Sunday School members; a report card (1860) of Lucy Cary Wills from Elba Female Seminary; two party invitations (1860, 1865); a deed (1852), conveying the Bethesda Church property; Bethesda Church Roll (1890); a Certificate of the Brotherhood of the N.C. Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church (1905); notes concerning the location of the Elba Female Seminary, written by Lula Hunter Skillman (1966); an obituary (undated) from The Henderson Gold Leaf on the death of the Reverend J.H. Page; pictures of the Reverend William Henry Wills; and miscellaneous items.

Administrative information

Custodial History

October 18, 1967, Collection of Ralph Hardee Rives, consisting of correspondence (1862-1954), a deed, a church certificate, an obituary, church minutes, notebooks, a report card, invitations, church rolls, and pictures. Loaned for copying, May 1967, by Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives, Department of English, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

January 13, 1970, (unprocessed addition 1), 5 items; correspondence, photographs, and programs. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives

January 20, 1970, (unprocessed addition 2), 130 items; Files for East Carolina Playhouse (1960-1962) and N. C. District Debate Contest (1961-1963) and miscellaneous. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives

February 18, 1970, (unprocessed addition 3), ca. 450 items; correspondence, clippings, reports, speeches, programs, articles, and miscellaneous. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

April 24, 1970, (unprocessed addition 4), 5 items; teacher's report form; cotton market report; The Methodist Protestant May 16, 1928; Our Church Record, June 23, September 29, 1898. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

September 18, 1970, (unprocessed addition 5), 32 items. 1 vol.; Record of Board of Trustees of N. C. Annual Conference of Methodist Protestant Church (1893-1938), correspondence, speech, leaflet, miscellaneous. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

October 14, 1971, (unprocessed addition 6), 13 items; Correspondence, scrapbook, miscellaneous. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

March 23, 1972, (unprocessed addition 7), ca. 150 items; correspondence (1971-1972) of English Speaking Union. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

March 10, 1976, (unprocessed addition 8), ca. 100 items; Correspondence (1964-1973), clippings, etc. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives

April 27, 1977, (unprocessed addition 9), 1 cu. ft.; papers (1952-1977) including correspondence, clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous materials. included are files of the Greenville, N.C. chapter of the English Speaking Union (1976-1977) and the Coastal Plains Development Assoc. (1974-1976). Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

October 22, 1979, (unprocessed addition 10), 9 items; a map, The Pointer (1904), and the progress (1906). Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

April 7, 1982, (unprocessed addition 11), 120 items; records (1978-1982) of the N.C. Victorian Society and personal correspondence (1956-1982). Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

April 16, 1985, (unprocessed addition 12), 20 items; scrapbook (1903-1935) of Katie Pitt Davenport Hardee and correspondence (1952-1985), primarily pertaining to E.C.U., Dr. Louise Greer, and Dr. Dora J. Ashe. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

April 30, 1986, (unprocessed addition 13), (restricted), 160 items; correspondence, programs, clippings, newsletters, etc., primarily pertaining the inauguration of Richard M. Nixon (1969), and the Jeffrey MacDonald case. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

December 29, 1987, (unprocessed addition 14), ca. 100 items; papers (1960-1986), including correspondence, clippings, photographs, and a manuscript Halifax county, N.C. history. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

June 21, 1989, (unprocessed addition 15), ca. 200 items; files on George Eastman, J. E. O'hara, the Rupert Brooke Centenary Celebration, the Albert Schweitzer concerts at UNC-Wilmington, and miscellaneous topics. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

May 15, 2002, (unprocessed addition 16),Collection (1923-2002, undated material, bulk: 1989-2002) of correspondence; biographical, genealogical and historical writings; newspaper clippings, photographic prints, printed materials, speeches and other items compiled by retired East Carolina University English professor, relating primarily to the Hardee - Rives and related families, the history of Eastern North Carolina, and the United Methodist Church in Eastern North Carolina. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

May 30, 2003, (unprocessed addition 17), 149 items; Collection (1959-2003; bulk: 1995-2003) of correspondence; newspaper clippings, printed materials, and other items compiled by retired East Carolina University English professor, relating primarily to the Hardee - Rives and related families of North Carolina and the United Kingdom, Collection (1959-2003; bulk: 1995-2003) of correspondence; newspaper clippings, printed materials, and other items compiled by retired East Carolina University English professor, relating primarily to the Hardee - Rives and related families of North Carolina and the United Kingdom, the history of Eastern North Carolina, and the United Methodist Church in Eastern North Carolina, and Rives' charitable and philanthropic interests.the history of Eastern North Carolina, and the United Methodist Church in Eastern North Carolina, and Rives' charitable and philanthropic interests. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

May 30, 2003, (unprocessed addition 18), 1,384 items; Collection (1910-1996; bulk 1961-1996, undated) of correspondence, newspaper clippings, printed materials, and other items compiled by retired East Carolina University English professor, relating primarily to the Halifax County, NC, Halifax County Historical Association, Historical Halifax Restoration Association, Enfield, NC, Tarboro, NC, genealogy, local and state politics, etc. See Preliminary Inventory. Donor: Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives.

September 4, 2002, (unprocessed addition 19), 1 box, 282 items, 282 p., 0.25 cubic feet; Collection (1969-1980, undated [Bulk: 1969-1971]) of color slides illustrating Pitt County, Eastern North Carolina and Virginia scenes including people, buildings, cemeteries, churches, courthouses, gardens, homes, roadside markers, rivers, schools and universities, etc.See Preliminary Inventory. Rec'd. 9/4/2002. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

October 19, 2004, (unprocessed addition 20), 1 item, 0.01 cubic feet; Diploma (5/21/1920) of Katie Pitt Davenport from Creswell High School, Creswell, North Carolina; with biographical notes on verso. Rec'd. 10/19/2003. Katie Pitt Davenport, a student at East Carolina University, ca. 1920-1924, married Z. Ashley Hardee, of Enfield, NC in 1925, and was Ralph Hardee Rives' aunt, 1930-1935. Donor: Suellyn Lathrop, University Archivist, ECU.

June 23, 2006, (unprocessed addtion 21), 4 boxes and 1 oversized folder, 805 items, 1307 p., ca. 1.69 cubic feet; Collection (1908, 1938-2006, n.d.) of clippings and correspondence, especially with Prof. Lorraine Robinson and relating to the establishment of the Ralph Hardee Rives endowed professorship in the English Department at East Carolina University; ephemera, speeches and writings, printed materials; and architectural drawings related to Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina. See preliminary inventory. Recd. 6/23/2006. RESTRICTION to 7/6/2036: No access to Correspondence with Lorraine Robinson, 1991-2006, without written permission of the donor for 30 years from the date of this donation receipt. See #24.38.d - #24.38.e. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

September 19, 2006, (unprocessed addition 22), 3 boxes and 1 oversized folder, 298 items, 883 p., 0.969 cubic feet; Collection (1890-2006, n.d.) of correspondence, clippings, ephemera, speeches and writings, printed and oversized materials related to Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina and his family; Panacea Springs, Littleton, NC; the William Richard Davie 250th Anniversary celebration; and the Parkview Hospital, Rocky Mount, NC 90th Anniversary celebration, etc. See preliminary inventory. Recd. 9/19/2006. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

December 31, 1980, (unprocessed addition 23), 20 items, 29 p., 0.01 cubic feet; Correspondence and clippings, etc. (1949-1970, n.d.) relating to the early history of East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina and the students and faculty of the English Department. See preliminary inventory. Includes material relating to Prof. Gloria H. Blanton, Mamie J. Chandler, Dr. Lucile Charles, Mrs. C. D. Coston, Blanche M. Forbes, Mary H. Greene, Lois Gigsby, Emma L. Hooper, Alice Ann Horne, President Leo W. Jenkins, President J. D. Messick, Prof. M. N. Posey, Susie Williams Webb, Dean Ruth A. White, Mrs. Ruth Garner, and Edith Zinn. Recd. 12/31/1980. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

August 16, 2007, (unprocessed addition 24), 2 boxes, 503 items, 928 p., 0.50 cubic feet; Correspondence and clippings, etc. (1962-2007 [Bulk: 2006-2007]) relating to the history of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, Rives family history and genealogy. See preliminary inventory. Recd. 8/16/2007. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

November 7, 2006, (unprocessed addition 25), 4 items, 7 p., 0.002 cubic feet; Letters received (2005-2006) by Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University from Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina formerly of the ECU English Department. Recd. 11/7/2006. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

November 21, 2006, (unprocessed addition 26), 7 items, 10 p., 0.003 cubic feet; Correspondence (2005-2006) between Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University and Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina formerly of the ECU English Department.Recd. 11/21/2006. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

August 16, 2007, (unprocessed addition 27), 3 boxes and 1 oversized folder, 234 items, 551 p., 1.00 cubic feet; Collection (1949, 2003-2006, n.d.) of correspondence, clippings, photographic prints, relating to the establishment of the Ralph Hardee Rives endowed professorship in the English Department at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina. See preliminary inventory. Recd. 8/16/2007. RESTRICTION to 10/2/2037. No access without written permission of the donor for 30 years from the date of this donation receipt (10/2/2037). See also Ralph Hardee Rives Collection (Addition #21) #24.38.a-#24.41.os1. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

September 2, 2009, (unprocessed addition 28), 1 box, 34 items, 75 p., 0.02 cubic feet; Correspondence (2006-2009) between Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University and Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina formerly of the ECU English Department and copies of her letters to Prof. Rives. Originals and photocopies. See preliminary inventory. Recd. 9/2/2009. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

October 25, 2011, (unprocessed addition 29), 1 folder, 30 items, 0.02 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence (2009–2011) of which the majority is letters written to Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University from Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, formerly of the ECU English Department. Also included are a clipping and a photograph. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

September 11, 2012, (unprocessed addition 30), 2.70 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence and clippings for 1954 through 2011, photographs of Ralph H. Rives, his father Ralph C. Rives, and John Peter Wynn, speeches (and related material) made to the Halifax Day celebrations (2008, 2011) and the N.C. Bar Association's Senior Lawyers Division 2010 meeting, material related to the Victorian Society in America (1984-2001) and printed material (1977-2011) such as brochures, programs, church bulletins and newsletters. The correspondence is with friends, professional colleagues, museums and historic sites, institutions of higher learning and conservative political groups and candidates. Donor: Ralph Hardee Rives.

September 13, 2012, (unprocessed addition 31), 14 items, 0.02 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence (2009–2012) written to Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University by Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, formerly of the ECU English Department. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

August 6, 2015, (unprocessed addition 32), 6 items, 0.01 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence (2012) written to Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson of the English Department at East Carolina University by Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, formerly of the ECU English Department. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

August 6, 2015, (unprocessed addition 33), 12 items, 0.02 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence (June 2012-2014) written to retired Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson formerly of the English Department at East Carolina University by Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, also formerly of the ECU English Department. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

November 23, 2016, (unprocessed addition 34), 6.0 cubic feet; This addition includes materials belonging to Dr. Rives that were donated from his estate. Included are nine photograph albums; two have photographs dating from the late 1800s into the early 1900s (some are tintypes) and are largely of identified family members, one has photographs of Dr. Rives acting in plays, and six albums contain mostly unidentified photographs from early to mid-20th century. Loose photographs are identified as members of the Hardee and Rives families. Other items included are funeral books for his mother Blanche Hardee Rives, family Bibles, postcard album (early 20th century), Eden Methodist Protestant Church (Halifax Co.) membership roll, a scrapbook of get well cards sent to Dr. Rives when he had surgery in 1939 as a child, and children's books (1917-1937) belonging to Rives. Donor: Susan Fraser Dahl on behalf of the Ralph Hardee Rives estate.

September 18, 2018, (unprocessed addition 35), 0.15 cubic feet; Papers include correspondence (2015, undated) written to retired East Carolina University English Prof. Lorraine Hale Robinson by ECU English Prof. (Emeritus) Ralph Hardee Rives, of Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina. Also included are program and brochures related to the 1997 opening season at the reconstructed Globe Theatre, special issue of The Oxford Eagle (Oxford, Mississippi) related to William Faulkner (1976), and clippings (1980, 1989) and a section of the September 8, 1974, The Sunday Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) related to H. L. Mencken. Donor: Lorraine Hale Robinson.

December 19, 2022, (unprocessed accession 36), 0.25 cubic feet; Correspondence (1992-2003, undated) between Mary Boccaccio (Manuscript Curator, Academic Library Services, East Carolina University) and Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives, Professor Emeritus of English at East Carolina University. Transferred from Mary Boccaccio's office files as Manuscript Curator, Special Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University.

Source of acquisition

Loaned by Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives

Gift by Dr. Ralph Hardee Rives

Gift by Suellyn Lathrop, University Archivist, ECU

Gift by Lorraine Hale Robinson

Gift of Susan Fraser Dahl (for the Ralph Hardee Rives estate)

Transfer from Mary Boccaccio, Manuscript Curator, ECU

Processing information

Processed by D. Lennon

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Descriptions updated by Jennifer Overstreet, July 2020

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Related material

For Related Collections see:

Rives-Dalton Family Papers East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Blanche Hardee Rives Papers East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

James Redding Rives II Papers East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Gerda Nischan Papers East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Mamie Ella Pittman Hardee Collection East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

John Gaston Rives, Jr. Family Papers East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Key terms

Personal Names

Groner, Eliza M.--Correspondence
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923
Page, J. H.
Wills, William Henry
Wynne, George--Correspondence

Corporate Names

Bethesda Church (Halifax County, N.C.)
Elba Female Seminary (Halifax County, N.C.)
Merrimack (Frigate)
Methodist Protestant Church (U.S. : 1830-1939). North Carolina Conference
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces

Topical

Hurricane Hazel, 1954
School integration--Maryland--Baltimore

Places

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons