Lasitter Family Papers

1807-1845, 1874-1969
Manuscript Collection #167
Creator(s)
Lasitter family
Physical description
0.43 Cubic Feet, 220 items , consisting of correspondence, deeds, plats, maps, receipts, account book (1807-1845), minute book (1922-1946), pamphlets, clippings and miscellaneous.
Preferred Citation
Lasitter Family Papers (#167), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
Access to audiovisual and digital media is restricted. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Papers (1807-1845, 1874-1969) consisting of correspondence, letters, newspapers, plats, maps, receipts, account book, minute book, clippings, etc.


Biographical/historical information

Among the items comprising these papers is material concerning various activities of Mark C. Lasitter, Sr., a Snow Hill, N.C., land surveyor. Active in local civic affairs during the mid-twentieth century, Lasitter served on the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees and was a member of the American Legion. The papers also reflect the activities of Lasitter's wife.


Scope and arrangement

Of particular interest in the Lasitter Family Papers are letters and newspaper clippings (August-September, 1950) concerning Mark C. Lasitter's criticism of the University of North Carolina for allegedly harboring Communists and Communist sympathizers. Several of these pieces relate the problem to the presidency of Frank Porter Graham. Additional correspondence (1929-1969, undated), mainly of a routine nature, includes letters of congratulation relating to Lasitter's appointments.

An account book apparently belonging to one or more of Lasitter's ancestors (1807-1845) includes debits and credits for services such as "schooling," serving warrants and cobbling, as well as for the sale of commodities such as brandy. Also included is a recipe for ridding the body of worms, a "horse account," birth dates for members of the Lasitter family and birth dates (1793-1840) of the people the Lasitter family enslaved.

Deeds, a commissioner's report and deed summaries (1836-1927, undated) concern land transactions and divisions in Greene, Jones, and Lenoir counties.

Miscellany includes printed material, typescripts and manuscripts chiefly concerning Snow Hill, Greene County and the Lasitters. Notable items include the transcript of a hearing before the Propositions and Grievances Committee of the N.C. House of Representatives concerning the A.B.C. system (February 17, 1943); publications describing why Presbyterian College should be moved to Greene County; a broadside advertising the division of the Ormand farm near Hookerton; a pamphlet concerning a memorial service of the N.C. Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, held in Greenville (June 26, 1956); the program for "Eastern Carolina in Action," a pageant held in Kinston during the Eastern Carolina Exhibition (April 11, 1924); a radio broadcast transcript concerning citizen support of the Joint Antiaircraft-Air Corps Exercises held at Fort Bragg (October, 1938); and programs for a U.D.C. meeting in Snow Hill (1925), the unveiling of a tablet in Snow Hill in honor of Greene County's Confederate soldiers (1929) and the dedication of the Greene County Courthouse (1936). Also included are the enrollment (July 4, 1865) and honorable discharge (December 11, 1865) of Greene County Burton Joiner, a sergeant in the U.S. Army.

Receipts of Charles A. Lasitter (1878-1882) reveal the cost of tuition and fees at Kinston Collegiate Institute in Kinston, N.C.

Newspaper and magazine articles (1938-1969, undated) pertain to the activities and honors of the Lasitters as well as to persons and events in Snow Hill and Greene County.

Maps and plats, many of which were drawn by Lasitter (1915-1961, undated) primarily depict farm property--and farm divisions--in Greene, Lenoir, Pitt, and Wayne counties. Included are published maps of Little Switzerland (1933), Snow Hill (undated) and Greene County (1924, 1949). The latter two maps indicate soil types and roads, respectively.

A Lasitter family genealogy chart is located in the oversize folder.


Administrative information
Custodial History

April 27, 1971, 170 items; Ledger (1807-1837), minute book (1922-1946), correspondence, clippings, scrapbook, maps, and miscellaneous. Deposited by Mrs. Mark C. Lasitter, Sr., Snow Hill, N.C.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Mark C. Lasitter, Sr

Processing information

Processed by M. Terry; M. York, April 1981

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023

Copyright notice

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


Key terms
Personal Names
Graham, Frank Porter, 1886-1972
Joiner, Burton
Lasitter, Charles A.
Lasitter, Mark C.
Family Names
Lasitter family
Corporate Names
Kinston Collegiate Institute
Methodist Church (U.S.). North Carolina Conference
United Daughters of the Confederacy
United States. Army--African American troops
University of North Carolina (1793-1962)
Topical
Deeds--North Carolina--Greene County
Deeds--North Carolina--Jones County
Deeds--North Carolina--Lenoir County
Memorials--North Carolina--Snow Hill
Prices--North Carolina--Greene County--History--19th century
Private schools--North Carolina--Kinston
Slavery--North Carolina--Greene County
Places
Greene County (N.C.)--Genealogy
Greene County (N.C.)--Maps
Lenoir County (N.C.)--Maps
Pitt County (N.C.)--Maps
Wayne County (N.C.)--Maps

Container list
Box 1 Correspondence, land records, account book, receipts, pamphlets, clippings, and miscellaneous
Box 2 American Legion Auxiliary Minutes
Box m1 Maps and Plats
Folder os1 Genealogical Chart