Collection (1838-1936) including correspondence, Genealogical information, account books, clippings of recipes, Treasurer's book, minute book, etc.
Fred Cole (October 4, 1918-June 2, 1992) was born in Kinston, N.C. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and ran Coles Radio and TV shop in Kinston. He was married to Elsie Virginia Forlines (January 8, 1915-October 25, 1999) of Winterville, N.C., who as an LPN had a career at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C., and at Caswell Center in Kinston. They both enjoyed antiquing and had an interest in preserving historical documents. A lot of the material in this collection was obtained by them during their many trips to antique shops and "junk" shops.
This collection consists of groups of unrelated material. Much of the correspondence covering the years 1919 to 1936 concerns a family in Johnson City, Tennessee, writing to family members in Kinston, NC. The remaining correspondence appears to be of individual item importance with no relation to other letters.
Included are various legal documents and correspondence concerning a land investment prospect in South Dakota (1890-1912); a letter from Sacramento, Calif., offering medicinal remedies (Feb. 18, 1905); and letters concerning military affairs, including one during the Mexican border dispute commenting on soldiers of the 2nd N.C. Infantry being confined to Camp Stewart because of a brawl (Nov. 13, 1916), and two letters documenting the effect of influenza upon a 119th U.S. Infantry soldier (Tuesday Night, 1918) and a change in name for the 2nd North Carolina Regiment to the 119th U.S. Infantry (Sunday night, 1918). Other correspondence includes letters from Johnson City, TN, expressing concern about children getting diphtheria and infantile paralysis (polio) (Oct. 1, 1927), mentioning length of school missed by children with the flu (Dec. 28, 1928), describing a short stay in a Veteran's Hospital in Tennessee (Dec. 28, 1928), and mentioning a tuberculosis patient's stay in a sanatorium in Tennessee (Dec. 23, 1936).
Genealogical information on the Branson, Brooks, and Williams families is also included, as is a program for the funeral service of one of the donors, Mr. Fred Cole.Other information concerns the handwritten verification of Guilford Andrews as Town Commissioner for Bethel, NC, in 1907; a 1912 political platform for the election of Walter Clark to the U.S. Senate; a 1906 masonic ribbon for St. John's #4 Grand Lodge in Kinston, NC; a script and program entitled "The Land and the River" adapted from "The Story of Kinston and Lenoir County" by a historical readers theater (1971); a series of medical pamphlets by Dr. James M. Parrott of Kinston, NC, dating from 1906 to 1924; and a survey of Cumberland County, NC, in 1934 which covers the following topics: general information, county government, financial, welfare, public health, a discussion of the county needs, and recommendations.
The collection also contains a general store account book for James Williams of Snow Hill, NC (1838-1845), in which many pages are pasted over with old newspaper clippings of recipes, poems, and a diphtheria cure, and also includes a list of Williams's possessions at his death and the auction price of each item (1843-1844); the ledger book of J. T. Hill of Kinston, NC (1883-1920); a collection of short booklets (1886, 1887, 1895, 1897, 1905) on fraternal organizations such as the Knights of Pythias, United Order of Foresters, the Knights of Labor, the Knights of the Orient, and Good Templarism; and a small book of home remedies and cures (1881) that belonged to H. C. Whitehurst which also includes a couple of later entries (1880s) concerning childbirth and prevention of blood poisoning of the mother. Other financial records include the ledger book of J. T. and Martha Hill, probably of Kinston, NC (1900-1912); a store ledger book of M. W. Foscue (1914-1917) which also contains his estate inventory records (1918-1919) of unknown location but possibly of Jones Co., NC; and three farming and mercantile account books (1910-1915, 1919-1936) of J. D. Hanchey in Rocky Point, NC.
The Young Peoples Treasurer's Book (1921-1922) of the Women's Missionary Society of Rocky Point Auxiliary (NC); the minute book of circle #4 from Trinity Methodist Church in Durham, NC, tentatively dated 1922, which includes other Trinity material; and an account book of Rocky Point Methodist Church (1924-1925) are also found here.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cole
Gift of Mrs. Elsie Cole
Processed by K. Romer, May 1996
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.