Papers (1850, 1893-1915) including correspondence, receipts, post cards, advertisements, references of social activities, letters and miscellaneous.
Walter G. Ward (1878-1961) was one of six children of Joseph and Martha Speight Ward. He attended school in Wilson, where his mother operated Ward's Hotel. By 1897 Ward had taken an accounting position in Spring Hope, N.C. In 1898 he attended Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Ward then took a position as cashier in a bank in Greenville, N.C. In 1907 he returned to Spring Hope, where the following year he married Margarette Morton Dillard. In 1925 Ward, his wife, and two daughters settled in Greenville, where Ward operated a mercantile business and ginned cotton.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between Ward and family members and friends between 1893 and 1915. Correspondence between Ward and his mother reveals aspects of turn-of-the-century Wilson. Her letters reflect concern at being a widow and trying to raise and educate her sons (Jan. 24, 1897), manage her hotel (Sept. 13, 1898), and operate a farm in the county. References are made to various social activities, including a traveling freak exhibit (Nov. 14, 1897).
Additional correspondence pertains to several educational institutions. Letters of Needham Ward note aspects of life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Of particular interest are references to baseball games (Mar. 21, 1897; Apr. 9, 1897), attitudes of upperclassmen toward freshmen (Sept. 12, 1897), the construction of an Alumni Building (Oct. 24, 1897), the novelty of women in post-graduate work (Oct. 8, 1897), and courses offered (Oct. 8, 1897; Sept. 18, 1898). Also of interest are letters pertaining to N.C. College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (Dec. 13, 1893); Massey Business College, Columbus, Georgia (Aug. 4, 1897); and Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (1898).
Miscellaneous correspondence includes a letter from Weigand, Nebraska, describing the climate and topography of the state, crops grown, native trees, and winter blizzards (Feb. 8, 1896). Letters from collectors contain listings of "curiosities" for sale (1894-1896). Also of interest is a letter from the Typewriter Exchange in Chicago, Illinois, which contains samples of typewriter print and their prices (Apr. 5, 1897).
Post cards, including one depicting early twentieth-century Greenville; advertisements; and receipts comprise the collection's miscellaneous items.
Gift of Mr. Willis Stancill
Processed by E. Scott, September 1983
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.