Joseph F. Steelman Papers

1960-1990
Manuscript Collection #774
Creator(s)
Steelman, Lala Carr; Steelman, Joseph F.
Physical description
1.5 Cubic Feet, 3 containers, consisting of correspondence, pamphlets, reports, and othe printed materials
Preferred Citation
Joseph F. Steelman Papers (#774), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

Printed materials (1960-1990) received by Drs. Joseph and Lala Steelman related to the National Democratic Party and related organizations concerning social, environmental, and political issues (1969-1990), and Historical Organization Files (1960-1990) concerning issues related to North Carolina history.


Biographical/historical information

Dr. Joseph Flake Steelman was a longtime faculty member of the History Department at East Carolina University where he was instrumental in creating the Master's Degree Program in History and the East Carolina Manuscript Collection. Born in Moravian Falls, North Carolina, to Joseph Sankey Steelman (1887-1983) and Gertrude née Edmisten (1982-1965), he was the eldest of three, his two brothers being Hoke Hayes Steelman and John Britt Steelman. His father was a farmer and his mother a schoolteacher. He completed his undergraduate education in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1943. He then was recruited into the United States Army Specialized Training Program for foreign language skills. After his honorable discharge from the US Army in 1946, Steelman returned to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to complete a doctorate in history. He then went on to teach at Cortland State College, now SUNY at Cortland, in New York. In 1959, he came to what was then East Carolina College as a professor of history; he retired in 1985 as Professor Emeritus of History. Dr. Joseph Steelman passed away on January 21, 2015 at the age of 92.

Dr. Lala Carr Steelman was born in 1926 in Milledgeville, Georgia, to Iverson Curry Carr and Ruth A. Hardie Carr. She attended Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College) and received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1955 she became an assistant professor of history at East Carolina College (now East Carolina University) where she taught for the next thirty years before retiring as a Professor Emeritus of History. After a short illness, Dr. Lala Carr Steelman passed away on May 13, 1998.

Joseph Flake Steelman married Lala Carr on August 30, 1947. They had two children, both named for their parents. A daughter, Lala Carr Steelman II, and a son Joseph Flake Steelman Jr. known as Joey. Joey was killed in an electrical accident in New Bern, North Carolina, in 1969.


Scope and arrangement

The Joseph F. Steelman Papers are divided into two series: printed materials for the National Democratic Party and related organizations concerning social, environmental, and political issues (1969-1990), and Historical Organization Files (1960-1990) concerning issues related to North Carolina history. The Steelman Collection contains all records from various organizations that Joseph F. Steelman and his wife Lala Carr Steelman were members of or supported.

Series I contains printed materials from the National Democratic Party, environmental, social, and political causes from the year 1969 through 1990. Printed materials include correspondence, pamphlets and fund-raising letters from various organizations. The main subjects include environmental issues and controversial topics, such as abortion, nuclear war, and the National Rifle Association. Democratice Party fund-raising pertains to national presidential races (including President Jimmy Carter) and also to state races such as N.C. Governor Jim Hunt.

Series II contains records of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association and the North Carolina Cultural Resources Division of Archives and History. Among these are biennial financial reports, agendas, memorandums, and meeting minutes, organization by-laws, as well as correspondence, guides to research papers, and other printed materials including photos of historical exhibits, and photos of cabins.

The majority of topics discussed in meetings include relocations of various historical artifacts (including the Judge Thomas Ruffin statue), renovations of various museums, commissions of various archaeological sites in North Carolina, and memorials, including the Charlotte Hawkins Memorial.


Administrative information
Custodial History

November 3, 1998 (processed), 1.5 cubic foot; Personal files (1960-1990) pertaining to social, political, environmental and historical organizations supported by Joseph and Lala Steelman, including correspondence, minutes, reports, etc. Donor: Dr. Joseph F. Steelman.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Dr. Joseph F. Steelman

Processing information

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Processing completed 3/14/2017 by Leah Powell Turner.

Copyright notice

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


Key terms
Corporate Names
Democratic Party (U.S.)
North Carolina Literary and Historical Association
North Carolina. Division of Archives and History
Places
North Carolina--History

Container list
Box 1 Folder a Democratic Party of North Carolina (1988) Packet. 10 items. 18 p
Box 1 Folder b Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1980-1985); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part I as originally organized by donor. 60 items. 128 p
Box 1 Folder c Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1980-1985); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part Il as originally organized by donor. 55 items. 116 p
Box 1 Folder d Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1980-1990); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations. 59 items. 136 p
Box 1 Folder e Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1976-1989); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part I as originally organized by donor. 57 items. 125 p
Box 1 Folder f Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1976-1986); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part II as originally organized by donor. 68 items. 153 p
Box 1 Folder g Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1982-1986); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part I as originally organized by donor. 64 items. 121 p
Box 1 Folder h Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1982); also fund raising correspondence from political, environmental, and social organizations; Part II as originally organized by donor. 54 items. 126 p
Box 2 Folder a Rosters of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, 1979-1985
Box 2 Folder b Meeting Minutes, 1983-1987
Box 2 Folder c Biennial Reports of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1985-1988
Box 2 Folder d Biennial reports of the Division of archives and history
Box 2 Folder e Guides to writing research papers from the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, 1984-1985
Box 2 Folder f By-laws of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. 1985
Box 2 Folder g Agendas concerning various projects, 1984-1988
Box 2 Folder h Other financial reports, 1983-1988
Box 2 Folder i Memorandums, 1984-1988
Box 2 Folder j Correspondence, 1985-1988
Box 2 Folder k Other Printed Materials including photographs of various historical exhibits. 1988
Box 3 Folder a Newsletters including Quadricentennial News and Federation Bulletin, 1960-1984
Box 3 Folder b Newsletters including Federation Bulletin, 1985-1990
Box 3 Folder c Contains printed materials concerning the Highway Marking program, 1984-1987
Box 3 Folder d Various historical projects and their public hearing documents as to whether the NC General Assembly will approve them. 1985