Biographical/historical information

The Phoenix Historical Society: African American History of Edgecombe County was founded in 2001, and incorporated in 2004. Its purpose is to recover, record, and promote the history of African Americans in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Helen Gordon Quigless, Jr., was the president until illness required her to step down at which point C. Rudolph Knight become president in 2003. The name of the group was changed in 2004 to The Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc. Under the third president, Mavis Stith, the group returned to its original name The Phoenix Historical Society: African American History of Edgecombe County in 2010.

C. Rudolph Knight, born 1947, graduated from North Carolina Central University in 1969 with a business degree; he would go on to earn Master of Science degrees in Education Administration, Library Science, and Adult Education from East Carolina University. He was the Director of Continuing Education at Edgecombe Community College for twenty-one years. In addition to his work as president as of the Phoenix Society he was the Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Rocky Mount, and wrote a column for The Daily Southerner. He passed away November 29, 2013.

Scope and arrangement

This collection contains the Phoenix Historical Society: African American History of Edgecombe County foundational documents, meeting minutes, and membership records. The Society was very prolific from 2002 to 2008 in sponsoring, creating, and promoting events in the Tarboro, North Carolina area. Within the collection are records pertaining to the creation of George Henry White Day, of which the Phoenix Historical Society played a large role in establishing. George Henry White (1852-1918) was the last African American Congressman elected in a Southern state until the 1960's. Other projects undertaken by the Phoenix Historical Society were programs on: Rosenwald Schools, the Knights of Labor in Edgecombe County, and preservation status of the Quigless Clinic. They also researched and created a guided tour of Tarboro, North Carolina, landmarks that highlighted the contributions of the African American community throughout the town's history. The Phoenix Historical Society also celebrated contemporary achievements with its Nonagenarians of Edgecombe County program, which honored local African Americans and shared their stories with a broader audience. They also compiled two manuscripts on local history topics: African Americans in Edgecombe County From Slavery to Freedom to Jim Crow: A Chronology 1860-1901 and "It Wasn't Just Wages We Wanted, But Freedom": The 1946 Tobacco Leaf House Workers Organizing Campaign in Eastern North Carolina. A theater production of East Carolina University Professor Dr. Reginald Watson's work was sponsored by the Society and a copy of the play, Princeville: The Little Town that Rose like a Phoenix from the Swamp, is included within the collection.

In addition to the Phoenix Society Records, some of C. Rudolph Knight's personal papers are housed in the collection. Along with Mr. Knight's correspondence is limited research on unrealized topics for future Society programs. The Phoenix Historical Society is dedicated and diligent in promoting African American history in Edgecombe County and this collection houses the records of their prodigious efforts.

Administrative information

Custodial History

July 8, 2015, 1.35 cubic feet; The Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc., was founded in 2001 to recover, record, and promote the unique history of Edgecombe County (North Carolina) as experienced by members of its African American community. This collection contains the society's official records and brochures and publications related to research and sponsored projects. Gift of Dr. Lawrence W. S. Auld

October 19, 2017, (unprocessed addition 1), 0.45 cubic feet; Included are broadsides and programs (2003, 2006-2007), correspondence (2003-2010), minutes (March 4, 2006), and artifacts (t-shirts, mug, mousepad) related to activities sponsored by the Phoenix Society for African American Research, and a CD containing images of 3 houses on Carr St. in Rocky Mount and the City of Rocky Mount Historic Preservation Commission 2009 annual report. Certificates related to Gladys C. Harrison's and Martha O. Parker's completion of schooling at Princeville Graded School (1915, 1918) and Harrison's graduation from State Normal School in Elizabeth City (1917), and for Gladys Matthewson's graduation from Sales Beauty College in Wilson (1955) and her involvement in the Eastern Star and the Woman's Baptist Home and Foreign Missionary Convention are included, plus panoramic photographs of the Annual Ministers Conference at Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia (1921 or 1927) and one of people in front of a church. Gift of Dr. Lawrence W. S. Auld.

July 6, 2021, (unprocessed addition 2), 0.25 cubic feet; The Phoenix Historical Society: African American History of Edgecombe County was founded in 2001. The first president was Helen G. Quigless, Jr. After she passed in 2004, under the second president C. Rudolph Knight, the name was changed to Phoenix Society for African American Research, Inc. After the third president Mavis Stith was elected in 2010, the name was changed back to the original name. This addition (2005-2020) includes materials related to the dedication of North Carolina Historical markers commemorating "African Americans Defend Washington," "State v. Will" (Battleboro), and "1978 Sanitation Workers' Strike" (Rocky Mount). DVDs, programs clippings, press releases, and articles also document George Henry White Day, the resolution of apology from Rocky Mount City Council on the 40th anniversary of the 1978 Sanitation Workers Strike, and the life and death of Clarence Garland Powell, a Montford Point Marine. 1 DVD decaccessioned (content unrecoverable) 9/29/2023. Gift of James W. Wrenn

Source of acquisition

Gift of Dr. Lawrence W. S. Auld

Gift of James W. Wrenn

Processing information

Processing completed by Samantha Sheffield November 3, 2015

Copyright notice

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

Technical Requirements

DVD labeled Part 1 (1260-002 DIG01) originally located in Box 4, Folder K contained unrecoverable content and was deaccessioned on September 29, 2023.

Related material

For more information concerning the Phoenix Historical Society and Vice President James W. Wrenn, see:

Jim Wrenn Papers (#05625)Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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