Collection contains material related to the Smiley family history in North Carolina collected by Joan and Ralph Smiley, photocopies of material related to the life and death of country music musician Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, Jr. of Asheville, NC, who had toured with Don Reno and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, and clippings from the Raleigh News and Observer related to Klan violence in Eastern NC in 1967. Other material related to Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenville, to Agnes Wadlington Barrett, and to the Putnam Family have been moved to other collections.
Ralph Parkinson Smiley was born in Orange (Sampson County, NC) on September 16, 1933, to Wendell Wayne Smiley and Elva Ruth Parkinson Smiley. A retired Lt. Col., Smiley had a career in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator on the B2-52. His second career was as a teacher for 20 years in the Wayne County School System. He was married to Joan Kelly Smiley and they had 4 daughters. Smiley died September 19, 2018, in Greenville, NC, and is buried at Rocky Fork Christian Church Cemetery in Sanford, NC.
Sources: Ralph Parkinson Smiley's obituary at https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/reflector/obituary.aspx?n=ralph-parkinson-smiley&pid=190288764&fhid=30925
Find a Grave. Retrieved from: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193279226/ralph-parkinson-smiley
Aside from a folder of 1967 clippings, the material in this collection deals exclusively with the family history of the Smiley family descended from Rev. John Sadoc Smiley, who was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, and settled in Swain County, NC. Included are Historical "Tid Bits" of the Smileys collected by Joan and Ralph Smiley of Goldsboro, NC, in June 2010; a printout (dated July 10, 2010) of John Sadoc Smiley's descendants; and information on the Smiley and Brendle lines. Also included are photocopies of information related to country music musician Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, Jr., of Asheville, NC, who had toured with Don Reno and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, and the dedication of a new photograph for his headstone in 2008.
Material not related to family history includes Raleigh News and Observer clippings from January 1967 that document Ku Klux Klan intimidation activities in Wilson, Franklinton, and Salisbury, NC.
March 5, 2021, (unprocessed) 0.25 cubic feet; Collection contains material related to the Smiley family history in North Carolina collected by Joan and Ralph Smiley, photocopies of material related to the life and death of country music musician Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley, Jr. of Asheville, NC, who had toured with Don Reno and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, and clippings from the Raleigh News and Observer related to Klan violence in Eastern NC in 1967. Other material related to Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenville, to Agnes Wadlington Barrett, and to the Putnam Family have been moved to other collections. Gift of John S. Smiley, Sr., brother of Ralph P. Smiley.
Gift of John Stevenson "Steve" Smiley, Sr.
Processing completed 24 March 2021 by Martha Elmore.
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. Copyright Law.