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Collection (1763-2013) including correspondence, financial records, legal records, clippings, land records, photographs, clippings, poetry, genealogy and miscellaneous files compiled by William L. Murphy related to genealogy research in Eastern North Carolina.

This collection (ca. 1909-2002) contains documents related to the career of David Jordan Whichard II of Greenville, N.C., longtime editor of The Daily Reflector and president and chief executive officer of the newspaper's publishing firm. Whichard also served on many professional boards such as the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, the N.C. Press Association, the Associated Press Board of Directors, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, the ECU Board of Trustees, the UNC System Board of Governors, and on the board for Wachovia Corporation. All of these activities plus other business-related and civic-related activities are reflected in the correspondence, minutes, reports, publications, financial records, and clippings in this collection.

Papers (1945-1968) consisting articles, awards, Forest Farmer magazine, newspaper, clippings, correspondence, speeches, reports etc.

Papers (1830 – 2010, undated) [Bulk: 1940-1970] documenting the life of Robert Lee Humber, Jr., who was born 30 May 1898 – and died 10 November 1970, in Greenville, North Carolina; after attending local schools he earned a BA from Wake Forest College, 1921; he then attended Oxford University in the United Kingdom as a Rhodes Scholar, 1921-1923; he then earned a MA from Harvard University in 1936; he moved to Paris, France, in 1926, where he married and served as an American Field Service fellow, 1926-1928, and subsequently earned a fortune as an international lawyer, art dealer, and businessman, 1930-1940, until the Fall of France, in 1940, when he, his wife, and their two sons, John and Marcel, fled the German invasion - his infant daughter Eileen died during their escape - and he returned to North Carolina, where he purchased a farm on Davis Island, established a legal career, and devoted himself to public service and to a wide range of philanthropic causes, as an educator, civic, cultural, political and religious leader; beginning in 1940, he became well-known nationally and internationally for establishing and leading the World Federation movement as a way to promote lasting world peace through international law; statewide for persuading the General Assembly and the Kress Foundation of New York to fund and establish the North Carolina Museum which opened in 1956; also as an art collector and patron of local and regional volunteer organizations; as a Democratic state senator from Pitt County, 1958-1964; as an educator who led the effort to create Pitt Technical Institute (later Pitt Community College); as a leader in the Southern Baptist denomination becoming a member of the Board of Trustees of Wake Forest College and other Baptist institutions; and as an attorney and business leader and developer; additionally, the collection includes historical files documenting the history of the World Federation in the United States, compiled by his son, John Leslie Humber.

Papers (1772, 1816-1927) including correspondence, legal papers, deeds and estate papers, financial papers, speeches, stories and poems, clippings, photographs, ledgers, medical bills, services rendered, charges and payments, etc.

Papers (1897-1901) consisting of correspondence of routine personal matters and family matters, clippings, schedule of recitation and recipes relating to Dr. and Mrs. Richard H. Speight of Edgecombe County, N.C. and their relatives.

Collection (1950 - 2011), including correspondence, photographic prints, ephemera, subject files and published materials, relating to Democratic Party politics in North Carolina and Washington, DC, especially Leggett's activities as chief of staff for Robert B. Morgan, who was Attorney General of North Carolina and U. S. Senator, 1970-1980.

Papers (1975-1978) [bulk 1977-1978] relating to McNeill Smith's campaign for the U. S. Senate in the 1978 North Carolina Democratic Primary Election, including brochures, campaign statements, press releases and newspaper articles.

Papers (1890-1974) consisting of correspondence, reports, pamphlets, speeches, conference records, minutes, publications, newspapers, agenda, photographs, and tapes related to the career of John A. Lang, Jr. He served as president of the National Student Federation of America (1933-1935), Assistant Director of Education Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (1935-1938), director of the N.C. National Youth Administration (1938-1942), and administrative assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force (1964-1971) among other positions.

Papers (1851-1887) consisting of a memoir, correspondence, legal papers, transcripts, military documents, genealogical materials, and photographic scans pertaining to William Henry von Eberstein (1821- ca. 1890). Descending from German and English aristocracy, he was born in St. Servan, France, and also lived on the Isle of Guernsey before becoming a mariner at age 13. A mariner, soldier, and farmer, von Eberstein moved to Chocowinity, Beaufort County, North Carolina, in 1851 and established himself in business. Later he captained various ships out of Washington, North Carolina, and served in the Confederate army.

Records (1948-1984) of the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Greenville, North Carolina, primarily for the Shore Drive Urban Renewal area, including appraisals, boundary description, demolition contracts, financial records, relocation files, acquisition records, reports property photographs, etc.

Papers of Erskine Caldwell (1932-1982), documenting the life and literary career of the noted Coweta County, Georgia-born, American novelist of the rural poor in the American South; consisting primarily of his correspondence with Robert Cantwell; also Paul C. Richards, Autographs' description of the letters and Stuart Wright's correspondence with Paul C. Richards, Autographs relating to purchase of the letters.

Papers (1963-2010) of East Carolina University History professor, 1969-2001, including correspondence; teaching notes and course syllabi for ECU History courses; drafts and manuscripts of papers, and publications; conference travel materials and professional association materials; lectures materials; University and History Department committees and activity files; materials concerning his education; and materials related to his participation in the Lutheran Church. English and German language.

Material (1898-1948) including legal correspondence and summons, tax receipts, accounts ledger, deeds, contracts and life insurance policies related to the real estate business of Gaston Watson (1865-1933) and his wife Fannie Morris Watson (1884-1965) of Wilson, North Carolina. Also included are photographs related to the family; WWII pay records and photographs related to son William Kirby Watson (1919-1993); and an 1854 copy of "Zion's Hymns" compiled for use in Original Free-Will Baptist Churches of North Carolina.