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This collection (1884, 1908-2005) includes the papers of Helen Keel Peel (who died in 2005 at the age of 88) and her husband James Woolard Peel (who died in 1986), of Everetts in Martin County, North Carolina. Included in the collection are a diary (1934-1937); photographs; typescripts related to Helen Peel's historical research about Everetts and Martin County; correspondence, scrapbook, and autograph books related to her public school years and her 1933-1934 time at Louisburg College; scrapbooks covering the time span of ca. 1956-1994; and Bible (1836) records, especially births, for the years 1808-1851 for members of the Peel, Woolard, Ward, Martin and Barnhill families of Martin County. Also included are report cards, transcripts, and correspondence related to James Peel's public schooling and time (1931-1935) at N.C. State University; U.S. Army service-related materials for his time in the Reserves (1936) and World War II (1942-1945); memorabilia related to his membership in the Order of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; Martin County deeds and plats (1884-1972); account books (1908-1944); and remodeling plans (2000-2005) by Dr. Jesse R. Peel for his parents' house. deeds for various tracts of land in Everetts and elsewhere in Martin County, N.C., and papers (plat maps, correspondence, financial papers) that document involvement with Timberlands Unlimited, Inc., of Windsor, N.C.

Papers (1930-1949) consisting of correspondence, dispatches, military records, photographs, newspaper, clippings, journal, log book, and miscellaneous.

This notebook is an 1870 student's notebook containing field notes of a Survey of the Coast of North Carolina done for the United States Coast Survey. It was likely kept by Jacob Bell Cornell (1848-1897), a member of the Class of 1872 at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Of specific interest are a diagram and calculations associated with a lighthouse in the Pamlico Sound and references to Portsmouth Island and Swan Quarter.

Oral history interviews relating to his youth and his experiences, 1917-1972, as the second African-American midshipman to attend the United States Naval Academy (Class of 1941) for approximately three weeks during the summer of 1937, and his education and career as a teacher in the Washington, DC school system, 1942-1972. Received 8/26/1997, 3/23/2004.

Logbook, (1862 -1863) of H.M.S. Desperate headquartered in Bermuda.

Papers (1942-1945) including correspondence, vaccination records, drawings, personal history, and miscellany.

Minutes, programs, correspondence, journals, reprints, reports, posters, and miscellaneous records (1902-2016) documenting the North Carolina Academy of Science.

Papers (1935-1966) including correspondence, diaries, logs, progress reports, clippings, programs, publications, official orders, biographical information, photographs, etc.

Papers (1857-1887) including patients accounts, medications, hired help accounts, and records of merchandise bought and sold.

Papers (1869, 1908, 1736, 1933-1956) consisting of correspondence, legal records, genealogical records, pamphlets, clippings, photographs and miscellaneous.

The over eleven cubic feet of papers (1857-2021) in this collection compiled by local historian Edward Ellis are related to the history of Havelock and New Bern, N.C., the Civil War (especially New Bern and Eastern North Carolina), Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, Sir Henry Havelock and Ellis's publications. Items included are aerial photographs (1938/1939, 1950) of Craven, Pamlico and Carteret counties, N.C.; New Bern Civil War-related items; two issues of The New York Times (1862) related to the Civil War in New Bern; 1857 issues of The Illustrated London News, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Harper's Weekly and The New York Times related to Sir Henry Havelock and the war in India; ephemera, engravings, prints and an image on glass related to Sir Henry Havelock; Havelock Tobacco caddy labels; Havelock Progress newspaper negatives (1981-1983); photographs used in Ellis's book Historic Images of Havelock and Cherry Point (2010); manuscripts for Ellis's books In This Small Place (2005), and New Bern History 101 (2009); and four cubic feet of historical files relating to Havelock and New Bern, N.C., Cherry Point, the Civil War, genealogy and other historical topics. Also included are a short history of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing, and ninety-seven photographs (1941) with corresponding indexes and map documenting property adjoining Havelock, N.C. prior to demolition of buildings for construction of Cherry Point Marine Air Station. The photographs include scenes of farm houses, barns, outbuildings, fishing camps, fields, roads, and waterways.

Collection contains mainly material related to the African American Navy Band members who served at the Great Lakes Naval Base during World War II (1942-1945). This material includes programs and related material from the February 28-March 2, 2003, salute to these African American band members that was held in Chicago, Illinois, and from former band member Carl Foster's participation in a symposium sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of History in 2003. Other material includes programs (1987) for concerts by the North Carolina Jazz Ensemble and a 1945 USO Hawaii booklet. A second focus of this collection is on the lives of Alex Albright's family members including uncles on his mother's side and their involvement with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and World War II service and death.

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.

Items include certificate from Manhattan Maternity and Dispensary of the City of New York, appointment to the local board of Warren County, NC during World War I, and group photograph of unidentified men.

ECU's Joyner Library was awarded a 2020 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Community Connections grant through the State Library of North Carolina. The theme was "She Changed the World: North Carolina Women Breaking Barriers" in honor of the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment. This award is for projects "that advance excellence and promote equity by strengthening capacity, expanding access, and community engagement in North Carolina's libraries."