Connecting the Docs: True Stories from the Old North State

Ballads and Banjos and Fiddles, Oh My: Appalachian Music Spotlight

Appalachian music has a rich history in western North Carolina. Native American and African American music cultures melded with the ballad-singing traditions of Scots-Irish settlers in the 1700s. In the years that followed, western and piedmont musicians crafted signature styles of banjo picking in old-time and bluegrass music. Today, the sounds of Appalachia can be heard in a range of musical genres, from country to blues and beyond. In this episode, oral history interns Fiona Allen and Bree Dumont introduce the Connecting the Docs crew to some Appalachian music traditions as we listen to Ashe County fiddler Howard Miller, explore the history of the banjo, and learn how musicians and historians alike have worked to preserve this unique heritage.  

 

Sources Mentioned: 

Miller, Howard, and Miller, Haroldean, c. 1970s, Unpublished cassette tape recording. Included in National Historic Register nomination AH0023, prepared by Sarah Woodard, approved September 24, 2001. https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/AH0023.pdf  

Sharp, C. J. (1973). English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1973. Oxford University Press. Outer Banks History Center, OBHC:15C4.  

North Carolina Arts Council Record Group. Folklife Section: Projects File, 1852-2013, bulk 1990-2010. Finding aid available in DOC: https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/solrDetailPages/series/NCA/Series_detail.html?fq=seriesRid:703807    

Lunsford, B. L. (1925). “Old Gray Mare.” Robert Winslow Gordon Cylinder Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Available at https://www.loc.gov/audio/?q=Bascom%20Lunsford&loclr=fbafc&fbclid=IwAR2XizdU1GGzqy3UqWuAMmt08VFMjnfN6axeFjt6sUPrvv45vbOht95jdIs  

North Carolina Folklore Journal, 1948-2019, published by North Carolina Folklore Society. Available at https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/nc-folklore-journal.  

Call the Granny Woman: Appalachian Dialect Spotlight

The dialect traditionally spoken in the western parts of North Carolina goes by many names—Smoky Mountain English, Southern Mountain Talk, and Appalachian Dialect, to name a few. In this episode, oral history interns Fiona Allen and Bree Dumont lead host John Horan and guests Brooke Csuka and Josh Hager on a lexicological journey through this most colorful patois. Learn about how this dialect combines influences from surrounding states as well as multiple cultures, including members of the Cherokee Nation, the African diaspora, and immigrants from all over western Europe. Following the lesson, Fiona and Bree quiz John, Brooke, and Josh on the meaning of several words found in collections in the State Archives and State Library of North Carolina holdings. Do you know the Appalachian dialect meaning of “granny woman,” “airish,” or “booger”? You’ll find out those surprising definitions and many more in this installment of Connecting the Docs. 

 

Sources Mentioned:

Suggested Archival Collections:

North Carolina Arts Council Record Group. Folklife Section: Resource File, 1796-2011. Finding aid available in DOC: https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/solrDetailPages/series/NCA/Series_detail.html?fq=seriesRid:703805.  

Western Regional Archives collections. Explore their finding aids on our website: https://archives.ncdcr.gov/researchers/finding-aids/western-regional-archives-finding-aids  

 

Other Works Cited:

“Dialect Words in North Carolina.” Tar Heel Junior Historian, 2006 Spring, Volume 45, No. 2. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

George Hovis, “The Art of Healing: An Interview with Lee Smith.” North Carolina Literary Review, 2021, No. 30, Pages 7-21. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

Margaret Bauer, “Genre Conventions with a Half-Twist: An Interview with Charles Frazier.” North Carolina Literary Review, 2013, No. 22, Pages 21-42. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development, “Conservation and Industry.” 1932, Volume 8, No. 1. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, “North Carolina Manual,” 1945-1946. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

Tar Heel Junior Historian, 1979 Fall, Volume 19, No. 1. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

Tar Heel Junior Historian, 2005 Fall, Volume 45, No. 1, Page 22. North Carolina State Documents Collection, State Library of North Carolina. 

Searching for a Spy: A Conversation with Dr. David Cecelski on Discovering the Legend of Abraham Galloway

For this episode our HBCU/MIHE summer intern Tyanna West chats with renowned historian and author Dr. David Cecelski about Abraham Hankins Galloway, an abolitionist, union spy, and North Carolina state senator from Brunswick County. Cecelski’s biography, The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War, illuminates a portrait of this little-known hero who ascended from the bondage of slavery to become one of the most important Black leaders during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Cecelski shares his research process, what drew him to the life of Abraham Galloway, and why he thinks many don’t know or share Galloway's story.

 

Sources mentioned:

Cecelski, David S. 2015. The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War. Chapel Hill: University Of North Carolina Press.

Exploring Island Life in the John Wilson IV Papers: A Summer Internship at the Outer Banks History Center

Each summer the Outer Banks History Center welcomes an intern to its archives on Roanoke Island. Named after the History Center’s founder and legendary Outer Banks historian, David Stick, the annual internship offers students pursuing graduate degrees in library science the opportunity to engage in a range of projects. In this week’s episode, the 2022 summer intern and dual-degree graduate student at Simmons University, Johnna Purchase, shares her experience processing the John Wilson IV Papers, which document the range of contributions Wilson made to the development of the town of Manteo through his many years of service as the town’s mayor. Through his work as a professional architect, Wilson’s designs proved essential to developing the island vernacular style of building unique to the Outer Banks. Purchase joins host John Horan and regular panelist Josh Hager to discuss her time processing an archival collection, conducting oral history with a local fishing legend from Ocracoke, creating a reading room exhibit, her chance meeting with the collection’s donor, and all the Outer Banks history, geography, and culture that surprised her along the way!

 

Sources Mentioned:

An Interview with Stanley Beacham, 2021. Oral History Interviews with Outer Banks Residents, AV.5214.50. Outer Banks History Center.

 

All other items discussed herein can be found in the John F. Wilson IV Papers, 1980-2008, ca. 1980s-2008, Outer Banks History Center.

True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Oyster Wars

Inspired by the bestselling novel and film adaptation Where the Crawdads Sing, Connecting the Docs explores true stories that happened in the wild marshes of eastern North Carolina. This episode dives deep into oysters and oystering, a major industry of the state for more than a century. In 1891, conflict between local fishermen and northern opportunists, who illegally dredged oysters from the coast, erupted into what became known as the Oyster Wars of North Carolina. Though no documentation indicates that either side escalated to violence, legend tells a different story. Outer Banks History Center director Samantha Crisp shares this tale and more food for thought with host John Horan in this final episode of our three-part series inspired by Where the Crawdads Sing.  

 

Sources Mentioned 

Images can be found at the OBHC’s oystering flickr album  

   

Map of Pamlico Sound and Tributaries, Showing the Natural and Artificial Oyster Beds, the Depth and Specific Gravity of the Water, the Character of the Bottom, and the Limits of the Sections as Determined by Lt. Francis Winslow, USN, circa 1886. 33MAP-0-529, Outer Banks History Center. [Digital copy linked here]  

   

Winslow, Francis. Report on the Waters of North Carolina: With Reference to Their Possibilities for Oyster Culture; Together with the Results Obtained by the Surveys Directed by the Resolution of the General Assembly, Ratified March 11, 1885. Raleigh: P.M. Hale, State Printer and Binder, 1886. [Digital copy linked here]  

   

Carter, Kathleen. The Oyster Wars of Pamlico Sound, circa 1994. 33BOK-0-10477, Outer Banks History Center. 

  

PC.5033, Letter to T. S. Meekins from D.O. Midgett requesting an oyster license for John Simpson of the sloop Green, 23 November 1900, Outer Banks History Center. [Digital copy linked here]  

   

Handwritten account by Allen Taylor of Sealevel, North Carolina, 1956, recalling his days as an oysterman on the schooner J.J. Taylor in the 1880s. From box 250, PC.5001, David Stick Papers, Outer Banks History Center. 

  

North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey. Bulletin No. 15: Experiments in Oyster Culture in Pamlico Sound North Carolina. Raleigh: The Survey, 1915. [Digital copy linked here]  

  

Office of the Secretary of State Records. Land Office (State), Shellfish Franchises, Oyster Bed Surveys.  

  

Carteret County Records. Oyster Bed Records. CR.019.928, Miscellaneous Records.   

  

"An act for the better protection of the oyster interests of North Carolina and for other purposes." Laws and resolutions of the State of North Carolina, passed by the General Assembly at its session of 1891. Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Broughton.1891. p.43. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,434319 

 

"An act to promote and protect the oyster interests of the state." Laws and resolutions of the State of North Carolina, passed by the General Assembly at its session of 1891. Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Broughton. 1891. p.369. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,434645 

 

 

True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Education and Truancy in Eastern North Carolina

Content warning: This episode includes potentially sensitive issues including suicide and death. Listener discretion is advised. 

Inspired by Where the Crawdads Sing—the bestselling novel by Delia Owens and now-streaming film—Connecting the Docs explores true stories that happened in the coastal communities of eastern North Carolina. In this episode, host John Horan, regular guest Josh Hager, and Samantha Crisp, director of the Outer Banks History Center, examine school records, truancy, and public education. Join in as they investigate the history of Rosenwald schools—more than 800 public schools built for African American students in North Carolina prior to desegregation in the 1960s—and learn from the personal experience of former Rosenwald school student Sharon Davis through excerpts from her oral history interview. Afterward, Samantha Crisp narrates the wildest truancy case in North Carolina’s recorded history. Through criminal action court records, personal letters, and newspaper coverage, she explores the curious case against the DeFebio family of Dare County, who objected to sending their children to public school. The controversy includes media battles, prison time, hunger strikes, kidnapping charges, and so much more.  

 

Sources Mentioned: 

 

An Interview with Sharon Davis (b. 1956), 2021. School Integration and Desegregation Oral History Project, OH.SchoolIntegration.002.  

School Planning Building Photographs digital collection. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/school-planning  

Department of Public Instruction Records, Division of Negro Education Records and Special Subject File on Rosenwald Schools. 

Miscellaneous Records, 1821-1966, Dare County (N.C.). Clerk of Superior Court, CR.031.928. 

State vs. Frank J. DeFabio, 1951, N.C. Supreme Court, CR.031.326.  

State vs. Mrs. Theo DeFabio, 1962, N.C. Supreme Court, CR.031.326.  

Research material on Frank DeFebio, from the David Stick Papers, box 272, PC.5001, Outer Banks History Center. 

Correspondence re: Frank DeFebio Monument, from the Frank Stick Papers, box 9, PC.5089, Outer Banks History Center. 

Articles and Letters on the DeFebio Family and School Integration, 1951-1961, from the D. Victor Meekins Papers, box 63, PC.5126, Outer Banks History Center. 

True Stories Behind Where the Crawdads Sing: Historic Black Communities of Eastern North Carolina

Inspired by Where the Crawdads Sing—the bestselling novel by Delia Owens that is now a major motion picture—Connecting the Docs explores true stories that happened in the wild marshes of eastern North Carolina. This episode, the first of a three-part series, is an examination of the resilient, dynamic Black communities that inhabited this land in the 18th and 19th centuries. Samantha Crisp, director of the Outer Banks History Center, and Morgan Johnson, oral history assistant, lead host John Horan into North Carolina’s maroon communities, like those hidden in the Great Dismal Swamp, as well as post-Civil War villages of emancipated African Americans, such as the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony and James City. These communities come to life through the voices of descendants, presented in fascinating clips of oral history interviews held at the State Archives. 

 

Sources Mentioned:

 

Olmsted, Frederick Law. A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States; With Remarks on Their Economy. New York; London: Dix and Edwards; Sampson Low, Son & co., 1856. Published online by Documenting the American South. University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/olmsted/menu.html 

 

An Interview with Marilyn Morrison (b. 1950), 2021, Roanoke-Hatteras Tribe Oral History Project, OH.RHTRIBE.001.   

 

An Interview with Gemaine Gillis (b. 1947), 2021, Roanoke-Hatteras Tribe Oral History Project, OH.RHTRIBE.002.   

 

An Interview with Leesa P. Jones (b. 1951), 2020, She Changed the World Oral History Project, OH.SHE.017  

 

Interview with Darrell Colllins on Outer Banks Black History (Dare County Current TV), 17 February 2021, AV_5319_03. Outer Banks History Center. 

 

James A. Bryan and wife vs. Washington Spivey et al. from North Carolina Reports [1890 : February, v.106]. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Supreme Court, Judicial Department, 1890. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll14/id/86257/rec/1  

 

Mobley, Joe A. James City, a black community, 1863-1900. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1980. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll6/id/982/rec/7  

 

Photograph of James City School, a Rosenwald Fund school, Craven County [c. 1924-1925]. Department of Public Instruction: School Planning Section, School Photographs File, Box 3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/51417673688/in/photolist-at618p-2mi6Lnj-2mi6Khi-Sw1Mrq-2miaCzE-RYaCpa-2mi1ygQ-2mi1xF1-2mi5qUg-2mi9ecU-Td5nLx-SCcUo9-T9tPod-2mkB22j/  

Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem Revisited: The True Stories behind North Carolina Murder Ballads

The True Crime genre seems to have exploded in popularity in recent years, but, truthfully, people have always had a fascination with sensational crime stories. Long before podcasts, musicians transformed these true crime tales into popular songs that have been sung and passed along for hundreds of years. In this special Halloween episode, reference archivist Katie Crickmore breaks down five popular North Carolina murder ballads and the true stories that inspired them. John, Josh, and Katie also examine archival records found in the State Archives that back up or refute the narrative of these songs. Tune in and make up your own mind about what happened in these cases.

 

Sources Mentioned:

 

General

Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem in the Old North State – Office of Archives and History Blog: https://medium.com/murder-mystery-and-mayhem-in-the-old-north-state

 

Omie Wise

Randolph County, Superior Court Minutes, 1807, C.081.30008

Randolph County, Criminal Action Papers, 1807-1813, CR.081.326.10

Randolph County, Superior Court Minutes, 1811, CRX 86

Randolph County, Miscellaneous Records, CR.081.928.1

Randolph County, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1815, C.081.317

 

Frankie Silver

Burke County, Criminal Action Papers, 1832, CR.014.326.3

Burke County, Superior Court Minutes, 1832, CR.014.321.1

Several Petitions for Pardon to Gov. Swain, Mar-Jun 1833, GP.66-67

 

Tom Dula

Tom Dula Papers, PC.1272

NC Supreme Court, State v. Thomas Dula, Jan 1867, Case No. 8922

NC Supreme Court, State v. Thomas Dula, Jan 1868, Case No. 8923

Wilkes County, Criminal Action File, 1866, CR.104.326

Wilkes County, Superior Court Minute Docket, 1868, CR.104.311.4

 

Ellen Smith

Forsyth County, Superior Court Minutes, 1886, CR.038.311.6

Forsyth County, Superior Court Minutes, 1893, CR.038.311.8

 

Lawson Family

NC Death Certificates, Stokes County, 25 Dec 1929, Lawson Family

Stokes County, Deeds, Charlie and Fannie Lawson, Bk. 75 Pg.360

Stokes County, Record of Administration, Lawson Family, 1929, Vol. 2

Stokes County, Record of Accounts, Lawson Family, 1929-19

The Journey of an Archival Record. Part III: Digitization and Access

In this final episode of our first series for season 3, we reach the end of our journey in the life of an archival record. As you’ve been listening to the past two episodes, you may have asked yourself – but what’s the end goal? Where is all of this work – retention, scheduling, appraisal, processing, imaging – heading? 

In today’s episode, Chauna Carr from the Digital Access Branch, Lauren McCoy from the Public Services Branch, and Josh Hager from the Records Description Unit discuss the end goal of everything we do at the State Archives: public access. We’ll talk about why we digitize records, how we decide what to digitize, and how to access materials that aren’t digitized – because only a fraction of our records are or ever will be digitized! Tune in to find out the answer to one of the most popular questions an archivist hears these days: why aren’t all of your records available online, and how to get help from reference archivists when they aren’t! 

 

Sources Mentioned: 

 

Women, Marriage, and the Law, a part of the Studies in Scarlet Project: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/women-marriage-and-the-law  

Lillian Exum Clement Stafford materials are available in the Women in North Carolina 20th Century History collection: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/women-in-nc 

General Assembly Session Records: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/general-assembly-session-records 

Treasurer & Comptroller’s Finding Aid: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll15/id/1570/rec/1 

The State Archives’ Online Catalog, DOC: https://archives.ncdcr.gov/search-catalog/search-doc 

Information on Ordering Records: https://archives.ncdcr.gov/researchers/services/ordering-copies  

African American Education Collection: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/african-american-education (includes records from the early 20th century Division of Negro Education) 

Blog post from History for All the People about the conservation of the earliest admissions log from Dorothea Dix Hospital: https://ncarchives.wpcomstaging.com/2021/11/02/conservation-treatment-of-the-dorothea-dix-hospital-register/  

The Journey of an Archival Record, Part II: Arrangement and Description

Those of you who have visited the State Archives may be familiar with the sight of boxes containing processed records in orderly rows of labelled, acid-free folders. But you may wonder: how do these records go from their unprocessed state upon transfer to the arranged and described collections that you encounter in the search room? How do archivists determine what records to process? Do all records get processed to the same level? And why does the State Archives reformat records and continue to use microfilm?

 

In today’s episode, State Agency Archivist Alex Dowrey and Digital Access Manager Ruth Cody will shed light on some of these questions and share illuminating details about what goes on behind –the scenes to preserve records and to promote access and discovery. You’ll also hear about fascinating records that Alex and Ruth have processed over the years, ranging from broiler chicken competition recipes found in Commissioner of Agriculture records to letters discussing Jim Crow culture in the south in the African American Social Work Collection.

 

Sources Mentioned:

 

Letters to Lt. Oxley, Stenographer/Typist Folder, African American Social Work Collection also known as Bureau of Work Among Negroes. SR.097.113.033

 

Recipes from the cooking competition are in the “March 1969” and “Articles, 1980” folders in the Commissioner's Office: Speeches File series, SR.7.33 (SCHEDS-37726).

 

The Division of Emergency Management scrapbooks that contain newspaper clippings and other records of civil defense activities are in the Intelligence Section, Public Information Officer: Scrapbooks series, SR.56.2. (Note: these records are currently being processed to address preservation concerns. Please contact the search room in advance for access).

 

The Rockingham County divorces are in the Divorce Records subgroup, CR.084.604.