African American Documentation Initiative: Meet the Families

Collection: James Alexander Boyer Papers, 1893-2000

Origins: Raleigh, N.C.

Key figures: James Alexander Boyer (1909-1998), Charles Henry Boyer (1869-1942)

About: James Alexander Boyer (1909-1998)  was a professor of English, dean, and ultimately president of Saint Augustine's College of Raleigh, N.C. The collection primarily includes biographical materials about James Alexander Boyer's education and career and that of his father, Charles Henry Boyer (1869-1942). 

Highlights: 

• Boyer family history
• Friendship with Sadie and Bessie Delany
• James Alexander Boyer's World War II service

Collection: James A. Felton and Annie Vaughan Felton Papers, 1938-2015

Origins: Hertford County, N.C

Key figures: James A. Felton, Annie Vaughan Felton

About: James A. Felton was a civic leader, teacher, and author active in Hertford County, N.C. an African American author, teacher, counselor, and civic leader in Hertford County, N.C. His wife, Annie Vaughn Franklin was also a community leader, educator, and active in her church. In the 1960s, James A. Felton was a founder of the People's Program on Poverty, an African American organization created to study and fight poverty on the grassroots level in northeastern North Carolina. James and Annie Felton were instrumental in the restoration and establishment of the C. S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum, which opened in Winton, N.C., in 1986. The collection contains correspondence; programs for meetings and events held by educational, religious, and civic organizations; and newspaper clippings describing James A. Felton's civic contributions in Hertford County, N.C.

Collection highlights:

• James A. Felton biography
• C.S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum
• People's Program on Poverty

Collection: Gragg Family of Black Mountain, N.C., Photographs and Papers

Origins: Black Mountain, N.C.

Key figures: Butch and Kathryn Gragg, Harold Jr., Mavis, and Monica

About: The Graggs are an African American family from Black Mountain, N.C. The collection chiefly contains photographs, the majority of which document Butch and Kathryn Gragg's children, Harold Jr., Mavis, and Monica. The photographs span their younger years and emerging adulthood from the 1970s to the 1990s. Some of the events depicted are Girl Scout and Boy Scout activities, school functions, sports, graduations, vacations, and home life. 

Collection highlights:

• Family photographs spanning over 100 years. 
• Photographs depicting extended family members including the Whitson, Moorehead, Morehead, Lynch, Logan, and Creasman families 
• Images of Butch and Kathryn Gragg throughout their early lives, courtship, and marriage

Collection: Grigsby Family Papers, 1910s-2000s 

Origins: North and South Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan, Arizona 

Key figures: Snow F. Grigsby, J. Eugene Grigsby (Gene), J. E. Grigsby, Purry Leone Dixon Grigsby, and Miriam Grigsby Bates. 

About: The Grigsby family descends from Fred Grigsby (b. 1867), who was the son of a former enslaved person. The collection consists of correspondence and invitations, funeral and school materials, newspaper clippings and other printed biographical material, photographs, and other materials documenting the Grigsby

Highlights:  

• Photographs
• "Living letter" from Sergeant J. Eugene Grigsby (Gene) to his mother. Recorded at the USO Club at Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma
• Obituary, including a picture of Fred Grigsby casting his first ballot at age 75 after being denied the right to vote.

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Collection:  George Talmadge Grigsby Papers, 1870-1980 

Origins: Wake County, N.C., New York City, Lawrenceville, Va. 

Key figures: Harriet Ragland McLean, Alberta McLean Stinson, and Gladys Natal Stinson Grigsby. 

About: The George Talmage Grigsby Papers include correspondence that relates chiefly to Harriet Ragland McLean, Alberta McLean Stinson, and Gladys Natal Stinson Grigsby. A good portion of the correspondence are courtship letters between George T. Grigsby to each of these women. There are several letters from George Talmadge Grigsby to Gladys and her family before and after their marriage. Other letters document activities of family and friends and a few relate to Alberta's Baptist Church work. Other materials include Gladys's bridal book; her Durham State Normal School commencement book, 1924, with a handwritten narrative of school activities, autographs of classmates, and photographs; and Shaw University materials, circa 1928, including class notebooks, an autograph book, commencement programs, and other materials.  

Highlights: 

• Letters from George Talmadge Grigsby to Gladys and her family before and after their marriage.  

• Gladys Natal Stinson Grigsby's bridal book and Shaw University materials. 

• 37 photographs dating from 1905 to 1939 depicting various family members and friends. 

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Collection: J. Eugene Grisby Papers, 1940-1983 

Origins: Greensboro, NC, Pheonix, Arizona 

Key figures: J. Eugene Grisby (1918-2013)

About:  Jefferson Eugene Grigsby Jr., was an African American artist and educator, born in Greensboro, N.C.. In 1958, he was selected as of of six artists to represent the United States at the Brussels Universal and International Exposition. In 1988, he was designated National Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association. The papers, chiefly correspondence, and related materials, pertaining to his life and work. 

Highlights: 

• Art career in New York City and interactions with artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden 

• Career at Arizona State University 

• Involvement with art activist group  COBA (Consortium of Black Organizations and Others for the Arts), which Grisby founded.  

Collection: Lee Family of Caswell County, N.C., Papers, 1920s-2015

Origins: Caswell County, N.C. 

Key figures: J. Kenneth Lee (1923-2018 ) and Dr. Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher (1926- ) 

About: The collection contains papers and photographs documenting multiple generations of  the Lee family of Caswell County, N.C. Two family members primarily documented are Kenneth Lee and Dr. Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher.  Kenneth Lee was a lawyer in Greensboro, N.C., and was one of the first two African American students to attend the School of Law at the University of North Carolina in 1951. Dr. Winona L. Fletcher conducted pioneering research for the Federal Theater Project in the 1930s and spent her career as a theater professional and educator.  

Highlights: 

• Funeral programs for various family members 

• Photo albums 

• Audio recordings of family stories

Collection: Lewis Family Papers, 1910s-2013

Origins: Raleigh, N.C. 

Key figures: J.D. Lewis Jr.  

About: The Lewis family arrived in Raleigh, N.C., in 1923, when John D. Lewis Sr. began work as a district manager for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company of Durham, N.C. Lewis and his wife, Luella Alice Cox Lewis, and their two children, J.D. Lewis (John D. Lewis Jr.) (1919-2007) and Vera Lewis Embree (1921-2004), lived in southeast Raleigh and were active members of First Baptist Church. The collection is comprised of papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials that mainly relate to J.D. Lewis's working life and the civic and community organizations he supported. J.D. Lewis' career is documented by materials from Capitol Broadcasting Company, including editorials he wrote and produced; GROW, Incorporated; Manpower; Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company; National Association of Market Developers; and the National Business League. 

Highlights: 

• Family materials include newspaper clippings, funeral programs, school materials, awards and certificates, and photographs.  

• Photographs include portraits and snapshots of four generations of the Lewis and Cox families 

• Audiovisual materials chiefly relate to J.D. Lewis's work at Capitol Broadcasting Company/WRAL and his interest in African American community and history. 

Collection: McLean Family Papers, 1911-2013

Origins: Johnston County, N.C. 

Key figures: Willard James McLean, Anna Allen McLean, Fannetta Morrow Scruggs McLean Warner, and Karen Scruggs. 

About: The McLeans are a family of African American educators who taught in segregated schools and pursued continuing higher education opportunities. The papers contain correspondence, financial material, and professional papers of Willard James McLean, as well as papers related to Willard's involvement in the Presbyterian church and printed material. 

Highlights: 

• Correspondence 

• Family photographs 

• Documentation of segregated education in North Carolina 

Collection: Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter, and Clippings, 1963-1966 

Origins: Salisbury, Winston-Salem, and Chapel Hill, N.C. 

Key figures: Karen L. Parker 

About: The first African-American woman undergraduate to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Karen L. Parker was born in Salisbury, N.C., and grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C. Parker majored in journalism and after graduating in 1965, Parker began a career in newspapers that took her to the Grand Rapids Press, the Los Angeles Times, and to other newspapers before returning to the Winston-Salem Journal. The collection is Karen L. Parker's diary with entries 5 November 1963-11 August 1966, letters, and clippings.  

Highlights:

• Entries concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, her observations of reactions in Chapel Hill to the assassination, and her own thoughts and feelings about it.  

• Her experiences as the first African American woman undergraduate to attend UNC-Chapel Hill,  

• Entries about her involvement with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), her participation in civil rights demonstrations against segregation in Chapel Hill, and her arrest after entering a segregated Chapel Hill restaurant. 

Collection: Bart F. Smallwood Papers, 1910s-1998

Origins: Bertie County, N.C.

Key people: Bart F. Smallwood, Angelia Smallwood, Anthony Smallwood, Arwin Smallwood

About: Bart F. Smallwood was a community organizer who worked for over three decades in the Indian Woods and Windsor communities of Bertie County, N.C. The collection is comprised of material documenting Smallwood’s personal and family life as well as his community work in Bertie County as well as African American families, education, and civic organizations. The collection also contains material relating to Bart Smallwood’s three children and their education.

Highlights:

• Materials documenting Bart Smallwood's organizing activities and his central role in founding the Blue Jay Recreation Center, Blue Jay Baseball Team, and Blue Jay Volunteer Fire Department 
• Photographs of the Smallwood family and friends 
• Research material related to Arvin Smallwood's dissertation, "A History of Three Cultures: Indian Woods, North Carolina, 1585 to 1995."

Collection: Pope Family Papers, 1851-2000s 

Origins: Northampton County and Raleigh, N.C. 

Key figures: Jonas Elias Pope, M. T. Pope, Delia H. Pope, Evelyn Bennett Pope and Ruth Permelia Pope  

About: The Pope family descends from Jonas Elias Pope, a free man of color from Northampton County, N.C. The collection includes correspondence, financial and legal papers, educational records, and other papers. The collection documents Jonas Elias Pope; M. T. Pope, a physician, businessman, and politician; Delia H. Pope, who taught school and was trained in the Madame C. J. Walker method; Evelyn Bennett Pope, professor of library science at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University); and Ruth Permelia Pope, a teacher of home economics in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Highlights:

• Certificate of freedom for Jonas Elias Pope, 1851  

• Letters written by M.T. Pope during his service in the Spanish-American War 

• Material describing efforts to preserve and promote the Pope House Museum     

Collection: Wylie Family Papers, 1893-1982 (bulk 1910-1940) 

Origins: Peoria and Coulterville, IL., Paducah, Kentucky 

Key figures: Jessie Early Wylie, Thomas A. Wylie, Mary Wylie Blakeley, and Minnie Wylie Graves.  

About: The collection primarily consists of the Early and Wylie families taken between 1893 and 1982. The photos also depict extended family members from the Payne and Reed families. The papers also include obituaries, a copy of a late 19th-century marriage license, and a postcard.                                                                                          

Highlights: 

• A mixture of formal portraits and more casual snapshots 

• Photograph of Everett Wylie in his World War II uniform 

• Mary Wylie Blakeley's restaurant in Paducah, KY