Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the James M. Benson papers #4689, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from J. Douglas Mattox, Raleigh, N.C., in January 1994.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• American poetry--19th century.
• Benson, James M., 1853-1919.
• Dry-goods--North Carolina.
• Hyde County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Methodist Church--North Carolina--Clergy--History--19th century.
• North Carolina--Poetry.
• Schools--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Sentimentalism in literature.
• Sermons, American--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Women--Education--North Carolina--History--19th century.

• JOHN BENSON PAPERS (4066).

According to published obituaries included in this collection, James M. Benson was born in Hyde County, N.C., in 1853, attended Trinity College, became a Methodist minister in 1896 or 1897, and served various circuits in the Eastern North Carolina Conference until shortly before he died in 1919 in Nashville, N.C. Benson married twice and was the father of six children.

In addition to documenting the sermons and religious musings of a turn-of-the-century Methodist minister, this eclectic collection provides insight into student life at private boarding schools in late 19th-century North Carolina and the relationship between students and parents.