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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 10.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 5700 items) |
| Abstract | Oscar Jackson Coffin was a journalist, professor of journalism, 1926-1956, and the first dean of the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina, 1950-1953. The collection includes correspondence, writings, and other items of Oscar Jackson Coffin and family members. The original deposit includes correspondence with friends, colleagues, and former students concerning jobs and newspaper affairs, 1926-1956. Among the correspondents are John Harden, John D. Langston, Holt McPherson, and Roy Parker. Few items pertain to the University of North Carolina directly. Also included are clippings about Randolph County and Asheboro, N.C., especially of Coffin's column, "Shucks and Nubbins," which appeared in the Greensboro Daily News, and, after 1956, personal letters of Coffin's widow, Gertrude Wilson Coffin. The addition of 1995 includes letters, writings, photographs, and other items chiefly relating to Coffin's journalism career. Of note are letters from former students, including a few women journalists, who reported on their career progress, and letters from and photographs of Robert Ruark. Other papers include verses, articles, lectures, and newspaper clippings about and by Coffin. There is a small amount of school materials and writings of Gertrude Wilson Coffin. The addition of 2003 includes letters, writings, photographs and other items relating to Coffin's journalism career, especially while he was editor of the Raleigh Times. Also included are family letters, school materials, church materials, financial materials, and photographs relating to Gertrude; her father, J. E. Wilson (Joseph Edward Wilson), a physician, and her mother, Cordelia Mann Wilson, a school teacher, both of Haywood County, N.C.; her sister, Inez Wilson Dixon; and other members of the Mann and Wilson families. |
| Creator | Coffin, O. J. (scar Jackson), 1887-1956. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
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.
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Biographical
Information
Oscar Jackson Coffin was a journalist, professor of journalism, 1926-1956, and the first dean of the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina, 1950-1953.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence, writings, and other items of journalist and professor of journalism Oscar Jackson Coffin and family members. The original deposit includes correspondence with friends, colleagues, and former students concerning jobs and newspaper affairs, 1926-1956. Among the correspondents are John Harden, John D. Langston, Holt McPherson, and Roy Parker. Few items pertain to the University of North Carolina directly. Also included are clippings about Randolph County, N.C., and Asheboro, N.C., especially of Coffin's column, "Shucks and Nubbins," which appeared in the Greensboro Daily News, and, after 1956, personal letters of Coffin's widow, Gertrude Wilson Coffin. The addition of 1995 includes letters, writings, photographs, and other items chiefly relating to Coffin's journalism career. Of note are letters from former students, including a few women journalists, who reported on their career progress, and letters from and photographs of Robert Ruark. Other papers include verses, articles, lectures, and newspaper clippings about and by Coffin. There is a small amount of school materials and writings of Gertrude Wilson Coffin. The addition of 2003 is comprised of letters, writings, photographs and other items relating to Coffin's journalism career, especially while he was editor of the Raleigh Times . Also included are family letters, school materials, church materials, financial materials, and photographs relating to Gertrude; her father, J. E. Wilson (Joseph Edward Wilson), a physician, and her mother, Cordelia Mann Wilson, a school teacher, both of Haywood County, N.C.; her sister, Inez Wilson Dixon; and other members of the Mann and Wilson families.
Materials in the original deposit have been maintained in the order as received from Oscar Jackson Coffin's file cabinets. Additions have been arranged in series as per the original deposit. Because similar material appears in all series, researchers may need to look at more than one series to find all of the items of interest to them.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. General Correspondence and Related Material, 1916-1967.
Arrangement: chronological and topical.
The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters to and from former students seeking help in finding jobs and editors asking Oscar Jackson Coffin to recommend people to fill job openings. Most of the correspondence concerns journalism in North Carolina, but little appears to concern University events, current politics, or daily life in Chapel Hill, N.C. The rest of the correspondence is from friends, mainly in relation to his column "Shucks and Nubbins" in the Greensboro Daily News and correspondents including John Harden, John D. Langston, Holt McPherson, and Roy Parker. Correspondence, 1956-1967, is chiefly to and from Coffin's wife Gertrude Wilson Coffin. Included are many letters of condolence, 1956-1957, on Oscar Jackson Coffin's death.
Other papers include verses, articles, and lectures. There are also three volumes: a Randolph County, N.C., scrapbook of Hal M. Worth with clippings of "Shucks and Nubbins" and items about Randolph County and Asheboro, N.C.; Oscar Jackson Coffin's scrapbook with clippings of writings by Coffin including "Shucks and Nubbins" and the "State House Anthology" series (1917); and a portfolio of newspaper clippings with feature articles about and tributes to Oscar Jackson Coffin.
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Series 2. Alumni, 1943-1953.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Incoming and carbons of outgoing correspondence by and about students in the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina. These materials were maintained separately by Oscar Jackson Coffin and are filed alphabetically by the name of the student. Note that folder A is missing.
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Series 3. Other Correspondence, 1929-1953.
Arrangement: topical.
Incoming and carbons of outgoing correspondence between Oscar Jackson Coffin and journalists, press and professional organizations, former students, University colleagues, and other professional associates. These materials were maintained separately by Coffin and mostly concern his students. Some letters are filed by correspondent, others by newspaper, location, or organization. Unless noted, newspapers and locations are in North Carolina.
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Series 4. Pictures, undated.
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Additions After 1970.
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Addition of September 1995 (Acc. 95122), 1900-1966.
Arrangement: arranged in series as per original deposit.
Letters, writings, photographs, and other items chiefly relating to Oscar Jackson Coffin's journalism career. Of note are letters from former students, including a few women, who reported on their career progress, and letters from and photographs of Robert Ruark. Other papers include verses, articles, lectures, and newspaper clippings about and by Oscar Jackson Coffin. There is a small amount of school materials and writings of Gertrude Wilson (Coffin).
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Series 1. General Correspondence, 1905-1966
and undated.
Arrangement: chronologial and topical.
Chiefly letters received from former students and newspaper colleagues concerning journalism in North Carolina. Of note are letters from former students, including a few women, who reported on their career progress. Most female correspondents are filed in the "Lois Byrd, etc." folder. There are also several letters from Robert Ruark and a separate file for letters of condolence sent on Coffin's death. Other papers include verses, articles, lectures, and newspaper clippings about and by Oscar Jackson Coffin. Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 4. Pictures, ca. 1900-1960.
Black-and-white photographs of Oscar Jackson Coffin, Gertrude Wilson Coffin, Robert Ruark, and others.
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Series 5. Other Family Papers, 1902-1906.
Miscellaneous school materials of Gertrude Wilson and several issues of The Guilford Collegian that feature her writings.
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Addition of November 2003 (Acc. 99660), 1879-1991.
Arrangement: arranged in series as per original deposit.
Letters, photographs, writings, and other items relating to Oscar Jackson Coffin's journalism career, especially while he was editor of the Raleigh Times . Also included are family letters, school materials, church materials, financial materials, and photographs relating to Coffin's wife, Gertrude Wilson Coffin; her father, J. E. Wilson (Joseph Edward Wilson), a physician, and her mother, Cordelia Mann Wilson, a school teacher, both of Haywood County, N.C.; her sister, Inez Wilson Dixon; and other members of the Mann and Wilson families.
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Series 1. General Correspondence, 1908-1970
and undated.
Arrangement: chronologial and topical.
Chiefly letters to Oscar Jackson Coffin regarding editorials published while he was the editor of the Raleigh Times. Other letters are from friends and former students serving in the military during World War II. Also included are letters to his wife, Gertrude Wilson Coffin, from her sister Inez Wilson Dixon; from Jake Strother, a longtime friend from the newspaper business; and from other family and friends. Other materials include newspaper clippings; a scrapbook; lectures and other writings of Coffin; materials relating to Gertrude's death; and miscellaneous membership cards, certificates, and biographical material.
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Series 4. Pictures, ca. 1890-1950.
Black-and-white photographs of Oscar Jackson Coffin, Gertrude Wilson Coffin, other members of the Mann and Wilson families, and miscellaneous houses and other buildings.
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Series 5. Other Family Papers, 1879-1991.
Correspondence, school materials, church materials, physician's account books, medical licenses, receipts, telephone bills, and other miscellaneous material relating to Gertrude Wilson Coffin; her father, J. E. Wilson (Joseph Edward Wilson), and her mother, Cordelia Mann Wilson, a school teacher, both of Haywood County, N.C.; and other Mann and Wilson family members.
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Items Separated
Separated materials include oversize papers (OP-3907/1-4); oversize pictures (OP-P-3907/1-5); pictures (P-3907/folders 1-15).
Back to TopProcessed by: Suzanne Ruffing and SHC Staff, March 1996 with subsequent additions
Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, August 2004
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