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 | 15.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 12000 items) |
| Abstract | W. T. Couch (b. 1901), while director of the University of North Carolina Press, was also a part-time official of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, as assistant and associate director for North Carolina, 1936-1937, and as director for the southern region, 1938-1939. These papers include his correspondence relating to the project, and the life histories of about 1,200 individuals, written by about 60 members of the project after one or more interviews with the subjects. Persons interviewed, many of them African Americans, described life in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. There is a partial index to the many occupations of those interviewed. Also included, on microfilm, are ghost stories, local legends, etc., gathered in the project. |
| Creator | Federal Writers' Project. |
| 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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Scope and Content
William Terry Couch (b. 1901), director of the University of North Carolina Press, 1932-1945; director of the University of Chicago Press, 1945-1950; since 1950, editor and publisher with encyclopedias and commercial publishers; lived in Palo Alto, California; returned to live in Chapel Hill.
Couch was associated with the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration on a part-time basis, 1936-1939, as associate and assistant state director for North Carolina, 1936-1937, and as regional director, 1938-1939. Boxes 1-8 of these papers contain his correspondence and other papers related to his work with the project. Boxes 9-33 of the papers contain life histories written by members of the Federal Writers' Project after interviews with selected individuals. Selections from these life histories were published in These Are Our Lives, as told by the people and written by members of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. (Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1939. xx, 421 pp. Preface by W. T. Couch.) Box 34 contains a card index of the life histories, compiled by Couch.
Later publication: Such as Us, Southern Voices of the Thirties. Edited by Tom E. Terrill and Jerrold Hirsch. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1978.
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Series Quick Links
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Correspondence.
| Folder 1-14 |
1936-March 1937 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 1-14Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14 |
| Folder 15-30 |
April 1937-July 1938 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 15-30Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
| Folder 31-44 |
August-15 November 1938 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 31-44Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44 |
| Folder 45-59 |
16 November 1938-17 January 1939 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 45-59Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59 |
| Folder 60-71 |
18 January-29 March 1939 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 60-71Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71 |
| Folder 72-82 |
30 March-20 May 1939 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 72-82Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76Folder 77Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82 |
| Folder 83-92 |
21 May-31 August 1939 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 83-92Folder 83Folder 84Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90Folder 91Folder 92 |
| Folder 93-105 |
September 1939-1940 #03709, Series: "Correspondence." Folder 93-105Folder 93Folder 94Folder 95Folder 96Folder 97Folder 98Folder 99Folder 100Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105 |
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Life Histories.
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Alabama.
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Georgia.
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Louisiana.
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North Carolina.