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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 | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 420 items) |
| Abstract | Primarily life histories, folkways, legends, and other items written and collected by workers of the Federal Writers' Project of North Carolina, 1938-1941, with accompanying administrative material, including instructions to writers. Most of the life histories are variants of items in the Federal Writers' Project Papers (#3709) in the Southern Historical Collection, but ten do not appear in that collection. The folkways and legends are chiefly stories concerning North Carolina in the colonial, Revolutionary, and Civil War periods. A number of essays relate to Raleigh, N.C. T. S. Ferree collected this material in the course of his work as a research editor with the Federal Writers' Project in Raleigh, N.C. |
| Creator | Ferree, Thaddeus, circa 1881-circa 1972. |
| 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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Related Collections
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Biographical
Information
Thaddeus S. Ferree was born about 1881, possibly in Randolph County, N.C. He was licensed as an attorney in the fall of 1905 and set up his practice in Greensboro, N.C. Sometime before 1918, T. S. Ferree was married. He and his wife Lelia L. Ferree had at least one child, Thaddeus, Jr. About 1918, Lelia became ill, and the Ferrees moved to the country in Randolph County. T. S. Ferree taught school there for the next fourteen years.
The Ferree family moved to Raleigh, N.C., around 1932. They lived first at 609 Fayetteville Road, and Ferree probably worked as a salesman. By 1933, they had moved to 915 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, and Ferree was employed as a salesman by Carolina Pines, Inc. In 1934, the Ferrees settled at 310 W. Hargett Street, and Ferree possibly began to practice law again. During 1935, Ferree worked intermittently for the Wake County Emergency Relief Administration Service.
By 1938, T. S. Ferree had begun to work in Raleigh for the Federal Writers' Project. From 1 October 1939 to 7 April 1941, he worked continuously for the Federal Writers' Project as a research editor, apparently supervising the work of several others. Ferree was also employed occasionally as a private researcher, probably in genealogy, during this time. He was discharged from the Federal Writers' Project on 7 April 1941 ("removal required by law after 18 months of continuous employment.")
After 1941, T. S. Ferree resumed his law practice. He died in Raleigh, around 1972, at the age of 91.
(Additional biographical information is available in the control file of these papers.)
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Scope and Content
The T. S. Ferree Papers consist of records from the North Carolina Federal Writers' Project produced between 1935 and 1941, with most materials dating from between 1938 and 1941. Included in the collection are life histories; folkways and legends; essays on North Carolina's history, culture, and geography; and some administrative materials, primarily writers' guides and manuals.
Items have been divided into two series. Series I, Writings is divided into three subseries: life histories, folkways and legends, and other writings. "Other writings" (Subseries IC) is further divided into writings relating to the American Guide Series: North Carolina Guide and How They Began; writings about Raleigh, N.C.; writings about the rest of North Carolina; and drafts of two longer pamphlets--N. C. Browder's "The Co-op That Failed" and T. P. Matthews's "Secrets of a Dixieland Trapper."
Writings included in Series I were composed by many workers of the Federal Writers' Project in North Carolina, including Mary A. Hicks, Gertrude Gunter, W. O. Saunders, Travis Jordan, Claude Dunnagan, Edwin Massengill, Frances L. Harriss, and others. T. S. Ferree seems to have written only on the educational institutions of Raleigh and on epitaphs. However, his work as a research editor is evident in items throughout Series I.
Series II is composed of administrative materials of the Federal Writers' Project. It is also divided into three subseries: correspondence, writers' manuals and instructions to workers, and miscellaneous items. These administrative materials reflect the framework within which the writings in Series I were composed.
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Series Quick Links
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I. Writings, 1937-1941.
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IA. Life Histories.
Life histories written from interviews by Federal Writers' Project workers. All subjects are from North Carolina. Arrangement is alphabetical by last name of interviewer. Many of the life histories written by W. O. Saunders are accompanied by carbon copies of letters to W. T. Couch and, occasionally, by a manuscript note to George L. Andrews. All of these letters were written in 1939.
The citations to life histories below identify the interviewer, title of life history, name of person interviewed, occupation of person interviewed, and residence of person interviewed. Those life histories preceded by an asterisk are variant forms of life histories in the Federal Writers' Project Papers (#3709).
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IB. Folkways and Legends.
Stories collected by Federal Writers' Project workers, dealing primarily with North Carolina history of the colonial, Revolutionary, and Civil War periods. Some of these stories have been published, an example being "Woman Trouble" by Travis Jordan, (in Bundle of Troubles, Federal Writers' Project, 1943). Authors whose stories appear in this subseries include Mary A. Hicks, T. Pat Matthews, Travis Jordan, W. O. Saunders, N. H. Bartlett, Furman Bisher, Frances L. Harriss, Edwin Massengill, Claude Dunnagan, John H. Abner, Ethel M. Cottingham, James Larkin Pearson, Christine Taylor, Cassie Gant, Sue Orice, Adyleen Merrick, Esther Searle Pinnix, and many others. These folkways and legends are arranged alphabetically by title or first line of text.
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IC. Other Writings.
Essays composed by Federal Writers' Project workers, dealing with the history, culture, and geography of North Carolina.
"The Co-op That Failed" by Nat C. Browder. Three versions are included.
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II. Federal Writers' Project Administrative Materials, 1935-1941.
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IIA. Correspondence, 1936-1940.
Correspondence relates primarily to projects being worked on, or special projects being developed, such as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Constitution and Community Activity Week. None of the letters is from or to T. S. Ferree, and none directly involves him. Arrangement is chronological. Further correspondence (letters from W. O. Saunders to W. T. Couch) can be found attached to items in Subseries IA, Life Histories.
| Folder 56 |
Correspondence, 1936-1940 #04258, Subseries: "IIA. Correspondence, 1936-1940." Folder 56 |
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IIB. Writers' Manuals and Instructions to Workers.
Manuals and instructions describe the appropriate structure for the topics to be included in the projects assigned to workers. Included are a copy of the "American Guide Manual," October 1935; supplementary instructions to the "American Guide Manual," issued in 1935 and 1936; specific instructions pertaining to tours, city guides, folklore from ex-slaves, life histories, and tall tales; and writers' manuals.
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IIC. Miscellaneous Items.
Miscellaneous materials are divided into two categories: miscellaneous administrative items, including T. S. Ferree's work cards, a "List of Stories (folklore)," and a "Summary of Organization, Purposes, Achievements, and Plans" of the North Carolina Federal Writers' Project; and miscellaneous jokes and poems.
Processed by: Sandra Nyberg, January 1984
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
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