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Collection Number: 04536

Collection Title: Charles Andrew Jonas Papers, 1900-1945

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 Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 3.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3000 items)
Abstract Charles Andrew Jonas of Lincoln County, N.C., attorney, state senator and representative, U.S. congressman, and Republican Party official. Correspondence, speeches, financial records, newspaper clippings, and pictures, chiefly 1940-1948, relating to the political and business careers and personal life of Jonas. Subjects include political campaigns; the Republican Party in North Carolina and South Carolina; the 1930 nomination of Judge John J. Parker to the U.S. Supreme Court; lay activities in the Methodist Church; and Jonas's treatment for cerebral arteriosclerosis after 1948. Correspondence is by and about prominent Republicans, including presidential candidates Thomas E. Dewey and Wendell Wilkie; North Carolina industrialist Stuart Cramer; North Carolina Republican Party chairman Sim DeLapp; Mrs. W. P. Few, Republican Party committeewoman from Durham, N.C.; North Carolina Republican gubernatoral candidate R. H. McNeill; B. Carroll Reece, chairman of the Republican National Committee in the 1940s; and James E. Shephard, president of North Carolina College for Negroes in Durham, N.C. There is also some personal correspondence between Jonas and his son Charles Raper Jonas.
Creator Jonas, Charles Andrew, 1876-1955.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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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 Charles Andrew Jonas papers #4536, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Richard E. Jonas of Lincolnton, N.C., in March 1989 (Acc. 89069).
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.
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Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, October 1989; Lu Ann Jones, April 1994

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, December 2021

The organizational scheme established by Charles A. Jonas was maintained as far as was practicable.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Charles Andrew Jonas (1876-1955) was born in Lincoln County, N.C. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1902, received a law degree from UNC in 1906, and returned to Lincolnton to practice law.

Jonas first won office in 1914 when he ran as Republican candidate for state senator from Lincoln and Catawba counties. In 1926 and 1934, he won terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives. From 1921 to 1925, he served as assistant district attorney in the Western District of North Carolina. From 1927 until 1947, he served as a Republican national committeeman, and was delegate to four Republican national conventions, 1916 and 1928-1936. In 1928, Jonas won a single term to Congress, but he lost congressional campaigns in 1930, 1932, and 1942. In 1930, he was named U.S. district attorney for Western North Carolina and held that position for one year under recess appointment. The Senate failed to confirm his nomination to the post.

After suffering with cerebral arteriosclerosis for several years, Jonas died in Charlotte in 1955. A son, Charles Raper Jonas, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 until 1973.

(For more information, see Mary A. Baker, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 3, 1988, pp. 311-312.)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The Charles A. Jonas Papers are a partial and scattered record of Jonas's long career in politics and elected office. Some correspondence illuminates family life during Jonas's final years of declining health, but, aside from these items, there are rarely comments on matters beyond the business of politics. The papers were included with the papers of his son, Charles R. Jonas, donated to the Southern Historical Collection in 1989. The elder Jonas's other staff and personal papers have probably been lost or destroyed.

The collection was arranged according to the organizational scheme established by Charles A. Jonas as far as practicable. Most of his file labels were maintained.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Subject Files, 1905-1955.

About 2,800 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by file title.

Correspondence, speeches, financial records, newspaper clippings, and pictures, largely bulk 1940-1948, relating to the political and business careers and personal life of Jonas. Arrangement is by subject, in keeping with Jonas's organizational scheme.

Folder 1

Automobile Accident, 1939. Notes of condolence after car hit Jonas in March 1939. (circa 30 items)

Folder 2

Barkley, W. H., 1946-48. Republican Party politics in western North Carolina. (circa 30 items)

Folder 3

Campaigns: Lincoln County, 1946. (circa 25 items)

Folder 4

Campaigns: Election Fraud, 1930-1932. Affidavits of complainants filed in Lincoln County regarding alleged 1930 election irregularities. (circa 20 items)

Folder 5

Campaigns: Election Fraud, 1940-1946. Complaints about absentee ballots cast by military personnel during World War II. (circa 20 items)

Folder 6

Campaigns: Ninth and Tenth Congressional Districts, 1943-1947. Assessments of political campaigns. (circa 25 items)

Folder 7

Confirmation: U. S. Attorney, 1931-32. Correspondence and clippings concerning Jonas's unconfirmed nomination. (circa 40 items)

Folder 8

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, A-C. RepublicanParty politics and campaigns. (circa 50 items)

Folder 9

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, D-F. Republican Party politics and campaigns in the 1940s. (circa 75 items)

Folder 10

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, G-H. Republican Party politics and campaigns in the 1940s. (circa 100 items)

Folder 11

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, J-K. Republican Party politics and campaigns in the 1940s. (circa 50 items)

Folder 12

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, L-O. Republican Party politics and campaigns in the 1940s. (circa 75 items)

Folder 13

Correspondence: Miscellaneous, P-Y. Republican Party politics and campaigns in the 1940s. (circa 100 items)

Folder 14

Cramer, S. W., 1942-1946. N. C. industrialist, discussing state and national Republican Party officials, candidates, and campaign strategies and policies. (circa 25 items)

Folder 15

DeLapp, Sim A., 1942-1947. Chair of Republican State Executive Committee, discussing Jonas's 1942 bid for congressional seat, fund-raising, and party policies. (circa 200 items)

Folder 16

Dewey, Thomas E., 1940-1947. Correspondence about his presidential races and campaigning in N.C. (circa 100 items)

Folder 17

Evans, W. F., 1943-46. Republican Party politics. (circa 20 items)

Folder 18

Few, Mrs. W. P., 1944-48. Republican Party National Committeewoman from Durham, N.C. (circa 30 items)

Folder 19

Hoover, Herbert, 1928-1947. Letters thanking Jonas for his support. (circa 20 items)

Folder 20

Illness, 1948-1954. Doctors's reports and correspondence among family members concerning Jonas's treatment for cerebral arteriosclerosis and condition at Westbrook Sanatorium in Richmond, Va. (circa 225 items)

Folder 21

Illness, Bills, 1948-1950. Weekly statements from Westbrook Sanatorium (circa 125 items)

Folder 22

Illness, Bills, 1951-1952. Weekly statements from Westbrook Sanatorium. (circa 125 items)

Folder 23

Jonas, Charles Raper, 1944-1948. Letters from the younger Jonas to his parents. (circa 15 items)

Folder 24

Kings Mountain Military Park, 1929-1930. Correspondence concerning Jonas's role in the designation of Kings Mountain as national military park. (10 items)

Folder 25

Lincoln County History, 1933-1943. Correspondence with William L. Sherrill, author of The Annals of Lincoln County. (circa 20 items)

Folder 26

McNeill, R. H., 1941-1947. A Washington, D. C., attorney and unsuccessful Republican candidate in 1940 North Carolina gubernatorial election. Topics of letters include the Republican legislative agenda in North Carolina during 1941, publicity for the Republican Party in the state, World War II, and the Republican National Committee. (circa 125 items)

Folder 27

Meekins, I. M., 1929-1930. U.S. District Court judge in Elizabeth City, N.C., corresponding with Jonas about judicial appointments in the state. (circa 10 items).

Folder 28

Methodist Church, Western North Carolina Conference Brotherhood, 1939-1946. Jonas's participation in western district as a lay leader. (circa 40 items)

Folder 29

Methodist District Parsonage, 1946-1947. (circa 25 items)

Folder 30

Parker, John J., 1930-1948. Correspondence between Jonas and Judge Parker, and between Jonas, constituents and colleagues regarding opposition to the judge's 1930 nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court; and letters about possible nomination for Supreme Court vacancies in 1940s. (circa 30 items)

Folder 31

Real Estate, 1936-1947. Miscellaneous correspondence about Jonas's Lincoln County farm, including U. S. Department of Agriculture cotton allotments, Federal Land Bank loans, land purchases and land surveys. (circa 90 items)

Folder 32

Real Estate: Lawsuits, 1938-1939. Suits brought to settle boundary disputes. (circa 10 items)

Folder 33

Real Estate: Lincoln Park, 1936-1946. Correspondence and legal papers regarding real estate development. (circa 40 items)

Folder 34

Receipts, 1940-1946. Miscellaneous receipts for tax payments, automobile service and maintenance, and so on. (circa 125 items)

Folder 35

Reece, B. Carroll, 1946-1948. (circa 40 items) Chair of Republican National Committee (RNC); discussion of 1946 9th District election and RNC financial support for Republican candidates in N.C. (circa 40 items)

Folder 36

Republican Party: Colored Division, 1935-1947. Topics include recruiting and retaining the support of black voters during 1936 election; major correspondent was Dr. James E. Shepard, president of N. C. College for Negroes in Durham, who advised Jonas about courting black voters and urging Republicans to be more responsive to black rights. (circa 70 items)

Folder 37

Republican Party: National Committee, 1942-1946. Correspondence about committee members and officers; Wendell Wilkie candidacy in 1942; the stress Jonas was suffering in 1945 with the press of committee duties and business in absence of his son, who was in the army. (circa 125 items)

Folder 38

Republican Party: National Committee, 1947-1948. Jonas's surprise resignation from committee because of ill health and response to his decision. (circa 100 items)

Folder 39

Republican Party: National Conventions, 1947-1948. (circa 25 items)

Folder 40

Republican Party: National Finance Committee, 1944-1947. Fund-raising. (circa 200 items)

Folder 41

Republican Party: N. C. Publicity Committee, 1947. Republicans entertained buying a newspaper. (circa 20 items)

Folder 42

Republican Party: N. C. State Committee, 1946. Miscellaneous business. (circa 20 items)

Folder 43

Republican Party: South Carolina, 1942-1948. Primarily correspondence with S.C. State Party chairman, J. Bates Gerald. (circa 100 items)

Folder 44

Resolutions of Respect, 1945. Resolutions for the late N.C. Gov. R. A. Doughton and two Lincoln County, N.C., citizens. (circa 10 items)

Folder 45

School records, 1905. Documents regarding his test for teacher's certificate and application for license to practice law. (4 items)

Folder 46

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --Campaign speech, 1918.

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --Opening address for Charlotte Exposition, Charlotte, N.C., 1929.

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --Address at celebration of 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ramsour's Hill, Lincolnton, N.C., 1930.

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --Address at Lincoln Day Dinner, Asheville, N.C., 1934.

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --Campaign speeches, 1936 and circa 1937.

Speeches, 1918-1938. (6 items) --"Temperance Address", Newland, N.C., 1938.

Folder 47

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Address before the Carolina Political Union, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1938.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Radio broadcast over stations WBT, WWNC, and WPTF, Charlotte, N.C., 1938.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Remarks at Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association, Lincolnton, N.C., 1939.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --"Juvenile Delinquency and Youthful Criminals," Lincolnton, N.C., 1939.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Speech at Lincolnton Rotary Meeting, 1939.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Address at celebration of anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, Morganton, N.C., 1940.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --"Layman's Day," Stanley, N.C., 1940.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Address at celebration of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, Boone, N.C., 1941; three edited versions.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --"Auditing the New Deal," circa 1941.

Speeches, 1939-1941. (10 items) --Speech for Rally Day at Stanley Methodist Episcopal Church, Stanley, N.C., 1941.

Folder 48

Speeches, undated. (circa 20 items) Primarily, notes for talks; topics include the legal profession, the workings of government, Christianity, motherhood, apple pie, and the meaning of success.

Folder 49

Taft, Robert A., 1946-1948. (7 items)

Folder 50

University of North Carolina, 1943-1949. Board of Trustees Finance Committee business. (circa 30 items)

Folder 51

Wilkie, Wendell L., 1940-1943. Wilkie's presidential bids and campaigning in N. C. (circa 30 items)

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4536/1

Blueprint and copy of blueprint

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Printed Materials, 1918-1955.

circa 50 items

Arrangement: chronological.

Primarily newspaper clippings about Jonas's political career, with a few campaign brochures.

Folder 52

Newspaper clippings.

Folder 53

Campaign brochures, and miscellaneous publications.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Pictures, circa 1906-1940s.

6 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Image P-4536/1

Photograph of Jonas's UNC law school class, circa 1906.

Image P-4536/2-5

P-4536/2

P-4536/3

P-4536/4

P-4536/5

Studio portraits of Jonas, circa 1920s-1940s.

Image P-4536/6

Photograph of Jonas working at his desk, circa 1940s.

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