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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
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 | About 3650 items. (7.0 linear feet) |
| Abstract | Art and architectural historian M. Ruth Little (1946-) of Raleigh, N.C., was the principal investigator on the NEH-funded North Carolina Cemetery as Cultural Artifact Project, 1981-1982, directed by Terry Zug of the Curriculum in Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Project supported Little's 1984 doctoral dissertation, later published as Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (UNC Press, 1998). The collection includes survey information, photographs, and other materials relating to the Project, which focused on photographic documentation, recording, and cataloging of cemeteries in three North Carolina counties: Cumberland, Davidson, and New Hanover. Other counties were added for comparison. Intended to link demographic and cultural traits with regional practices, one of the Project's primary focus points was to identify gravemarker artisans and carvers throughout the region and to trace their movements within, and influences over, the carving tradition. Included are master cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Photographic materials include black and white prints, negatives, and color slides, many of which are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Also included are research notes; keysort cards; grant materials; audiotapes of an interview with gravestone carver J. Thomas McLean of Lincolnton, N.C.; and other items. |
| Creator | Little, M. Ruth (Margaret Ruth), 1946- . |
| 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.
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Biographical Information
Architectural historian Margaret Ruth Little (Stokes) was born in 1946 in Tacoma Park, Md., and completed her Ph.D. degree with a major in art history and a minor in folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984. Little has been involved in many projects within North Carolina, including a number of historic architectural surveys, the creation of nominations for National Register of Historic Places registrations, and cemetery surveys. A resident of Raleigh, N.C., she consults with the state's Historical Preservation Office and has her own firm, Longleaf Historical Resources.
M. Ruth Little was awarded the Harriette Merrifield Forbes Award in 2001 by the Association for Gravestone Studies for "an outstanding contribution to the field of gravestone studies" through her book, Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (University of North Carolina Press, 1998).
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Scope and Content
Survey information, photographs, and other items relating to the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded North Carolina Cemetery as Cultural Artifact Project, 1981-1982, directed by Professor Terry Zug of the Curriculum in Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with M. Ruth Little as the principal investigator. The Project supported Little's 1984 doctoral dissertation, later published as Sticks and Stones: Three Centuries of North Carolina Gravemarkers (University of North Carolina Press, 1998) with photography by Tim Buchman.
The Project was intended to be "the first investigation in the state of historic cemeteries and graveyards as cultural benchmarks with aesthetic characteristics and iconographical content," and focused on photographic documentation, recording, and cataloging of cemeteries in three counties: Cumberland County, N.C.; Davidson County, N.C.; and New Hanover County, N.C. The intensive survey covered Cumberland, New Hanover, and Davidson counties completely, and Lincoln County, N.C., and Catawba County, N.C., on a selective basis. Other counties were added for comparison. Intended to link demographic and cultural traits with regional practices, one of the Project's primary focus points was to identify gravemarker artisans and carvers throughout the region and to trace their movements within, and influences over, the carving tradition.
Included are master cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Each master card contains the cemetery name; location; inclusive dates; topography; landscaping; boundaries; marker descriptions and design motifs; an overall site plan; and a brief history, if known. Photographic materials include black-and-white prints, negatives, and color slides, most relating to specific master cards. Many of the images are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Also included are research notes; keysort cards; grant materials; audiotapes of an interview with gravestone carver J. Thomas McLean of Lincolnton, N.C.; and other items.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Master Cards and Maps, 1980-1982.
Master cards with cemetery survey information and topographical maps used in the research and identification process. Each master card contains the cemetery name; location; inclusive dates; topography; landscaping; boundaries; marker descriptions and design motifs; an overall site plan; and a brief history, if known. Areas were surveyed in quadrants, and topographical maps of each quadrant surveyed have research notations on exact locations of cemeteries.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 2. Photographic Materials, 1980-1982.
Black-and-white prints, negatives, and color slides, most relating to specific master cards. Most of the images are of cemeteries or gravemarkers. Organization of these materials parallels Series 1 and offers a visual overview of county and regional traits.
Materials labeled "unidentified" did not correlate with specific master cards or counties/quads and appear at the end of the series, along with the slides. Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 3. County Research Files, 1980-1982.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Research materials relating to specific counties, including correspondence, research notes, and contact information.
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Series 4. General Research and Notes, 1980-1982.
General research materials not related to specific counties. Included are articles on cemetery research, research notes, contact information, M. Ruth Little's primary and secondary notes, and notecards listing bibliographic sources and other research information.
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Series 5. Keysort Cards and Results, 1980-1982.
Arrangement: numerical.
Keysort cards used in the cemetery survey and results from a computerized tally. There is also information about the computer-tally survey system provided by McBee Systems.
Each keysort card, which relates to a specific master card number and gravemarker, includes the following: name of cemetery, master card number, U.S.G.S. code, location, date surveyed, and descriptive elements regarding the stone itself. Most keysort cards also include a copy of the inscription and a sketch of the stone, and a small picture (taken from contact sheets) if applicable.
| Folder 195-211 |
Keysort cards #20065, Series: "5. Keysort Cards and Results, 1980-1982." Folder 195-211Folder 195Folder 196Folder 197Folder 198Folder 199Folder 200Folder 201Folder 202Folder 203Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206Folder 207Folder 208Folder 209Folder 210Folder 211 |
| Folder 212 |
Keysort procedure information #20065, Series: "5. Keysort Cards and Results, 1980-1982." Folder 212 |
| Folder 213-214 |
Survey Materials #20065, Series: "5. Keysort Cards and Results, 1980-1982." Folder 213-214Folder 213Folder 214 |
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Series 6. Grant Materials, 1980-1983.
Grant application and supporting documents about project funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Series 7. Other Materials, 1980-1982.
An interview conducted by M. Ruth Little with J. Thomas McLean, an gravestone carver from Lincolnton, N.C.; newspaper clippings; miscellaneous correspondence; unaffiliated maps; shards from broken gravemarkers; and other materials.
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Items Separated
Separated items include sound recordings (FS-5710 and FS-5711).
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