Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#3617
BEN DIXON MACNEILL PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Ben Dixon MacNeill was an author and journalist of
Buxton on Hatteras, N.C.
Papers of MacNeill, including correspondence,
manuscript articles, clippings of articles by and
about MacNeill, reviews of MacNeill's book The
Hatterasman, maps of coastal areas of North Carolina,
and photographs of MacNeill and his family and of
people and animals at Cape Hatteras. Most of the
material relates in some way to Cape Hatteras or the
Outer Banks. Correspondence includes letters from
Alvan H. Ward, Herbert C. Bonner, George Ross, and
others about Oregon Inlet; from Lindsay C. Warren and
others about the establishment of a National Seashore
at the Outer Banks; from Dudley W. Bagley about a book
on Joseph Palmer Knapp and other matters; from
governors William B. Umstead and Luther Hodges about
appointments of MacNeill and others to state boards,
including MacNeill's appointment to the North Carolina
Cape Hatteras Seashore Commission; and from John F.
Blair, publisher, and many others about The
Hatterasman.
Online Catalog Terms:
Authors, American--North Carolina--20th century.
Bagley, Dudley Warren, 1889-1964.
Blair, John Fries, 1903- .
Bonner, Herbert Covington, 1891-1965.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (N.C.).
Coasts--North Carolina.
Hatteras, Cape (N.C.).
Hodges, Luther Hartwell, 1898-1974.
Journalists--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Knapp, Joseph Palmer, 1864-1951.
MacNeill, Ben Dixon, 1889-1960.
MacNeill, Ben Dixon, 1889-1960. The Hatterasman.
National parks and reserves--North Carolina--History.
North Carolina--Maps.
North Carolina--Photographs.
Oregon Inlet (N.C.).
Outer Banks (N.C.).
Ross, George.
Umstead, William Bradley, 1895-1954.
Ward, Alvan H.
Warren, Lindsay Carter, 1889- .
Size: About 1,400 items (1.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Dudley W. Bagley of Moyock, N.C., in
1963 and 1966.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support
from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Clippings and Writings
Series 3. Pictures
Shelf List
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
1899 Born in Laurinburg, Scotland County, N.C., son
of Alexander Benjamin and Flora MacKinnon
MacNeill
ca. 1903 Attended Bingham School for Boys
ca. 1907 Worked for Fayetteville Observer
ca. 1910 Worked for Wilmington Morning Star
1919-1960 Worked for the Raleigh News and Observer
1937 Went to the Outer Banks as publicity director
for the "Lost Colony"
1941-1945 Lt. Col., U.S. Army public information corps
1958 Won Mayflower Award for The Hatterasman
1960 Died at Buxton-on-Hatteras
Collection Overview
The collection consists of personal correspondence, 1953-1960,
of Ben Dixon MacNeill when he lived at Buxton-on-Hatteras.
Letters include congratulations on winning the Mayflower Award in
1958 and concern about MacNeill's illness in 1959.
Correspondents include Governor William B. Umstead; Huntington
Cairns of the National Gallery of Art; Governor Luther H. Hodges;
Senator W. Kerr Scott; Dr. James W. Patton, director of the
Southern Historical Collection; Senator Roman L. Hruska of
Nebraska; and Sam Ragan of the Raleigh News and Observer.
Other items include published and unpublished manuscripts;
clippings of his newspaper articles; letters and clippings about
his pet raccoon Minnie; letters and clippings about the
anniversary celebration of the first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.;
information of the Oregon Inlet; and maps, photographs and
certificates.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Clippings and Writings
Series 3. Pictures
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1937-1960. About 1000 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal correspondence of Ben Dixon MacNeill, primarily
dealing with Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks.
Folder 1 1937-1950
2 1951
3 1952-August, 1953
1953
4 September-December
5 1954
1955
6 January-May
7 June-December
8 1956
1957
9 January-July
10 August-December
1958
11 January-February
12 March-April
13 May-June
14 July
15 August
16 September
17 October
18-19 November 1-10
20-22 December 1-9
1959
23 January
24 February
25 March-April
26 May-June
27 July-August
28 September
29 October
30 November-December
1960
31 January
32-33 February
34-35 March
36 April-May
37 Undated
Series 2. Clippings and Writings
1937-1960. 400 items.
Primarily articles and writings of MacNeill or of interest to
him. Also included are maps and certificates.
Folder 38-41 Undated manuscripts
42 Oregon Inlet, 1951
43-44 Clippings on "Minnie the Coon"
45-47 Clippings of articles by MacNeill
48 Clippings of Confederate Reunion, 1951
49 Clippings of Kitty Hawk Anniversary, 1953
50 Clippings about MacNeill
51 Clippings of obituaries and estate of MacNeill
51 Reviews of The Hatterasman
52 Charts and maps
Series 3. Pictures
1900-1955. 49 items.
P-3617/1-49 Photographs of MacNeill and family, Cape Hatteras,
Buxton, Kitty Hawk, and of Minnie the Coon and
other Cape Hatteras animals.
SHELF LIST
Box 1 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 1-13)
Box 2 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 14-30)
Box 3 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 31-38)
Series 2. Clippings and Writings (folders 40-52)
Items separated:
OP-3617/1-6
P-3617/1-49