Inventory of the North Carolina Folklore Society Records, 1912-1999

Collection Number 4388

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by

Sandy Nyberg

Date Processed

June 1984

Encoded by

Linda Sellars

Date Encoded

July 2002

Descriptive Summary

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Creator

North Carolina Folklore Society.

Title

North Carolina Folklore Society Records, 1912-1999

Call Number

4388

Extent

About 1500 items (2.5 linear feet)

Abstract

The North Carolina Folklore Society was organized in 1912 at the instigation of the American Folklore Society and Frank C. Brown (1870-1943) "for such literary and educational purposes as the study of folklore, and especially the collection, preservation, and publication of the folklore of North Carolina." Brown was secretary-treasurer, 1913-1943. He was succeeded by Arthur Palmer Hudson (1892-1978), who served until 1964. Hudson established the Society's journal, North Carolina Folklore, in 1954 and edited it until 1963. The collection includes reports of council meetings and annual meetings, treasurers' records, correspondence, and other records of the North Carolina Folklore Society. For 1912-1938, records of council meetings and annual meetings are almost complete. There is, however, little financial information and no correspondence from before 1926. Treasurer's records and reports of annual meetings are complete for the years of Arthur Palmer Hudson's secretary-treasurership, 1943-1964, but reports of council meetings are sporadic, and there is little correspondence for this period. Documentation, 1964-1976, is primarily limited to correspondence concerning publication of North Carolina Folklore and to amendments to the Society's constitution in 1970. Additional material received in October 2001 primarily contains programs and minutes of annual meetings, 1964-1996; financial records, 1976-1997; and applications and reports, 1968-1994, for grants received by the Society from the North Carolina Arts Council. Also included are some files about the history of the Society, the North Carolina Folklore Journal, awards given by the Society, and other activities of the Society.

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access

No restrictions.

Provenance

Received from Arthur Palmer Hudson of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1965; separated from Arthur Palmer Hudson Folklore Collection in 1982. Addition received from Lucy H. Allen, secretary-treasurer of North Carolina Folklore Society, in October 2001 (Acc. 99108).

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the North Carolina Folklore Society Records #4388, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Brown, Frank C., 1870-1943.

Hudson, Arthur Palmer, 1892- .

American Folklore Society.

North Carolina Folklore Society.

North Carolina folklore.

Associations, institutions, etc.--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Folklore--North Carolina--Periodicals.

Folklore--North Carolina--Societies, etc.

North Carolina--Folklore.

Historical Note

The North Carolina Folklore Society was organized in the fall of 1912 at the instigation of the American Folklore Society and Frank C. Brown (1870-1943). The first annual meeting was held on 24 March 1913. According to the Constitution (amended 1970), "the Society shall be organized and operated ... for such literary and educational purposes as the study of Folklore, and especially the collection, preservation, and publication of the folklore of North Carolina."

The Society's first two secretary-treasurers strongly influenced its development. Frank C. Brown held the position from 1913 to 1943. He was succeeded by Arthur Palmer Hudson (1892-1978), who served until 1964. Hudson guided the Society in its first major publication, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore. He also established the Society's journal, North Carolina Folklore, in 1948. Hudson edited this journal until 1963.

Daniel W. Patterson succeeded Hudson as secretary-treasurer, serving from 1965 to 1966. Later secretary-treasurers have been Richard Walser, Leonidas Betts, Harry C. West, and Thomas McGowan. Editors of North Carolina Folklore (the title changed to North Carolina Folklore Journal with volume 21, 1973) have included Guy Owen, Richard Walser, Leonidas Betts, Rogers Whitener, and Thomas McGowan.

Further information on the early organization of the North Carolina Folklore Society is available in Theodore Barry Buermann's "A History of the North Carolina Folklore Society," M.A. thesis, English, University of North Carolina, 1963.

Collection Overview

The content of the original deposit of records of the North Carolina Folklore Society, organized for the study of folklore in North Carolina, was largely detemined by their collector and donor, Arthur Palmer Hudson. When Hudson undertook the position of secretary-treasurer in 1943, certain records once held by Frank C. Brown were turned over to him. Consequently, there is an almost complete record of council and annual meetings from 1912 to 1938. There is very little financial information from before 1926. There is also no correspondence for this early period.

Treasurers' records and reports of annual meetings are complete for the years of Hudson's secretary-treasurership, 1943-1964. Reports of council meetings are sporadic, however, and there is little correspondence from this period, except for 1964.

Documentation of the Society, 1964-1976, is primarily limited to correspondence concerning publication of North Carolina Folklore and to amendments made to the Society's constitution in 1970.

Additional material received in October 2001 primarily contains programs and minutes of annual meetings, 1964-1996; financial records, 1976-1997; and applications and reports, 1968-1994, for grants received by the Society from the North Carolina Arts Council. Also included are some files about the history of the Society, the North Carolina Folklore Journal, awards given by the Society, and other activities of the Society.

Organization of Collection

1. Organizational Material
2. Correspondence
3. Financial Records
4. Printed Material
Addition of October 2001

Detailed Description of the Collection

Items Separated

Items separated include four audiotapes (FS-1191, FS-1192, FS-1193, FS-1194).

Related Collections

Arthur Palmer Hudson Papers (#4026);
Frank C. Brown Collection, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.