Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

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 Ragland Family Papers #5412, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received by William Trent Ragland Jr. in December 2008 (Acc. 101054).

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.

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.

• Families--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Ragland family.
• Raleigh (N.C.)--History.
• Raleigh (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Sailors--United States--Correspondence.
• Salisbury (N.C.)--History.
• Salisbury (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Soldiers--United States--Correspondence.
• United States. Army--Military life.
• United States. Navy--Military life.
• World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, American.
• World War, 1914-1918--United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
• World War, 1939-1945--United States.

W.H. Trent Ragland Sr. (1894-1959), son of W.H. and Madge Urquart Ragland, was born in Little Rock, Ark. His parents moved to Salisbury, N.C., when he and his brother, Edmond Urquart Ragland, were young. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and later served in the United States Army during World War I. In 1919, W.H. Trent Ragland married Alice Mckenzie of Salisbury, N.C. He and his brother formed the Superior Stone Company in 1939. W. Trent Ragland Jr. was born in Salisbury, N.C., on 12 August 1920, and he was raised in Raleigh, N.C. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1941. W. Trent Ragland Jr. joined the United States Navy and served during World War II. He later graduated from the Post Graduate School at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He married Anna Wood of Edenton, N.C., in July 1944, and they had three children: Anna, Alice McKenzie, and Trent Ragland III. In 1954, W. Trent Ragland Jr. became president of Superior Stone Company.

The collection contains correspondence, 1894-1959, relating to the Ragland family of Salisbury, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C. It consists primarily of correspondence between W.H. Trent Ragland Sr. and Alice McKenzie Ragland and between W. Trent Ragland Jr. and Anna Wood Ragland. W.H. Trent Ragland Sr.'s letters describe his experience serving in the United States Army in World War I. W. Trent Ragland Jr.'s letters describe his experience serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Also included are letters from various correspondents concerning family matters and social news.