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Collection Number: 03938

Collection Title: G.C. Shaw Papers, 1921-1938

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.


This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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Size 8 on 1 reel of microfilm items
Abstract G.C. Shaw was pastor of Timothy Darling Presbyterian Church, Oxford, N.C., and founder and president of Mary Potter School, a secondary school for African Americans in Oxford. The collection includes two manuscripts, one photograph, and five pamphlets, all on microfilm. One manuscript (14 pages) is "1888-1932: A Glance Backward--A Present Meditation--A Forward Look" by G.C. Shaw about his work in Granville County, N.C., beginning in 1888. In it, there is much discussion of the Mary Potter School. The other manuscript (13 pages), written by Mary E. L. Shaw around 1938, is an account of the beginnings of the Mary Potter School. The undated photograph is of G.C. Shaw. Also included are an undated pamphlet, ca. 1921, written by G.C. Shaw about the Mary Potter School; an undated leaflet, ca. 1926, listing the courses, fees, and other information about the Mary Potter School; a 1923 article about the Mary Potter School from the Africo-American Presbyterian of Charlotte, N.C.; a 1936 article by Mrs. E.N. Dent about the missionary work of the Presbyterian Church in Louisburg, N.C., including mention of the conversion of G.C. Shaw by Reverend Moses Hopkins, also from the Africo-American Presbyterian; and a scrapbook of photocopied notices of G.C. Shaw's death on 1 January 1936.
Creator Shaw, G. C. (George Clayton), 1863-1936.
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 G.C. Shaw Papers #3938, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Lent for filming by Mrs. George C. Branch of Oxford, N.C., in March 1972.
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: Suzanne Ruffing, August 1996

Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, April 2008

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

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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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G.C. Shaw (George Clayton Shaw) was born in Louisburg, N.C., in 1863 and was graduated from Lincoln University, Pa., in 1886. He attended Princeton Theological Seminary and Princeton University for one year and was graduated from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1890. That year, he married Mary Elizabeth Lewis of Penn Valley, Pa. He first came to Oxford, Granville County, N.C., during his summer vacation in 1888 and returned after his graduation from Auburn Seminary.

Shaw founded and developed the Mary Potter School in Oxford, N.C., serving as its president and president emeritus until his death. During this time, he also served as pastor of Timothy Darling Presbyterian Church. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.; chair of the board of trustees of Oxford Colored Orphanage; treasurer of the State Teachers' Colored Association; and a member of the Colored Masonic Lodge and other fraternal organizations.

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The collection includes two manuscripts, one photograph, and five pamphlets, all on microfilm. The first manuscript (14 pages) is "1888-1932: A Glance Backward--A Present Meditation--A Forward Look" by George Clayton Shaw about his work in Granville County, N.C., beginning in 1888. In it, there is much discussion of the Mary Potter School. The second manuscript (13 pages), written by Mary E.L. Shaw around 1938, is an account of the beginnings of the Mary Potter School. The undated photograph is of G.C. Shaw.

The remaining items are an undated pamphlet, circa 1921, called "A Third of a Century Retrospect: The Origin and Growth of the Mary Potter Memorial School, Oxford, N.C." by G.C. Shaw; an undated leaflet, circa 1926, listing the courses, fees, and other information about the Mary Potter School; an article called "Mary Potter Memorial School/One of the State's Accredited Schools/Hears Noted Speakers" from the Africo-American Presbyterian of Charlotte, N.C. (Volume XLV, Number 8, 22 February 1923); an article called Memories of Long Ago by Mrs. E.N. Dent about the missionary work of the Presbyterian Church in Louisburg, N.C., including mention of the conversion of G.C. Shaw by Reverend Moses Hopkins from Africo-American Presbyterian (Volume LVII, Number 14, 2 April 1936); and a scrapbook of photocopied notices of G.C. Shaw's death on 1 January 1936.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Papers, 1921-1938.

8 items on one reel of microfilm.

Reel 1

Papers

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