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 John Raymond Shute Papers, #2889, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from John Raymond Shute of Monroe, N.C., 1953-1957.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.

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.

• Freemasonry--North Carolina--History.
• Freemasonry--North Carolina--Lodges--Records and correspondence.
• North Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Secret societies--North Carolina--History.
• Shute, John Raymond, 1904-
• Societies--History, organization, etc.

John Raymond Shute (born 1904) was a Monroe, N.C., businessman, state legislator, and active member of many masonic orders. Shute contributed articles and chapters to Gould's History of Freemasonry, (1936).

The collection is chiefly correspondence, 1930-1939, clippings, articles, and other papers of John Raymond Shute relating to his interest in the history and lore of masonry. The papers include copies of minutes, constitutions, letters, and other papers, 1765-1927, relating to masons in North Carolina. Also included are Shute's correspondence with editors and other contributors concerning the American edition of Gould's History of Freemasonry and correspondence, certificates, membership cards, photographs, and other papers related to his own membership in various masonic groups. There is also some scattered political correspondence, 1936-1937, of Shute as a North Carolina state senator and a record book, 1932-1934, of Lambda Phi Gamma, an organization founded by John Raymond Shute for the purpose of strengthening bonds of friendship between members of musical groups at Trinity College, the University of North Carolina, and Presbyterian College.

Masonic organizations represented in the collection include, among others, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina; Royal Arch Grand Chapter; Unanimity Lodge, Edenton, N.C.; Royal White Hart Lodge, Halifax, N.C.; Roanoke Royal Arch Lodge 4; Eagle Lodge, Hillsboro, N.C.; St. John's Lodge, New Bern, N.C.; Concord Lodge 5, Tarboro, N.C.; Kilwinning Lodge, Wadesboro, N.C.; and Warren County Lodge.

Oversize volume (SV-2889/1).