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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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 140 items) |
| Abstract | About sixty-five ballad transcriptions, 1849-1904, by members of the William B. Jones family, Alexander County, N.C.; correspondence, 1966- 1968, about these ballads and related matters between Sue Campbell Watts and Daniel W. Patterson; and a few related items. |
| Creator | Watts, Sue Campbell, 1897-1968. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
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Subject Headings
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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Biographical Information
In the mid-19th century, members of the William B. Jones family of Alexander County, N.C., began exchanging "song ballets" or copies of the words of songs they knew. They continued this tradition into the early 20th century. One of the most prolific of the original transcribers of ballads was Ruth Emaline Jones Barnes (1834-1924), daughter of William B. Jones.
Many of the Jones family's transcriptions of popular ballads were collected by Ruth E. Jones Barnes's granddaughter, Sue Campbell Watts (1897-1968). Watts's interest in ballads was stimulated by a class she took at Salem College in 1914 in which E. L. Starr asked his students to find old ballads. Watts contributed a transcription of "Jimmy and Nancy" from her grandmother's collection, a ballad previously uncollected in America by folklorists. Articles concerning this discovery are available in the control file.
During the last two years of her life, Watts corresponded with Daniel W. Patterson, professor of folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Scope and Content
About sixty-five ballad transcriptions, 1849-1904, by members of the William B. Jones family, Alexander County, N.C.; correspondence, 1966- 1968, about these ballads and related matters between Sue Campbell Watts and Daniel W. Patterson; and a few related items.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1966-1968.
Letters from Sue Campbell Watts to Daniel Patterson, with a few other items. Principal subjects include particular ballads (many of which are included in Series 2), a dulcimer belonging to Ruth E. Jones Barnes, and songs from the services of St. John's Baptist Church, Taylorsville, N.C. Photographs (9) and sketches (2) of the dulcimer and photographs (5) of St. John's Church were enclosed in some of these letters (see photographs).
In her letters to Daniel Patterson, Sue Campbell Watts enclosed transcriptions of several ballads that do not appear elsewhere in these papers. The following is a list of the letters with which these ballads are enclosed, the title or first line of each ballad, and its length in terms of stanzas:
10 November 1966 Granny Knick-y-Nack 4 stanzas
Jim 2 stanzas plus chorus
Pat in a Barber shop 2 stanzas
French Broad 3 stanzas
Deliverance Will Come 2 1/2 stanzas plus chorus (incomplete)
25 January 1967Seven hymns from Hymn Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. 1897. Also, two "spontaneous songs:" What a Happy Time 3 stanzas plus chorus
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms 3 stanzas plus chorus
21 April 1967 I'd Rather Marry a Young Man 2 stanzas plus chorus
Frankie Silvers 7 of 15 stanzas
I Left My Father...(Civil War ballad) 14 stanzas
3 May 1967 Chicken Soup A So Good (chant) 11 lines
12 July 1967 The Cat Came Back 5 stanzas plus chorus
Coal Black Lady 2 stanzas plus chorus
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Series 2. Ballads, 1849-1904.
Transcriptions, circa 1849-1904, of ballads, and sheet music, transcribed in 1966.
The transcriptions are arranged in two subseries: original transcriptions, partially dated from 1849-1898; and photocopies of transcriptions, partially dated from 1884-1904. When known, references are given to Laws or Child numbers, preference being given to the former. [Sources for these numbers are: G. Malcolm Laws, Native American Balladry, rev. ed. (Philadelphia, 1964; ballads A through I); G. Malcolm Laws, American Balladry From British Broadsides (Philadelphia, 1957; ballads J through Q); Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1884-1898), 5 vols.)]
The following information is given for each original transcription (Subseries 2.1): title or first line, first few lines of the ballad, number of stanzas, Laws or Child number, and any signatures or dates. Photocopies of articles about the ballad or of variant copies of the ballad are in some cases included with the original transcription.
For the photocopies of transcriptions (Subseries 2.2), the following information is noted: title or first line, number of stanzas, Laws number. Some of these are also signed, primarily by children of Ruth E. Jones Barnes and Thomas Barnes: Martha, Laura (1861-1949), Elizabeth Emeline (1865-1938), Julia, or Thomas. Most of the photocopies are from originals which in 1968 were in the possession of Ella Deal and Mrs. Newtie Deal Johnston, daughters of Laura Barnes Deal.
A list of the titles or first lines of ballads for which there is sheet music is given for Subseries 2.3. This music was transcribed by Daniel Patterson from the singing of Sue Campbell Watts in August 1966.
Subseries 2.4 contains a recording of ballads by Swift W. Gwaltney.
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Subseries 2.1. Original Transcriptions.
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Subseries 2.2. Photocopies.
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Subseries 2.3. Sheet Music.
| Folder 36 |
Wagoner Lad |
Lord Thomas and Fair Elenor |
|
I Once Love a Young Man (2 copies) |
|
The Farmers Boy |
|
The Stormes Rise Over the Ocean |
|
Granny Knick-y-Nack |
|
Frankie and Albert |
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Subseries 2.4. Audio Tape.
| SFC Audio Open Reel FT-4372/6262 |
Ballads performed by Swift T. Gwaltney (father) of Hiddenite, N.C., Sue Campbell Watts, and Mrs. R. M. Bonk (sister), 19671/4" Open Reel Audio |
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Series 3. Photographs and oversize
| Image Folder PF-4372/1 |
Photographs |
| Oversize Paper OP-4372/1 |
Oversize paper |
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Items Separated