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Collection Number: 02369

Collection Title: Robert W. Winston Papers, 1826-1944

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

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.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 11.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3,000 items)
Abstract Robert W. Winston was a lawyer, North Carolina state legislator, judge, historian, and biographer. The collection comprises family, political, and professional correspondence. Papers up to 1881 are correspondence of Winston's father, Patrick Henry Winston (1820-1886), of Bertie County, N.C., concerning Whig politics, planting, and other matters. Included in this section are letters, 1854-1861, from R.W. Winston's uncle, Joseph R. Bird, United States Navy officer in California, Hawaii, China, and Japan. Also included are letters from another Bird uncle serving in the Confederate Army in Virginia, and letters from R.W. Winston's brother, George Tayloe Winston (1852-1932), while a student at the University of North Carolina, the United States Naval Academy, and Cornell University in the 1870s. The correspondence, 1881-1895, of R.W. Winston reflects his activities as a lawyer in Granville and Durham counties, N.C., railroad officer, Democratic candidate for public offices, and member of the North Carolina legislature in 1885. Correspondence, 1896-1944, is with nationally prominent persons about his biographies, autobiography, and other writings, and about public affairs. Family correspondence, 1881-1944, includes letters from R.W. Winston's brothers, G.T.; Patrick Henry Jr. (1847-1904), lawyer of Spokane, Wash.; and Francis Donnell Winston (1857-1941), judge of Bertie County; and of his sons, R.W. Winston Jr., a lawyer, including letters written while he was a soldier during World War I; and James Horner Winston (b. 1884), lawyer of Chicago, Ill. Also included are notes and source materials for various books, particularly biographies of Robert E. Lee, Andrew Johnson, and Professor Horace Williams; manuscript articles on historical, political, sectional, racial, religious, educational, and economic subjects; many clippings; and R.D. Winston's diary, 1932-1944, recording his reactions to and analysis of public events from World War I to World War II. The addition of 1987 contains letters to and items accumulated by Robert W. Winston, chiefly concerning legal and financial matters. Also included are letters related to the fundraising efforts associated with the establishment of the Walter Hines Page School of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University and six volumes, one of which is a ledger-like record of Winston's legal practice and five of which are his research notes for his biographies of Robert E. Lee, Andrew Johnson, and Jefferson Davis.
Creator Winston, Robert W. (Robert Watson), 1860-1944.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
This collection contains additional materials that are not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting these materials.
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 Robert W. Winston Papers #2369, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Robert W. Winston of Chapel Hill before 1941 and in 1944 and Mr. and Mrs. Watts Carr of Durham, N.C., in May 1987 (Acc. 87034).
Additional Descriptive Resources
Original finding aid 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.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff, December 1991

Encoded by: Kathryn Michaelis, April 2010

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Robert W. Winston was a lawyer, North Carolina state legislator, judge, historian, and biographer.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection comprises family, political, and professional correspondence. Papers up to 1881 are correspondence of Winston's father, Patrick Henry Winston (1820-1886), of Bertie County, N.C., concerning Whig politics, planting, and other matters. Included in this section are letters, 1854-1861, from R.W. Winston's uncle, Joseph R. Bird, United States Navy officer in California, Hawaii, China, and Japan. Also included are letters from another Bird uncle serving in the Confederate Army in Virginia, and letters from R.W. Winston's brother, George Tayloe Winston (1852-1932), while a student at the University of North Carolina, the United States Naval Academy, and Cornell University in the 1870s. The correspondence, 1881-1895, of R.W. Winston reflects his activities as a lawyer in Granville and Durham counties, N.C., railroad officer, Democratic candidate for public offices, and member of the North Carolina legislature in 1885. Correspondence, 1896-1944, is with nationally prominent persons about his biographies, autobiography, and other writings, and about public affairs. Family correspondence, 1881-1944, includes letters from R.W. Winston's brothers, G.T.; Patrick Henry Jr. (1847-1904), lawyer of Spokane, Wash.; and Francis Donnell Winston (1857-1941), judge of Bertie County; and of his sons, R.W. Winston Jr., a lawyer, including letters written while he was a soldier during World War I; and James Horner Winston (b. 1884), lawyer of Chicago, Ill. Also included are notes and source materials for various books, particularly biographies of Robert E. Lee, Andrew Johnson, and Professor Horace Williams; manuscript articles on historical, political, sectional, racial, religious, educational, and economic subjects; many clippings; and R.D. Winston's diary, 1932-1944, recording his reactions to and analysis of public events from World War I to World War II. The addition of 1987 contains letters to and items accumulated by Robert W. Winston, chiefly concerning legal and financial matters. Also included are letters related to the fundraising efforts associated with the establishment of the Walter Hines Page School of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University and six volumes, one of which is a ledger-like record of Winston's legal practice and five of which are his research notes for his biographies of Robert E. Lee, Andrew Johnson, and Jefferson Davis.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1826-1944.

About 1,100 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

1826-1849

Folder 2

1852-1862

Folder 3

1863-1864

Folder 4

1865-1869

Folder 5

1870-1878

Folder 6

1880-1884

Folder 7

1885

Folder 8

January-July 1886

Folder 9

August-December 1886

Folder 10

January-March 1887

Folder 11

April-June 1887

Folder 12

July-September 1887

Folder 13

October-December 1887

Folder 14

January-March 1888

Folder 15

April-June 1888

Folder 16

July-December 1888

Folder 17

January-December 1889

Folder 18

January-February 1890

Folder 19

March-April 1890

Folder 20

May-June 1890

Folder 21

July-August 1890

Folder 22

September-December 1890

Folder 23

1891-1899

Folder 24

1903-1912

Folder 25

1914-1916

Folder 26

1917-1920

Folder 27

January-May 1922

Folder 28

June-November 1922

Folder 29

1923

Folder 30

1924

Folder 31

January-August 1925

Folder 32

September-December 1925

Folder 33

January-May 1926

Folder 34

June-December 1926

Folder 35

January-May 1927

Folder 36

August-December 1927

Folder 37

January-May 1928

Folder 38

June-December 1928

Folder 39

1929-1930

Folder 40

1931

Folder 41

1932

Folder 42

January-October 1933

Folder 43

November-December 1933

Folder 44

January-April 1934

Folder 45

May-June 1934

Folder 46

July 1934

Folder 47

August-December 1934

Folder 48

January-April 1935

Folder 49

May-December 1935

Folder 50

1936

Folder 51

January-March 1937

Folder 52

April 1937

Folder 53

May-June 1937

Folder 54

July-August 1937

Folder 55

September-December 1937

Folder 56

January-August 1938

Folder 57

September-December 1938

Folder 58

January-August 1939

Folder 59

September-December 1939

Folder 60

January-August 1940

Folder 61

September-December 1940

Folder 62

January 1941

Folder 63

February-March 1941

Folder 64

April-May 1941

Folder 65

June-July 1941

Folder 66

August-September 1941

Folder 67

October-November 1941

Folder 68

December 1941

Folder 69

January-March 1942

Folder 70

April-December 1942

Folder 71

January 1943

Folder 72

February 1943

Folder 73

March 1943

Folder 74

April 1943

Folder 75

May 1943

Folder 76

June-December 1943

Folder 77

1944

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Miscellaneous and Undated Material.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: by subject.

Folder 78

Winston family record

Folder 79

Material for a book on Robert E. Lee

Folder 80

Miscellaneous undated papers

Folder 81

Undated Horace Williams material

Folder 82-93

Folder 82

Folder 83

Folder 84

Folder 85

Folder 86

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Folder 90

Folder 91

Folder 92

Folder 93

Miscellaneous undated papers

Folder 94-96

Folder 94

Folder 95

Folder 96

Undated articles

Folder 97

Articles, article fragments, and miscellaneous other papers

Folder 98

Articles, speeches, memorial tablets, and miscellaneous other papers

Folder 99

Fragments of a diary: "A Freshman at Sixty"

Folder 100-103

Folder 100

Folder 101

Folder 102

Folder 103

Miscellaneous articles

Folder 104

Miscellaneous bundled newspaper clippings

Folder 105

Folder number not used

Oversize Volume SV-2369/1

Clippings on Robert W. Winston

Folder 106

Reviews of Robert W. Winston's books

Folder 107

"Treasurer's Book" of an unidentified benevolent society, 1886-1891

Folder 108

Horace Williams clippings

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2369/1

Oversize materials

10 items.

Folder includes a letter about the appointment of Robert W. Winston to the commission to preserve the birthplace of Andrew Johnson; a diploma from the Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell Sands for F. D. Winston; a document of the appointment of Francis D. Winston to the Peace and Preparation Congress of the nation Security League; a Commission of Francis D. Winston as the Judge of the 3rd Judicial District; a check to Francis D. Winston for the Democratic National Headquarters; a document to certify that Francis D. Winston was part of the Legal Advisory Board of Bertie County, N.C., during the War between the US and Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1917; a Doctor of Laws degree to Robert Watson Winston; a Doctor of Literature degree to Robert Watson Winston; and a certificate of honor to Francis D. Winston for his service as Chairman of Four-Minute Men of the Committee of Public Information.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Volumes.

14 items.

Arrangement: by subject.

Folder 109

Volume 1a: Student notebook, 1866-1867

Contains quotations from various poems and other literary sources.

Folder 110-116

Folder 110

Folder 111

Folder 112

Folder 113

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folder 116

Volumes 1b-7: Robert W. Winston journal and scrapbook, 1932-1944

Seven bound volumes.

Folder 117

Volume 8: Robert W. Winston ledger

Contains notes on fees, cases, and financial arrangements. Also included are notes on slaves held by Winston's forebears and a Winston genealogy.

Folder 118-119

Folder 118

Folder 119

Volumes 9-10: Winston's notebooks containing citations and information on Robert E. Lee

Folder 120

Volume 11: Winston's notes on Jefferson Davis and other topics

Folder 121

Volume 12: Winston's notes on Andrew Johnson and other topics

Folder 122

Volume 13: Winston's notes on various topics relating to the South and slavery

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Pictures.

63 items.

Arrangement: Roughly by subject.

Image Folder PF-2369/1

Eight photographs

Includes photographs of Robert W. Winston and various acquaintances and colleagues.

Image Folder PF-2369/2

Four photographs

Photographs of four different African-Americans. Two are unidentified. One is identified as "Lucy Stone, His Faithful Slave," and one is identified as "Aunt Harriet."

Image Folder PF-2369/3

Six photographs

Includes photographs of Robert W. Winston and various others.

Image Folder PF-2369/4

Fifteen photographs

All are of Robert W. Winston, in various locations.

Image Folder PF-2369/5

Fourteen photographs and two silhouettes from a photograph

Silhouettes are of Robert W. Winston. Photographs depict Winston, a boy identified as Robert Lee Brown(?), an unidentified woman, several unidentified colleagues, and "Oscar Leighton, Camden, S.C."

Image Folder PF-2369/6

Pencil sketch and four photographs

Pencil sketch is of Robert W. Winston. Photographs show Winston with unidentified others, Ambassador and Mrs. Josephus Daniels, a portrait of Robert E. Lee, and Seaman A. Knapp.

Image Folder PF-2369/7

Eight photographs

Included are photographs of "Lt. Col. Byrd," several Winston family members, Daniel Augustus Tompkins, and a house in Arlington (Va.?), presumably belonging to the Winstons.

Special Format Image SF-P-2369/1

Tintype of an unidentified boy

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of 1987 (Acc. 87034)

About 1,400 items.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Correspondence, 1901-1944 and undated.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 123

1901-1918

Folder 124

1920-1922

Folder 125

1923

Folder 126

1924

Folder 127

1925

Folder 128

1926

Folder 129

1927

Folder 130

1928

Folder 131-139

Folder 131

Folder 132

Folder 133

Folder 134

Folder 135

Folder 136

Folder 137

Folder 138

Folder 139

Folder numbers not used

Folder 140

1929

Folder 141

January-August 1930

Folder 142

October-December 1930

Folder 143

1931

Folder 144

1932

Folder 145

January-May 1933

Folder 146-147

Folder 146

Folder 147

August 1933

Folder 148

September-October 1933

Folder 149

1-8 November 1933

Folder 150

22 November-December 1933

Folder 151

January-March 1934

Folder 152

April-May 1934

Folder 153

June-July 1934

Folder 154

August-September and undated 1934

Folder 155

1935-1936

Folder 156

1937-1939

Folder 157

May 1940-1942

Folder 158

1943

Folder 159

February-December 1944

Folder 160

Undated 1944 and other undated

Folder 161-164

Folder 161

Folder 162

Folder 163

Folder 164

Sympathy correspondence, 1944 and undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Financial and Legal Material, 1918-1944.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Other Papers, 1919-1934.

About 700 items.

Arrangement: alphabetically by individual or organization, and chronologically within the same.

Margaret Bagley correspondence, 1922-1931 and undated

Letters from Margaret Bagley to Robert W. Winston, regarding her property in Apex, N.C., and other places.

Folder 181

February-May 1922

Folder 182

June-December 1922

Folder 183

1923-1924

Folder 184

1925

Folder 185

1926

Folder 186

1927

Folder 187

1928

Folder 188

January-June 1929

Folder 189

July-December 1929

Folder 190

1930-1931 and undated

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Bryant and Brogden correspondence, 1922

Letters from Winston to this Durham law firm and to him from the firm, chiefly from Victor S. Bryant, on legal and financial matters.

Folder 191

February-March 1922

Folder 192

April-May 1922

Folder 193

June-August 1922

Folder 194

September-October 1922

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L.C. Hicks correspondence, 1919-1924

Letters from Hicks (a Durham farmer who appears to have used his land, buildings, and animals as collateral for loans from Winston) to Winston and from Winston and his son, Robert W. Winston Jr., to Hicks. Also included are legal papers concerning Winston's financial arrangements with Hicks.

Folder 195

L.C. Hicks correspondence, 1919-1924

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Carrie E. Horton correspondence, 1933-1934

Chiefly letters between Winston and his son concerning their financial arrangements with Horton, who put up her life insurance policy as collateral for money advanced her by the Winstons to cover her property taxes in Raleigh.

Folder 196

Carrie E. Horton correspondence, 1933-1934

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James C. Little correspondence, 1924-1941

Chiefly letters from this Raleigh lawyer to Winston concerning financial matters and timber and property transactions in Chatham County, N.C.

Folder 197

1924-1936

Folder 198

1937-1941

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William H. Norwood papers, 1919-1926

Legal and financial papers concerning the financial arrangements between Winston and Norwood, a resident of Raleigh, N.C.

Folder 199

William H. Norwood papers, 1919-1926

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Ernest F. Young correspondence, 1920-1934

Chiefly letters to Winston from this Durham attorney concerning the latter's loan from Winston as well as other legal and financial matters.

Folder 200

1920-1921

Folder 201

1922

Folder 202

1923-1927

Folder 203

1928-1934

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Walter Hines Page School of International Relations papers, 1925-1926 and undated

Folder 204

March-April 1925

Folder 205

1-18 May 1925

Folder 206

19-31 May 1925

Folder 207

June 1925

Folder 208

July-August 1925

Folder 209

September 1925

Folder 210

October-November 1925

Folder 211

January-February 1926

Folder 212

March-April 1926

Folder 213-214

Folder 213

Folder 214

Undated

Folder 215-216

Folder 215

Folder 216

Printed material

Folder 217

Receipts and mailing lists

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Zebulon, N.C. papers

Financial and legal papers concerning a bond issue for sewers by this town.

Folder 218

Zebulon, N.C. papers

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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