| Scope and content |
This collection (1884, 1908-2005) includes the papers of Helen Keel Peel and her husband James Woolard Peel, of Everetts in Martin County, North Carolina. Included in the collection are a diary (1934-1937); photographs; typescripts related to Helen Peel's historical research about Everetts and Martin County; correspondence, scrapbook, and autograph books related to her public school years and her 1933-1934 time at Louisburg College; scrapbooks covering the time span of ca. 1956-1994; and Bible (1836) records, especially births, for the years 1808-1851 for members of the Peel, Woolard, Ward, Martin and Barnhill families of Martin County. Also included are report cards, transcripts, and correspondence related to James Peel's public schooling and time (1931-1935) at N.C. State University; U.S. Army service-related materials for his time in the Reserves (1936) and World War II (1942-1945); memorabilia related to his membership in the Order of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; Martin County deeds and plats (1884-1972); account books (1908-1944); and remodeling plans (2000-2005) by Dr. Jesse R. Peel for his parents' house. deeds for various tracts of land in Everetts and elsewhere in Martin County, N.C., and papers (plat maps, correspondence, financial papers) that document involvement with Timberlands Unlimited, Inc., of Windsor, N.C. |
| Access restriction | Family Bible in box #1232.8 is restricted due to conservation concerns. No other restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Helen K. Peel Collection (#1232), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of Dr. Jesse R. Peel. |
| Biographical note | Helen K. Peel was born Helen Keel on August 10, 1916, in Everetts, Martin County, North Carolina, to Jesse Keel (1878-1950) and Ida Augusta Keel, neé Peal (1897-1973). Her maternal grandparents were Charles Thomas Peal (1869-1934) and Willie Etta Peal, neé Speight (1868-1943). She attended the local school until graduation in 1933; she then attended Louisburg College where she graduated in 1935. In 1938 she married a fellow Everetts resident, J. Woolard Peel, son of the owner of the local general store, James Stephen Peel, and his wife Emma Gertrude Woolard Peel. Helen K. Peel was an active member of Everetts Baptist Church and within the local community. She passed away on June 5, 2005. |
