| Scope and content |
Personal correspondence of the Braswell and Cutchin families constitutes the bulk of the collection. Letters primarily concern Archelaus Braswell, Jr., Mary E. Cutchin, and their friends and relatives. Letters are primarily of a personal nature, though some touch on topics concerning women, including unsuccessful attempts of the Grange in southwestern Georgia to recruit women for membership and female participation in organizational leadership positions. Other topics include the differences between living in eastern and western North Carolina; local news in turn-of-the-century Mt. Olive, N.C.; symptoms and treatments of such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, and fever; and deaths resulting from apoplexy and childbirth. Letters written by Archelaus Braswell, Jr., as a student at the University of North Carolina discuss student life and a university holiday in celebration of its 90th anniversary. Civil War correspondence provides insight into the effects of war on the home front in Bainbridge, Ga., and Wayne County, N.C. Also includes manuscripts describing service during the Civil War in two North Carolina regiments. Genealogical materials concern the Braswell, Cutchin, Sugg, Best, Banks, Southerland, Bulluck, Routh, Cromwell, and Bryant families. Other materials include photographs, speeches, compositions, sermons, financial and legal papers, and materials from the Farmers' Alliance of Wrendale, N.C. |
