Inventory of the Boyd Ellsworth Payton Papers, 1929-1977 and undated

Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University

Payton, Boyd E.

Boyd Ellsworth Payton Papers, 1929-1977 and undated

Material in English

1,831 Items

Labor leader from Willingboro (Burlington Co.), N.J.

Papers concerning the career of Boyd Ellsworth Payton, International Vice President of the Textile Workers Union of America. The papers concern three major aspects of Payton's career: the Harriet-Henderson Cotton Mills strike (1958-1961); his incarceration and writing of the book, Scapegoat; and finally his experiences after being released from prison. Included are genealogical materials, correspondence, legal papers, addresses and writings, miscellaneous items, radio scripts, pictures, and a draft of Scapegoat, entitled "Prejudice + Politics = Prison." Other papers include items on the poll tax in the South, as well as pamphlets relating to labor unions and the South, the poll tax, and strikes. Clippings deal principally with the American Federation of Labor (AFL), AFL publicity, South Carolina Federation of Labor Convention, United Textile Workers of America convention, communists, and the Bessemer City strike. A 1929 scrapbook houses clippings pertaining to the southern textile strike in that year, and a 1946 scrapbook contains information on the Danville (Va.) Citizens' Committee, a group organized to fight inflation and high prices in Danville. Formerly part of the Labor Archives Collection. Original box numbers have been retained.

Collection is open for research.

However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

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[Identification of item], Boyd Ellsworth Payton Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

The Boyd Ellsworth Payton Papers were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library in 1977.

Partially processed by RBMSCL staff

Encoded by Ted Holt and Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, August 2008

All accessions are described in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Papers date from 1929 to 1977 and concern the career of Boyd Ellsworth Payton, International Vice President of the Textile Workers Union of America. The papers concern three major aspects of Payton's career: the Harriet-Henderson Cotton Mills strike (1958-1961); his incarceration in prison and writing of the book, Scapegoat; and finally his experiences after being released from jail. Included are genealogical materials, correspondence, legal papers, addresses and writings, miscellaneous items, radio scripts, pictures, and a draft of Scapegoat, entitled "Prejudice + Politics = Prison." Other papers include items on the poll tax in the South, as well as pamphlets relating to labor unions and the South, the poll tax, and strikes. Clippings deal principally with the American Federation of Labor (AFL), AFL publicity, South Carolina Federation of Labor Convention, United Textile Workers of America convention, communists, and the Bessemer City strike. A 1929 scrapbook houses clippings pertaining to the southern textile strike in that year, and a 1946 scrapbook contains information on the Danville (Va.) Citizens' Committee, a group organized to fight inflation and high prices in Danville. One box of material was formerly part of the Labor Archives Collection. Original box number has been retained.

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.

A substantial collection of Boyd E. Payton's papers are also held by the University of North Carolina, Charlotte Special Collections. See the online finding aid for more details.