Duke University. All rights reserved.
Aleph Number:
1997 Duke University. All rights reserved.
Collection is open for research/restricted.
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Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
The copyright interests in the Wyatt T. Dixon Papers have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
[Identification of item], Wyatt T. Dixon Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Wyatt T. Dixon Papers were donated to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library in 1981 and 1986.
Processed by Donna Longo DiMichele
Completed June 17, 1994
Encoded by Robin LaPasha
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
The Wyatt T. Dixon Papers span the 1850s to 1987, although the bulk of the material dates from 1918 to the 1960s. The collection consists of diaries, photographs, photomechanical prints, postcards, clippings, correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, printed materials, forms, military records, leaflets, and maps. The Pictures Series comprises the largest portion of the collection. The collection documents the activities of the United States Army, American Expeditionary Forces, 30th Division, 113th Field Artillery Unit, Battery C, from 1917 to 1919; Durham, North Carolina; and Dixon's career as a journalist.
The World War I Series chronicles the activities of the American Expeditionary Forces, 113th Field Artillery Unit, Battery C, which consisted primarily of men from Durham, N.C. Dixon's diaries chronicle the unit's movements and activities in the United States and Europe including England, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Battery C was involved in the Saint Michiel offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Campaign. The diaries describe camp life in the United States and Europe, including daily routines; camp conditions; outbreaks of measles and other medical situations; and the soldiers' personal recreational activities. The journey by ship to Europe is also described in detail, including the sale of food to the soldiers and the conditions on board. Civilian responses to the soldiers as they visited or traveled through towns and cities in America, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg are noted throughout the diaries. Dixon mentions a unit of African-American soldiers was at Mont Dore, France. There are some snapshot photographs of Battery C which Dixon probably created with his Kodak camera and some formal panoramic photographs of the entire unit. Letters written by Dixon and his family while he was in the Army are in the Writings Series.
The Writings Series contains some personal correspondence and a diary, but the bulk of the series documents Dixon's career as a writer for newspapers published by the Durham Herald Company in Durham, N.C. In his column
The Pictures Series consists primarily of photographs and documents social life and cityscapes in Durham, N.C. Pictures include buildings such as banks, businesses, cemeteries, churches, court houses, dams and power plants, hospitals, hotels and inns, plantations (abandoned), post offices, schools, and tobacco warehouses and factories. There are street scenes and aerial views. Pictures of people include portraits and candid scenes of groups engaged in social activities. There are pictures of events such as holiday celebrations and parades. Transportation, including trolleys, buses, fire fighting equipment and train depots, is documented.
The Durham Printed Materials Series and the Miscellaneous Series include information about the City of Durham and Durham County, genealogical information about Dixon's family, and the minutes book of a social club for young men.
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.
Includes correspondence, a diary/autograph book, clippings, a scrapbook, printed material, notes, and manuscripts. The first part of the series contains personal correspondence and miscellaneous publications. The "How Times Do Change" Subseries contains copies of Dixon's articles by that title and drafts and notes for articles, as well as a volume of reproductions of the articles. The subseries is arranged with the published volume first, followed by miscellaneous articles in chronological order, and finally drafts and notes for articles arrranged by subject.
Includes diaries, manuscripts, letters, printed material, a service record, photographs, negatives, a passenger list, and clippings. See also oversize. Arranged with the diaries first, followed by a history of the unit, records from reunions, and pictures at the end.
Includes primarily printed material including advertisements, brochures, leaflets, directories, clippings, reports and house organs. See also oversize.
Includes correspondence, clippings, notes, a sermon, lists, treasury forms, a social club's minutes record book, poems, leaflets, and speeches.
Includes photographs, copy prints, photomechanical prints, negatives, and postcards. See also oversize. Arranged by subject: People: Identified, arranged alphabetically by surname of principle individual in the photograph, and then People: Unidentified; followed by Groups: Identified, arranged alphabetically, and then Groups: Unidentified; Places: Identified, arranged alphabetically, and then Places: Unidentified; Miscellaneous; Postcards, arranged by location; and Negatives.