Inventory of the William Kenneth Boyd Papers, 1851 - 1956
William Kenneth Boyd (1879-1938) was a
historian, professor, and director of the library at Duke University. During his career at Duke and
Trinity College, he published widely and helped to collect and preserve personal papers and books
about Southern and North Carolina history. The William Kenneth Boyd papers include correspondence,
diaries, financial and legal materials, writings, notes, student papers, photographs (including
tintypes), and other materials related to the personal and professional life of Boyd. Major
correspondents include N. B. McDowell, Pat LeGrand, Marion Colley, and John Spencer Bassett. There
are also letters from W. E. B. Du Bois and other prominent African Americans.
- Title
- William Kenneth Boyd Papers, 1851 - 1956.
- Creator
-
Boyd, William Kenneth, 1879-1938
- Extent
- 20 Linear Feet, , 20000 Items
- Repository
- University Archives, Duke University
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please
consult University Archives, Duke University.
- Language
- English.
The William Kenneth Boyd papers include correspondence, diaries, financial and legal
materials, writings, notes, student papers, photographs (including tintypes), and other materials
related to the personal and professional life of Boyd. The collection is arranged into seven
series.
The first series, Personal, includes family materials like diaries, financial and legal
materials, and other family writings. The diaries were written by Boyd's first wife and his
daughter. The second series, Correspondence, includes personal, History Department, and Library and
Flowers Collection correspondence. Major personal correspondents include N.B. McDowell, Pat
LeGrand, Marion Colley, and John Spencer Bassett. Of particular interest in the personal
correspondence are some letters Boyd exchanged with prominent African-Americans, including W. E. B.
Du Bois, in 1899. The History Department and Library and Flowers Collection correspondence discuss
research and administrative activities in these two areas of Duke University.
The third series, Writings, includes published and unpublished articles and books by Boyd.
The fourth series, Notes, includes research and lecture notes taken by Boyd. The topics of both
Writings and Notes tend to be about Southern and specifically North Carolina history. The next
series, Teaching, primarily includes student papers about Southern and North Carolina history. The
Library series includes administrative papers from when Boyd directed the library at Duke. The last
series, Photographs, features family photographs, most of which are tintypes in excellent
condition.
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is required for use.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other
copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated
by United States copyright law.
The Personal series contains the personal and family materials of William Kenneth
Boyd. Included are financial and legal materials; diaries written by Boyd's first wife, Pat LeGrand
and his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Boyd; materials related to Boyd's funeral; and pieces of creative
writing. Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Account books, circa 1936, 1946
Box 1
Folder 2
Childhood writings, 1888-1892
Box 1
Folder 3
Diary of Mary Elizabeth Boyd, 1920
Box 1
Folder 5
Diary of Mary Elizabeth Boyd, 1930-1931
Box 1
Folder 6
Diary of Pat LeGrand Boyd, undated
Box 1
Folder 7
Drawings and maps, undated
Oversize Box 41
Folder 8
Early Printers' Marks by Mary Elizabeth Boyd, circa 1930-1939
Oversize Box 41
Folder 9
Oversize Box 41
Folder 10
Financial documents, 1866-1922
Oversize Box 41
Folder 11
Legal documents, 1885-1939
Oversize Box 41
Folder 12
List of wedding presents, by Pat Le Grand
Oversize Box 41
Folder 13
Memorials for William K. Boyd, 1938
Oversize Box 41
Folder 14
Poetry and stories, undated
Oversize Box 41
Folder 15
The Correspondence series is arranged into three main sections. The first section,
Personal, contains correspondence to and from Boyd with family members and friends. His aunt, N. B.
McDowell, a faculty member at Weaverville College, wrote to Boyd frequently while he attended
Trinity College and afterward. Boyd also corresponded frequently with his first wife, Pat LeGrand,
second wife, Marion Colley, and mentor, John Spencer Bassett. The correspondence for the latter two
is filed separately in folders at the end of the personal correspondence. The rest of the materials
are arranged chronologically. Of note in this section are letters Boyd sent and received from
prominent African-Americans, including W. E. B. Du Bois, in 1899.
The second section of the correspondence is History Department correspondence, sent
and received while Boyd was a faculty member in the Duke Department of History. It includes letters
sent to and from members of the Duke History Department as well as historians at other
institutions. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The third section is Library and Flowers Collection correspondence, and mainly stems
from Boyd's service as director of the library at Duke. Most of the letters document Boyd's attempt
to purchase or otherwise acquire personal papers and rare books from individuals and dealers across
the South. These materials are arranged chronologically.
September 1896-October 1896
Box 2
Folder 21
November 1896-December 1896
Box 2
Folder 22
January 1897-February 1897
Box 2
Folder 23
October 1897-December 1897
Box 2
Folder 26
January 1898-February 1898
Box 2
Folder 27
November 1898-December 1898
Box 3
Folder 31
September 1901-December 1901
Box 3
Folder 36
August 1903-December 1903
Box 4
Folder 40
February 1906-September 1906
Box 5
Folder 46
October 1906-December 1906
Box 5
Folder 47
October 1924-November 1929
Box 8
Folder 81
February 1930-February 1956
Box 8
Folder 82
John Spencer Bassett, October 1904-April 1926
Box 8
Folder 85
Marion T. Colley, July 1930-December 1930
Box 9
Folder 86
January 1927-February 1927
Box 11
Folder 109
December 1927-January 1928
Box 12
Folder 114
January 1929-February 1929
Box 12
Folder 118
October 1929-December 1929
Box 13
Folder 121
January 1930-February 1930
Box 13
Folder 122
August 1930-September 1930
Box 13
Folder 126
October 1930-December 1930
Box 13
Folder 127
September 1931-December 1931
Box 14
Folder 130
January 1932-February 1932
Box 14
Folder 131
December 1932-February 1933
Box 14
Folder 134
September 1933-November 1933
Box 14
Folder 136
December 1933-February 1934
Box 14
Folder 137
August 1934-December 1934
Box 15
Folder 139
September 1935-December 1935
Box 15
Folder 142
October 1936-December 1936
Box 15
Folder 146
August 1930-September 1930
Box 17
Folder 161
October 1930-December 1930
Box 17
Folder 162
August 1931-September 1931
Box 18
Folder 166
October 1931-November 1931
Box 18
Folder 167
January 1933-February 1933
Box 20
Folder 179
August 1933-September 1933
Box 20
Folder 185
August 1934-September 1934
Box 21
Folder 192
November 1934-December 1934
Box 21
Folder 194
September 1936-October 1936
Box 23
Folder 207
November 1936-December 1936
Box 23
Folder 208
January 1937-February 1937
Box 23
Folder 209
The Writings series includes published pieces, unpublished manuscripts, and drafts of
Boyd's articles and books. His interest in southern, and especially North Carolina, history is
evident in these materials, as is his interest in colonial America. The writings are arranged
alphabetically by title.
The American Revolution and Reform in the South, 1923
Folder 215
The Antecedents of the North Carolina Convention of 1835, 1910
Folder 216
Bibliography of Tallyrand draft, undated
Folder 217
Boyd Family Journal, March 1925, November 1926
Folder 218
Currency and Banking in North Carolina, 1790-1836, undated
Folder 219
Documents and Comments on Benefit of Clergy as Applied to slaves, October 1923
Folder 220
Documents and Letters Concerning Lincoln and Fort Sumter, undated
Folder 221
Drafts on southern history and public education in Virginia, undated
Folder 222
The Ecclesiastical Edicts of the Theodosian Code, 1905
Folder 223
English-American relations, undated
Folder 224
The Federal Period draft, undated
Folder 225-226
The Federal Period draft, undated
Box 25
Folder 227
The Finances of the North Carolina Literary Fund, 1914
Box 25
Folder 228
The Flowers Collection draft, undated
Box 25
Folder 229
History of N.C. Federal Period, undated
Box 25
Folder 230
History of Trinity College draft, undated
Box 25
Folder 231-232
History of Trinity College, undated
Box 25
Folder 233
History of the South draft chapters, undated
Box 25
Folder 234-235
Jeffersonian Ideals - Reform of the State Constitution, undated
Box 25
Folder 236
The Literature of N.C. History draft, undated
Box 25
Folder 237
Medieval Universities, undated
Box 25
Folder 238
Memoirs of a Book Hunter, circa 1937-1938
Box 25
Folder 239
Methodist Expansion . . ., circa 1915
Box 25
Folder 240
Military Aspects of the Revolution, undated
Box 25
Folder 241
The Movement for Public Education, undated
Box 26
Folder 243
North Carolina on the Eve of Secession, 1912
Box 26
Folder 244
Pietism, Methodism, and the Great Awakening, undated
Box 26
Folder 245
Religious Feeling in 18th-19th Centuries, undated
Box 26
Folder 246
A Selected Bibliography and Syllabus of the History of the South, June 1918
Box 26
Folder 248
Some Phases of Educational History in the South Since 1865, 1914
Box 26
Folder 250
The Story of Durham proof, circa 1925
Box 26
Folder 251-252
The Story of Durham proof, undated
Box 26
Folder 253
A Syllabus of North Carolina History, 1584-1876, 1913 (with J.G. de Roulhac Hamilton)
Box 27
Folder 254
W. W. Holden draft, undated
Oversize Box 41
Folder 256
William W. Holden drafts, undated
Oversize Box 41
Folder 257
The Notes series includes primarily handwritten notes used by Boyd in his research and
lectures. If there was any indication that the notes were used primarily for lecture or research,
this has been indicated. Notes are arranged into Lecture, Research, and General sections, and
alphabetically within these sections. Sometimes multiple subjects were filed together, and this
arrangement has been preserved.
Please note that many of these notes were taken on paper which is now fairly brittle.
Patrons should use care in handling these materials.
Emancipation, Lincoln, Civil War
Folder 258
English history, Virginia
Folder 259-260
English history, Reformation
Folder 261-262
English history, Reformation
Box 28
Folder 263-264
Georgia, North Carolina, British Colonial System, Clergy
Box 28
Folder 265
North Carolina, South Carolina, Slavery
Box 28
Folder 266-267
Revolution in Virginia and North Carolina, the Durham area
Box 28
Folder 269-270
Slavery, Carolinas during pre-Constitutional and Constitutional periods
Box 29
Folder 272
Slavery, Jay Treaty, and S.C. finance
Box 29
Folder 273
Slavery, political and social theories of Thomas Jefferson
Box 29
Folder 274
Southern history and slavery
Box 29
Folder 276-277
Spanish exploration and French Colonial System
Box 29
Folder 278
Virginia, Jefferson, Jackson, War of 1812
Box 30
Folder 279-282
Virginia's social and religious development, English history
Box 30
Folder 283-284
Virginia, South Carolina, manuscript list
Box 31
Folder 285-286
North Carolina history notebook
Box 31
Folder 288
Virginia education, federal relations, and bibliography
Box 31
Folder 290
Bibliographies, Southern history in the 1790s-1800s
Box 32
Folder 295
Cotton Revolution, slave economy
Box 32
Folder 298-299
English History--17th century
Box 32
Folder 301
English History--17th century
Box 33
Folder 302
Jurisprudence, European law
Box 33
Folder 303
Monroe Doctrine, Bibliography of Economics of the Plantation
Box 33
Folder 305
North Carolina, South Carolina
Box 33
Folder 306-307
Outlines of North Carolina history, Southern history, Reconstruction
Box 33
Folder 308
Population and wealth, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama
Box 33
Folder 310
Post-Revolution history, financial situation, Articles of Confederation
Box 34
Folder 311-312
Slavery, William Gaston, North Carolina
Box 35
Folder 318
Southern economic systems, Virginia
Box 35
Folder 320-321
Virginia, North Carolina, Militia
Box 35
Folder 323
William Washington Flowers
Box 35
Folder 324
The Teaching series primarily consists of student papers, along with a few
administrative documents related to the Duke Department of History. The student papers mainly focus
on southern history, especially the history of North Carolina. They are arranged alphabetically by
the authors' last names.
Committee on the College and Durham
Oversize Box 41
Folder 332
Faculty Committee on Research
Oversize Box 41
Folder 333
Interest in International Studies
Oversize Box 41
Folder 334
Resolutions and Memoranda
Oversize Box 41
Folder 335
Oversize Box 41
Folder 336
Airheart, Georgia, The Early Humanitarian Movement in N.C.
Oversize Box 41
Folder 337
Allen, Elizabeth, A History of Bute County
Oversize Box 41
Folder 338
Allen, L. C., Supreme Court and Slavery in North Carolina
Oversize Box 41
Folder 339
Anderson, A. R., Iredell County
Box 37
Folder 340
Anonymous, Commercial Coercion and War
Box 37
Folder 342
Anonymous, A History of Lowe's Grove
Box 37
Folder 343
Anonymous, North Carolina in the National Slave Controversy, 1787-1820
Box 37
Folder 344
Anonymous, North Carolina in the War of 1812
Box 37
Folder 345
Anonymous, North Carolina: Transformation from 1827 to 1927
Box 37
Folder 346
Anonymous, The Political Careers of General Alfred Dockery and William L. Steele of Richmond County
Box 37
Folder 347
Anonymous, Reconstruction in North Carolina
Box 37
Folder 348
Anonymous, The Rise of the Humanitarian Movement in North Carolina
Box 37
Folder 349
Anonymous, Share Cropping
Box 37
Folder 350
Barnard, B. W., Constitutional and Judicial Decisions of the N.C. Supreme Court to 1820, 1915
Box 37
Folder 352
Barnard, B. W., The Development of Western North Carolina Prior to 1836, January 19, 1914
Box 37
Folder 353
Barnard, B. W., The Opening and Regulation of Roads in Western North Carolina through 1836, May 20, 1914
Box 37
Folder 354
Boling, F. J., County Government in North Carolina, Spring 1923
Box 37
Folder 355
Brantley, Mary Powell, The Agrarian Problem in North Carolina, 1865-1890
Box 37
Folder 356
Brigman, Floyd, The Tobacco Industry in the 18th Century
Box 37
Folder 357
Broadway, Blanche, The Sherman Anti-Trust Act and Supreme Court Decisions, February 18, 1926
Box 37
Folder 358
Brock, Nellie, Bedford Brown
Box 37
Folder 359
Brown, Helen M., The War of the Regulation
Box 37
Folder 360
Bryant, Lillian P., History of Durham County, April 27, 1923
Box 37
Folder 361
Bullock, James Dempsey, Early Wilson
Box 37
Folder 362
Butler, Julia, Southern Critics of Southern Agriculture before 1860, May 30, 1923
Box 37
Folder 363
Carmichael, Maude, Arkansas Slavery: From a Legal and Economic Standpoint
Box 37
Folder 364
Chaffin, Nora C., Church Schools in North Carolina before 1860 with Attitude of North Carolina Methodism toward education before 1860, May 27, 1924
Box 38
Folder 365
Craft, E. P. C., Naval Operations along the coast of North Carolina during the Civil War
Box 38
Folder 366
Daly, Louise Haskell, Life of Langdon Cheves
Box 38
Folder 367
Daniel, G. M., Newspaper Side-Lights on Slavery in N.C., April 25, 1911
Box 38
Folder 368
Delap, Simeon Alexander, The Populist Party in North Carolina
Box 38
Folder 369
DeMond, Robert O., Loyalists of N.C. in the Early Period of the American Revolution, July 20, 1933
Box 38
Folder 370
DeMond, Robert O., Occupational Classification of the Loyalists of North Carolina
Box 38
Folder 371
Douglas, Clarence D., Conscription and the Writ of Habeas Corpus in North Carolina During the Civil War, May 1, 1918
Box 38
Folder 372
Farrar, P. G., Chatham County
Box 38
Folder 373
Farris, J. J., Lincoln's 10% Governments
Box 38
Folder 374
Ficklen, J. R., History of Reconstruction in Louisiana (through 1868)
Box 38
Folder 375
Foerster, Alma P., Reconstruction in Georgia, February 1936
Box 38
Folder 376
Frank, Margaret, The Japanese Problem in California
Box 38
Folder 377
Goebel, Wallace B., Wake Forest College prior to the Civil War, May 1925
Box 38
Folder 378
Greenberg, Henry Clay, Party Methods and Organization in North Carolina from 1789-1860, May 1, 1917
Box 38
Folder 379
Grier, Lew A., The Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina, 1914
Box 38
Folder 380
Griffin, Frederick R., Jr., Northern Unitarian Agencies in Southern Social Progress since 1870, January 17, 1928
Box 38
Folder 381
Grigg, J. H., The Cherokee Indians in North Carolina
Box 38
Folder 382
Grigg, W. Q., What England Thought of North Carolina (colonial period), May 30, 1923
Box 38
Folder 383
Guy, John A., Some Aspects of Southern Agriculture, 1865-1900, Summer 1933
Box 38
Folder 384
Haynes, H. U., Quit Rent Controversy in North Carolina
Box 38
Folder 385
Henderson, Alfred J., Farm Tenancy in the South, May 11, 1936
Box 38
Folder 386
Henry, Frances, North Carolina's Political Sentiments from 1859 to Secession
Box 39
Folder 387
Hunt, Lessie W., The Legal Protection of Slavery
Box 39
Folder 388
Jackson, J. L., Jeffersonian Religion, 1923
Box 39
Folder 389
Jones, R. L., Origin of the Deaf, Dumb, Blind, and Insane Institutions of North Carolina up to 1860
Box 39
Folder 390
Joslin, Vinnie R., The Abolition Movement in Ohio before 1840
Box 39
Folder 391
Koontz, Louis K., Two Studies in 19th Century Humanitarianism
Box 39
Folder 392
Luthin, Reinhard H., Robert J. Walker and the Purchase of Alaska, 1935
Box 39
Folder 393
Luthin, Reinhard Henry, The Virginia-New York Slavery Controversy, 1839-1842
Box 39
Folder 394
MacFadyen, Elizabeth Ann, The Medical Administration of the Confederacy, January 1932
Box 39
Folder 395
Manchester, Alan K., Land Tenure in the South Since the Civil War
Box 39
Folder 396
Maxwell, Nancy Isobel, The Quit-Rent Problem in North Carolina during the Colonial Period, 1633-1775
Box 39
Folder 397
McGrady, N. M., History of Mecklenburg County, 1860-1880, May 30, 1916
Box 39
Folder 398
McKinney, C. M., Sherman in North Carolina
Box 39
Folder 399
Morgan, W. H., Edward Stanley
Box 39
Folder 400
Moss, Cora, Civil War and Reconstruction in Granville County
Box 39
Folder 401
Osborne, M. A., A Financial History of Trinity College, April 20, 1915
Box 39
Folder 402
Parker, R. E. The Economics of Cotton Production in the Old South, January 16, 1915
Box 39
Folder 403
Petty, Clarall, The British Government and the Slave Trade, May 21, 1928
Box 39
Folder 404
Pickens, Marhall I., The United States Government and the Klu Klux Klan
Box 39
Folder 405
Pleasants, Milton R., Manufacturing in North Carolina before 1860
Box 39
Folder 406
Ramsey, C. M., The Methodist Church During Reconstruction, May 28, 1919
Box 39
Folder 407
Reap, Charles A., History of Taxation in North Carolina (From the Early Colony to Reconstruction
Box 39
Folder 408
Robbins, Jewell, Alfred Dockery
Box 39
Folder 409
Sasser, Roxie J., History of Lebanon Township, Durham County, N.C.
Box 39
Folder 410
Shockly, Iva, The History of Public Schools in North Carolina Down to 1860
Box 39
Folder 411
Sikes, Earl R., The Privileges of the Lower House of the General Assembly, and its Conflicts with the Executive Authority from 1665-1776, 1913
Box 39
Folder 412
Smith, Allen C., Rufus B. Bullock in Georgia Politics, July 17, 1935
Box 40
Folder 413
Smith, H. P., Edward Henry Harriman, 1926
Box 40
Folder 414
Snodgrass, Annie Lee, Transmontane Virginia in the Crisis, 1860-1861 July 14, 1934
Box 40
Folder 415
Sparks, Dade, Virginia and South Carolina: contrasted socially and politically
Box 40
Folder 416
Swaringen, Lucile, The History of the Growth of Durham City Schools, circa 1923
Box 40
Folder 417
Taylor, Lucy, The Constitution of 1776 and its reforms
Box 40
Folder 418
Thompson, J. M., The Attitude of North Carolinian Whigs Towards Slavery Extension, 1845-1850
Box 40
Folder 419
Starnes, W. F., Public Education in North Carolina, 1840-1865
Box 40
Folder 420
Thompson, Jessie, Social Agencies and Social Control in North Carolina
Box 40
Folder 421
Ware, Fred, The Grange Movement, November 24, 1924
Box 40
Folder 422
Williford, Annie Mary, Prelim Exam in Southern History: the South, January 31, 1934
Box 40
Folder 423
The Library series is a small group of papers related to Boyd's efforts to expand and
improve the collections of the library at Duke University. Materials are arranged in alphabetical
order.
American Historical Association Executive Council and Survey
Box 40
Folder 424
Index of Editors and Publishers
Box 40
Folder 425
Survey of History Students
Box 40
Folder 431
The Photographs series consists mainly of what are presumably family photographs, most
of which are unidentified. Many appear to be from Missouri, where many of Boyd's family members
lived. Also included are some photographs of Boyd as a young man. Approximately three-quarters of
the photographs are tintypes, and many are in excellent condition and serve as fine examples of the
medium.
Approximately 100 photographs
Box 42
William Kenneth Boyd was born on January 10, 1879, in Curryville, Missouri, the son of
Reverend Harvey Marshall and Mary Elizabeth Black Boyd. He grew up in Weaverville, North Carolina.
Boyd began attending Trinity College (later part of Duke University) in Durham, North Carolina in
1895, and he received an A.B. degree in 1897 and an M.A. degree in 1898. He served as an assistant
to Professor John Spencer Bassett while he completed his M.A. degree, and he then worked as a
history teacher at Trinity Park School, a high school on the Trinity College campus. From 1900 to
1902, Boyd was an adjunct professor of history at Trinity College.
After receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1906, Boyd returned to teach at
Trinity College. He had a strong interest in regional and southern history, and published
extensively on these topics. Among his publications were
A Selected Bibliography and Syllabus of the History of the South, 1584-1876 (with Robert P. Brooks),
A Syllabus of North Carolina History, 1584-1896 (with J. G.
deRoulhac Hamilton),
The Federal Period, 1783-1860 (part of a three volume set on
North Carolina history), and
The Story of Durham, City of the New South. He also co-edited
the
South Atlantic Quarterly from 1919-1929, a journal founded by
his mentor, Bassett.
In addition to his historical writing and teaching, Boyd actively collected materials for
the library. Through the funding of the Flowers family, he made the Flowers Collection of southern
Americana one of the pre-eminent collections of manuscript and research materials in the country.
Boyd served as director of the libraries from 1930 to 1934. In addition to purchasing materials, he
encouraged his students to look for materials in their own homes and hometowns that could be added
to Trinity College's and later Duke University's collections.
Boyd died on January 19, 1938. He was married to Pat LeGrand from 1908 until 1924, when
she passed away. The couple had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who married Duke history professor
William B. Hamilton in 1938. William Kenneth Boyd remarried in 1931 to journalist Marion
Colley.
- George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana (Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University)
- George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana records (Duke University Archives)
[Identification of item], William Kenneth Boyd Papers, University Archives, Duke
University.
The William Kenneth Boyd Papers were received by the University Archives as gifts from
1948-1978.
Processed by Valerie Gillispie
Completed May 20, 2005
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, May 27, 2005
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Menu
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand All