Inventory of the D.W. Newsom papers, 1894-1972 (bulk 1896-1922)

Abstract

D.W. (Dallas Walton) Newsom was an educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet. Newsom entered Trinity College (now Duke University) in the fall of 1895 beginning a twenty-seven year association with the institution.

The collection primarily contains material collected or created by D.W. Newsom concerning Trinity College president John C. Kilgo. Materials present include correspondence between Newsom and Kilgo, clippings of Kilgo's speeches, articles, visitations, and obituary from various local and regional newspapers, and some biographical writings regarding Kilgo. Major subjects include: Trinity College (Durham County, NC); Christian education; and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The materials in the collection date from 1884-1972, bulk 1886-1922.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: University Archives, Duke University
Creator: Newsom, D. W. (Dallas Walton), 1873-1949.
Title: D.W. Newsom papers, 1894-1972 (bulk 1896-1922)
Language of Material: English
Extent: 2.2 Linear Feet, 1,000 Items
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Collection Overview

The Newsom collection primarily contains material collected or created by D.W. Newsom concerning Trinity College president John C. Kilgo. Materials present include correspondence between Newsom and Kilgo, clippings of Kilgo's speeches, articles, visitations, and obituary from various local and regional newspapers, and some biographical writings regarding Kilgo. Major subjects include: Trinity College (Durham County, NC); Christian education; and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Also present in the collection are some materials relating to Newsom's administrative duties at Trinity College including a repair book (1911-1918), some memoranda concerning Trinity College, and miscellaneous letters. Of particular note are the responses to a janitorial service survey sent by Newsom to Trinity's peer institutions in 1920 asking for operational details of various institutions' housekeeping staff. Questions on the survey address race of staff, number of hours worked, salary, paid vacation/sick-leave, bonuses, division of responsibilities, retention, and age of workers.

Newsom kept various notebooks for jotting down thoughts, poetic words, and subjects of interest such as physics or Kilgo, philosophic quotations, and writings. These notebooks are present in the collection. Many of Newsom's notes are in shorthand.

Administrative Information

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Access Restrictions

Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Collection is open for research.

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.

Contents of the Collection

Browse List of Series

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Correspondence,

John C. Kilgo, 1915-1922

Box 1

Miscellaneous letters, 1917-1922

Box 1

Shorthand notebook, (perhaps contain material dictated by John C. Kilgo to Newsom)

Box 1

Trinity Memoranda, undated

Box 1

Printed Matter,

"Christian Education: Its Aims and Superiority" by John C. Kilgo

Investigation of the Charges Brought by Justice Walter Clark Against Dr. John C. Kilgo, August 30-31, 1898

The Kappa Alpha Journal, September 1922; May 1923

Miscellaneous letters, notes, undated; 1898

Psychology Descriptive and Explanatory A treatise on the phenomena, laws, and development of human mental life by George Trumbull Ladd, 1894 (located in oversize box)

Repair Book, Trinity College, 1911-1918

Trinity Alumni Register, vol. 8 no. 4 January 1923

The Uplift, 1922

Subject Files,

Aims of Trinity, undated

Class Flag, undated

Janitorial Service Survey, 1920

Writing and Speeches,

Miscellaneous writing and speeches, undated

Notebooks regarding John C. Kilgo, undated

Notebooks, undated; 1898

Oversize,

Clippings

Baltimore Southern Methodist, August 31, 1922

Box 2

The Christian Educator, Trinity Park, Durham, NC

February 1896

Box 2

September 1896

Box 2

May 1897

Box 2

The Durham Recorder, January 19, 1899

Box 2

Miscellaneous clippings, undated; 1894-1972 (2 folders)

Box 2

The Morning Post, Raleigh, NC, September 8, 1898

Box 2

Historical Note

condensed from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, ed. by William S. Powell Volume 4, L-O, 1991, pp. 366-367.

D.W. (Dallas Walton) Newsom was an educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet. He was born in Littleton, North Carolina to Marion Eaton and Annie Soule Heptinstall Newsom in 1873. Newsom entered Trinity College (now Duke University) in the fall of 1895 beginning a twenty-seven year association with the institution.

During his student days at Trinity, Newsom was a member of various scholastic and social clubs including Phi Beta Kappa, the 9019, Sigma Upsilon, and the Alpha Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha. He was also a campus leader serving as senior class president, editor of The Trinity Archive, as well as holding various officer positions in the Hesperian Literary Society. His involvement in the Hesperian Literary Society culminated in his winning its orator's medal in 1898. At the end of his first year, Newsom became the private secretary to President John C. Kilgo prompting a life-long friendship between the two men.

When Newsom graduated from Trinity in 1899 he received a post in Havana, Cuba, on recommendation from President Kilgo, where he served as a private secretary to the comptroller of customs in the U.S. Customs House. In 1901, Newsom returned to Trinity becoming the college registrar and six years later college treasurer a post he held until 1923. During this time, Newsom was also the recording secretary to the Board of Trustees and a member of the officers' finance committee.

In 1923, Newsom left academic administration to enter private enterprise opening a real estate and insurance sales and service office in Durham. He was active in private business for seven years. Concurrently, he also served as secretary-treasurer and then president (1928) of the Durham Real Estate Board and as director of the State Board of Realtors.

Newsom also held several public offices. In 1924 he was appointed to the Durham County Board of Commissioners. He served for four terms. Governor Angus W. McLean named him to the Governor's Commission for a Survey and Study of County Government designed to "project the modernization of county governments" in 1925. This appointment led to Newsom's appointment to the Governor's County Government Advisory Commission (1927-1931). In 1930 Newsom became Durham County's first county manager, and one of the few county managers in the nation.

Newsom's published works include two books of poetry: Song and Dream(1922) and Along the Silent Ways(1973). The later was published posthumously by his daughters in celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. He also penned a History of Duke Memorial Methodist Church from 1886 to 1932 (1933) and Chapel Talks (1922) by President John Carlisle Kilgo, transcribed from notes taken by Newsom. Newsom passed away in 1949.

Subject Headings

Related Material

Bill Arp / by D.W. Newsom. (University Archives, Duke University.)
D. W. Newsom papers, [ca. 1890]-1950 and n.d. (bulk 1929-1948) (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. )
In memory of everybody’s friend "Marse Jim" (James Haywood Southgate) / D. W. Newsom (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. )
Newsom Collection (Dallas Walton Newsom) (North Carolina Collection at the Durham County Library.)
Robert S. Rankin Papers, 1898-1977. (University Archives, Duke University.)