MenuPreliminary Inventory of the Robert H. Woody papers, 1927-1985
Abstract
Contains the personal and professional papers of Robert Hilliard Woody, a professor of history at Duke University from 1929 to 1970. Types of materials include correspondence, manuscripts, short writings, vitae, certificates, diplomas, committee reports, printed material, photographs, 8 mm films, and VHS tapes. Major subjects include Robert H. Woody, the Civil War, the South, South Carolina, North Carolina, reconstruction, republicans, southern newspapers, biographies, mountain culture, folklore, history instruction, Duke University, the Duke University history department, and the George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana. Major correspondents appearing in the collection include: William Preston Few, Francis B. Simkins, William K. Boyd, William T. Laprade, Francis Warrenton Dawson, Stanly Godbold, Jr., Arthur Hollis Edens, Paul M. Gross, Stanley Godbold, the Southern Historical Association, and the Historical Society of North Carolina. Some materials are restricted. Materials range in date from 1927 to 1985.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Robert H. Woody papers, 1927-1985.
- Creator
- Woody, Robert H. (Robert Hilliard), 1903-
- Extent
- 6 Linear Feet, , 6,000 Items
- Repository
- University Archives, Duke University
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult University Archives, Duke University.
- Language
- English.
Collection Overview
Contains the personal and professional papers of Robert Hilliard Woody, a teacher and historian at Duke University from 1929 to 1970. Materials include correspondence with individuals and professional organizations, films, clippings, and writings (including original Civil War correspondence) pertaining to Woody's research, and manuscript materials for biographies of Civil War statesmen and Duke University President William Preston Few. Major correspondents include colleagues at Duke University: Arthur Hollis Edens, Paul M. Gross, William Preston Few, Francis B. Simkins, William K. Boyd, and William T. Laprade. Correspondence is ordered alphabetically. Films are 8mm format. Some materials are restricted
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.
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.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllInclides typewritten copies of the Fourteenth Amendment and printed material (mostly editorial)
Historical Note
Robert Hilliard Woody was born in 1903 in the Little Cataloochee Creek community of Haywood County in western North Carolina. Woody attended grammar schools in Kentucky and graduated from high school in London, Kentucky in 1923. That fall, he entered Emory University and studied history under Professor Francis Butler Simkins. Woody received his B.Ph. degree from Emory in 1927, then earned an M.A. (1928) and a Ph.D. (1930) from Duke University. Woody's dissertation was part of a collaborative work with mentor Francis Butler Simkins. Their book, South Carolina During Reconstruction (1932), earned the John H. Dunning Prize of the American Historical Association in 1931.
In 1929, Woody began teaching history as a full professor at Duke University. For the first seven years of his teaching career, he taught modern European history. In 1932, he began to teach United States history. Some of his courses were about American colonial history, the United States from 1850-1900, historiography of the South, and the Old South. Woody directed thirty-two doctoral dissertations and at least fifty-eight master's theses. In 1937, Woody reduced his teaching load to part-time so that he could act as the director of the George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana in the Duke University Library. Woody retired from the Department of History in 1970.
Woody took an active approach to documenting history on a personal and professional level. He recorded activities of his vacations, his thoughts on teaching, the Duke University academic climate (including the Gross-Edens Affair), and historical society meetings. Woody corresponded with Duke University colleagues and mentors in the history field: Arthur Hollis Edens, Paul M. Gross, William Preston Few, Francis B. Simkins, William K. Boyd, and William T. Laprade.
Woody published over 220 articles on the Civil War period, southern newspapers, the South, reconstruction, and North Carolina communities. Some article titles are: "The Labor and Immigration Problem of South Carolina During Reconstruction," "Christopher Gadsden and the Stamp Act," "The Army of Northern Virginia," and "Franklin J. Moses, Jr., Scalawag Governor of South Carolina." The culture of Western North Carolina mountain residents were described in his article "Catalochee Reunion." He also wrote significant biographies about William Preston Few, Francis Warrington Dawson, and Civil War statesmen.
Woody was a member of the American Historical Association, the Southern Historical Association, the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, the South Carolina Historical Association, the Historical Society of North Carolina, and Phi Beta Kappa. Some of his books include: South Carolina During Reconstruction (1932), Republican Newspapers of South Carolina (1936), and The Papers and Addresses of William Preston Few (1951). He was also a contributor to the Dictionary of American Biography and Dictionary of American History. In 1942, he was selected to review Jule B. Warren's History of North Carolina, a textbook for use in public schools that was found to be riddled with errors.
Woody married Louise Wills in 1929. Their children are Dorothy Jean and Stephen Boyd. In 1983, Woody moved from Durham, N.C. to San Diego, California. He died in San Diego in 1985.
Subject Headings
- American newspapers--South Carolina--History.
- Dawson, Francis Warrington, 1840-1889.
- Duke University. Dept. of History.
- Duke University--Faculty.
- Duke University--History--20th century.
- Edens, Arthur Hollis, 1901-
- Few, William Preston, 1867-1940.
- Folklore--North Carolina.
- George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana.
- Godbold, E. Stanly.
- Gross, Paul Magnus, 1895-1986.
- Historical Society of North Carolina.
- History--Study and teaching (Higher)--United States.
- Laprade, William Thomas, 1883-1975.
- North Carolina--Politics and government.
- North Carolina--Social conditions.
- Reconstruction--North Carolina.
- Reconstruction--South Carolina--Civil War.
- Reconstruction--Southern States.
- Republican Party (S.C.)
- Simkins, Francis Butler, 1897-1966.
- South Carolina--History--1865-
- South Carolina--Economic conditions.
- South Carolina--Politics and government--1775-1783.
- South Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950.
- South Carolina--Social conditions.
- Southern Historical Association.
- Statesmen--United States--Biography.
- United States--history--Civil War, 1861-1865--Biography.
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Reconstruction.
- Woody, Robert H. (Robert Hilliard), 1903-
- Film.
Related Material
- Duke University. President. William Preston Few records, 1910-1940. (University Archives, Duke University.)
- Duke University. President. Arthur H. Edens records, 1949-1960. (University Archives, Duke University.)
- Paul M. Gross papers. (University Archives, Duke University.)
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Robert H. Woody papers, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
Gift; 1964; 64-66
Gift; 1966; 66-120
Gift; 1967; 67-91
Gift; 1969;69-176
Transfer; 1973; 74-15
Gift; 1973; 74-35
Gift; 1983; 83-36
Processing Information
Processed by Emily J. Glenn
Completed March 17, 2003
This collection is partially processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Encoded by Emily J. Glenn, March 18, 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.