Charles S. Sydnor papers, 1729-1978 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Sydnor, Charles S. (Charles Sackett), 1898-1954.
Extent:
14.8 Linear Feet
circa 11,159 items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.01273

Background

Scope and content:

The Charles S. Sydnor Papers roughly span the period 1729-1978, the bulk dated 1923 to 1954. They include correspondence, research notes, writings, printed materials, and clippings, chiefly relating to Sydnor's teaching career at Duke University, as well as at Harvard and Queen's College, Oxford. The collection also includes information about his involvement with various historical associations and committees, including the American Historical Association, Southern Historical Association, North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, and the Advisory Committee of the Office of the Chief of Military History for the United States Army. There is background information pertaining to his various writings, including The Development of Southern Sectionalism (Volume V of the work A History of the South) (Baton Rouge, La., 1948), Gentleman Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington's Virginia (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1952), A Gentleman of the Old Natchez Region: Benjamin L. C. Wailes (Durham, N.C., 1938), Mississippi History (New York, N.Y., 1930), and Slavery in Mississippi (New York, N.Y., 1933). The papers contain notes and examinations for various history courses taught by Sydnor, student roll books, grade books, and papers. Additionally, there are a few notebooks and papers of Sydnor's while he was a student.

Materials relating to Sydnor's teaching career and participation in historical associations are found primarily in the Alphabetical Files Series and the Teaching Files Series. The information about Queen's College, University of Oxford, is located in the Alphabetical Files Series under Oxford. Information pertaining to his writings are found in the Writings and Speeches Series. Sydnor's own student notebooks and papers are found in the Miscellaneous Series. Topics highlighted include the Duke University Department of History during the late 1930s through the early 1950s, (Alphabetical Files Series); the writing and teaching of Southern history, particularly Mississippi history, (Writings and Speeches Series and Teaching Files Series); and the naturalist and planter, Benjamin L. C. Wailes (Writings and Speeches Series). A related collection in the Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is the Benjamin L. C. Wailes Papers.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology
Date Event
1898, July 21
Born, Augusta, Ga.
1915
Graduated from Darlington School, Rome, Ga.
1918
B.A., Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Va.
1919
Taught high school in Rome, Ga.
1919-1920
Taught at McCallie School, Chattanooga, Tenn.
1923
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
1923-1925
Professor of History and Political Science, Hampden-Sydney College
1924, June 12
Married Betty Brown
1925-1936
Professor of History, University of Mississippi
1935-1938
Member, Board of Editors, Journal of Southern History
1936-1938
Associate professor of History, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
1938
Professor of History and Chairman of History Department, Duke University
1939
President, Southern Historical Association
1941-1944
Member, Executive Committee, North Carolina Literary and Historical Association
1947-
Member, Board of Editors, South Atlantic Quarterly
1948
Litt.D., Washington and Lee University, and Princeton University (1953)
1949
President, North Carolina Literary and Historical Association
1950
M.A., University of Oxford, Oxford, England
1950-1951
Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History, University of Oxford
1952-
Dean of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Duke University
1953
LL.D., Davidson College, Davidson, N.C.
1954
Died (buried in Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Sydnor's publications include Mississippi History, Slavery in Mississippi, A Gentleman of the Old Natchez Region: Benjamin L. C. Wailes, The Development of Southern Sectionalism, 1819-1848 (Volume V of The History of the South), and Gentlemen Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington's Virginia.

Sydnor held visiting professorships at Emory (1925-1926), Johns Hopkins (1929, 1934), Duke (1935-1936), Cornell (1941), University of North Carolina (1949), and Harvard (1952) Universities. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, the Council Institute of Early American History and Culture, the Advisory Committee of the Office of the Chief of Military History for the U.S. Army, the American Historical Association, and the American Mississippi Valley Historical Association. He received awards from the Social Science Research Council (1940) and the Library of Congress (1945-1946).

Acquisition information:
The Charles S. Sydnor Papers (1729-1978 and undated) were donated to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in 1990 by members of the Sydnor family.
Processing information:

Processed by Janie Morris

Assisted by Daniel Daily

Date Completed: November 9, 1992

Encoded by Alvin Pollock

Finding aid updated to include processed additions 2000-0302, 2002-0051, and 2008-0145 in July 2009 by Alice Poffinberger

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Part of the Teaching Files Series in this collection is restricted.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in the Charles S. Sydnor papers have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the Rubenstein Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Charles S. Sydnor Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.