Correspondence, 1851-1956

Scope and content:

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.

Contents

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