Jason Tomberlin

En Espanol…Libro de Hechos de El Viejo Estado del Norte

I received an interesting email from the Historical Publications Section of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History concerning The Old North State Fact Book…it is now published in Spanish. See below for more information:

The Historical Publications Section of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History announces the publication of its first Spanish-language title Libro de Hechos de El Viejo Estado del Norte (The Old North State Fact Book).

First published in 1976 and now in its sixth revised edition, The Old North State Fact Book provides a concise reference source for North Carolina’s early history, along with information on the State Capitol; the Legislative Building; the Executive Mansion; and the state flag, seal, song, and motto. The book also includes information about and color pictures of all official state symbols and festivals. A list of North Carolina’s governors (1585–2011) completes the text.

To order a copy of Libro de Hechos de El Viejo Estado del Norte, please visit:

http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/3482.html

North Carolina Civil War Resources–Online

The State Library of North Carolina has digitized and uploaded a number of Civil War related publications (both state documents and publications by the NC Confederate Centennial Commission) to the NC Digital Collections.

Bloody Sixth: the Sixth North Carolina Regiment http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,284870

Bloody Sixth: the Sixth North Carolina Regiment: Footnotes http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,285391

Register of North Carolina troops, 1861 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,269147

Register of North Carolina troops, 1864 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,269184

Five points in the record of NC in the great War of 1861-5 : report of the Committee http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,264493

Histories of the several regiments and battalions from NC, in the great war 1861-’65 v.1 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,264606

Histories of the several regiments and battalions from NC, in the great war 1861-’65 v.2 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,265485

Histories of the several regiments and battalions from NC, in the great war 1861-’65 v.3 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,266420

Histories of the several regiments and battalions from NC, in the great war 1861-’65 v.4 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,267315

Histories of the several regiments and battalions from NC, in the great war 1861-’65 v.5 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,268192

Guide to military organizations and installations: North Carolina, 1861-1865 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,269412

North Carolina at Gettysburg http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,269309

Roster of North Carolina troops in the War between the states, volume 1 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/utils/getfile/collection/p249901coll22/id/270017/filename/271656.pdf

Roster of North Carolina troops in the War between the states, volume 2 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll22/id/325283

Roster of North Carolina troops in the War between the states, volume 3 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll22/id/352800

Roster of North Carolina troops in the War between the states, volume 4 http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll22/id/352045

“He Was Such a Stupid Get”

A friend of mine and former graduate student employee here in Wilson just can’t get her mind off of all things North Carolina–even though she now lives over 700 miles away.

She emailed me after hearing Sir Walter Raleigh–namesake of our fair capital city–mentioned in the Beatle’s song, “I’m So Tired.” Here’s a portion of the lyrics:

I’m so tired, I haven’t slept a wink
I’m so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink
No,no,no.

I’m so tired I don’t know what to do
I’m so tired my mind is set on you
I wonder should I call you but I know what you would do

You’d say I’m putting you on
But it’s no joke, it’s doing me harm
You know I can’t sleep, I can’t stop my brain
You know it’s three weeks, I’m going insane
You know I’d give you everything I’ve got
for a little peace of mind

I’m so tired, I’m feeling so upset
Although I’m so tired I’ll have another cigarette
And curse Sir Walter Raleigh
He was such a stupid get.

Cool reference, but the last line had me stumped. What does “stupid get” mean? I had to guess it wasn’t good. This is what I found in the Oxford English Dictionary:

“In contemptuous use = brat. Also specifically a bastard; hence as a general term of abuse: a fool, idiot. (Cf. git n.) Now dial. and slang.

Raleigh’s star just keeps falling!

North Carolina Online Soil Survey Manuscripts

A colleague with the US Department of Agriculture just sent me this link:

http://soils.usda.gov/survey/online_surveys/north_carolina/

Soil surveys are produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey, a joint effort
of the United States Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, State
agencies including the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, and local
agencies. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) has leadership for the Federal part of the National Cooperative Soil Survey.

Also see the soil survey maps on the North Carolina Maps website.

An Insult…Or A Well-Kept Secret?

Say it ain’t so! There are no North Carolina towns listed in the latest version of CNN Money’s Top 100 “Best Places to Live“? Should we take it as an insult? Should we ask for a recount? Should we ask for a recalibration of the scales? Should we assume that it is some nefarious plot to return us to “Rip Van Winkle State” status? Should I swear off my daily habit of scouring www.cnn.com for news and North Carolina-related tidbits?

Or, should we, as one of my colleagues suggested, simply thank our lucky stars that we can remain a well-kept secret?

William Peace University…A New Name and…Men?

Breaking news from WRAL:

Under new name, Peace College will admit men as students

In honor of the change, I thought we’d share a few items from our collection on the soon-to-be-renamed institution in Raleigh:

Click here for more Peace postcards.

In addition, here’s a commencement invitation from 1883.

The Winston Cup Museum

The NASCAR Hall of Fame is in Charlotte, North Carolina (where it should be), but did you know that there is a Winston Cup Museum in Winston Salem? I have to admit that I didn’t–until I saw a billboard advertising it on I-40. Although it isn’t officially connected with RJR or any of that company’s affiliates, it “is a tribute to R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s 33-year NASCAR sponsorship.”

Although that sponsorship ended in 2003 (with the racing series renamed the “NEXTEL Cup Series” and now the “Sprint Cup Series”), I’m sure many long-time NASCAR fans remember their favorite driver winning the “Winston Cup.” I’m guessing this museum would be right up their alley.

New Photographic Collection Finding Aids: P73: North Carolina Railroad Station Photograph Collection and P74: Albertype Co. Collection of North Carolina Photographs

Greetings from the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives Technical Services!

We are pleased to announce that two new collections containing images from vast areas of N.C. now have finding aids containing enhanced arrangement and description.

Both of these collections were originally part of the North Carolina County Photographic Collection (P0001), but each is now an independent collection.

The two new collections are:

P73: North Carolina Railroad Station Photograph Collection
–Brand new EAD finding aid; Enhanced arrangement/description
–69 digital images in Digital NCCPA and available via the finding aid

The North Carolina Railroad Station Photograph Collection consists of 66 images of North Carolina railroad stations. Images depict railroad stations in over 40 counties in North Carolina and consists of photographic prints made from images taken by unidentified photographers. Materials are arranged by location, and many descriptions include the name of the railroad company that owned or managed the stations.

P74: Albertype Co. Collection of North Carolina Photographs
–Brand new EAD finding aid; Enhanced arrangement/description

The Albertype Co., headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., produced postcards and other printed materials from 1890 until 1952. The company utilized a specific photomechanical processes process invented by Joseph Albert in Australia in the late 1860s, which was an improvement on the collotype photographic process. The company had teams of photographers who traveled across the United States taking and buying images depicting people, places, and activities in all parts of the country. A majority of the images were published as postcards and marketed to be sold in the locales depicted in the images. The images in this collection, circa 1900-1930s, depict buildings, monuments, people, and scenes in a number of cities and towns across North Carolina in over 50 different counties. Included are black-and-white photographic negatives (original and duplicates) and black-and-white photographic prints.

Several of the negatives found in The Albertype Co. Collection of North Carolina Photographs (P0074) were used to created postcards that can be found in two other collection in the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives: The Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P0077) and the North Carolina Postcard Collection (P0052).

Digital versions of many of the postcards from both of these related collections can be viewed at http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/nc_post/index.php

Enjoy!

-NCCPA Technical Services

Family Bible Records Update

We last updated you on this project, which is a collaboration between the North Carolina State Archives and the State Library of North Carolina, in August 2010 (see blog entry). A long-time reader and blog-post-suggester extraordinaire, pointed out the most recent addition of 400+ more Bible records, and you can read about that addition here:

Over 400 Bible Records Added to Family Records Collection

You can access the Bible records here:

North Carolina Family Records Online

As one who used to pull the paper copies of these records for patrons, I can speak to their value and popularity. The genealogical content of a family Bible can be a goldmine of names, birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, maiden names, and lots of other important family history. If you have a North Carolina connection, take a look at this project. You never know what you’ll find.