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40 Newspaper Titles, Blind Boy Fuller on DigitalNC

Headmast from the May 25, 1887 issue of Winston's The Friend of Home

This week we have another 40 newspaper titles and thousands of issues up on DigitalNC, including over 1,000 issues from The Messenger and Intelligencer from Wadesboro, the birthplace of Piedmont blues musician Blind Boy Fuller (read a brief biography about Fuller here). In this post we have some interesting new information regarding the blues legend’s birth!

Blind Boy Fuller dressed in a suit and hat, looking to the right, sitting on a bench holding a guitar.

Via John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records (PF-20001), Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library

Blind Boy Fuller was born Fulton Allen to parents Calvin Allen and Mary Jane Walker in Wadesboro, North Carolina, but the actual date of his birth is very much up for debate. The date of July 10 seems to be generally agreed upon, but the actual year tends to differ. While there are some sources that put it at 1904, folklorist Bruce Bastin puts Allen’s date of birth at July 10, 1907 based on statements from the North Carolina State Commission for the Blind, the Social Security Board, and the Durham County Welfare records. However, his 1941 death certificate states that he was 32 years old when he died, putting the year of his birth at 1908.

Newspaper notice that reads: Forbidden to Harbor. My son, Fulton Allen, left my home on Friday night, July 22nd. He is barely 16. All persons are hereby forbidden to hire him, to feed or clothe him, or in any way to harbor him or give him help. This notice is given and those who do not heed it will be duly prosecuted. CALVIN ALLEN, Colored

Rockingham Post-Dispatch, July 28, 1921

What we found makes things a little interesting. After the family relocated to Rockingham sometime in the early 1900s, his father posted a notice in the July 28, 1921 issue of the Rockingham Post-Dispatch that would suggest that none of these are accurate. The notice supports the idea of a July birthday but implies that, being 16 years old, he would have actually been born in 1905.

Bruce Bastin is the author of Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast and Early Masters of American Blues Guitar: Blind Boy Fuller with Stefan Grossman. The Bruce Bastin and Stefan Grossman Collections are housed here at UNC as part of the Southern Folklife Collection.

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

Charlotte

Edenton

Greensboro

High Point

Lexington

Milton

New Bern

Raleigh

Rocky Mount

Salem

Salisbury

Wadesboro

Wilmington

Winston

Winston-Salem

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.

 


34 Newspaper Titles up on DigitalNC!

Headmast for May 5, 1881 issue of Railroad Ticket from Weldon, N.C.

This week we have another 34 titles up on DigitalNC! In this batch we have an article from the Durham Tobacco Plant describing the construction of a new factory being built by W. Duke, Sons & Co., which contained a machine that would revolutionize their tobacco business: The Bonsack machine.

Clipping from July 16, 1884 issue of Durham Tobacco Plant detailing the construction of a new Duke Tobacco factory, including the Bonsack cigarette rolling machine.

Durham Tobacco Plant, July 16, 1884

In 1881, Virginia native James Bonsack created the first industrial cigarette rolling machine, a task that was done meticulously by hand up until this point. Bonsack partnered with W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1884 and supplied them with one of his machines that could roll 250,000 cigarettes in a single day, the equivalent of 48 employees. While this acquisition would make the Dukes the leading cigarette producer in the country, the automation of the process forced many skilled rollers out of work.

Factory built by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1884

W. Duke, Sons & Co. 1884 factory. Image via opendurham.org

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


Over 30 Newspaper titles from Asheville, Raleigh, Maxton, and more!

Header from December, 1906 issue of Our Mountain Home from Asheville, N.C.

This week we have another 32 titles up on DigitalNC! Eleven of these papers are from Asheville, including a few with a focus on the organized labor movement.

When people think of North Carolina, unions aren’t typically the first thing that come to mind, which makes sense since the state has the second lowest union representation rate in the country at 2.6%, only beating South Carolina by about 1%. However, in the first half of the 20th century, the labor movement was alive and well, that is until North Carolina officially became a Right-To-Work state in 1947, greatly limiting the power of unions in the state. In the 1950s, the unionization rate was 9% and it has been on the decline ever since.

March 30, 1901 issue of The Workman from Asheville, detailing the Socialist Party of Asheville's platform

The Workman, March 30, 1901

Clipping from July 30, 1931 issue of The Asheville Banner providing a diplomatic stance on the organized labor movement

The Asheville Banner, July 30, 1931

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

  1. The Elkin Tribune (Elkin, N.C.) – 1914-1920
  2. The Progress (Enfield, N.C.) – 1922-1924
  3. The North Carolina Times (Louisburg, N.C.) – 1848
  4. The Monroe Enquirer (Monroe, N.C.) – 1909-1942
  5. The Morganton Herald (Morganton, N.C.) – 1889-1890
  6. Rocky Mount Mail (Rocky Mount, N.C.) – 1873-1876
  7. Person County Courier (Roxboro, N.C.) – 1887-1889
  8. Johnston Courier (Smithfield, N.C.) – 1878
  9. Madison County Record (Marshall, N.C.) – 1902-1910
  10. The French Broad News (Marshall, N.C.) – 1907-1911
  11. Law’s Lash (Moravian Falls, N.C.) – 1911-1914
  12. The Lash (Moravian Falls, N.C.) – 1914-1930
  13. The Murphy Advance (Murphy, N.C.) – 1889
  14. Murphy Bulletin (Murphy, N.C.) – 1886-1888
  15. Union and Scottish Chief (Maxton, N.C.) – 1892-1893
  16. Scottish Chief (Maxton, N.C.) – 1893-1894
  17. Maxton Scottish Chief (Maxton, N.C.) – 1894-1898
  18. Southern Illustrated Age (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1875
  19. North Carolina Christian Advocate (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1856-1861
  20. The Eclectic (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1892
  21. The Special Informer (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1892
  22. Anti-Saloon Advocate (Asheville, N.C.) – 1905
  23. The Freeman (Asheville, N.C.) – 1933
  24. Asheville Life (Asheville, N.C.) – 1930
  25. Asheville Herald (Asheville, N.C.) – 1933
  26. The Asheville Banner (Asheville, N.C.) – 1931
  27. The Good Roads Bulletin (Asheville, N.C.) – 1900
  28. The Workman (Asheville, N.C.) – 1901
  29. Our Mountain Home (Asheville, N.C.) – 1906
  30. The Church Advocate (Asheville, N.C.) – 1943
  31. Mountain Home-Journal (Asheville, N.C.) – 1891
  32. Western North Carolina Methodist (Asheville, N.C.) – 1891-1892

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


80 Newspaper titles added to DigitalNC this week!

Header for April 1891 issue of Raleigh, N.C. newspaper The Golden Visitor

This week we have an astounding 80 titles up on DigitalNC! These papers span all across the state, covering 22 of North Carolina’s 100 counties! We have papers from smaller communities, like The Free Press from the town of Forest City (Fun fact: Forest City was originally named “Burnt Chimney” after a house that burned own in the area, leaving only a charred chimney behind). We also have well-established papers from Raleigh, such as The Raleigh Times and Evening Visitor, giving us a cross section of the entire state.

Header for the September 3, 1857 issue of Raleigh paper The Live Giraffe

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


61 New titles on DigitalNC!

Header from the June 20, 1862 issue of Raleigh, N.C. newspaper The Daily Telegraph

We have over 60 titles up on DigitalNC this week! While these papers are from all over North Carolina, about a third are from western Carolina. 18 from Asheville, one from Morganton, as well as our first additions from Bryson City and Bakersville! Bakersville, which gives us The Mountain Voice, only has a population of 466, but is home to the North Carolina Rhododendron Festival. Started in 1947, the festival was a relatively small affair until Spruce Pine resident O.D. Calhoun came into the picture. Calhoun owned several movie theaters across North Carolina and apparently had contacts to Walt Disney. He used these connections to promote the festival and make it into a nationally renowned event. It’s estimated that between five and ten thousand people attended the festival when Richard Nixon made an appearance in 1958.

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


40 Titles added to DigitalNC this week!

Header for August 31, 1888 issue of Durham, N.C. paper The Daily Tobacco Plant

This week we have 40 more titles on DigitalNC from all across North Carolina! Most of these papers are from Raleigh (such as the long-running Raleigh Evening Times and the Methodist Episcopal paper Raleigh Christian Advocate) as well as many papers from smaller communities. We have Rich Square’s Roanoke-Chowan Times, The Warrenton Gazette from Warrenton, The Roanoke News from Weldon, and Richmond County’s Rockingham Rocket. Whether it’s marriage announcements, classifieds for lost pets, or local elections where the winner barely reaches 100 votes, these newspapers give a glimpse into what small town life in North Carolina was like over a hundred years ago.

Header for the August 14, 1875 issue of Raleigh, N.C. paper Southern Illustrated Age

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


48 Titles on DigitalNC this week!

Header from Charlotte, N.C. paper The Southern Mechanic

This week we have 48 titles up on DigitalNC! One of the newspapers added this week is The Holden Record. The short-lived Raleigh publication, solely dedicated to discrediting gubernatorial candidate W.W. Holden, was created by abolitionist and Raleigh Register co-publisher H.H. Helper. Holden went on to be elected governor, even though the paper painted him as a violent man and blamed him for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Holden took an anti-Klan stance and this tension led to the Kirk-Holden War. He served until 1871, was impeached, and charged on eight counts for alleged crimes committed during this time. While the impeachment was politically motivated due to his suppression of the Klan, he is still the only North Carolina governor to have been impeached.

Clippings from 1868 newspaper The Holden Record where they blame W.W. Holden for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on 

Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions are the following:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


44 Titles added to DigitalNC this week!

Headers from Raleigh, North Carolina newspapers The State Journal, The Field and Fireside, The Home Rule, and The Rasp.

This week we have 44 newspaper titles up on DigitalNC ranging from 1799 t0 1919! The vast majority of these are Raleigh papers, but we also have some from Charlotte, Asheville, New Bern, Winston-Salem, and Chapel Hill.

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions are the following:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


29 Titles from Raleigh, Wilmington, and New Bern added to DigitalNC

Header for an 1855 Raleigh, North Carolina newspaper titled "The Arator"Clipping from 1871 Raleigh, North Carolina paper called "The Carolina Era"Clipping from 1944 Wilmington, North Carolina paper "The North Carolina Shipbuilder"

This week we have almost 30 newspaper titles added to DigitalNC. These titles include a Raleigh paper about agriculture and it’s “kindred arts,” an employee paper for North Carolina shipbuilders during World War II, and plenty of others from Wilmington, Raleigh, and New Bern!

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on 

Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions are the following:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


This week: 25 Titles including over 5,000 issues of The Wilmington Morning Star

Header for The North-Carolina Magazine from August 31, 1764

In following with our collaboration with newspapers.com, we have another large batch of newspapers this week! These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week we have over 5,000 issues of The Wilmington Morning Star. The paper was founded in 1867 by former Confederate Major William H. Bernard and played a role in stoking the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. In November of 1898 a biracial government was legitimately elected in Wilmington, which the paper claimed to be fraudulent. Earlier that year, Daily Record editor, Alexander Manly, published an article proposing that it was possible for white women to be attracted to black men. The Morning Star found this to be “vile and slanderous” and riled a mob of angry white supremacists to burn down the paper’s office then claim that they had not started the violence. The following clippings are from November 9, 10, and 11. The day before the massacre, the day of, and the day after.

A clipping from the November 9, 1898 issue of The Wilmington Morning Star with the headline "White Supremacy" A clipping from the November 10, 1898 issue of The Wilmington Morning Star with the headline "Citizens Aroused"A clipping from the November 11, 1898 issue of The Wilmington Morning Star with the headline "Bloody Conflict With Negroes"

Here are the rest of this week’s additions:

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.


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This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.

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