NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

This collection consists of materials relating to Greensboro native Jesse Farlow’s 27-year career in the U.S. Navy. He served from World War II through the Vietnam War, rising in the ranks from seaman to senior chief quartermaster and naval instructor. The USS Rainier, on which he was stationed during World War II, is featured most heavily. Naval researchers may appreciate these materials, which include photographs of ships and their crews, as well as various printed materials such as certificates, a newsletter, and a seamanship book. A few items reveal a more lighthearted side of the Navy, and even a more personal side in the case of the Pacific Theater ink drawings by a crew member. The only Greensboro materials are a high school assignment and an atlas.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into four series and arranged within series by document type or subject. The series are: Drawings, ca. 1942-1944; Maps, 1976, 1985; Photographs, 1942-1968; and Printed Material, 1918-1966.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Jesse Farlow’s daughters, Gwen Farlow and Lynda Bare, in February 2016 and assigned the accession number 2015.58.1.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by volunteer Ann Koppen in March 2022.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jesse Quinton “Buck” Farlow (1922-2015) was born in Greensboro to Sally Bean and Joseph Farlow, and raised in the Glenwood neighborhood. After high school, he worked briefly for A.C. Spark Plug in Flint, Michigan, and then embarked on a long career in the U.S. Navy. During World War II, he served on the USS Rainier, which completed five missions in the Pacific. Also a veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Farlow was an attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the early 1960s, and he became an instructor in navigations and operations at the University of New Mexico after completing an instructor’s class at the Naval Training Center San Diego in 1963. During his career, he rose through the ranks from seaman to quartermaster and senior chief quartermaster, and he served on mine sweepers and four other naval vessels. His last assignment was to the Fleet Reserve on the USS Columbus in Portsmouth, Virginia. When not on assignment, he lived in Greensboro, where he also retired. He was a York Rite Mason, as well as a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem.

Biographical Sources: The biographical information was acquired from Jesse Farlow’s daughter Gwen, his obituary (News & Record, June 30, 2015), and copies of his military records. These sources and an informal list of ancestors can be found in the folder at the front of the collection.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The types of materials in this collection include maps, photographs, artwork, certificates, and other printed materials. Almost all these items document Jesse Farlow’s experience in the U.S. Navy during wartime, especially World War II, and later as a naval instructor in New Mexico. Those interested in the U.S. Navy will appreciate the creative and even humorous USS Rainier newsletter and certificates (4:2-3), as well as the edition of Reed’s Seamanship (1918; 4:1). A map produced for the 1985 reunion of the USS Rainier crew (2:2) presents a chronology of the ship’s ports and the routes of its missions, while ink drawings by a crew member feature scenes from the ship and Pacific Theater during World War II (1:1). The only items from Greensboro are a high school assignment (4:6) and a 1976 Greensboro atlas (2:1).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Drawings.  1 folder (10 items).  ca. 1942-1944.

These ten ink drawings were produced by E.M. Parker, one of Jesse Farlow’s shipmates on the USS Rainier. They depict buildings and landscapes on some of the Pacific islands, as well as part of an interisland ship and shipboard scenes on the USS Rainier.

2. Maps.  2 folders (3 items).  1976, 1985.

This series contains a 1976 atlas of Greensboro (2:1) along with a map and chronology from the 1985 reunion of the USS Rainier crew that details their five trips in the Pacific Theater during World War II (2:2).

3. Photographs.  2 folders (9 items).  ca. 1942-1968.

All of the photographs pertain to Jesse Farlow’s service in the U.S. Navy. He is featured receiving an award and in a group photograph taken upon his graduation from an instructor’s class at the Naval Training Center San Diego (3:1). Also included are photographs of the ships on which he served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War (3:2).

4. Printed Material.  6 folders (7 items).  1918-1966.

This series spans from Jesse Farlow’s student days, with a high school worksheet on rumblings in Europe (4:6), through his tenure as an NROTC instructor in navigations and operations at the University of New Mexico in the 1960s. A newspaper clipping recounting protests in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) over U.S. involvement in Cuba dates from his time as attaché to the U.S. Embassy there (4:4). The most colorful items are from his time on the USS Rainier: a newsletter composed by the crew reporting on the war around the world, lightened by humorous cartoons, articles, and a poem (4:3); and two whimsical certificates, one from Neptune and one from the also mythical Green Octopus (4:2).

FOLDER LISTING

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The John E. Hodgin Jr. Family Papers consist primarily of correspondence and photographs pertaining to the Hodgin family, who were Quakers and lived in the Guilford College area for much of the 20th century. The focus is John E. Hodgin Jr., with many letters and photographs from his service in Europe during World War II, while numerous other photographs relate to his parents, his sisters, and their descendants. Of particular note is a manuscript describing the Guilford College area and its residents in the early 1900s. Researchers interested in the Hodgin family, the town of Guilford College, or local Quaker history may find this collection useful.

Arrangement: This collection is organized in four series and arranged within series by subject. The series are: Correspondence, 1912-1996; Miscellaneous, 1820-1996; Photographs, 1899-2005; and Printed Material, 1897-ca. 1989.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Mary Beth Kureczka in October 2015 and assigned the accession number 2015.56.1. The donor found these items in the attic at 811 Dolley Madison Road.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by volunteer Leah Nykamp in March 2023.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Ernest Hodgin Sr. (1876-1958) was born in Guilford County to Martha Blair and David J. Hodgin (1829-1898), a politician, teacher, and later farmer in Sumner Township. After farming as a young adult, John Hodgin Sr. worked for the U.S. Post Office in Greensboro for forty years, including as a supervisor. He married Aileen Ross Hodgin (1884-1975) in 1913, and the couple had three children: Julia Blair, John Ernest Jr., and Jonaleen. As Quakers, the family were lifelong members of New Garden Friends Meeting. In 1918, they moved from downtown Greensboro to a house they named Quaker Acres at 811 Dolley Madison Road near Guilford College.

John Ernest Hodgin Jr. (1916-2011), known by family and friends as Jack, attended Guilford High School and earned a B.S. in mathematics from Guilford College in 1937. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Forces as a weather forecaster, first attached to the British Royal Air Force and then as part of the Eighth Air Force and Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. After returning to Greensboro, he married Georgia Newton (1915-2003), and the couple had a son, John E. Hodgin III. In 1949, he became an insurance salesman with Federated Mutual Insurance Co., for which he worked for nearly two decades. He was living at Quaker Acres by 1970, and the Greensboro chapter of the American Red Cross recognized his many blood donations with the first Thomas Z. Osborne Memorial Award in 1992.

Both Julia Blair (1914-1990) and Jonaleen (1918-2002) also attended Guilford High School and Guilford College. In 1942, Julia Blair married Robert Kendall. The couple moved to Massachusetts and later Florida, and they had two children: Kim and Robert. Jonaleen married Walter A. Jacobsen and had two children: Jonalyn and John Nils. After leaving North Carolina, she lived in New York City and then Florida.

Biographical Sources: The sources for this biographical note include items in the collection; the Greensboro city directories; Ancestry.com; The Quaker (1937); the obituaries of John E. Hodgin Jr. (News & Record, February 10, 2011), John E. Hodgin Sr. (The Greensboro Record, September 17, 1958), Aileen Hodgin (Greensboro Daily News, April 2, 1975), Julia Blair Hodgin Kendall (News & Record, February 22, 1990), and Jonaleen Hodgin Jacobsen (News & Record, March 8, 2002); and “John E. Hodgin Jr. wins Osborne Award / Blood donor keeps promise” (Greensboro News & Record, September 30, 1992).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The types of materials in this collection include letters, photographic prints and negatives, financial and legal documents, newspaper clippings, and a plaque. The majority of items relate to members of the Hodgin family. A highlight of the collection is a manuscript describing the road between Guilford College Station and the college, along with the people living there in the early 1900s. Also of note is an early 1960s directory for New Garden Friends Meeting with a history of the meeting. Genealogical materials provide background on the Hodgin family, while notes and photos document John E. Hodgin Jr.’s service in Europe during World War II. Researchers interested in the Hodgin family, World War II veterans, the Guilford College area, or local Quaker history may find this collection useful.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence.  8 folders (23 items).  1912-1996, undated.

The correspondence contains greeting cards, John E. Hodgin Jr.’s commencement announcement from Guilford High School, and a calling card for Aileen Hodgin and her daughter, Julia Blair (1:1). Of particular interest are John E. Hodgin Jr.’s notes and photos from his time in the military (1:3). Also included are long letters from his maternal aunt, Ona Hodgin, to her sister Aileen about her travels (1:7).

2. Miscellaneous.  5 folders (20 items).  1820-1996.

The most noteworthy items in this series are the genealogical materials, which include family trees, a copy of the family crest, and a brief synopsis of the family history in America (2:4). An article by Mary Mendenhall Hobbs about the life and faith of David Hodgin was reproduced from the February 1899 issue of The Guilford Collegian. Also of interest is a copy of the marriage license of Georgia Newton and John E. Hodgin Jr. (2:4). Among the financial and legal documents are Aileen Hodgin’s passport, Georgia Newton Hodgin’s driver’s licenses, and a Home Federal Savings and Loan Association savings account book (2:3). The Guilford College Civitan Club Award conferred upon John E. Hodgin Jr. demonstrates his involvement in the community (2:2).

3. Photographs.  10 folders (ca. 450 items).  1899-2005, undated.

Almost all the photographic prints feature members of the Hodgin family, with a few of the family home named Quaker Acres. Multiple generations are depicted during a period spanning over a century, but the majority of the prints relate to John E. Hodgin Jr., his parents, and his two sisters (3:4-5, 3:7-8). Some photos are professional portraits by Greensboro studios, including Dixon White, Eutsler Studio, Howerton Studio, and J.A. Leonard, while others are more casual, taken at the family homes. Most of the negatives were taken by John E. Hodgin Jr. during his time serving in Europe during World War II (3:1). They show parts of England, Scotland, and Italy, and depict his fellow soldiers, army bases, army vehicles, and civilians.

4. Printed Material.  5 folders (14 items).  1897-1982, undated.

The highlight of the printed material is the manuscript titled “Station Road.” Written by Hodgin neighbor Harriet Crutchfield Hood, it describes the road between Guilford College Station and the college itself, as well as the people living there in the early 1900s (4:5). The Quaker community in Guilford County is also featured through a 1960s directory from New Garden Friends Meeting with a history of the meeting, as well as a list of famous women involved in the meeting (4:3). Also contained in this series are newspaper clippings that mention Hodgin family members (4:4), a 1930s class roll from Guilford High School that includes John Hodgin Jr., and a copy of an 1898 list of students at Sumner Township School that includes Ona and Aileen Hodgin (4:2).

FOLDER LISTING

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

This collection consists primarily of correspondence, financial and legal documents, and printed materials relating to the McGibbony and Armfield families. Both families settled in Guilford County in the 1700s, were farmers, and owned a small number of slaves. Included are personal letters, promissory notes, receipts, slave bills of sale, and property deeds. Researchers interested in Guilford County during the 18th-19th centuries and slavery will find this collection of use.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into five series by document type. The series are: Correspondence, 1796-1922; Financial, 1780-1876; Legal, 1763-1882; Miscellaneous, 1809-1879, undated; and Printed Material, ca. 1794-1953.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Christopher Liles in November 2015 and assigned accession number 2015.51.1. The donor acquired these materials through his paternal grandmother, Rachel Hudson Liles, who was the daughter of Lina Armfield and Sam Hudson.

Processing: This collection was organized by volunteer Teddi Burnett in 2016, and the finding aid was prepared by volunteer Olivia Carteaux in October 2017. The arrangement was adjusted and the finding aid was updated by Archivist Elise Allison in early 2020.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Armfield, a Quaker farmer from northern England, came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1718 with his wife. He moved to what is now southern Guilford County in 1765 with most of his family, except his three married daughters who stayed in Pennsylvania. John’s oldest son William had seven sons, one of whom was David Armfield (1760-1845).

David Armfield’s third son, Needham (1809-1854), married Margaret Huston, and one of their children, Emsley Alexander (1839-1915), became a clerk for the county court in Monroe, North Carolina. He married Rachel Philpher, and their daughter Lina (1883-1959) then married Sam H. Hudson. David’s youngest son, Emsley (1813-1879), became Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners in Guilford County and married Jane McGibbony (1811-1900). Their daughter Roxana (1854-1926) married Hon. John Lee King. Jane’s father was David McGibbony (1779-1865), and her grandfather was Patrick McGibbony (1744-1804).

The McGibbony family, like the Armfields, were farmers. Both owned small farms and kept 4-10 slaves who worked on their farms and in their homes; documents relating to several of these slaves are found in this collection. Also included are deeds relating to Richard and Samuel Ozment. The Ozments joined the Armfield family in 1866 with the union of Joseph C. Armfield and Elizabeth J. Ozment, but her relation to Richard and Samuel Ozment remains unclear.

Biographical Sources: The early history of the Armfield family was obtained from The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, by Sallie W. Stockard (Knoxville, TN: Gaut-Ogden Co., Printers, 1902). Additional biographical information was found in the collection, on Ancestry.com and on AncestryHeritageQuest.com. The relationships between the key family members represented in these materials are summarized on the family tree in the folder at the beginning of the collection.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE   

This collection consists of correspondence, financial and legal documents, printed materials, and other miscellaneous items relating to or collected by the McGibbony and Armfield families. The bulk of the materials are financial and legal documents, particularly promissory notes, receipts, slave bills of sale, and property deeds. Also included are personal letters and writings, as well as a few newspapers published in Greensboro in the late 19th century.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence.  8 folders (ca. 36 items).  1796-1922.

Included in this series are both business and personal correspondence to and from various members of the McGibbony and Armfield families. Of particular interest are letters to Mrs. John Lee (Roxana) King from Horace J. Smith regarding the recital of Mr. Polk Miller (1:4).

2. Financial.  8 folders (ca. 111 items).  1780-1876.

The financial documents include promissory notes, receipts, and slave bills of sale belonging to and involving members of the McGibbony and Armfield families. Of particular note are slave purchase records from Emsley Armfield (2:2), David McGibbony (2:4), and Patrick McGibbony (2:6). Often these purchases included children and partial families. Also of interest is H.C. Worth’s stock certificate for 500 shares in the Phoenix Mining Company, which is signed by company president Cyrus P. Mendenhall (2:8).

3. Legal.  12 folders (ca. 75 items).  1763-1882.

This series consists primarily of property deeds involving members of the McGibbony and Armfield families, as well as others of unknown relation to these families. Some of these sales were from the State of North Carolina, and most of the land that changed hands was on South Buffalo Creek. Besides members of the McGibbony and Armfield families, people mentioned in the deeds include Arthur Bland, William Macy, Peter and Jeremiah Field, and John and Daniel Gillespie. Some of these deeds likely represent previous transactions for lands that were later purchased by members of the McGibbony or Armfield families.

Among the other legal materials in this series are summons to appear before a Justice of the Peace, judgements to be paid, wills, and papers relating to estates and guardianships. Of particular note is the Supreme Court decision in the case of David Armfield and his wife Betsy against her four sisters; it addressed the inclusion of children and grandchildren in the appraisal of a slave named Beck, who was left to Betsy after the death of her father but whose worth was to be shared between the four sisters (1790s; 3:1). Items relating to David McGibbony include a license to operate a still “for distilling spirits from domestic materials” (1817), an agreement with an attorney hired to make claims on his father’s service in the American Revolution (1834) and two copies of his will (1850; 3:10). The miscellaneous folder contains letterhead from the law office of Levi M. Scott, a blank State of North Carolina militia appointment, and the will of Peter Threewitts of Albemarle Parish, Virginia (1801; 3:12)

4. Miscellaneous.  4 folders (7 items).  1809-1879, undated.

Miscellaneous items include a handwritten memoriam for Emsley Armfield by the Board of County Commissioners (4:1) and pages from the Armfield family Bible with genealogy (4:2). Also contained in this series are personal writings, including a poem about death and an essay entitled “On Going to School” (4:3).

5. Printed Material.  5 folders (18 items).  ca. 1794-1953.

The printed materials include a map of the new state of Tennessee (ca. 1794; 5:2), as well as newspapers and newspaper clippings. Of particular note is a Commercial Bulletin published in Greensboro with multiple ads for products carried by the Porter & Eckel drugstore and D.W.C. Benbow’s variety stores in Greensboro and Jamestown (1867; 5:5).

FOLDER LISTING

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Ida Freeman Jenkins Papers consist of a biographical scrapbook and 100th birthday booklet, as well as diplomas and awards, all of which highlight the interests and accomplishments of a local African American educator and activist. Ida Jenkins was a social studies teacher at Greensboro’s segregated Dudley High school and then NC A&T State University. She also devoted herself to many community causes and her church. The richest items in the collection are the scrapbook and booklet, which both contain newspaper clippings and profiles of her background, family, and accomplishments. These materials reveal a life of dedication and quiet persistence in the face of segregation and societal neglect of her community. Researchers interested in lesser-known African American community leaders will find photographs spanning five generations and over 100 years, as well as biographical details and some personal perspective.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into three series and arranged within series by document type and/or subject. The series are: Photograph, 1960s; Printed Material, 1937-2012; and Scrapbook, ca. 1911-2006.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Ida Jenkins’ adopted daughter, Florine S. Jackson, in July 2014 and assigned the accession number 2015.44.1.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was completed by volunteer Ann Koppen in January 2022.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Ida Freeman (1911-2015) was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and attended Lincoln High School. Both of her parents were accomplished and civically engaged, and she was raised in comfortable and socially active circumstances until the Great Depression, which forced her to suspend her studies at Talladega College. She wanted to be a doctor, but Alabama had no medical schools for African Americans. Instead, she earned a degree at Alabama State Teachers College (later Alabama State University) in 1932 followed by a B.S. (1937) and M.S. (1947) in social studies from A&T College (later NC A&T State University), as well as master’s certificates in education from UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro.

Ida Freeman married her neighbor Benjamin Jenkins in 1949. As a social studies teacher at Greensboro’s segregated Dudley High School for 30 years, she inspired her students with stories of African American and white leaders and thinkers. She taught three of the students who later participated in the Woolworth’s sit-ins, one of whom credited her with instilling responsibility, courage, and pride. She also taught and mentored Josephine Boyd, the first African American to graduate from Greensboro (later Grimsley) Senior High School. After her retirement from Dudley High School in 1970, Jenkins taught African American history at NC A&T State University for five years. She also continued to teach students of all ages who regularly visited and studied in her basement library. Her husband died in 1972, and when her last relative died in 1984, she designated as her heir a former high school homeroom student, Florine Jackson, whom she considered her daughter and who organized her 100th birthday celebration.

Jenkins was honored by many of the institutions she served, as well as by the NAACP as Woman of the Year in 1982 and by The Carolina Peacemaker. A senior center, the Coley-Jenkins Independent Living Center, was named in her honor. She was clerk of Providence Baptist Church for 35 years and active in all its outreach. She also served as president of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. A board member, two-time “woman of the year,” and volunteer at the Hayes-Taylor YMCA, which she saw as crucial to the future of the neighborhood’s children, she was instrumental in fundraising and planning to save the Y, which became a showcase among such facilities for African Americans in the United States.

Biographical Sources: The biographical information was acquired from materials in the collection, a feature article entitled “Teaching from memory” (News & Record, February 25, 2001), and an obituary entitled “Noted educator, Ida Jenkins dies at 103” (The Carolina Peacemaker, April 11, 2015).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This collection contains a biographical scrapbook and booklet, as well as diplomas, awards, and photographs belonging to Ida Freeman Jenkins. The awards point to the high esteem in which she was held by the many institutions she served professionally and as a volunteer. The richest items in the collection, the scrapbook (3:1-2) and booklet produced for her 100th birthday (2:3), provide the main facts of her upbringing, education, professional career, and civic activities. The news clippings in these items hold the most flavor, especially those whose authors solicited her experiences with segregation and civil rights. The interview at the end of the booklet contains enlightening information on the details of segregation.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Photograph.  1 folder (1 item).  1960s.

This color portrait of Ida Freeman Jenkins was likely made in the 1960s.

2. Printed Material.  5 folders (7 items).  1937-2012.

The highlight of this series is a booklet produced in honor of Jenkins’ 100th birthday. It documents her life through items from her scrapbook, as well as other photographs, newspaper articles, and tributes from family, friends, and colleagues. Also of note are various documents of recognition that include a certificate of merit from Greensboro Public Schools, where she taught for 30 years; a certificate in recognition of her contributions to the Hayes-Taylor Memorial YMCA, one of her strongest causes; a resolution by NC A&T saluting Jenkins on her 100th birthday as an outstanding teacher and humanitarian; and a proclamation from her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, naming March 24, 2012, as “Soror Ida F. Jenkins Day.” The series also contains Jenkins’ diploma from A&T College and a program from an awards banquet at Hayes-Taylor Memorial YMCA.

3. Scrapbook.  2 folders (7 items).  ca. 1911-2006.

This scrapbook was prepared for Ida Jenkins by Carliss Lee Jacobs in 2006. The volume holds captioned photographs and newspaper articles covering her life from childhood, as well as photographs of and brief information about her parents and grandparents. Some photographs feature social and community service events, and the newspaper articles add biographical details. The loose items include the studio portrait used in some later newspaper articles about her, a copy of the statement of intent that established her endowment fund for scholarships at NC A&T State University, a newspaper article with her reflections on urban renewal (and its effects on Greensboro’s primary black neighborhood), and scrapbook pages containing photographs of Talladega College, Alabama’s oldest historically black college.

FOLDER LISTING

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Dean/Brown Family Papers consist primarily of printed materials such as certificates and newspaper articles relating to the lives of African American couple Laura Dean and Franklin Jenkins Brown. Most documents focus on their careers as educators in the Greensboro public schools. The collection also contains items relating to Abraham H. Peeler, the principal of J.C. Price School, and Margaret Dean Freeman, who was Laura Dean Brown’s cousin and a graduate of Bennett College. Researchers interested in African American schools and educators in Greensboro and North Carolina may find this collection useful.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into three series by subject and arranged within series by subject and/or document type. The series are: Brown, Franklin Jenkins, 1976-1979; Brown, Laura Dean, 1938-1991; and Miscellaneous, 1977-1994.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Laura Dean Brown’s niece, Sylvia Dean Stanback, in September 2013 and assigned the accession number 2013.31.1.

Processing: This collection was organized by volunteer Alina Ramirez in June 2022, and the finding aid was completed by volunteer Leah Nykamp in July 2022.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Franklin Jenkins Brown (1914-1979) was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute (later Hampton University) and a master’s from New York University, he moved to Greensboro to become an industrial arts teacher at Washington Street School. In 1945, he began working at Dudley High School as a shop teacher, and he went on to become a guidance counselor and assistant principal before serving as the principal for eleven years. He was also a Mason, a potentate of the Khalif Court No. 144 Shrine, a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and a trustee of Providence Baptist Church.

Laura Dean Brown (1912-1998) was born in Guilford County to Pearl Harris and James Monroe Dean Jr. In 1928, she married Willard S. Holt, and the couple had one son, Willard S. Holt Jr. (1928-2001). After her first husband’s death, she married Franklin Jenkins Brown in 1939. She was an elementary school teacher at Washington Street Primary School from 1933 to 1936 and then at J.C. Price School. In 1957, Superintendent Ben L. Smith appointed her a supervisor for the city schools, a position from which she retired in 1974. Along with her second husband, she was a member of Providence Baptist Church.

Laura Dean Brown’s paternal first cousin, Margaret Dean Freeman (1909-2012), was born in Greensboro to Alice L. Beville and Horace Dean. She started attending Bennett College in 1926, after it became a college for women, and graduated in 1930. After teaching for ten years at Booker T. Washington High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, she returned to Guilford County to teach. She married Selwyn Taylor Beavers (1903-1944) in 1935 and Fred Freeman in 1947. After her first husband’s death, she succeeded him as a salesperson at Homeland Tailors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Biographical Sources: The sources for this biographical note include materials in the collection, the Guilford County Register of Deeds database, Ancestry.com, the Greensboro city directories, Laura Dean Brown’s obituary (News & Record, March 31, 1998), and Willard S. Holt Jr.’s obituary (News & Record, May 19, 2001).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The types of materials in this collection include certificates, programs, and photographs, as well as photocopies of correspondence and newspaper articles. The bulk of the items relate to the careers of African American elementary school teacher and supervisor Laura Dean Brown and her husband, Dudley High School teacher and principal Franklin Jenkins Brown. Researchers studying local African American educational leaders or the Greensboro public schools during segregation may find this collection of interest.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Brown, Franklin Jenkins.  3 folders (4 items).  1976-1979, n.d.

This series contains materials relating to the career and later life of Franklin Jenkins Brown. A newspaper article published at the time of his retirement in 1976 goes into detail about his career at Dudley High School (1:3). Also included are a photograph of him as an adult (1:1), a copy of his obituary in the Greensboro Daily News (1:3), and the program from his funeral at Providence Baptist Church (1:2).

2. Brown, Laura Dean.  4 folders (13 items).  1938-1991.

The career of Laura Dean Brown and the various organizations to which she belonged are the focus of this series. Accolades that she received throughout her life include her M.S. in Rural Education from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (later NC A&T State University), a certificate of membership in the Bennett College Century Club, and two certificates signifying her long history as a member of Providence Baptist Church (2:1). A photograph of her at age 79 has taped to its back an invitation to a reception in honor of her retirement as Supervisor of Greensboro City Schools (2:4).

Of particular interest is Laura Dean Brown’s personnel file, which contains a form that she completed listing the schools at which she taught through 1938 (2:2). Also included in this folder are copies of several letters. A 1950 letter from Greensboro School Superintendent Ben L. Smith informs her that she was selected to work in the experimental special education program because of her “outstanding teaching ability,” while a 1957 letter from him appoints her as an elementary school supervisor. Another letter discusses the music program at J.C. Price School. Abraham H. Peeler was the principal of that school when Laura Dean Brown taught there, and this series also contains copies of newspapers clippings written about him and a program from an appreciation banquet in his honor with a handwritten note from him (2:3).

3. Miscellaneous.  2 folders (4 items).  1977-1994, n.d.

Items relating to several individuals associated with Bennett College can be found in this series. A copy of an image shows Bette Beville Cash and claims that she was the first female graduate of Bennett College (3:1). Multiple newspaper clippings about her niece, Margaret Dean Freeman, discuss Freeman’s early life and various accolades that she received from her alma mater, Bennett College (3:2). Other articles feature the brickyard owned by her grandfather, James Monroe Dean, and Bennett College librarian Constance H. Marteena, who wrote a biography of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, the founder of Palmer Memorial Institute (3:2).

FOLDER LISTING

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The James E. Sifford Papers contain photographs and printed materials relating to one of the first supermarkets in Greensboro, the A&P store on Commerce Place. Jim Sifford began his career with A&P in Hickory, North Carolina, in the mid-1920s. Several years after moving to Greensboro in the mid-1930s, he was selected to manage the new Commerce Place location. The majority of the collection consists of photographs, including many interior and exterior images of local and regional A&P stores. The collection also contains newspaper clippings with biographical information about Jim Sifford and other A&P managers, as well as an article about the closing of the Commerce Place store in the 1970s.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into two series, and within each series materials are arranged by document type or subject. The series are: Photographs, ca. 1938-1976; and Printed Materials, ca. 1938-1977.

Provenance: This collection was donated by James Sifford’s daughter, Marion S. Clendenin, in April 2012 and assigned the accession number 2012.17.1.

Processing: This collection was organized by volunteer Alice Bailey in early 2014. The finding aid was begun by Alice Bailey and completed by volunteer Kim Lanham in November 2014.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

James “Jim” E. Sifford was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1900. After serving in the Navy during World War I, he worked for American Woolen Mills in Salisbury for five years. Beginning his career with The Great Atlantic & Pacific (A&P) Tea Company as a clerk in Hickory, he rose through the ranks to manage stores in Mooresville, Lexington, and Winston-Salem before moving to Greensboro in 1934 to head the store at 220 West Market Street. When A&P opened its first supermarket in Greensboro on Commerce Place on March 10, 1938, Sifford was its manager. After being promoted to supervisor of all Greensboro-Durham area stores in the 1950s, Sifford retired from A&P in 1964. He married Gertrude Self of Spencer in 1923 and had one daughter, Marion. Sifford died on March 6, 1982.

Biographical Sources:  The sources used to compile this biographical note include newspaper clippings in the collection and Sifford’s obituary (The Greensboro Record, March 8, 1982).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The majority of this collection consists of photographs of the interiors and exteriors of A&P stores. The locations range from the Commerce Place A&P, where Sifford was manager, to Charlotte, Graham, and Winston-Salem stores. Several photographs are of employees or employee-related activities. The collection includes four images of Sifford. It also contains several newspaper clippings about his various positions with A&P, other store managers, and his life after retirement.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Photographs.  14 folders (34 items).  ca. 1938-1976.

Most of the photographs feature product displays inside various A&P stores, but some images of store exteriors are included. While most were taken at the Commerce Place store (1:3-6), a few photos show the store on Liberty Street in Winston-Salem (1:11). Some highlight events such as an employee banquet in 1951 (1:2), a car give-away in 1954 (1:9-10), and a managers’ meeting (1:8). Only three photos shed light on Sifford’s life beyond his work for A&P: one showing him with other members of the Greensboro Rifle Club (1:12) and two of him and his wife with the toys they made and sold in retirement (1:14).

2. Printed Materials.  2 folders (4 items).  ca. 1938-1977.

The printed materials consist of newspaper clippings, most of which are affixed to three loose scrapbook pages. They contain articles about Jim Sifford’s promotion and retirement, other store managers, and the closing of the Commerce Place store in the 1970s (2:1). Also included are two clippings with images of Girl Scout events in which Sifford’s daughter Marion participated.

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