Guide to the Archives

Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of North Carolina

This Guide to the Archives, along with the Finding Aid & Collection List, provides a brief overview of the scope and content of the ECW collection. Visits to the archives are by appointment only. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting Lynn Hoke at archives@ecw-nc.org or (919) 834-7474 (Diocesan House.)

Processed by Lynn Hoke, 2007

The Archives of the Episcopal Church Women
c/o Lynn Hoke, Archivist/Historian
Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
200 West Morgan Street, Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27601

E-mail: archives@ecw-nc.org

Access: Collection is open by appointment.

Creators: Bishops of the Diocese of North Carolina (1932-1999), Executive Officers of the Women\’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions (1882-1959) and the Episcopal Church Women (1959-Present) of the Diocese of North Carolina.

Title: Archives of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of North Carolina

Dates: 1882 – present

Extent: 32 linear feet; approximately 60 manuscript boxes

Abstract: The collection contains annual reports, yearbooks, handbooks, correspondence, meeting minutes, financial records, photographs, promotional resources, conference materials, scholarship and grant applications, historical sketches, newsletters, pamphlets, books, memorabilia, audio and video recordings. Sources include diocesan and branch officers, Bishops, Provincial and National officers and groups, and conference leaders.

Historical Note: In 1872 the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church announced the formation of a Woman\’s Society and Auxiliary to the Board of Missions. Ten years later The Woman\’s Auxiliary of the Diocese of North Carolina to the Board to Missions held its organizational meeting in conjunction with the 1882 Diocesan Convention in Tarborough. Bishop Theodore Lyman appointed Jane Renwick Wilkes the first Diocesan Executive Secretary. The Auxiliary grew steadily from its inception, following Bishop Lyman\’s charge \”to do mission work in foreign and domestic fields, by means of money and goods.\” Between 1904 and 1952 the Colored Convocation Women\’s Auxiliary held separate branch meetings, but made financial contributions and regular reports to the common Annual Meeting. The national organization changed the name to Episcopal Churchwomen in 1958, then again to Episcopal Church Women in 1988.

Preferred Citation: The credit line for all materials reproduced with permission should read, \”Courtesy, the Archives of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of North Carolina\”

Arrangement and Record Group List:

1. RECORD GROUP – BISHOPS

Edwin Anderson Penick – Bishops – Boxes 1 – 3
Richard Henry Baker – Bishops – Box 4
Thomas Augustus Fraser – Bishops – Box 4, 5 & 6
W. Moultrie Moore – Bishops – Box 6
Robert Whittridge Estill – Bishops – Box 7
Robert Carroll Johnson, Jr. – Bishops – Box 8

2. RECORD GROUP – PRESIDENTS

Margaret Motsinger – Presidents – Box 1 – 5
Jackson . . . Darst [various] – Presidents – Box 6
Scott Evans – Presidents – Boxes 7 – 10
Shara Partin – Presidents – Box 11 – 14
Gail Fennimore – Presidents – Box 14
Sylvia Nash – Presidents – Box 15 & 16

3. RECORD GROUP – EXECUTIVE BOARD

Administration – Executive Board – Box 1 & 2
Program – Executive Board – Box 2
CPC Director – Executive Board – Box 3
UTO Treasurer – Executive Board – Box 4,5 & 6
Treasurer – Executive Board – Box 6 – 15

4. RECORD GROUP – MEETINGS

District – Meetings – Box 1
Annual – Meetings – Box 2 – 7
Triennial [National] – Meetings – Box 8 – 10

5. RECORD GROUP – PUBLICATIONS

Reports – Publications – Box 1 – 3 & Bookshelf
Yearbooks – Publications – Box 4 & Bookshelf
Periodicals – Publications – Box 5 – 8
Pamphlets – Publications – Box 8 – 10
Books – Publications – Bookshelf

6. RECORD GROUP – AUDIO/VISUAL

Videotapes – Bookshelf
Audiotapes – Bookshelf

BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA

John Stark Ravenscroft – Bishop 1823-1830
Levi Silliman Ives – Bishop 1831-1853
Thomas Atkinson – Bishop 1853-1881
*Theodore Benedict Lyman – Bishop 1881-1893 – Bishop Coadjutor 1873-1881
Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr. – Bishop 1893-1932 – Bishop Coadjutor 1893
Henry B. Delaney – Bishop Suffragan 1918-1928
Edwin Anderson Penick – Bishop 1932-1959 – Bishop Coadjutor 1922-1932
Richard Henry Baker – Bishop 1959-1965 – Bishop Coadjutor 1950-1959
Thomas Augustus Fraser – Bishop 1965-1983 – Bishop Coadjutor 1960-1965
William Moultrie Moore – Bishop Suffragan 1967-1975
Robert Whittridge Estill – Bishop 1983-1994 – Bishop Coadjutor 1980-1983
Frank Harris Vest, Jr. – Bishop Suffragan 1985-1989
Huntington Williams, Jr. – Bishop Suffragan 1990-1996
Robert Carroll Johnson, Jr. – Bishop 1994-2000
James Gary Gloster – Bishop Suffragan 1996-2007
Michael Bruce Curry – Bishop 2000-
Alfred Clark \”Chip\” Marble Jr. – Assisting Bishop 2004-
William Otis Gregg – Bishop Assistant 2007-

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE WOMAN\’S AUXILIARY & EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN

Woman\’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions – Appointed Executive Secretaries & Presidents

Jane Renwick Wilkes (Mrs. John) – St. Peter\’s, Charlotte – 1882-1895
Miss Mary E. Horner – St. Stephen\’s, Oxford – 1895-1904
Margaret C. D. Burgwyn (Mrs. W. H. S.) – Grace, Weldon – 1905
Jane Renwick Wilkes, Permanent President – 1905-1912
Miss Katherine Drane Cheshire – Calvary, Tarborough – 1905-1912 & 1913-1918
Mary McBee Hoke (Mrs. William Alexander) – Raleigh – 1918-1920
Mrs. W. L. Wall – St. Matthew\’s, Hillsborough – 1920-1921

*The Woman\’s Auxiliary in the Diocese of North Carolina began under Bishop Lyman\’s direction in 1882.

Woman\’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions [Colored Convocation, 1904-1934 & Negro District, 1935-1954] – Chairmen & Presidents

Nanny Logan Delany (Mrs. Henry Beard) – St. Augustine\’s School, Raleigh – 1912-1927
Catherine Perry Weston (Mrs. Milton Moran) – St. Luke’s, Tarboro – 1928-1933
Essie Lee Edwards (Mrs. Frederick Hubert Uriah) – St. Cyprian\’s, Oxford – 1935-1936
Helena H. Harris (Mrs. Charles C. Harris) – St. Anna\’s, Littleton – 1937-1939
Alberta Estelle Herritage (Mrs. John Walter) – St. Michael & All Angels, Charlotte – 1940
Esther B. Fountain (Mrs. John A.) – St. Stephen\’s, Winston-Salem – 1941-1942
Constance S. Young – St. Titus, Durham – 1943-1945
Annie B. Black (Mrs. J. W.) – Holy Hope, Rocky Mount – 1946-1948
Gertrude Taylor (Mrs. James T.) – St. Titus’, Durham – 1949-1951
Anna B. Johnson (Mrs. Robert J.) – St. Mark’s, Wilson – 1952-1954

Woman\’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions – Presidents

Fannie Yarborough Bickett (Mrs. Thomas W.) – Good Shepherd, Raleigh – 1921-24
Louisa A. S. Way (Mrs. Warren W.) – St. Mary\’s School, Raleigh – 1924-27
Alice Winston Spruill (Mrs. Frank S.) – Good Shepherd, Rocky Mount – 1927-1930
Miss Rena Hoyt Clark – Calvary, Tarboro – 1930-33
Miss Emma Joy Hall – St. Peter\’s Charlotte – 1933-1936
Anna Clark Gordon (Mrs. W. J.) – St. Luke\’s, Spray – 1936-1939
Caro Adams Holmes (Mrs. Wilmont S.) – Greensboro – 1939-1942
Margaret G. Holmes (Mrs. Urban T., Jr.) – Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill – 1942-43
Leah Graves Peoples (Mrs. E.G.) – St. Stephen\’s, Oxford – 1943-1946
Marion Alston Bourne (Mrs. Henry C.) – Calvary, Tarboro – 1946-1949
Mabel S. Lucas (Mrs. Edwin F.) – Holy Trinity, Greensboro – 1949-1952
Margaret G. Holmes (Mrs. Urban T., Jr.) – Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill – 1952-1955
Elizabeth M. Evans (Mrs. Leslie B.) – Good Shepherd, Raleigh – 1955-1958

Episcopal Church Women – Presidents

Catherine M. Thomas (Mrs. T. P.) – St. Timothy\’s, Wilson – 1958-1961
Eleanor Godfrey (Mrs. James) – Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill – 1961-1964
Vertie May Jackson (Mrs. W. H. R.) – Good Shepherd, Raleigh – 1964-1967
Margaret Kings Motsinger (Mrs. M. Eugene, Jr.) – Galloway Memorial, Elkin – 1967-1970
June Bourne Long (Mrs. W. J., Jr.) – All Saints, Roanoke Rapids – 1970-1973
Rose Flannagan (Mrs. Eric G., Jr.) – Holy Innocents, Henderson – 1973-1976
Scott Tyree Evans (Mrs. J. Haywood) – St. Stephen\’s, Durham – 1976-1979
Mary Varden Harris (Mrs. Tyndall P.) – Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill – 1979-1981
Maydwelle Mason Coleman (Mrs. Harris G.) – St. Michael\’s, Raleigh – 1982-1985
June Gregson Gregory (Mrs. John T.) – Holy Trinity, Greensboro – 1985-1988
Mittie Crumpler Landi (Mrs. John N.) – Holy Comforter, Burlington – 1988-1991
Carolyn Osborne Darst (Mrs. Robert) – Holy Trinity, Greensboro – 1991-1994
Shara Rousselle Partin (Mrs. W. Kimball) – Holy Family, Chapel Hill – 1994-1997
Gail Herndon Fennimore (Mrs. Thomas) – Holy Comforter, Charlotte – 1997-2000
Sylvia Crumpler Nash (Mrs. Brent D.) – Calvary Church, Tarboro – 2000-2003
Lisa Huggins Towle (Mrs. Karl S.) – Good Shepherd, Raleigh – 2003-2015

– Enjoy more historical vignettes at the ECW Annual Meeting –

NAMING NAMES – JOIN THE CHALLENGE!

For almost two hundred years now, women in North Carolina have been key players in getting many Episcopal Churches organized, built and maintained. Too often the historical accounts mention only a “devoted woman,” “several earnest church women,” or simply “the ladies of the Parish.” When a woman was named it was very often as a “Miss” or as a “Mrs.,” with her husband’s name or initials following. An excerpt from Bishop Cheshire’s 1872 Convention Address offers a good example of generous praise for an anonymous “lady” whose faith, need and perseverance laid the groundwork for Guilford County’s first Episcopal Church:

“Our flock there was most truly a little one, and never had been otherwise – they never had a minister settled among them or regular services, and no hope of a church; a lady, however, came to live there, who felt it necessary for her own spiritual welfare, and that of her family, to receive the instruction and the ordinances which the Church administers; they were dependent on the exertions of an invalid husband and father, but nothing daunted by all these obstacles she set herself to procure the erection of a church, and obtained a considerable sum for that purpose, and elicited a good deal of sympathy in its behalf. Circumstances, however, made it necessary that this family should remove from Greensboro, and it then seemed as if the work would be suspended, if not altogether arrested; but in the meantime another family moved to the place possessed by the same spirit, and having at heart the same objects.”

Within two years the new family, identified as that of Dr. Foulkes, and some others had built a new church, duly consecrated as St. Barnabas, which name was changed in 1910 to Holy Trinity Parish.

What was this “lady’s” name? Beginning with the 2010 Annual Meeting and continuing through our Diocesan Bicentennial Celebration in 2017, you in every parish will be asked for help in “naming names” – first, middle, maiden and married! This long-term project, named “By Word and Example: Women Who Have Graced the Episcopal Church in North Carolina, 1817-2017,” will rely on people in places large and small throughout the state, including all three Episcopal dioceses. It’s not too early to start digging around in local church, family, library and online records to identify and compile short profiles of our women who served “not only with their lips, but in their lives.” If you have any questions about this project please don’t hesitate to contact Lynn Hoke at: archives@ecw-nc.org.