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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 5.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,200 items) |
| Abstract | Robert Brent Drane was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C. The collection includes family, business, historical, and genealogical correspondence and other items of Robert Brent Drane. Early correspondence is of Drane's parents, Catherine Caroline Parker and Robert Brent Drane Sr., and of Robert Brent Drane with friends and family while studying theology in New York. Correspondence, 1877-1932, reflects Drane's genealogical and historical interests, including his involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. There is corrrepondence with his cousin, North Carolina bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire, as well as letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane, serving as a missionary and later Archdeacon of the Yukon among the native peoples in the Yukon and Alaska. Later correspondence includes letters to Frederick Blount Drane from American soldiers serving in World War II and the Korean War and letters from prominent alumni of the University of North Carolina Class of 1912. Notable correspondence includes letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials: two letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Collier's Weekly editor Arthur Ruhl describing his attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and one 1929 letter mentioning Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders. The collection also includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds; church records; financial records; historical research materials; genealogical notes, charts, and sketches; printed material; and clippings relating to Drane and Webb family members and to ecclesiastical history in the American colonies. Some papers relate to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. of Edenton, N.C., and their mercantile endeavors and involvement with the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy in Edenton. There are also some records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955; sermons of Robert Brent Drane and others; blueprints and architectural plans, chiefly relating to the Fort Raleigh monument; and photographs, including a set of portraits, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform. |
| Creator | Drane, Robert Brent, 1851-1939. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: SHC Staff, Kate Stratton, March 2010
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton, March 2010
Updated for addition, July 2017
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Robert Brent Drane (1851-1939) was rector, 1876-1932, of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C. He was born in Wilmington, N.C., to Reverend Robert Brent Drane and Catherine Caroline Parker Drane. After his father's death in 1862, he was raised in the homes of his uncles, the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire and Governor Henry Toole Clark. He was educated at Saintt Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., and the General Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.
Drane was ordained deacon at Saint James Episcopal Church, Wilmington, N.C., 1875; served as assistant to the rector, 1875-1876; ordained as priest at Calvary Church, Tarboro, N.C., 1876; rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, N.C., 1876-1932; and rector of the Church of Saint Andrew's-by-the-Sea, Nags Head, N.C., 1934-1939. Drane also minstered to Saint John-the-Evangelist, Edenton, N.C., an Episcopal AfricanAmerican parish. He was involved with the Diocese of East Carolina and held many positions therein, including president of the convention and of the standing committee; examining chaplain; and delegate to the provincial convention and to the general convention, 1890-1929. He also acted as trustee of Saint Mary's College, Saint Augustine's College, and the University of the South.
In addition to his religious service, Drane was interested in history, particularly of the Episcopal Church and of North Carolina. He was a member and sometime president of the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the Roanoke Island Historical Association and member of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
In 1878, Drane married Maria Louisa Warren Skinner. They had seven children: Eliza Harwood (1879-1932), who married Joseph Cheshire Webb; Frank Parker (died 1917); Robert; Frederick Blount; Katherine Parker, who married Bennett Perry; and Marian, who married Frank Porter Graham.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes family, business, historical, and genealogical correspondence and other items of Robert Brent Drane. Early correspondence is of Drane's parents, Catherine Caroline Parker and Robert Brent Drane Sr., and of Robert Brent Drane with friends and family while studying theology in New York. Correspondence, 1877-1932, reflects Drane's genealogical and historical interests, including his involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. There is corrrepondence with his cousin, North Carolina bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire, as well as letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane, serving as a missionary and later Archdeacon of the Yukon among the native peoples in the Yukon and Alaska. Later correspondence includes letters to Frederick Blount Drane from American soldiers serving in World War II and the Korean War and letters from prominent alumni of the University of North Carolina Class of 1912. Notable correspondence includes letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials: two letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Collier's Weekly editor Arthur Ruhl describing his attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and one 1929 letter mentioning Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders. The collection also includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds; church records; financial records; historical research materials; genealogical notes, charts, and sketches; printed material; and clippings relating to Drane and Webb family members and to ecclesiastical history in the American colonies. Some papers relate to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. of Edenton, N.C., and their mercantile endeavors and involvement with the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy in Edenton. There are also some records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955; sermons of Robert Brent Drane and others; blueprints and architectural plans, chiefly relating to the Fort Raleigh monument; and photographs, including a set of portraits, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence and Related Photographs, 1837-1980 and
undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly family and genealogical correspondence of Robert Brent Drane. There is also some correspondence of Drane's mother, Catherine Caroline Parker Hargraves Drane; of his children, Frederick Blount Drane and Eliza Drane Webb; and of other family members and relatives. The earliest correspondence, 1837-1866, consists chiefly of letters to Catherine Caroline Parker Hargraves, both before and after her marriage to Robert Brent Drane Sr., from her children and other family members and relatives. There are also some early letters to Robert Brent Drane Sr. relating resolutions of the vestry of his parish and discussing church affairs and the construction of a new church in Wilmington, N.C.
Correspondence, 1867-1876, is chiefly of Robert Brent Drane while at Saint Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., and at the General Theological Seminary in New York, N.Y. Letters are to and from his mother, his uncle, Joseph Blount Cheshire, and other friends and relatives, giving family news and discussing the progress of his education. There is also some correspondence with scholarship agencies related to Drane's application for assistance in funding his ministerial education.
Correspondence, 1877-1932, largely reflects Drane's historical and genealogical interests. Many of the items relate to the lineage of the Drane family in England and the United States; the history of the Church of England in the colonies, particularly the baptism of Virginia Dare; and Drane's involvement with the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C. Among the genealogical and historical correspondents are near and distant Drane relatives including Herbert J. Drane, United States Representative from Florida; other members of the clergy including Drane's cousin, Joseph Blount Cheshire, bishop of North Carolina; and historians including J.D. Sprunt, Samuel A. Ashe, and Collier Cobb. There are also letters to Drane from his children, including some from his daughter Marian while at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C., discussing her social life and education, and some, 1915-1925, from his son Frederick Blount Drane who was serving in Alaska as a missionary and later the Episcopal Archdeacon of the Yukon, describing the native peoples and his work there. Correspondence also includes large groups of congratulatory letters from parishioners, clergy, and friends upon Drane's 50th anniversary as rector at Saint Paul's, 1926, and his retirement, 1932, and a group of loosely related letters, mostly 1891-1894, to Mrs. E.D. Foxhall of Tarboro, N.C., from her son John H. Foxhall (died 1901), an agent of the Richmond and Danville Railroad (later Georgia Pacific Railway Company) in Anniston, Ala., and insurance agent in Texas.
Correspondence after 1933 is chiefly of Frederick Blount Drane and includes letters to and from American soldiers serving in Europe and the South Pacific in World War II and in Korea during the Korean War. There is also material relating to Frederick Blount Drane's organization of reunions for the University of North Carolina Class of 1912, including letters concerning achievements of prominent alumni, particularly Thomas Moore Price and Thompson Webb.
Other notable items include a letter, 1938, to Robert Brent Drane and Marian and Frank Porter Graham describing a concert given by two violinist relatives to President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, and three letters relating to the Wright brothers' flight trials. Two of the letters letters, 1908, addressed to Eliza Drane from Arthur Ruhl, an editor for Collier's Weekly, describe Ruhl's attempts to photograph the trials at Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The third letter, 1929, alludes to Frederick Blount Drane's having taken a piece from one of the Wright gliders.
| Folder 1A |
Original finding aid |
| Folder 1 |
1837-1849 |
| Folder 2 |
1850-1854 |
| Folder 3 |
1855-1859 |
Folder 4-5
Folder 4Folder 5 |
1860-1864 |
| Folder 6 |
1865-1868 |
Folder 7-10
Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10 |
1869 |
Folder 11-15
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15 |
1870 |
Folder 16-19
Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19 |
1871 |
Folder 20-23
Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23 |
1872 |
Folder 24-26
Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26 |
1873 |
Folder 27-30
Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
1874 |
Folder 31-33
Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33 |
1875 |
Folder 34-37
Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37 |
1876 |
Folder 38-42
Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42 |
1877 |
Folder 43-44
Folder 43Folder 44 |
1878 |
| Folder 45 |
1879 |
| Folder 46 |
1880-1889 |
| Folder 47 |
1890 |
| Folder 48 |
1891 |
| Folder 49 |
1892-1894 |
Folder 50-51
Folder 50Folder 51 |
1895 |
Folder 52-54
Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54 |
1896 |
Folder 55-57
Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57 |
1897 |
| Folder 58 |
1898-1905 |
| Folder 59 |
1906-1909 |
| Folder 60 |
1910-1912 |
| Folder 61 |
1913 |
| Folder 62 |
1914 |
| Folder 63 |
1915 |
| Folder 64 |
1916 |
| Folder 65 |
1917-1919 |
| Folder 66 |
1920-1925 |
Folder 67-69
Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69 |
1926 |
| Folder 70 |
1927-1928 |
| Folder 71 |
1929 |
| Folder 72 |
1930 |
| Folder 73 |
1931 |
Folder 74-75
Folder 74Folder 75 |
1932 |
| Folder 76 |
1933-1934 |
| Folder 77 |
1935-1937 |
| Folder 78 |
1938-1940 |
| Folder 79 |
1941-1943 |
| Folder 80 |
1944-1945 |
| Folder 81 |
1946-1952 |
| Folder 82 |
1953-1959 |
| Folder 83 |
1962-1966 |
| Folder 84 |
1968-1978 |
| Folder 128 |
1980Letter from Rev. Frederick Blount Drane to his children on wishes for funeral and burial (Acc. 103093). |
Folder 85-87
Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87 |
Undated |
| Image Folder PF-2987/4 |
Photographs sent by soldiers, circa 1942-1952Includes photographs of Korean scenes, a capsized ship, and a small portrait of Linton B. Salmon in uniform. |
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Series 2. Genealogical and Historical Material.
Arrangement: by type.
Chiefly research materials and genealogical notes, charts, and sketches of Robert Brent Drane and Eliza Drane Webb, related primarily to the lineage of the Drane and Webb families. There are also photographs, blueprints, and other materials related to Robert Brent Drane's historical interests, particularly his involvement with historical organizations including the Roanoke Island Memorial Association and the proposed construction of a memorial at Fort Raleigh, N.C., and some information about Saint Paul's activities and history. There is also a set of papers related to the University of North Carolina Class of 1912 reunion and photographs, circa 1910, of University of North Carolina athletes in uniform.
Folder 88-90
Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90 |
Biographical and historical sketchesIncludes sketches of Robert Brent Drane, Josiah Collins, and members of the Drane and Webb families and related lines. |
| Folder 91 |
Genealogical charts |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/2 |
Genealogical charts |
Folder 92-93
Folder 92Folder 93 |
Genealogical notes |
| Folder 94 |
Genealogy notebook with enclosuresContains some interleaved correspondence from relatives and genealogy hobbyists. |
| Folder 95 |
Family grave marker inscriptions |
| Folder 96 |
Virginia Dare and Roanoke Island materialIncludes speeches and other writings, programs, and notes related to various celebrations of Virginia Dare Day. |
| Folder 97 |
Saint Paul's materialIncludes lists and copies of vestry records related to parshioners' service in the military and Red Cross. There is also an annotated pageant script and items related to celebrations of Robert Brent Drane's milestones with the congregation. |
| Folder 98 |
University of North Carolina Class of 1912 materialIncludes mailing lists, programs, and other material related to reunions of the class of 1912. |
Folder 99-100
Folder 99Folder 100 |
Printed materialIncludes "Historical Notices of Saint James' Parish," by Robert Brent Drane Sr., 1843; "A Sketch of the Life of Tristrim Lowther Skinner," by Robert Brent Drane, 1931; "Last Advice of the Reverend Charles Pettigrew to His Sons," 1797; "Old Trinity Church: From the Life of Joseph Blount Cheshire, D.D., 1814-1899, by his son Bishop Cheshire"; and "A Century and a Half of Medicine in North Carolina: Introductory Remarks," by William de B. MacNider. Also includes programs and pamphlets related to historical celebrations and memorials. |
Folder 101-103
Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103 |
Clippings |
| Folder 104 |
North Carolina ecclesiastical history notebook, undated |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/2 |
Fort Raleigh memorial blueprints and plans |
Image Folder PF-2987/1-2
PF-2987/1PF-2987/2 |
Photographs and pictures of Drane family members and historical sitesIncludes photographic portraits of Drane relatives, and postcards and photographs related to Fort Raleigh and Roanoke Island, N.C. |
| Image Folder PF-2987/3 |
Photographs of University of North Carolina athletes, circa 1910 |
| Image Folder PF-2987/4 |
University of North Carolina Class of 1912 Reunion, 1962Includes photographs of reunion attendees. Also includes photographs of the Webb School, Claremont, Calif., founded by Thompson Webb, member of the Class of 1912. |
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Series 3. Financial and Legal Material, 1694-1939 and undated.
Arrangement: by type.
Includes original and transcribed copies of wills, indentures, and deeds pertaining to members of the Drane and Webb families. The earliest documents are scattered items and groups of papers relating to Robert Brent Drane's historical interests and are chiefly connected to the Edenton, N.C., area and to Josiah Collins and Josiah Collins Jr. The Collins items are related to mercantile endeavors, including ship accounts and subscriptions lists, and to the North Carolina Diocese, Saint Paul's Church, and the establishment of the Edenton Academy. Later papers include Robert Brent Drane's financial and personal records including bills and receipts, inventories of books and stocks, an account book, 19th-century advertisements, and other items.
| Folder 105 |
Legal and financial documents, 1694-1776 and undated |
| Folder 106 |
Legal and financial documents, 1781-1800 |
| Folder 107 |
Legal and financial documents, 1802-1879 |
| Folder 108 |
Legal and financial documents, 1919-1939 and undated |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/1 |
Deeds and indentures, 1737-1822 and undated |
| Folder 109 |
Bills and receipts, 1860-1896 |
| Folder 110 |
Bills and receipts, 1915, 1933-1939 and undated |
| Folder 111 |
Advertisements |
| Folder 112 |
Inventories of assetsIncludes inventories of stocks and other assets of Robert Brent Drane and Frank Parker Drane. |
| Folder 113A |
Report cardsIncludes report cards for W.C. Kerr, University of North Carolina, 1847-1850, and for Marian Drane, Saint Mary's School, Raleigh, N.C., 1916-1919. |
| Folder 113B |
Certificates and appointments |
| Extra Oversize Paper Folder X-OPF-2987/1 |
Certificates and diplomas |
| Folder 114 |
Account book: Robert Brent Drane, 1879-1900 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-2987/2 |
Land survey: Josiah Collins, 1824 |
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Series 4. Sermons and Other Writings, 1818-1931 and undated.
Arrangement: by type.
Includes sermons by Robert Brent Drane and others. There are also notes kept by Robert Brent Drane and Marian Drane while students and other miscellaenous notes and fragments, including notes and figures written by Frederick Blount Drane about the Wright brothers' flight trials.
| Folder 115 |
Sermons preached by Robert Brent Drane, 1875-1881 |
| Folder 116 |
Sermons preached by Robert Brent Drane, 1881-1888 |
| Folder 117 |
Sermons preached by Robert Brent Drane, 1890-1896 |
| Folder 118 |
Sermons preached by Robert Brent Drane, 1896-1931 and undated |
| Folder 119 |
Sermons preached by others, 1818, 1849 |
| Folder 120 |
Sermons preached by others, 1855-1859 |
| Folder 121 |
"On Repentance," undated |
| Folder 122 |
Exhibit notes |
| Folder 123 |
Miscellaneous writings and notesIncludes notes and figures written by Frederick Blount Drane about the Wright brothers' flight trials. |
| Folder 124 |
Student notebook: Marian Drane, 1885 |
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Series 5. Church Records, 1925-1955.
Includes records of religious services performed by Frederick Blount Drane at Monroe, N.C., 1925-1955, and a guest book, 1926-1932, signed by visitors to Robert Brent Drane's parish in Edenton, N.C.
| Folder 125 |
Guest book, Robert Brent Drane, 1926-1932 |
| Folder 126 |
Service records, Frederick Blount Drane, 1925-1948 |
| Folder 127 |
Service records, Frederick Blount Drane, 1949-1955 |
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Items Separated