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Collection Number: 04367

Collection Title: John Burt Hill Papers, 1916-1925

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.


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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 170 items)
Abstract John Burt Hill, a native of Louisburg, N.C., attended the University of North Carolina in 1914, joined the North Carolina National Guard and served on the Mexican border until 1917, then entered military training in Texas and was sent to France in August 1918. Hill served as a wagoner until the end of the war, then remained in France as a student at the Universite de Poitiers. After Hill returned to the United States in 1919, he began a fifty-year career with the New York Life Insurance Company. Correspondence and photographs of John Burt Hill, World War I soldier, describing and picturing his Army training at Camp Stanley, Tex., prior to the war and his experiences in France during and immediately following the war. Also included are a few letters in French which were sent to Hill by friends in France following the war.
Creator Hill, John Burt, 1896-1980.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the John Burt Hill papers #4367, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mrs. William Powell of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in October, 1983. Hill was Mrs. Powell's stepfather.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: John E. White, October 1984

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

John Burt Hill was born on 8 September 1896 in Louisburg, Franklin County, North Carolina. He graduated from Horner Military Academy and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for eight months beginning in 1914. Upon leaving college, he joined the North Carolina National Guard and served on the Mexican border until the spring of 1917.

With the entry of the United States into World War I, Hill began further military training in Texas (Camp Stanley) and was sent to France in August, 1918. He served as a wagoner until the end of the war. Following the armistice, Hill, under the Army's auspices, remained in France as a student at the Universite de Poitiers.

Hill returned to the United States in July, 1919, and subsequently began a fifty year career with the New York Life Insurance Company. John Burt Hill died on 12 January 1980 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Well over half of the collection consists of correspondence from John Burt Hill to his parents concerning his Army activities during the World War I period. Also included are letters, primarily written in French, which were sent to Hill by friends in France following the war; photographs of Army life; and a variety of undated Hill family photographs. There is no material dated after 1925 and nothing pertaining to Hill's life insurance career or his later family life.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1916-1925.

About 125 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Predominantly letters and postcards from Hill to his family detailing Army life and training in Texas prior to World War I; his experiences as a soldier in France during the war; and his life in France following the war. Also included are letters to and from Hill following his return to the United States. In this latter group are several letters and postcards, written in French, from friends Hill had made in France. Additionally, a brief pamphlet, describing the American soldier's rights and responsibilities upon returning to the United States, is included in Folder 11.

Folder 1

November 1916 - September 1917 (8 items)

Folder 2

January 1918 - April 1918 (8 items)

Folder 3

June 1918 - August 1918 (7 items)

Folder 4

September 1918 - December 1918 (11 items)

Folder 5-7

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

circa 1918 (26 items)

Folder 8

January 1919 - May 1919 (9 items)

Folder 9

June 1919 (7 items)

Folder 10

July 1919 - September 1920 (15 items)

Folder 11

circa 1919-1920 (14 items)

Folder 12

January 1921 - July 1925 (21 items)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Pictures, circa 1905-1925.

About 40 items including 1 album containing 135 photos.

Photographs of John Burt Hill, of scenes from Army life and training in Texas prior to World War I, and of members of Hill's family.

Image P-4367/1-4

P-4367/1

P-4367/2

P-4367/3

P-4367/4

Photographs of JBH as a boy and during his Army career, circa 1905-1918, and an undated watercolor portrait of him.

Image P-4367/5-13

P-4367/5

P-4367/6

P-4367/7

P-4367/8

P-4367/9

P-4367/10

P-4367/11

P-4367/12

P-4367/13

Hill in uniform with his colleagues, circa 1916-1918.

Image P-4367/14-18

P-4367/14

P-4367/15

P-4367/16

P-4367/17

P-4367/18

Identified groups, including a cadet baseball team at Horner Military Academy, circa 1912; Army friends, circa 1917; and General S. L. Faison, commander, 60th Infantry Brigade and his staff, dated 5 November 1917.

Image P-4367/19-28

P-4367/19

P-4367/20

P-4367/21

P-4367/22

P-4367/23

P-4367/24

P-4367/25

P-4367/26

P-4367/27

P-4367/28

Identified scenes including two views of Horner Military Academy, circa 1912; three views of UNC-Chapel Hill, circa 1913; three views of Army training in Texas, circa 1916; and a view of the YMCA at Poitiers, France, circa 1919.

Image P-4367/29-38

P-4367/29

P-4367/30

P-4367/31

P-4367/32

P-4367/33

P-4367/34

P-4367/35

P-4367/36

P-4367/37

P-4367/38

Groups of unidentified individuals, including scenes of Army life, circa 1916; female YMCA workers in uniform, circa 1918. P-4367/29 is a tintype which appears to be of two soldiers, circa 1916.

Photograph Album PA-4367/1

"Photographs" [circa 1916-1925] One album (135 photos.) Photos of Army life in Texas (circa 1916), including photos of JBH and friends. Also included are a variety of undated photos of the Hill family and friends.

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