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Collection Number: 05292

Collection Title: Simmons Baker Jones Papers, 1904-2004 (bulk 1978-2004)

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

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.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 8.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items)
Abstract Simmons Jones was born in Charlotte, N.C., in 1920, the son of Morehead Jones and Cornelia Dowd Jones. He served in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and afterward attended the University of North Carolina and Pembroke College at Oxford University. He later lived in New York City, working in the production end of the Broadway Theater and as a fashion photographer. He returned to Charlotte in 1974 where he completed his novel, Show Me the Way to Go Home, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 1992. He died in May 2006. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, drafts of writings, and journals. Correspondents include Robert Rubin of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Albert Chatham, Robert Cluett, and Thomas Gleaner, the last of whom's letters consist of elaborate collages. Full and fragmented drafts are included of Show Me the Way to Go Home and several unpublished novels. There are also drafts of short stories, poems, other works, and reviews of Show Me the Way to Go Home. Journals of Simmons Jones discuss daily life; alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous; homosexuality; aging; writing ideas; and other writers including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, and Flannery O'Connor, among others. Other materials include passports; clippings; genealogical materials for the Dowd family and the Jones family; an 1864 portrait of Jones's relative Edward Stuart Jones; collected quotes and poems; a brief biography of Simmons Jones; two rosters for the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion; and various cards, notes, and other items.
Creator Jones, Simmons, 1920-2006.
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
Use of floppy disks requires special staff assistance.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
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 Simmons Baker Jones Papers #5292, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Simmons Baker Jones of Charlotte, N.C., in September 2006 (Acc. 100488).
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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Jessica Sedgwick, October 2006

Encoded by: Jessica Sedgwick, October 2006

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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

Simmons Jones was born in Charlotte, N.C., in June 1920, the son of Morehead Jones and Cornelia Dowd Jones. As a young man, Jones wrote obituaries and ran the Poet's Corner for the Charlotte News, a newspaper owned by his mother. He served in World War II from 1941 to 1945 with the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion. Following the war, he attended the University of North Carolina and Pembroke College at Oxford University, graduating from neither. He lived in Paris, Rome, and in New York City for twenty years working in the production end of the Broadway Theater and as a fashion photographer. He returned to Charlotte in 1974 and lived in the Fourth Ward's Poplar Apartments, where he completed his novel, Show Me the Way to Go Home, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 1992. An exhibition of his fashion photography was held at Charlotte's The Light Factory in 2002. He died in May 2006.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Papers of author and photographer Simmons Jones of Charlotte, N.C., and New York, N.Y., consist primarily of correspondence, drafts of writings, and journals. Correspondents include Robert Rubin of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Albert Chatham, Robert Cluett, and Thomas Gleaner, the last of whom's letters consist of elaborate collages. Full and fragmented drafts are included of Jones's published novel, Show Me the Way to Go Home (formerly titled "Summer Solstice"), and unpublished novels "Traveling Light" and "Passing Muster" (formerly titled "The Skin I'm In"). Also included are drafts of short stories, poems, other works, and reviews of Show Me the Way to Go Home. Journals of Simmons Jones discuss daily life; alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous; homosexuality; aging; writing ideas; and other writers including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, and Flannery O'Connor, among others. Other materials include passports, clippings, genealogical materials for the Dowd family and the Jones family, an 1864 portrait of Jones's relative Edward Stuart Jones, collected quotes and poems, a brief biography of Simmons Jones, two rosters for the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion, and various cards and notes and other items.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1978-2003.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Correspondents include Robert Rubin of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Albert Chatham, "Cousin" Robert Cluett, Thomas Gleaner, the Greensboro Preservation Society, International Creative Management, and Senior Resources Inc. Letters from Thomas Gleaner consist of elaborate collages, and Gimpel and Weitzenhoffer Gallery and Gruenebaun Gallery correspondence includes slides from Simmons Jones of a Joseph Glasco painting. Also included are floppy disks that contain letters from Jones to Robert Cluett, among others.

Folder 1

A-C

Folder 2-7

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

Algonquin

Folder 8

Chatham, Albert

Folder 9-11

Folder 9

Folder 10

Folder 11

Cluett, Robert

Folder 12

D-Q

Folder 13

Gimpel and Weitzenhoffer Gallery and Gruenebaun Gallery

Includes slides of a Joseph Glasco painting owned by Jones.

Folder 14

Gleaner, Thomas

Folder 15

Greensboro Preservation Society

Folder 16

International Creative Management

Folder 17

R-Z

Folder 18

Senior Resources Inc.

Folder 19

Wallace, Carolyn

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/1

Letters from Simmons Jones to Robert Cluett, 30 April 1997-23 November 1998.

Also includes correspondence regarding the Carolina Theater, Poplar Apartments, medical payments, and other letters.

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/2

Additional 1997 correspondence with Robert Cluett, other letters to Lisa Lee, Poplar Apartments, and biographical and address information

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/3

Letters from Simmons Jones to Robert Cluett, 15 June-16 September 1998

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/4

Letters to Robert Cluett, Helen Brann Agency, Poplar Apartments, Frye Gaillard, and Sixty-Eight Degrees Gallery

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Writings, 1978-1996.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: by content.

Full and fragmented drafts of Jones' published novel, Show Me the Way to Go Home (formerly titled "Summer Solstice"), and unpublished novels "Traveling Light" and "Passing Muster" (formerly titled "The Skin I'm In"). Also included are drafts of short stories, poems, other pieces, and reviews of Show Me the Way to Go Home. For the most part, drafts are undated.

Folder 20-22

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Show Me the Way to Go Home: ("Master copy")

Folder 23-36

Folder 23

Folder 24

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Folder 29

Folder 30

Folder 31

Folder 32

Folder 33

Folder 34

Folder 35

Folder 36

Show Me the Way to Go Home: Other drafts

Folder 37-38

Folder 37

Folder 38

Show Me the Way to Go Home: Fragments

Folder 38a

Show Me the Way to Go Home: Reviews and dust jacket

Folder 39-49

Folder 39

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 42

Folder 43

Folder 44

Folder 45

Folder 46

Folder 47

Folder 48

Folder 49

"Passing Muster": Drafts

Folder 49

"Passing Muster": Fragments

Folder 50-55

Folder 50

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Folder 54

Folder 55

"Traveling Light": Drafts

Folder 56

"Traveling Light": Fragments

Folder 57

Short Stories: "Blade Hinson was Bad News"

Folder 58

Short Stories: "Duncan Phyfe"

Folder 59

Short Stories: "The Harold L. Gilleson Memorial Service"

Folder 60

Short Stories: "On Kinston Street"

Folder 61

Poems

Folder 62-62c

Other Drafts

Folder 63

Folder number not used

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/5

"Leaving Kinston Street": Chapters 2-3

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/6

"Leaving Kinston Street": Chapters 1-2

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/7

"A Walk Through Lost Time"; "Passing Muster": pages 169(a)-169(d); "Evelyn Black"

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/8

Short stories, story ideas, "Traveling Light": Chapters 1-12, "The Skin I'm In": Quotes

Floppy Disc FLD-5292/9

Story ideas, short stories, quotes

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Journals, 1979-2004.

72 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Journals of Simmons Jones discuss daily life; alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous; homosexuality; aging; writing ideas; and other writers including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, and Flannery O'Connor, among others.

Folder 64-65

Folder 64

Folder 65

1979: January-1980: January

Folder 66

1981: September-December

Folder 67

1981: December-1982: April

Folder 68

1982: April-September

Folder 69

1982: September-1983: February

Folder 70

1983: February-July

Folder 71

1983: July-October

Folder 72

1983: October-1984: January

Folder 73

1984: January-April

Folder 74

1984: April-June

Folder 75

1984: June-September

Folder 76

1984: September-December

Folder 77

1984: December-1985: February

Folder 78

1985: February-May

Folder 79

1985: May-August

Folder 80

1985: August-November

Folder 81

1985: November-1986: January

Folder 82

1986: January-April

Folder 83

1986: April-July

Folder 84

1986: July-September

Folder 85

1986: September-December

Folder 86

1986: December-1987: March

Folder 87

1987: March-June

Folder 88

1987: June-October

Folder 89

1987: October-1988: January

Folder 90

1988: January-May

Folder 91

1988: May-September

Folder 92

1988: September- 1989: January

Folder 93

1989: January-May

Folder 94

1989: May-October

Folder 95

1989: October-1990: February

Folder 96

1990: February-August

Folder 97

1990: August-1991: February

Folder 98

1991: February-August

Folder 99

1991: August-1992: January

Folder 100

1992: January-April

Folder 101

1992: May-August

Folder 102

1992: August-December

Folder 103

1992: December-1993: April

Folder 104

1993: April-August

Folder 105

1993: August-December

Folder 106

1993: December-1994: May

Folder 107

1994: May-October

Folder 108

1994: October-1995: February

Folder 109

1995: February-June

Folder 110

1995: June-October

Folder 111

1995: October-1996: February

Folder 112

1996: February-June

Folder 113

1996: June-October

Folder 114

1996: October-1997: February

Folder 115

1997: February-May

Folder 116

1997: May-September

Folder 117

1997: September-December

Folder 118

1997: December-1998: March

Folder 119

1998: March-June

Folder 120

1998: June-August

Folder 121

1998: August-November

Folder 122

1998: November-1999: February

Folder 123

1999: February-June

Folder 124

1999: June-September

Folder 125

1999: September-December

Folder 126

1999: December-2000: March

Folder 127

2000: March-April

Folder 128

2000: April-July

Folder 129

2000: July-October

Folder 130

2000: October-2001: February

Folder 131

2001: February-May

Folder 132

2001: May-August

Folder 133

2001: August-December

Folder 134

2001: December-2002: March

Folder 135

2002: March-June

Folder 136

2002: July-December

Folder 137

2002: December-2004: January

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Other Materials, 1904-1996.

About 200 items.

Includes passports, literary and other clippings, Dowd and Jones family genealogical materials, a portrait of Jones's relative Edward Stuart Jones, collected quotes and poems, a brief biography of Simmons Jones, two rosters for the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion, and various cards and notes, among other items.

Folder 138

Clippings

Folder 139-141

Folder 139

Folder 140

Folder 141

Genealogical papers

Genealogical papers for the Dowd and Jones families. Includes one 1911 photograph of a Buick Racer and one photograph of an unidentified building. Also included are original family letters from Mary Stuart Jones to her mother and from unidentified persons, and slides of a portrait by William Garl Browne of an unidentified girl.

Museum Item MU-5292/1

Portrait of Edward Stuart Jones, 1864

Edward Stuart Jones was a son of Johnston Blakely Jones and relative of Simmons Jones.

Folder 142

Passports, Morehead Alumni 1985 booklet, photograph of Simmons Jones

Folder 143

771st Tank Destroyer Battalion rosters from 1 June 1993 and 12 January 1996, brief biography of Simmons Jones, collected poems and quotes, various notes and cards

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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