Timeline extended for launch of Wilson Library facilities work.

Collection Number: 04380

Collection Title: William Thomas Joyner Papers, 1855-1979

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 4.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2050 items)
Abstract Correspondence, subject files, speeches, and photographs of William Thomas Joyner, attorney of Raleigh, N.C., covering family matters; Joyner's law practice, including his work as attorney for the Southern Railway Company; his interest in public education, military affairs, and politics in North Carolina and the nation; and his many civic activities. Included are letters, 1970, about school busing for desegregation from Jesse Helms (1921-2008), later U.S. senator; materials concerning an inspection of U.S. Army bases in the Far East, 1949; and a case involving the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan (1817-1871), 1964. The nineteenth- century materials are a few letters of Joyner family members.
Creator Joyner, William T. (William Thomas), 1891-1981.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
Back to Top

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 William Thomas Joyner papers #4380, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from William T. Joyner, Jr. and Walton K. Joyner, both of Raleigh, N.C.; and Sue Joyner Sprunt of Memphis, Tenn., in January 1984, January 1986, December 1986, and January 1987.
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.
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Harry McKown, November 1984; Connie Cartledge, March 1986; Mark Beasley, December 1986; Marion Presler, with processing assistance from Barbara Logsdon and Kelly Grady, February 1987

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, February 2022

Back to Top

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.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

William Thomas Joyner was born in Goldsboro, N.C., on 11 April 1891. His mother was Effie Harper Rouse Joyner. His father, James Yadkin Joyner, was a leader in education in North Carolina, ultimately becoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1903.

William Thomas Joyner was educated in the public schools of Raleigh, N.C., and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an A.B. degree in 1911. After teaching school briefly, Joyner entered Harvard Law School, receiving an LL.B. degree in 1916.

Joyner began the practice of law in Raleigh in 1916 and remained an active attorney in civil practice until his retirement in 1979. He formed partnerships with Kale K. Burgess in 1917, Willis Smith in 1926, and Robert C. Howison, Jr., in 1939.

Joyner served in the field artillery during World War I, ultimately becoming a major in the 45th Field Artillery. In 1923 he was made colonel of the 113th Field Artillery of the North Carolina National Guard, serving until 1932. For the remainder of his life Joyner maintained an interest in military affairs and was regularly addressed as Colonel.

Joyner was a prominent figure in the Democratic Party in North Carolina. He was secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee in 1920; chairman of the North Carolina Elections Board, 1944-1947; and chairman of the North Carolina Highway Commission in 1957. Joyner considered himself a political moderate, but increasingly in the 1950s and 1960s he sided with the Democratic Party's conservative wing. While he never formally left the Party, Joyner endorsed Republicans Richard Nixon in 1968 and Jesse Helms in 1972.

Joyner participated in a number of civic groups and was an active Southern Baptist. He frequently taught Sunday school and was in demand as a public speaker.

Joyner married Sue Arrington Kitchin in 1920; their children were William T. Joyner, Jr., Walton K. Joyner, and Sue Kitchin Joyner Sprunt.

William Thomas Joyner died in Raleigh on 30 December 1981.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Correspondence, subject files, speeches, and photographs of William Thomas Joyner, attorney of Raleigh, N.C., covering family matters; Joyner's law practice, including his work as attorney for the Southern Railway Company; his interest in public education, military affairs, and politics in North Carolina and the nation; and his many civic activities. Included are letters, 1970, about school busing for desegregation from Jesse Helms (1921- ), later U.S. senator; materials concerning an inspection of U.S. Army bases in the Far East, 1949; and a case involving the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan (1817-1871), 1964. The nineteenth- century materials are a few letters of Joyner family members.

Back to Top

Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1855-1979 and undated.

About 1050 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Joyner's correspondence relates for the most part to family matters, his law practice, and his social and political activities. On the whole, the correspondence deals with routine activities and concerns. Of notable interest is Joyner's correspondence with Jesse Helms, executive vice-president of WRAL-TV, about school busing, February 1970.

Folder 1a

1855-1919

Folder 1b

1920-1930

Folder 2

January-September 1931

Folder 3

October-December 1931

Folder 4

January-June 1932

Folder 5

July-December 1932

Folder 6

1933

Folder 7

1934

Folder 8

1935-1936

Folder 9

1937-1943

Folder 10

1944-1945

Folder 11

1946-1951

Folder 12

1952-1954

Folder 13a

1955

Folder 13b

1956

Folder 14

1957-1958

Folder 15

1959

Folder 16

1960-1961

Folder 17

1962-1963

Folder 18

1964-1965

Folder 19

1966

Folder 20

1967

Folder 21

January-October 1968

Folder 22

November-December 1968

Folder 23

January-April 1969

Folder 24

May-July 1969

Folder 25

August-October 1969

Folder 26

November-December 1969

Folder 27

January-February 1970

Folder 28

March-May 1970

Folder 29

June-October 1970

Folder 30

November-December 1970

Folder 31

January-February 1971

Folder 32

March-May 1971

Folder 33

June-September 1971

Folder 34

October-December 1971

Folder 35

January-February 1972

Folder 36

March-May 1972

Folder 37

June-July 1972

Folder 38

August-October 1972

Folder 39

November-December 1972

Folder 40

January-April 1973

Folder 41

May-September 1973

Folder 42

October 1973

Folder 43

November 1973

Folder 44

December 1973

Folder 45

January-April 1974

Folder 46

May-July 1974

Folder 47

August-October 1974

Folder 48

November-December 1974

Folder 49

January-March 1975

Folder 50

April-June 1975

Folder 51

September-December 1975

Folder 52

January-March 1976

Folder 53

April-July 1976

Folder 54

August-December 1976

Folder 55

January-March 1977

Folder 56

April-August 1977

Folder 57

September-November 1977

Folder 58

December 1977

Folder 59

January-March 1978

Folder 60

April-October 1978

Folder 61

November 1978

Folder 62

December 1978

Folder 63

1979

Folder 64

Undated

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Subject Files.

About 1000 items.

These files reflect Joyner's many professional, political, and personal interests. Particularly important material concerns Joyner's trip of inspection to the far eastern bases of the United States Army with Secretary of the Army Kenneth C. Royal in 1949, Joyner's participation in a legal case involving the trustees of the estate of Sarah Graham Kenan in 1964, and Joyner's support for Jesse Helms's campaign for the United States Senate, 1972.

Folder 65

Sunday School Lessons 1959

Folder 66-68

Folder 66

Folder 67

Folder 68

"Daedalus" Review 1967

Folder 69-71

Folder 69

Folder 70

Folder 71

Korean Trip 1949

Folder 72-73

Folder 72

Folder 73

113th Field Artillery 1953, 1957

Folder 74

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence January-February 1964

Folder 75

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence March-April 1964

Folder 76

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence May 1964

Folder 77

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence June 1964

Folder 78

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence July-August 1964

Folder 79

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence September-October 1964

Folder 80

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Correspondence November-December 1964

Folder 81-85

Folder 81

Folder 82

Folder 83

Folder 84

Folder 85

Kenan Trusteeship Case-Legal Papers 1964

Folder 86

Scotland Neck Case 1972

Folder 87-89

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Kenan Foundation-Ravenscroft Conference 1972-1973

Folder 90

Royal Theater Sale 1959-1960

Folder 91

Joyner, Howison, Michell-Partnership 1961

Folder 92

N.C. Bar Assoc.-Judicial Salaries 1963

Folder 93

N.C. Bar Assoc. 1956, 1959, 1965, 1967

Folder 94

District of Columbia Bar

Folder 95

American Bar Assoc. 1948-1965

Folder 96-98

Folder 96

Folder 97

Folder 98

American College of Trial Lawyers 1963-1972

Folder 99-101

Folder 99

Folder 100

Folder 101

Meredith College 1957, 1960-1961

Folder 102

Meredith College 1967-1970

Folder 103

Peace College 1957-1960

Folder 104

Legislative Building Commission 1959

Folder 105

Watergate Senate Hearings 1973

Folder 106

Public School Jurisdiction Act 1973

Folder 107a

N.C. Senatorial Campaign 1950

Folder 107b

N.C. Senatorial Campaign 1972

Folder 108

National Association of RR Council 1972

Folder 109

Southern Railway Company 1937, 1941

Folder 110

Harvard Law School-50th Reunion 1966

Folder 111

Morson Dedication 1971

Folder 112

Kiwanis Club 1954, 1959, 1960

Folder 113

Duke Law Day 1964

Folder 114

T.V. Program - "Fayetteville St" 1965

Folder 115

Wooten Family Genealogy 1947

Folder 116

Writings on Railroads

Folder 117-121

Folder 117

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folder 120

Folder 121

Speeches and Other Writings

Folder 122

Biographical Material

Folder 123

J. N. Joyner Trusteeship Papers 1936

Folder 124

Report of the N.C. Advisory Committee on Education 1956

Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4380/1

Oversize papers

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Pictures.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Back to Top