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Collection Number: 04506

Collection Title: Alvaretta Kenan Register Papers, 1700-1985

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 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4000 items)
Abstract Correspondence, research materials, photographs, and other items documenting the work of Alvaretta Kenan Register, social worker and professional genealogist of Norfolk, Va., focusing on her work on "The Kenan Family" (1967). Most items are copies or compilations of family records, family correspondence, or family photographs.
Creator Register, Alvaretta Kenan, 1907-
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 Alvaretta Kenan Register papers #4506, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from J. Shields Kenan of Statesboro, Georgia, in January 1988 and Julie Sikes in December 1997.
Received from Julie Sikes on 15 December 1997.
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: Robert J. Foster, February 1988

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

Born in Statesboro, Ga., on 4 September 1907, Alvaretta Kenan Register received her baccalaureate degree from George State College for Women and her master's degree in social work from Tulane University. Upon graduation, she was employed by the Georgia State Welfare Department, where she organized USO Travelers Aid at Fort Benning, Ga. She was subsequently transferred to Norfolk, Va., to organize USO Travelers Aid for naval personnel and their families. Quickly rising to executive-level positions, she joined the staff of the Norfolk Social Services Bureau and was commissioned to reorganize that agency. She served as superintendent of the Social Service Bureau of the Department of Public Welfare in Norfolk for twenty-four years, retiring 1 March 1973.

In anticipation of her retirement, Register completed courses of study at the American Institute of Genealogy Research and the North Carolina Archives, qualifying her for certification in genealogy.

Register's published works include The Kenan Family (1967), One Branch of the Parrish Family of Bulloch County, Ga., and Bulloch County, Georgia, Genealogical Source Material (1985). She served as contributing editor of the Georgia Genealogical Magazine.

In recognition of her professional work and community service, Register received many regional, state, and local awards. She was a life member of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, state president of the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, and a member of the Daughters of American Colonists, Magna Charta Dames, and Americans of Royal Descent. She was active in Quota International and the Virginia League of Local Public Welfare Executives.

Alvaretta Kenan Register died 22 April 1985.

(Source: Prefatory remarks to Everett/Everitt Family (1987), a genealogical study by Alvaretta Kenan Register, published posthumously by the estate of Alvaretta Kenan Register.)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

This collection contains both professional and personal papers of Alvaretta Kenan Register. The bulk of the collection centers around Register's work as a genealogist, particularly her work on The Kenan Family, a genealogical study of her own family.

In addition to genealogical materials, there are a number of items relating to Register's social work career and her personal life.

Papers of Alvaretta Kenan Register including awards and certificates, scrapbooks, genealogical work and personal papers.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Genealogical Materials.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Research Materials, 1770-1970.

About 1500 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by file title.

Documentation of the compilation of materials used for genealogical research leading to the publication of The Kenan Family. Included are records from archives in Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Washington, D.C. Also included are materials from the Daughters of the American Revolution, court records, and letters Register received in response to requests for specific genealogical data.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1.1. Individual Kenan Ancestors.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1.2. General Kenan Material.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. The Kenan Family, 1850-1975.

About 700 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by file title.

General background information and publication data related to The Kenan Family, a genealogical study by Alvaretta Kenan Register, published by James Shields Kenan II in 1967. Folder titles are chiefly those assigned by Register.

Folder 40

Additions not recorded

Folder 41

Book reviews

Folder 42

Census, 1880

Folder 43

Church records

Folder 44

Corrections on Johnstone

Folder 45

Corrections submitted and made

Folder 46

Correspondence

Folder 47

Deeds/county records

Folder 48

Financial statement

Folder 49

Gifts, Kenan Family

Folder 50

Letters of commendation

Folder 51

Marriage and death records

Folder 52-53

Folder 52

Folder 53

Miscellaneous notes and records

Folder 54

New data/corrections/guide sheet

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Personal Papers, 1940-1985.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Clippings, 1950-1985.

About 550 items.

Newspaper clippings on a variety of topics, including Register, Liberty Hall in Kenansville, North Carolina, and activities of other Kenan family members.

Folder 83

Register, Alvaretta Kenan

Folder 84-85

Folder 84

Folder 85

Liberty Hall

Folder 86-90

Folder 86

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Folder 90

Kenan family activities

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Volumes.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Pictures.

Pictures have been divided into two groups: (1) P-4506/1-29, general photographs, chiefly of Register and other family members; and (2) P-4506/30-57, originals of plates included in The Kenan Family.

Image P-4506/1-6

P-4506/1

P-4506/2

P-4506/3

P-4506/4

P-4506/5

P-4506/6

Register, Alvaretta Kenan, undated

Image P-4506/7

As a child, undated

Image P-4506/8

27 August 1941

Image P-4506/9

May 1963

Image P-4506/10

4 September 1982

Image P-4506/11

With Elisa Kenan, 4 September 1982

Image P-4506/12

With Elise Richardson Kenan (Mrs. James Shields Kenan), 4 September 1982

Image P-4506/13

With Jennifer Kenan, 4 September 1982

Image P-4506/14

With Jennifer, Elisa and Mrs. (Lanier) Kenan, 4 September 1982

Image P-4506/15

With James Shields Kenan II, 4 September 1982

Image P-4506/16-17

P-4506/16

P-4506/17

Brannen, Alvaretta Rebecca Gertrude, (Mrs. William C. Hedleston), undated

Image P-4506/18

Engraving, bust of unknown man, undated

Image P-4506/19

Kenan, Daniel Lafayette, undated

Image P-4506/20-22

P-4506/20

P-4506/21

P-4506/22

Kenan, James (d. 1810), gravestone Sampson-Duplin County, N.C., undated

Image P-4506/23-25

P-4506/23

P-4506/24

P-4506/25

Kenan, James Shields, undated

Image P-4506/26

Kenan, John Addison, undated

Image P-4506/27

Kenan, Michael, (d. 1799), gravestone, undated

Image P-4506/28

Liberty Hall, May 1963

Image P-4506/29

Thompson, Ivan C., III, February 1960

Image P-4506/30

Kenan coat of arms (iii) [Numbers in parentheses are page numbers in The Kenan Family]

Image P-4506/31

Grove Church, 1963 (7)

Image P-4506/32-33

P-4506/32

P-4506/33

Kenansville sign (7 and 11)

Image P-4506/34

James Kenan High School (13)

Image P-4506/35

Kenan Place (15)

Image P-4506/36

Old Philadelphia Presbyterian Church (20)

Image P-4506/37

Kenan, Owen Rand (22)

Image P-4506/38

Kenan, Daniel Lafayette and Mariba Ann Gregory (28)

Image P-4506/39

Kenan, Daniel Lafayette (29)

Image P-4506/40

43rd Regiment (31)

Image P-4506/41

Kenan, James Graham (32)

Image P-4506/42

Kenan, William Kinbro (36)

Image P-4506/43

Kenan, Rebehah McGehoe (36)

Image P-4506/44

Gibson, Julia Kenan (37)

Image P-4506/45

Kenan, James Gregory (40)

Image P-4506/46

Loving, Mrs. Oliver (Mary Lois Kenan) (41)

Image P-4506/47

Ramsey, Mrs. George (43)

Image P-4506/48

Kenan, James Shields, Sr. (45)

Image P-4506/49

Kenan, Owen Hill (46)

Image P-4506/50

Flagler, Mary Lily Kenan, 1901 (48)

Image P-4506/51

Flagler, Henry Morrison (49)

Image P-4506/52

Kenan, William Rand, Jr. (53)

Image P-4506/53

Fleming, Emily Gibson (57)

Image P-4506/54

Harville, Julia Gibson (58)

Image P-4506/55

Womach, Carolina Booth (59)

Image P-4506/56

Kenan, Nil (61)

Image P-4506/57

Register, Alvaretta Kenan, 1961 (66)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of December 1997 (Acc.98003).

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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