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 W. N. Sheats Papers, #2999, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

The Southern Historical Collection has a microfilm copy of the entire collection, except for Parker's thesis.

Acquisitions Information

Gift 1954

Additional Descriptive Resources

Original finding aid is filed in folder 1.

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.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, September 2010; Dawne Howard Lucas, April 2021

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.

• Anti-Catholicism--Florida--History--20th century.
• Education--Florida--History--19th century.
• Education--Florida--History--20th century.
• Educational law and legislation--Florida--History--20th century.
• Elections--Florida--History--20th century.
• Florida--Politics and government--1865-1950.
• Parker, O. L.
• Parole--Florida--History--20th century.
• Racism--Florida--History--20th century.
• School elections--Florida--History--20th century.
• School superintendents--Florida--History--20th century.
• Scrapbooks--Florida.
• Sheats, W. N. (William Nicholas), 1851-1922.
• Teachers--Selection and appointment--Florida--History--20th century.
• Textbooks--Florida--History--20th century.

W. N. Sheats was Florida's superintendent of public instruction, 1893-1905 and 1913-1922.

The collection contains correspondence, 1911-1922, between Sheats and Florida politicians, educators, campaign workers, personal friends, and others, concerned mainly with Sheats's successful campaigns for election as state superintendent of public instruction in 1912, 1916, and 1920. Campaign issues were the textbook system, records of the candidates, personalities involved, and the hiring of native Florida teachers, with the race issue and anti-Catholicism injected at intervals. Other papers concern the superintendent's office, Sheats's family, educational bills before the legislature, job appointments, and the Florida parole board. Items before 1911 are scant. Volumes include notebooks and personal accounts, 1872- 1875; scrapbooks, 1903-1922; and a copy of O. L. Parker's master's thesis, "William N. Sheats, Florida Educator" (University of Florida, 1949).

• Photograph (P-2999/1)