D.W. Newsom papers, 1894-1972

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Summary

Creator:
Newsom, D. W. (Dallas Walton), 1873-1949
Abstract:
D.W. (Dallas Walton) Newsom was an educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet. Newsom entered Trinity College in the fall of 1895 beginning a twenty-seven year association with the institution. The collection contains material correspondence between Newsom and Trinity College president John C. Kilgo and Tempe Battle Newsom; clippings of Kilgo's speeches, articles, visitations, and obituary from various local and regional newspapers; and some biographical writings regarding Kilgo. The materials in the collection date from 1894-1972.
Extent:
6.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
UA.30.01.0010
University Archives Record Group:
30 -- Student and Alumni Papers and Materials
30 -- Student and Alumni Papers and Materials > 01 -- Individuals

Background

Scope and content:

The Newsom collection primarily contains material collected or created by D.W. Newsom. Includes material concerning Trinity College president John C. Kilgo such as correspondence between Newsom and Kilgo, clippings of Kilgo's speeches, articles, visitations, and obituary from various local and regional newspapers, and some biographical writings regarding Kilgo. Major subjects include Trinity College (Durham County, NC); Christian education; and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Also present in the collection are some materials relating to Newsom's administrative duties at Trinity College including a repair book (1911-1918), some memoranda concerning Trinity College, and miscellaneous letters. Of particular note are the responses to a janitorial service survey sent by Newsom to Trinity's peer institutions in 1920 asking for operational details of various institutions' housekeeping staff. Questions on the survey address race of staff, number of hours worked, salary, paid vacation/sick-leave, bonuses, division of responsibilities, retention, and age of workers.

Newsom kept various notebooks for jotting down thoughts, poetic words, and subjects of interest such as physics or Kilgo, philosophic quotations, and writings. These notebooks are present in the collection. Many of Newsom's notes are in shorthand. Personal correspondence consists primarily of letters between D. W. Newsom and Tempe Battle Newsom, but also contains correspondence from their parents, children, colleagues, and friends. A handwritten index of the personal correspondence is located in the collection control file and is available upon request. The materials in the collection date from 1894 to 1972.

Biographical / historical:

condensed from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, ed. by William S. Powell Volume 4, L-O, 1991, pp. 366-367.

D.W. (Dallas Walton) Newsom was an educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet. He was born in Littleton, North Carolina to Marion Eaton and Annie Soule Heptinstall Newsom in 1873. Newsom entered Trinity College (now Duke University) in the fall of 1895, beginning a twenty-seven year association with the institution.

During his student days at Trinity, Newsom was a member of various scholastic and social clubs including Phi Beta Kappa, the 9019, Sigma Upsilon, and the Alpha Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha. He was also a campus leader serving as senior class president, editor of The Trinity Archive, as well as holding various officer positions in the Hesperian Literary Society. His involvement in the Hesperian Literary Society culminated in his winning its orator's medal in 1898. At the end of his first year, Newsom became the private secretary to President John C. Kilgo prompting a life-long friendship between the two men.

When Newsom graduated from Trinity in 1899, he received a post in Havana, Cuba, on recommendation from President Kilgo, where he served as a private secretary to the comptroller of customs in the U.S. Customs House. In 1901, Newsom returned to Trinity, becoming the college registrar and six years later college treasurer, a post he held until 1923. During this time, Newsom was also the recording secretary to the Board of Trustees and a member of the officers' finance committee.

D.W. Newsom married Tempe Battle in 1905. Tempe Battle was born in 1881 in Whitaker, North Carolina to Marcus Josiah and Susan Ella Garrett Battle. D.W. Newsom and Tempe Battle had four children together- Dallas Walton, Jr., Dorothy, Routh Battle, and Tempe Garrett.

In 1923, Newsom left academic administration to enter private enterprise opening a real estate and insurance sales and service office in Durham. He was active in private business for seven years. Concurrently, he also served as secretary-treasurer and then president (1928) of the Durham Real Estate Board and as director of the State Board of Realtors.

Newsom also held several public offices. In 1924, he was appointed to the Durham County Board of Commissioners. He served for four terms. Governor Angus W. McLean named him to the Governor's Commission for a Survey and Study of County Government designed to "project the modernization of county governments" in 1925. This appointment led to Newsom's appointment to the Governor's County Government Advisory Commission (1927-1931). In 1930, Newsom became Durham County's first county manager, and one of the few county managers in the nation.

Newsom's published works include two books of poetry: Song and Dream (1922) and Along the Silent Ways (1973). The later was published posthumously by his daughters in celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. He also penned a History of Duke Memorial Methodist Church from 1886 to 1932 (1933) and Chapel Talks (1922) by President John Carlisle Kilgo, transcribed from notes taken by Newsom. Newsom passed away in 1949.

Acquisition information:
The D.W. Newsom papers were received by the University Archives as a transfer in 2003 and as a gift from Battle Rankin Robinson in 2022.
Processing information:

Processed by Sherrie Bowser, June 2007

Encoded by Sherrie Bowser, July 2007

Accessions A2003-3 and UA2022-0036 are described in this finding aid.

Accession UA2022-0036 added and finding aid updated by April Blevins, August 2022.

Arrangement:

The Newsom collection is divided into the following series: correspondence, printed matter, subject files, writing and speeches, oversize, and personal correspondence.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], D.W. Newsom Papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.