DACS

]> Finding Aid for the George Pickett Wilson Papers, 1937 - 1972 Processed by: Archives Staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jason Alston University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro 2009 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: July 2009; Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS Finding Aid for the George Pickett Wilson Papers, 1937 - 1972 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Descriptive Summary George Pickett Wilson (1889-1972) taught in the English department at Woman's College (now UNCG) from 1927 until his retirement in 1958, specializing in Southern folklore and dialect. The George Pickett Wilson Papers date from 1937 to 1972 and contain manuscript material, correspondence, clippings, and biographical notes. George Pickett Wilson Papers, 1937 - 1972 Mss026 Wilson, George Pickett 0.417 Linear Feet, 1 Box University Archives and Manuscripts English Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], George Pickett Wilson Papers, University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of George P. Wilson in November 1967

Processing Information

Processed by Archives Staff,

Encoded by Jason Alston, July 2009;

Biographical Note

George Pickett Wilson (1889-1972) taught in the English department at Woman's College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) from 1927 until his retirement in 1958. Wilson specialized in Southern folklore and dialect. He published numerous articles in scholarly journals and two college textbooks, served as associate editor of The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, and co-authored the book Down in the Holler with Vance Randolph. In 1944, Wilson was named secretary-treasurer of the American Dialect Society. He also served as president of the North Carolina Folklore Society and held memberships in the Modern Language Association, American Folklore Society, American Name Society, and Southeastern Folklore Society. He was married to Helen Leeson; they had two sons and a daughter.

Collection Overview

The George Pickett Wilson Papers date from 1937 to 1972 and contain manuscript material, correspondence, clippings, and biographical notes. The manuscript material is the original typed manuscript with handwritten corrections of Ozark Speech (first revision of Down in the Holler); the manuscript material is approximately 600 pages.

The correspondence features letters to Wilson from author Henry Louis (H.L.) Mencken and English instructor George R. Coffman, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Correspondence subjects include the possibility of a graduate student compiling a bibliography of American language as a master’s thesis, comments to the American Dialect Society, and Mencken’s work on a second supplement to The American Language. Two reprints of articles by Mencken for American Speech (inscribed for Wilson) are also included.

There are also six letters from Wilson to Emory University librarian Guy Lyle dealing with academic and family news, and various writing and editing projects.

Miscellaneous items include memos concerning changes in the Annual Catalog, (especially the use of clearer, simpler language, etc.), written while Wilson was a member of the Catalog Committee. Also included is a small pamphlet, To those who have lost, a biographical sketch compiled by his son, George Jr., and read at his father's funeral. Finally, there are clippings about his life and his work.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are divided by material type.

Detailed Description of the Collection 1 Ozark Speech, Chapters 1-2 Ozark Speech, Chapters 3-4 Ozark Speech, Chapters 5-7 Ozark Speech, Chapters 8-9 Ozark Speech, Chapter 10, Index, "Suggestions to Typist" H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken Letters to Wilson, 1944-1948 Letters by Wilson to Guy Lyle, 1950-1955 Clippings, Biographical, Miscellaneous Items Related Material

See more literary manuscript collections held by UNCG.