Though it’s probably not well known, Joyner Library’s North Carolina Collection is home to an impressive assemblage of books and other textual materials dealing with religion in the state. Theology, biographical information, denominational and local church histories, along with conference and annual denominational reports, comprise a collection nearly 300 years in scope.

    History records that as a whole North Carolinians remained relatively unchurched throughout the eighteenth century.  Only in some of the more prosperous communities were officials able to support the state-run Church of England through the tax system, that support often being minimal at best.  Efforts to revive what was to become the Protestant Episcopal Church after the American Revolution were attempted in the 1790s but proved futile. In fact, it was 1817 before a successful statewide convention was organized to reinstate the church among religious bodies in North Carolina. Women are said to have played the most significant role in keeping the denomination alive and well during the formative years. In his 1997 book To the Glory of God: Christ Church, author D. F. Hood recalls Mary Sumner (Jackey) Blount as the first major benefactor of the Raleigh Church, her endowment described as the “earliest such munificent gift to an Episcopal church in North Carolina.”

    Courtesy of the late Lawrence F. Brewster, longtime East Carolina University history professor, the North Carolina Collection has nearly a complete archive of all early annual reports of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina dating back to 1817 and the Diocese of East Carolina dating to the 1880s.

    Oldest among North Carolina denominations, Quakers and Baptists appear to have histories in the area stretching as far back as the late seventeenth century.  Particularly noteworthy for Baptists was the establishment of the Kehukee Association in 1769 and the great controversy over missions that eventually split the body into two separate churches: Old School or Primitive Baptists and Missionary Baptists.  Martin County may well have produced the most significant Baptist leaders in the state.  Martin Ross (1762-1828) is given credit for introducing the concept of missions and is well known as the father of the Baptist State Convention in North Carolina.  Cushing Biggs Hassell (1808-1880) of Williamston is likewise considered the most influential leader among Primitive Baptists.

    Hassell’s autobiography and references to Ross’s contributions are available via the North Carolina Collection’s new web resource the Eastern North Carolina Digital Library at http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/historyfiction/, formerly called the North Carolina History and Fiction Digital Library.  The website is a treasure trove of rare, hard-to-find books, maps, and ephemera relevant to forty-one eastern North Carolina counties, and it includes a fine number of church histories, religious texts, and the like.

    Aside from historical information, visitors to the North Carolina Collection can also find an array of current literature dealing with several denominations; the Friendly Newsletter (Quaker), North Carolina Christian Advocate (Methodist), Biblical Recorder (Baptist), Free Will Baptist (Free Will Baptist), NC Catholic (Catholic), Charity and Children (N.C. Baptist Children’s Home) are some of the current periodical titles received.

    Books on contemporary notables such as Billy and Franklin Graham and the controversial Jim Bakker are also available.  One title recently received is Down the Road From Eden: The Adventures of a Methodist Minister (2003) by John James Miller. 

    Area residents, as well as members of the university community, are encouraged to use the North Carolina Collection located on the third floor of Joyner Library. For more information call 328-6601 or visit the website at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/ncc/index.cfm.

Fred Harrison is a staff member with the North Carolina Collection.