Special Collections & Archives

B.W. Spilman was a Baptist pastor; Field Secretary of the Sunday School Board (Southern Baptist Convention); General Secretary of the Southern Baptist Assembly, Ridgecrest, North Carolina; and Superintendent of Kennedy Home for Children, Kinston, North Carolina. His papers contain materials regarding his personal life, subject files, education, and writings.

Bethany Baptist Church was organized by Elder T. J. Horner, August 6, 1883. This volume contains conference proceedings, listings of male members and female members, and conference proceedings.

Bethlehem Baptist Church was constituted in 1832 as Maple Bluff. Materials consist of church minutes from Dec. 1835 to Aug. 1912, and from 1928 to 1950 [broken series]; a list of deceased members, 1835-71; membership and attendance rolls, 1852-1951 and undated; miscellaneous undated papers; and Sunday School records, 1977-91 [broken series].

The Yanceyville First Baptist Church was organized in 1834 by Stephen Pleasant, who had been excluded from Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Country Line Baptist Association when the association agreed not to have anything to do with missionary endeavors. This church is still in existence as a Primitive Baptist Church. It holds an association with the Beulah Baptist Association. Materials include meeting minutes, rules and regulations, and membership rolls.

Bill J. Leonard is the founding dean of the WFU School of Divinity, professor of church history, author of Baptist history writings, and ordained Baptist minister. This collection documents his personal and professional papers, sermons, and research materials for books and lectures. Materials date from his tenure at Southern Baptist Seminary, Samford University, and Wake Forest University. A major portion of the collection contains materials relevant to the controversy and split of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1970s and 1980s. Correspondents include U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Walter Harrelson, James Dunn, Glenn Hinson, and other notable figures of the Southern Baptist Convention. There are also some audio recordings of his sermons as well as lectures by such notable theologians as Jurgen Moltmann.

This collection is a single bill of sale between Isaac Winston and L.G. Ligen over the purchase of Mary Afferline, an enslaved woman of unknown age, for $313. The bill is dated July 1832 and the sale occurred in Franklin County, North Carolina.

Incoming letters received by Blanche (Mrs. Don C) Perry from Jean (Anthony) Middleton, Southern Baptist Convention missionary in Chile.