Walter Eugene Daniel papers
Walter Eugene Daniel (1859-1932) was a lawyer from Weldon, NC. He was a graduate and trustee of Wake Forest College. The bulk of the collection consists of Walter's personal letters to Jeanette Snead while courting, as well as other letters between family members. Biographical materials include some family biographies and educational materials of their daughter Jeanette. The collection also includes one series of speeches written by Ashby Dunn, Daniel's son-in-law.
Biographical and Historical Note
Walter Eugene Daniel (1859-1932) was a lawyer from Weldon, NC. He was a graduate and trustee of Wake Forest College. He married Jeanette Snead of Fork Union, VA, in 1888. Snead was Daniel's sister Lilian's music teacher at the Chowan Baptist Female Institute in Murfreesboro, NC. The couple had eight children: Jeanette Miller, Eugene, Charles Rufus, Donald Snead, Louis Poteat, Narcissa Bruce, Walter Eugene, and John Wallace. Daniel was Solicitor for the State Inferior Courts (1883-1887) and was elected Solicitor of the Second Judicial District in 1894. In 1892, Daniel organized the Bank of Weldon, and served as president. He was heavily involved in Democratic politics throughout his life and was elected to the state Senate in 1906 after three terms as Solicitor. He also ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor. Additionally, Daniel was active in Weldon Baptist Church, serving as Deacon and partially funding a new church building. In 1923, while in Norfolk, VA on business, Daniel suffered a stroke. He survived but was paralyzed until his death in 1932.
Daniel's oldest child, Jeanette Miller Daniel, married Ashby Wood Dunn, son of Walter's good friend William Dunn. Ashby Dunn was also a graduate of Wake Forest College, and was Class Orator for his last year. The Dunn family lived in Scotland Neck, NC. Ashby Dunn was a lawyer, editor of the Scotland Neck Commonwealth, and was Superintendent of the Scotland Neck public schools.
Collection Overview
This collection primarily documents the life of Walter Eugene Daniel, his wife Jeanette Snead Daniel, and their eight children. The bulk of the collection consists of Walter's personal letters to Jeanette while courting, as well as other letters between family members. They document the family's social life and Daniel's work as a lawyer. One letter dated 1889 August 29 briefly describes an incident in Halifax, NC that Daniel describes as a "riot." Biographical materials include some family biographies and educational materials of their daughter Jeanette. Some biographical materials were created by Kate Dunn Barrow, Daniel's granddaughter. One biography was written by Eugenia Riddick, Daniel's niece. The collection also includes one series of speeches written by Ashby Dunn, Daniel's son-in-law. These speeches contain themes such as education, religion, North Carolina history, and Confederate history. Many of these speeches reflect the Lost Cause ideology of the Confederacy that was prevalent at the time.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 4 series, all arranged chronologically: Series 1. Letters; Series 2. Biographical materials; Series 3. Photographs; and Series 4. Ashby Dunn speeches.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Names
Genres
- Correspondence
Personal Names
Subjects
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Paige Horton, 2014
- Revision Description
- Revised by Kate Trathen, reprocessed collection and added new accessions, 2026 July
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for research.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.".
- Preferred Citation
- Walter Eugene Daniel papers (MS4), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.