MS 046
DOCTOR HUBERT A. EATON,
Sr.
PRIVATE PAPERS, 1938-1991
Description
The Eaton papers are both
a window to a turbulent era in America's social history and a chronicle
the life of one of Wilmington's most renowned citizens. The collection,
containing correspondence, financial and legal documents, newspaper clippings,
printed materials, photographs and publications, and some items of realia,
illuminates the lives of southern African Americans during that period
when the legalized structure of segregation was under attack and long established
social relationships were in a period of great flux.
This extensive collection includes the original materials and photocopies of the legal actions instituted by Dr. Eaton and his fellow plaintiffs to compel the integration of the fundamental institutions of New Hanover County-- the public schools and the hospital. Moreover, the collection also reflects the broad spectrum of Dr. Eaton's interests and activities which ranged from medical and public health issues, education, civil rights and athletics.
A gifted amateur athlete, Dr. Eaton was president of the American Tennis Association, the governing body of tennis for African Americans. A scholar and author, Dr. Eaton wrote a history of Community Hospital, a biographical sketch of Doctor James Francis Shober, a personal memoir, and a family genealogy. A physician committed to health and well being of his people, Dr. Eaton served as government consultant, conference participant, hospital trustee and president of the Old North State Medical Society. Committed to opportunity in education for all Americans, Dr. Eaton acted to compel the integration of New Hanover County Schools and the Public Library, and served on the governing boards of several educational institutions.
This is not a comprehensive list of professional and personal activities encompassed by Dr. Eaton's life. The forty five linear feet of materials have been arranged in nineteen record groups; within each group materials will be arranged in series of types of materials in chronological order.
Doctor Eaton donated a portion of his papers to Randall Library in 1983; subsequent donations were made by his heirs in 1991 and 1993. The papers have been designated Accession Number 46 of the Manuscripts Collection, Special Collections Department, William Madison Randall Library, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-3297. Contact the Special Collections Librarian for information about restrictions on the collection and publication rights.
Patricia B. McGee
Special Collections Librarian
18 March 1997
Biography
Hubert A. Eaton, born in
Fayetteville, NC, grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, the son of Estelle Atley
(Jones) and Dr. Chester Arthur Easton. He graduated from Johnson C. Smith
University, where he was a member of the school's tennis team, and earned
a MS in Zoology and his medical degree at the University of Michigan. After
a year's residency at Kate Bitting Memorial Hospital, Winston-Salem, he
moved to Wilmington, NC in 1943 with his wife, Celeste Burnett Eaton to
join in medical practice with his father-in-law, Doctor Foster F. Burnett.
Eaton practiced general medicine and general surgery and was a member of
the surgical staff of [segregated] Community Hospital. In 1950 he and other
community leaders sued the New Hanover Board of Education to force the
upgrading of the segregated schools. Eaton returned to the courts when
it became apparent the school system was not integrating schools in accordance
with the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Because of the inadequacies of Community Hospital, in 1957 Eaton and his
fellow physicians sued to force James Walker Memorial Hospital to admit
black doctors to its staff. When New Hanover County moved to build a new
hospital, Eaton and other African-American physicians used the courts to
insure that the new facility would be open to patients and doctors of all
races. Eaton had a lifelong interest in tennis; he sponsored Althea Gibson,
the first black to win championships at Wimbledon and Forest Hills, and
served as president of the American Tennis Association. Eaton was called
upon to serve as an advisor to several area educational institutions: Cape
Fear Technical Institute [now Cape Fear Community College], the University
of North Carolina at Wilmington, the North Carolina Center for the Advancement
of Teaching. As physician he served as a Title VI Consultant for the Department
of Health Education and Welfare, as a trustee for Pitt County Hospital
and participated in the national conference, Medicine in the Ghettos. He
was a scholar and writer who authored an account of the history of Community
Hospital, a biography of Dr. James F. Shober, first black doctor in North
Carolina to have a medical school degree, and his own memoirs, 'Every Man
Should Try.'
HUBERT A. EATON PRIVATE PAPERS
The Eaton Papers have been
divided into the following Record Groups and Series.
Record Group 1. Scrapbooks
Record Group 2. Community Hospital
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Hospital Administration
Series 3. Financial Documents
Series 4. Grand Jury Investigation
Series 5. Accreditation
Series 6. Statements of Policies and Procedures
Series 7. Publications by/about Community Hospital
Series 8. Publications Relating to Hospital Administration
Series 10. Community Hospital Commemorative Plaque 1982
Record Group 3. James Walker Memorial Hospital
Series 1. Correspondence 5 November 1954- 11 December 1959
Series 2. Legal Document
Series 3. Financial Documents
Series 4. Correspondence 23 March 1960- 25 June 1966
Series 5. Legal Documents
Series 6. Medical Staff By-laws, Rules and Regulations
Series 7. Financial Documents
Series 8. Miscellaneous
Series 9. Hospital Discrimination [Related Cases]
Series 10. Legal Defense Fund Dinner 30 April 1963
Series 11. Publications and Publicity Releases
Series 12. Newspaper Clippings
Record Group 4. New Hanover Memorial Hospital Bond Issues, Hill-Burton and the Struggle Against Jim Crow Medicine
Series 1. First NHMH Bond Issue
Series 2. Second NHMH Bond Issue
Series 3. The Struggle Against
Hospital Segregation
Record Group 5. Federal Programs
for Health Care Delivery
Series 1. Title VI Consultant
Series 2. Health Insurance for the Aged Under Social Security--Medicare
Series 3. Medicaid
Record Group 6. Health Care Delivery
Series 1. HAE's Private Practice/The Burnett-Eaton Clinic
Series 2. Public Health Issues-North Carolina
Series 3. Medical Education Primarily within North Carolina
Series 4. Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Series 5. Medicine in the Ghettos
Series 6. Medical Practice New Hanover Memorial Hospital
Record Group 7. Old North State Medical Society
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Speeches
Series 3. Legal Document
Series 4. Constitution and By-laws
Series 5. Financial Records
Series 6. Photograph
Series 7. Minority Representation on State Medical Boards
Series 8. Minutes
Series 9. Committee Reports, Membership Rosters, Stand Committee Rosters
Series 10 Hospital Segregation Surveys and Reports
Series 11. Newsletters and Mass Mailings
Series 12. Annual Meeting Programs
Series 13. Post-graduate Clinic Programs, Mass Mailings, Brochures
Series 14. News Releases and Policy Statement
Series 15. Newspaper Clippings
Series 16. Supplement to the North Carolina Medical Journal April 1962 Transactions
Series 17. Publications
Series 18. Handwritten Notes and Fragments
Record Group 8. Area Health Education Centers
Series 1. Correspondence 1978-1980
Series 2. Statements by HAE
Series 3. Printed Material
Series 4. Miscellaneous
Record Group 9. Tennis
Series 1. HAE-Althea Gibson
Series 2. Correspondence 1945-1989
Series 3. Legal Documents
Series 4. American Tennis Association Publication
Series 5. Tennis Associations Printed Materials
Series 6. Printed Materials
Series 7. Printed Materials by/about ATA Officials
Series 8. North Carolina Tennis Foundation/ North Carolina Tennis Association
Series 9. Arthur Ashe
Series 10. Miscellaneous Materials and Notes
Series 11. Speeches and Letters by HAE
Series 12. Tennis Publications
Series 13. Newspaper Clippings
Series 14. Photographs
Record Group 10. Separate but Equal Lawsuit 1950-1952
Series 1. Correspondence November 1950-May 1959
Series 2. Petition of Eaton, Jr. et. al. to the Board of Education New Hanover County
Series 3. Minutes Meeting of Board of Education and Negro Petitioners
Series 4. Legal Documents
Series 5. Proposed Schedule of School Inspections
Series 6. Financial Documents
Series 7. Statement of Interpretation of Findings
Series 8. Publications by Bd of Ed. NHC
Series 9. Miscellaneous
Series 10. Publications by Others
Series 11. Photographs
Record Group 11. School Integration Lawsuit 1963-1983
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Legal Documents
Series 3. Photo and List of Students attending Integrated Schools
Series 4. HAE Handwritten Notes and Chronology of Integration Suit
Series 5. Financial Documents, Receipts
Series 6. Publications
Series 7. Printed Materials
Series 8. Maps of School Districts
Series 9. Herrick M. Roland
Series 10. Biographical Data
Record Group 12. University of North Carolina Board of Governors
Series 1. Miscellaneous
Series 2. Committees
Series 3. Legal Documents
Series 4. Publications
Series 5. Minutes of the Board of Governors
Series 6. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Series 7. Publications Re: Education in NC
Record Group 13. University of North Carolina at Wilmington Board of Trustees
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Minutes , Agendas, Resolutions, Memoranda
Series 3. Official Communications to Board of Governors. Boards of Trustees
Series 4. Committee Reports
Series 5. Miscellaneous
Series 6. Speeches by/about HAE
Series 7. Legal Documents
Series 8. Policies and Procedures
Series 9. Endowment Fund
Record Group 14. University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Series 1. Serial Publications
Series 2. Publications
Series 3. Financial Documents
Series 4. News Releases
Series 5. Proposals and Feasibility Studies
Series 6. Long Range Planning Publications
Series 7. Literary Publications
Record Group 15. Education
Series 1. School Board Election Campaigns
Series 2. Emergency School Assistance Program
Series 3. North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching
Series 4. Cape Fear Technical Institute
Series 5. Outward Bound
Series 6. Johnson C. Smith University
Series 7. New Hanover County Citizens' Committee for Better Schools
Series 8. Williston High School
Series 9. Recreation Department, Wilmington NC, Negro Division 1951-1960
Record Group 16. Wilmington Housing [1963-1989]
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Federal Publications
Series 3. State of North Carolina Publications
Series 4. City of Wilmington Publications
Series 5. City of Wilmington Printed Materials
Series 6. Other Publications
Series 7. Community Development Block Grant
Series 8. Legal Documents
Series 9. Miscellaneous
Series 10. Duplicate Materials as Organized by HAE
Series 11. Deposition of Dr. Hubert A. Eaton in the matter of Airy Stalworth
Record Group 17. Civil Rights
Series 1. National Association for the Advancement of Color People
Series 2. North Carolina Good Neighbor Council
Series 3. Selective Buying Committee [Wilmington NAACP]
Series 4. Wilmington-New Hanover Bi-Racial Committee [Inter-racial Committee]
Series 5. President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity
Series 6. North Carolina Community Organizations
Series 7. Publications
Series 8. Programs
Series 9. Individual Actions
Series 10. Institutional Actions
Series 11. Wilmington Racial Unrest 1971- Wilmington 10
Record Group 18. Literary Productions
Series 1. Manuscripts "Every Man Should Try"
Series 2. Printed Materials relating to "Every Man Should Try"
Series 3. Speeches, Letters and Notes
Series 4. Speeches by Others
Record Group 19. Private Life
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Fraternal and Social Organizations
Series 3. Family Life
Series 4. "Three Score and Ten" Party
Series 5. Political Campaigns Printed Material
Series 6. Independence Federal Savings Bank
Series 7. Public Exhibits and Donations
Series 8. Miscellaneous Printed Materials
Series 9. Legal Documents
Series 10. Publications and Printed Materials Arranged Topically
Series 11. Newspaper Clippings Filed Alphabetically by Topic
Series 12. Fonvielle Moore Realty Company