Manuscript and Archival Collections

Records of a committee formed in 1988 to advise the Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Health Department on policies that would help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Charlotte (N.C.) region. Contains correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, studies, and surveys of the committee and related agencies, including the United Way-backed Regional HIV Consortium.

Annie Alexander was born in Mecklenberg County, NC in 1864 and graduated from Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia in 1884. She returned to North Carolina in 1887 as the first woman to practice medicine in the South. The collection includes letters she wrote to her father, Dr. John Brevard Alexander, while a student and intern at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia (1884-85); patient records; financial accounts; essays on medical topics; and newspaper clippings.

Papers documenting Martha Alexander's work in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1992-2012. Includes material on mental health parity, health care reform, the tobacco settlement, NC DNA Registry, CMS Pay for Performance, SIDS and gun control. Also includes items from Alexander's campaigns for public office in the North Carolina Senate and North Carolina House of Representatives.

The collection contains a small assortment of papers from Elizabeth Gloser DeSantis, who attended nursing school at Michael Reese Hospital in Gary, Indiana in 1938 and 1939, and later enlisted to serve in the 38th Evacuation Unit in 1942. With the 38th Evac, she served in Tunisia and Italy, recording a diary throughout her service. The collection consists of the original diary, a typed transcript of the diary, a photographic scrapbook, some loose photographs and a few other papers.

The Thomas L. Doster papers comprise records related to Dr. Doster's work in North and South Carolina, including tax and license receipts, property tax receipts, an account book, and family correspondence. The bulk of the papers consist of tax receipts from Union County, North Carolina, and Lancaster County, South Carolina, dated 1866-1899.

Thereasa Delerine (T.D.) Elder is active in community nursing, church work, and the Charlotte African American community, particularly in efforts to preserve Charlotte's African American history. Materials document the importance of African Americans in politics and community, the value of a healthy and safe neighborhood, and access of education and employment.

The Harlan Hatcher letter was written by Dr. Harlan Hatcher, then from Ohio, dated February 25, 1935; addressed to Martha Colvard, concerning the medicinal qualities of the ginseng root.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department works to promote and protect the public's health. The collection includes annual reports, minutes, and photographs of department staff and clientele.

Ledger books listing the accounts of dentist Edgar Dorsett Moore.

Records of RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network,) an organization founded in 1992 in Charlotte, North Carolina and dedicated to addressing the needs of persons with HIV/AIDS disease in the Carolinas. The collection largely documents events and activities including fund raising, public education, and organizing volunteers.

Papers of a Charlotte lawyer and politician, primarily documenting his membership on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (1978-84). Includes campaign files and material reflecting his special interests in human services, mental health, and roads. Also includes material from his earlier service on the Charlotte Housing Authority (1971-76).

Records of a medical unit, formed in 1940 by doctors at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (now Carolinas Medical Center) to support front line aid stations during World War II in North Africa and Italy. Contains official reports, a unit history, photographs, correspondence, and maps of encampments.

Papers, scrapbook, photo album, photograph and moving images (transferred onto DVD) from Col. Raymond W. Whittier, of the 38th Evacuation Unit, from 1942 to 1946.