The South's Cultural Leader Today

Dr. Archibald Henderson, Historian of North Carolina,
Hailed as the Leading Southern Intellectual of This Age
By Foremost Educators and Writers of the Nation

By George W. McCoy

In my judgment," said the distinguished historian, Dr. H. J. Eckenrode, director of the Division of Archaeology and History of the State of Virginia, "Dr. Archibald Henderson, of the University of North Carolina, is the leading Southern intellectual of this age. One of the foremost writers on the modern drama, he has also done historical work of a high order. His researches in our frontier history have led to a considerable gain in our knowledge, particularly of the land companies operating before the Revolution. His "Conquest of the Old Southwest" is an admirable monograph on the settlement of Western Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, written in excellent literary style. His volume, "Washington's Southern Tour," is one of the most interesting books dealing with the Father of the country. Many magazine articles have thrown light on many points in the history of Virginia and the Carolinas. As a historian, Dr. Henderson ranks among the foremost in the Southern field; as a student of literature he is the leader in the South."

This superb tribute from the biographer of Rutherford B. Hays and Jefferson Davis, the author of "Revolution in Virginia" and other historical works, is particularly timely in view of Dr. Henderson's notable series of essays on North Carolina history dealing with forgotten men and events in North Carolina history and neglected North Carolinians who have made important contributions to other states and to the nation.

While Dr. Henderson is not a historian by profession, a professor of history, or even a member of the North Carolina Historical Commission, he has been highly praised, by many of the leading historical authorities of the country, for his writings on George Washington, his studies of many hitherto unstudied phases of North Carolina and Southern history, and the important contributions he has made to the pioneer history of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and the opening of the West.

Land Company Studies His Special Field

The special field, which he has made his own and in which he has shown real mastery, is a study of the land companies and mimic republics in the Old Southwest and the adjoining territory on the North and West, throughout a great part of the eighteenth century. Principal among these are the Transylvania, Louisa, Greenbrier, Loyal, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and the Wabash companies; and the projected colonies of Watauga, Vandalia, Transylvania, Cumberland, and Franklin. Many of his investigations have to do with the pioneer history of Virginia; and the part played by such famous Virginians as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Walker, George Mason, Edmund Pendleton, William Preston, and John Floyd. During the George Washington Bicentennial Celebration, when he served on the regional commission, he wrote one of the principle essays, "Washington the Traveler," for the comprehesive government publication on Washington.

Dr. Henderson is a member of the famous and exclusive American Antiquarian Society; and one of his ablest monographs, almost a book in size, appeared in the Society's Proceedings: "Dr. Thomas Walker and the Loyal Company of Virginia." Dr. Clarence S. Brigham, director of that society, attributes Dr. Henderson's amazing success in so many fields to "concentration, unflagging zeal, a wonderful memory, and natural ability."

Leading Virginians have been warmly appreciative of Dr. Henderson's contributions to the history of Virginia and the South. Some time ago Dr. Douglas Freeman wrote of Dr. Henderson: "He is doing as much as any single man in the South to lay the foundations of a sincere and stimulating culture."

Work on Washington Wins High Praise

A notable work, planned by Dr. Henderson some years ago, deals with Washington's travels through the Confederation during the years 1789 to 1791. One volume of his work, "Washington's Southern Tour," a beautiful and expensive book, has already appeared. At some later date Dr. Henderson plans to publish the companion work, "Washington's Northern Tours." The critics were unanimous in high praise of the book as a work of profound research, great erudition, and charming style. James Morgan, biographer of Patrick Henry and James Monroe, wrote: "No commendation could possibly outrun the excellence of Professor Henderson's book. His scholarship is evident on every page; his style is a model of perspicacity and simple, elegant clarity; and his work throws a white light on an incident in the history of the United States that has been wholly overlooked by other scholars who have written of Washington."

The greatest authority who has ever lived on the writings of Washington, editor of the definitive edition of Washington's writings now being published by the government, and author of the most reliable biography of Washington, Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick, of the Library of Congress, recently paid Dr. Henderson the following tribute:

"Dr. Archibald Henderson's reputation as a painstaking and conscientious historian is well known to all students of American history; but those who have had the pleasure of a close view of the doctor in his research activities understand better, perhaps, the ardent enthusiasm and careful patience characteristic of the man. To those qualities are to be added an appreciation of the color and romance which lie in dry facts and an ability to paint the picture in natural tones. Dr. Henderson's personal charm has a way of weaving itself, subconsciously, through his historical writing with the result that his work is not only better history, but more entertaining. He has done yeoman service for the history of the South and Southwest and only those who know him personally realize the enormous amount of drudgery behind the finished polish of his product."

In connection with his contributions to Washington literature may be cited here Dr. Henderson's recently published series of articles, on a hitherto entirely unstudied subject, George Washington's leadership in the Dismal Swamp Company and his active influence in the cutting of the Dismal Swamp Canal.

Born Near Home of Daniel Boone

The most popular of Henderson's historical works, which has been frequently reprinted, is "The Conquest of the Old Southwest." It is used as a text or reference work in many colleges and universities. This is the authentic story, amply and minutely documented, of the opening of the Old Southwest to occupation by the white man during the eighteenth century. Henderson's interest in the pioneers has been life-long. He was born within 15 miles of Daniel Boone's first home in North Carolina, and he has written voluminously of Boone and of many other North Carolina celebrities who figured prominently in the history of Kentucky.

Dr. Henderson is entirely self-made and self-taught as a historian. During his school and university days, no courses were offered in the history of North Carolina. So he grew up in virtual ignorance of the history of his own State, save in so far as he picked up certain historical information about North Carolina from living in a cultured family where such matters were frequently discussed. After he had passed the age of 30, he became oppressed by a sense of his ignorance of the history of his native State. So he began a steady course of reading in North Carolina history; and gradually absorbed a taste for it. Before a great while had elapsed, he began to collect writings on North Carolina history. Eventually this acquired taste and habit became a passion with him. Today he owns one of the two fullest and most useful collections of North Caroliniana in private hands extant.

In the course of time, Dr. Henderson formed the acquaintance of the later Dr. Frederick Jackson Turner, professor of American history at Harvard University, and familiarized himself with Turner's writings. He was soon convinced that Turner was the most creative of living authorities on American history, cautious and reliable in his methods, constructive in his handling of materials, and rich in imaginative powers. The influence of Turner on his writings is marked--an influence which Henderson is proud to acknowledge. Indeed it was to Turner that he dedicated his really brilliant work, "The Conquest of the Old Southwest."

Prolific Writer and Beloved Citizen

Beyond any doubt, Dr. Henderson is now, and for years past has been, the most prolific living writer on North Carolina history. He has published, chiefly in newspapers, upwards of a half a million words on the history of the Old North State. Moreover, he has published a great deal about Tennessee, in the pioneer phase when it was still a part of North Carolina.

No man in North Carolina is held in such high esteem, for the quality of his mind and the elevation of his spirit. His too is the region of high sentiment. He is admired and beloved by all classes, white and black, the college boys and the great celebrities, the carpenter and the savant alike. His reputation as a writer has gone around Chapel Hill and in North Carolina. It will widen and deepen with the passage of the years.