Lewis, Henry W. (Henry Wilkins), 1916-2004

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Henry Wilkins Lewis, faculty member and director of the Institute of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; active layman of the Episcopal Church; and authority on North Carolina family genealogy and the history of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina.

From the description of Henry Wilkins Lewis papers, 1820-1997. WorldCat record id: 31069787

Henry Wilkins Lewis was a Lawyer, educator and historian; native of Northampton County, N.C.; resident of Pittsboro, N.C.

From the description of A Candid Confederate : William Edward Brodnax, 1827-1907. Compiled in 1997. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145411659

Born 7 November 1916 in Jackson, Northampton County, N.C., to Edmund Wilkins Lewis and Jane Crichton Williams Lewis, Henry Wilkins Lewis attended Jackson High School, 1928-1932, and the Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Va., 1932-1933, before attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill from 1933 to 1937, from which he graduated with an A.B. degree in American history. He attended law school at Harvard University from 1937 to 1940.

Lewis entered the private practice of law with Eric Norfleet of Jackson for one year after graduating from Harvard (LL.B., 1940; converted to J.D. in 1969), then enlisted in the army in 1941, where he served with the 99th Infantry Division, Headquarters Third Army, and Army Ground Forces Headquarters. Leaving the service as a captain in 1946, Lewis joined the faculty of the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he worked until his retirement. In addition to his administrative, consultative, and teaching responsibilities at the Institute, he also served on many University and Institute committees, including the Advisory Board and Visitor Committee of the Ackland Art Museum; the Chancellor's Selection Committee, 1970-71; the North Carolina Public Television Foundation and University of North Carolina Center for Public Television; and the Advisory Committee of the Southern Historical Collection and Manuscripts Department of the University Library.

At the Institute of Government, Lewis's principal fields of research, writing, and consultation were property taxation, the organization of state agencies, legislative organization and procedure, and election law and procedure. During his tenure, Lewis was assistant director, 1946-1973; research professor of public law and government, 1951-1957; professor of public law and government, 1957-1975; Kenan professor of public law and government, 1975-1978; and Kenan professor of public law and government emeritus. From November 1973 until his retirement in 1978, Lewis served as director of the Institute of Government. His only leave from the Institute occurred during 1968-1969, when he served as acting vice-president for university relations.

Throughout his career, Lewis was an active layman of the Episcopal Church, serving numerous times at the Diocesan level on the Executive Council, the Historical Commission, the Committee on Constitution and Canons, the Committee on Racial Subjects, and the Standing Committee of the Diocese of North Carolina, and as deputy from the Diocese of North Carolina to the General Convention. Locally, Lewis served as vestryman and senior warden of the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill and on the Committee on Restoration of St. John's Church, Williamsboro, N.C.

Lewis was active as well in other organizations and institutions, including the North Carolina Bar Association; the Bank of Northampton, Jackson, N.C. (later the Peoples Bank); the board of trustees of the Virginia Episcopal School; the Roanoke-Chowan Group; the Southampton Historical Society; the Northampton Historical Society; Alpha Tau Omega and the Order of Gimghouls at the University of North Carolina; and the Lincoln's Inn Society at Harvard Law School. Lewis also served as vice president and director of the Wilkins Texas Corporation, a family corporation.

As a writer and researcher on historical themes, Lewis's interests focused chiefly on the history and genealogy of North Carolina families, his own and related families preeminently, and the history of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina.

(For additional biographical information, including bibliographic and academic data, see materials in Series 3.1, folder 257.)

From the guide to the Henry W. Lewis Papers, 1820-1997, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Henry W. Lewis Papers, 1820-1997 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
creatorOf Lewis, William Draper, 1867-1949. William Draper Lewis personal correspondence, 1888-1949. University of Pennsylvania Law Library, Biddle Law Library
creatorOf Lewis, Henry Wilkins, b. 1916,. A Candid Confederate : William Edward Brodnax, 1827-1907. Library of Virginia
creatorOf Lewis, Henry W. The validity of void statutes. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
referencedIn Jones family, 1790-1820. Papers of the Jones family, 1790-1820. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Brunswick Land Company. Articles of agreement, 1836. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Buck, Walter H. (Walter Hooper), 1878-. Papers of the Jones family [manuscript], 1790-1932. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Lewis, Henry. Lewis, Henry : [photography bio file]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Child, William, b. 1834. Lewis, Henry. Godfrey Memorial Library
referencedIn Porter, J. Henry. Papers, 1883-1951. Atlanta History Center, Kenan Research Center / Cherokee Garden Library
creatorOf Lewis, Henry W. (Henry Wilkins), 1916-2004. Henry Wilkins Lewis papers, 1820-1997. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Willrich, George. George Willrich law brief collection : Court of Civil Appeals of the First Supreme Judicial District of Texas. Part 3, 1904-1922. San Jacinto Museum of History
referencedIn Robert Watts Hudgens Papers, 1925-1973 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Alston family. family
associatedWith Bank of Northampton (Jackson, N.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Blount family. family
associatedWith Brodnax family. family
associatedWith Brodnax family. family
associatedWith Brodnax, John (Alexander John), 1830-1885. person
associatedWith Brodnax, William Edward 1827-1907. person
associatedWith Bruce family. family
associatedWith Brunswick Land Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Burgwyn family. family
associatedWith Chapel of the Cross (Chapel Hill, N.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Cheshire, Joseph Blount, 1850-1932. person
associatedWith Child, William, b. 1834. person
associatedWith Coates, Albert, 1896-1989. person
associatedWith Confederate States of America. Army. corporateBody
associatedWith Cook, James B. person
associatedWith Elmendorf, John van Gaasbeek. person
associatedWith Episcopal Church. Diocese of North Carolina. corporateBody
associatedWith Graham, Frank Porter, 1886-1972. person
associatedWith Harvard Law School corporateBody
associatedWith Hudgens, Robert Watts, 1896-1973 person
associatedWith Johnson family. family
associatedWith Jones family. family
associatedWith Jones family, 1790-1820. family
associatedWith Kinchen family. family
associatedWith Lewis family. family
associatedWith Lewis, Henry Wilkins, 1856-1936. person
associatedWith Lewis, H. Stuart, 1885-1947. person
associatedWith Lewis, Jane Crichton Williams, 1892-1978. person
associatedWith Lewis, Sue Dabney, 1891-1980. person
associatedWith Lewis, William Draper, 1867-1949. person
associatedWith Long family. family
associatedWith Long, John Joseph, 1875-1949. person
associatedWith Lucas family. family
associatedWith North Carolina Bar Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Peterson family. family
associatedWith Porter, J. Henry. person
associatedWith Raines family. family
associatedWith Robinson, Blackwell P. (Blackwell Pierce) person
associatedWith Seddon family. family
associatedWith Staton, Ellen Douglas. person
associatedWith United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith University of North Carolina (1793-1962) corporateBody
associatedWith University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill corporateBody
associatedWith University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Institute of Government corporateBody
associatedWith Virginia Episcopal School (Lynchburg, Va.) corporateBody
associatedWith Wilkins, Edmonia Cabell, 1865-1949. person
associatedWith Wilkinson family. family
associatedWith Williams family. family
associatedWith Williams, Mary Lewis. person
associatedWith Willrich, George. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Confederate States of America
North Carolina
Northampton County (N.C.)
United States
Jackson (N.C.)
Brunswick County (Va.)
United States
Virginia--Brunswick County
Europe
Subject
Episcopalians
Genealogist
History
Plantation management
Soldiers
Occupation
Photographers
Activity

Person

Birth 1916

Death 2004-12-19

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