MC 00026 Guide to the David Stathem Weaver Papers, 1862, 1917 - 1968 (Bulk, 1917-1968)

The original order has been largely maintained. The collection is divided into seven series: Professional Speeches, Agricultural Extension Service Statistical Data, Memorabilia, Professional Speeches by Colleagues, Civil War Letter, Subject Files, and Academics. The two oversized scrapbooks have been dismantled from their original albums and rehoused in acid-free boxes with the original page order maintained. Glued items remain in original condition.

Creator

Weaver, David Stathem, 1896-1966

Quantity

4.0 Linear feet 6 archival storage boxes

General Physical Description note

5 archival storage boxes

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff .

Language

English

Acquisitions Information

Gift of Mrs. David S. Weaver on April 29, 1968 (Accession no. 1968-0004) and June 6, 1968 (Accession no. 1968-0005); transfer from NCSU University Archives, 2003.

Processing

Processed by: William L. Svec and Jennifer McElroy; machine-readable finding aid created by: William L. Svec and Jennifer McElroy

Scope and Content Note

The David Stathem Weaver Papers includes Weaver's speeches, correspondence, photographs, newspaper and journal clipppings, certificates of recognition, awards, and speeches made by his colleagues. The materials relate to his career in agricultural engineering, his dedication to improve the conditions of the farm community, and his work in the Agricultural Extension Service while a professor at North Carolina State College (later North Carolina State University).

The Professional Speeches series contains presentations made by Weaver regarding various agriculture-related topics, including mechanization and profit maximization. Most are typed but handwritten notes and edits are included.

The Agricultural Extension Service Statistical Data series contains statistical data regarding the AES staffing, salaries, budgets and accomplishments.

The Memorabilia series is a collection of clippings, correspondence, photographs, certificates of recognition and awards, his involvement in professional associations, and files on colleagues in his profession. Included are two oversized scrapbooks.

Professional Speeches by Colleagues Series contain various agriculture-related topics, including agricultural education, extension, and economic growth, presented by Weaver's colleagues.

The Civil War Letter series contains a letter written by his maternal grandfather in 1862 that describes his experiences as a Union soldier in the Civil War

The fifth box of materials in this collection was transferred from the NCSU University Libraries in 2003. These materials are now divided into an additional two series: Subject Files and Academics.

The Subject Files series contains information on a variety of agricultural and rural subjects, especially agricultural machinery.

The Academics series contains work completed by Weaver for his undergraduate and graduate educations, as well as departmental records, course materials, and student work related to Weaver's career in agricultural engineering at North Carolina State College.

Biographical Note

David Stathem Weaver was born on June 19, 1896, and died on November 12, 1966. Weaver served as an agricultural leader and educator throughout North Carolina from 1923 to 1966. He devoted much of his professional energies to the "relief of human drudgery" and to improve the rural family standard through the employment of mechanization, electricity and chemistry. His concern also extended to the waste of our natural resources and he was active in soil and water conservation and other agricultural programs whose aims were to promote this interest.

After serving in World War I, he graduated from Ohio State University in 1920 with a B.S. in Agriculture. From 1920 to 1923, he was an assistant professor of agricultural engineering at Mississippi A&M College. In 1923, Weaver began teaching at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University) where, in 1925, he received his master's degree in agricultural engineering. Weaver remained on the faculty and became a professor in 1936.

In the early 1930s, Weaver conducted the North Carolina Rural Electrification Survey, which was the forebear of the 1935 North Carolina Rural Electrification Act. The survey played an important role in convincing President Roosevelt and Congress that rural people wanted electricity. This directly led to the establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). From 1936 to 1937, Weaver was the principal engineer for the REA in Washington, D.C. where he continued work that he had already begun in North Carolina, and completed the first statewide electrification surveys. In an era when electricity's primary use was for illumination, he was interested in expanding its use to farm mechanization with the goal of improving farm productivity and efficiency as well as the farmers' quality of life. Weaver often remarked that electricity was the cheapest labor the farmer could employ. His work in this area led to his being called the "father of rural electrification in North Carolina" because his pioneering work had a major influence on both national and state programs in Rural Electrification.

Weaver returned to North Carolina State College in 1937 as head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering where he had considerable influence in bringing light and power to farmers of North Carolina. He maintained his association with the Rural Electrification Administration, serving as secretary and sometime chairman through 1963. During the period of 1937 through 1948, he was also a specialist in charge of agricultural extension work. In 1948, he became the assistant director of the Agricultural Extension Service (AES). Succeeding I. O. Schaub as director in 1950, he served in that position until 1961. His retirement came in 1964 after serving three years as special assistant to the dean of the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State College.

As head of the AES, Weaver was responsible for one of the largest adult education agencies in the United States. While in this position he helped found the North Carolina Board of Farm Organizations and Agencies in an effort to ensure cooperation among federal and state agencies seeking to service farm people. For his contribution he received the Distinguished Service Awards of the North Carolina Farm Bureau and the North Carolina State Grange. In 1950, he was named by the Progessive Farmer "Man of the Year in Service to Agriculture" and elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. In addition to numerous other honors, he was admitted to the North Carolina State University Hall of Fame. Weaver was an active member in the agricultural fraternity Alpha Zeta (serving as its National Chancellor) as well as in the Royal Arch Masons, Knights Templar and Delta Theta Sigma. He wrote numerous publications, articles, bulletins, and circulars. In 1964, North Carolina State College awarded him an honorary doctor of humanities degree, and in 1968 the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Laboratories of North Carolina State University building was named in his honor.

Weaver married Gertrude Marie Brickman on October 19, 1919, and he had three sons: David, Jr., Donald, and Samuel Alvin.

Controlled Terms

1. Agricultural innovations
2. Nash, Elizabeth
3. North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service.
4. North Carolina State College. Dept. of Agricultural Engineering.
5. North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Correspondence
6. Scrapbooks
7. Weaver, David Stathem, 1896-1966

Access to Collection

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, fax, or our web form.

Mail

Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111

Telephone

(919) 515-2273

Fax

(919) 513-1787

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], David Stathem Weaver Papers, MC 26, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.

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