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Local figure

R. H. Claytor

Robert Hume Claytor (1884–1949), a New Hope native and 1911 UNC graduate, served thirty years as superintendent of the Orange County schools from 1917. He began merging the small rural schools into larger ones, organized the county's school bus service and secured federal money for home economics and vocational agriculture classes.

Source: DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), pp. 124-126

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Edgar Wallace Knight papers, 1915-1953

Knight, Edgar Wallace, 1886-1953 · 1915

Papers of Edgar Wallace Knight (1886-1953), 1915 to 1953, in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3904. His subjects include teachers in North Carolina, rural education and the folk high schools of Denmark, and the Social Science Research Council. The material also concerns twentieth century intellectual life in Orange County.

Why this is here: Their name appears in the record.

UNC

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 18 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Samuel Paul Lockhart becomes superintendent of the Orange County schools Lockhart, a Bingham and UNC student from the New Hope area, took over the county schools in August 1911 and set to work with the board on new schoolhouses. He served until his cousin R. H. Claytor defeated him in 1917. People: R. H. Claytor, Samuel Paul LockhartSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 99
  2. Claytor's first report counts 42 one-teacher schools in Orange County Claytor's 1917 report to the state listed 42 one-teacher schools, 19 white and 23 Black, with 2,569 white and 1,259 Black pupils. Nineteen Black schools had only benches and no desks. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 124
  3. R. H. Claytor becomes superintendent of the Orange County schools R. H. Claytor took office as county school superintendent in September 1917 and served until July 1947. Merging the small rural schools was one of his first goals. People: R. H. ClaytorLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), pp. 141-142
  4. Ida Lloyd becomes the first clerk in the county superintendent's office Ida Lloyd was hired as office assistant to the county superintendent in 1918, the first to hold the post, and worked under R. H. Claytor, Glenn Proffit and G. P. Carr for about forty-two years. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 80
  5. Orange County organizes for the United War Work drive A court house meeting on September 19, 1918, elected N. W. Brown county chairman for the United War Work drive. The county raised $7,485; Carrboro gave $1,240 on a $500 quota, and Hillsborough Township, under Elizabeth Cornelius, gave $2,300. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 72
  6. Edgar Wallace Knight becomes assistant superintendent of Orange County schools In April 1919, the year he joined the UNC faculty, Knight was hired as assistant to county superintendent R. H. Claytor; the board agreed to pay him $40 a month, though later biographies describe the post as unpaid. He was still styled assistant superintendent of schools in 1923. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Edgar Wallace Knight Papers, 1915-1953
  7. Orange County raises $800 for the Salvation Army In a Salvation Army campaign May 16-26, 1919, South Orange under W. S. Roberson raised $300 and North Orange under R. H. Claytor raised $500.01 on a $500 quota. People: W. S. Roberson, R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 74
  8. School superintendent R. H. Claytor becomes the county's first welfare superintendent After the 1919 law required every county to have a welfare board, the commissioners and school board jointly elected Claytor to the added post at $600 a year, half from county and half from school funds. Wiley B. Sanders took the job part time on July 5, 1920, for six months. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 210
  9. Ida Lloyd becomes the first office assistant in the county superintendent's office The board hired Miss Ida Lloyd as Superintendent Claytor's first office assistant at $40 a month. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 125
  10. R. H. Claytor serves as an elder of the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church The school superintendent R. H. Claytor was an elder of the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church for twenty-nine years until his death in February 1949. The session's memorial resolution, read to the congregation on March 6, 1949, praised his respect for others "without concern for color, class, or creed."Search the index · DigitalNC: The News of Orange County, March 17, 1949, p. 2 ("Various Groups Pass Tributes To R. H. Claytor")
  11. The county board agrees to build a new school at Cedar Grove On August 11, 1922, under superintendent Claytor, the county board agreed to build a modern school at Cedar Grove once state building-fund money came. The building was accepted in January 1924 and named Aycock School. Carrboro's new school, planned under the same program, was already going up in 1921. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 125
  12. Orange County begins merging its one- and two-teacher schools into larger ones Claytor started the county's first round of consolidation in 1923, folding small schools into larger ones and seeking local tax elections, with a budget request of $92,100. Efland, Aycock and Hillsborough were to carry grades one through eleven and the rest grades one through seven. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 125
  13. The county board orders its first school buses The board ordered ten trucks, six GMC, two Reo and two Chevrolet, with bus bodies from the Carolina Body Company of Greensboro, to carry children to the new consolidated schools. At an August hearing in the courthouse some residents urged the commissioners not to sign the notes for the buses, but no action was taken against them. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 71
  14. Orange County consolidates most of its small white schools After a county survey by the Board of Education and Superintendent Claytor, most small white schools were merged by 1930, with buses provided. As late as 1925 the county still had 21 one-teacher white schools and several one-teacher Black schools. People: R. H. ClaytorLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 142
  15. Orange County schools stay closed until after September 18 during the polio epidemic On the recommendation of the State Health Officer and Governor Broughton, the State Board of Education kept all North Carolina public schools closed until after September 18 because of the infantile paralysis epidemic. Orange County schools, which Superintendent R. H. Claytor had planned to open September 14, were held back with the rest, though teachers still reported on September 14. People: R. H. ClaytorNews of Orange County, August 24, 1944, p. 1 ("Schools to Remain Closed Until After September 18 Due to Polio")
  16. Mr. and Mrs. W. V. Fryer give a Baldwin organ to the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church During Irving Birdseye's pastorate the Fryers gave a new Baldwin organ in memory of R. H. Claytor Sr., and also carpeted the sanctuary's pulpit and aisles. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · Pauline O. Lloyd and Allen A. Lloyd, History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C., ca. 1766-1962 (1963), scan p. 136
  17. The county board elects Glenn T. Proffit superintendent and keeps R. H. Claytor as his assistant Meeting on May 5, 1947, the Board of Education elected G. T. Proffit superintendent and R. H. Claytor his assistant, offering $2,400 a year part time or $3,000 full time; Claytor chose full time. The board passed a resolution of appreciation for his thirty years with the county schools.Search the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 81
  18. Glenn T. Proffit succeeds R. H. Claytor as Orange County school superintendent Glenn Theodor Proffit, a Wilkes County native who had led high schools in Clinton, Harnett County and Dunn, took over the county schools in July 1947 and served until 1951. People: R. H. ClaytorSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 99

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