Primary Source Documents - ENG 111 - Writing and Inquiry - LibGuides at Alamance Community College

Examples of Primary Source Documents

Speeches
Court Documents
Original works of literature, art and music
First hand newspaper and magazine accounts
Slave Narratives
Diaries or Memoirs
Letters
Manuscripts
Interviews
Official Records
Photographs
Dissertations
Maps

Finding Primary Source Documents for State and Local Topics

For local historical newspapers and other primary source documents, visit the Local History Collection at May Memorial Library located at

May Memorial Library

342 S. Spring Street

Burlington, NC 27215

The Local History Collection at May Memorial is a repository for the ancestor charts of members of the Alamance County Genealogical society and for the Society’s collection of genealogical journals. As well as works on the history and genealogy of Alamance County and its neighboring counties — Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange, Randolph and Rockingham.

Digital NC
The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center is a statewide digitization and digital publishing program housed in the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Digital Heritage Center works with cultural heritage institutions across North Carolina to digitize and publish historical materials online.
DigitalNC - Primary Source Sets
Digitized primary sources from topics in North Carolina history. Topics include Unions, Crystal Lee Sutton and Textile Workers Labor Movements, agriculture, education, and politics.
North Carolina Digital Collections
The North Carolina Digital Collections contain over 90,000 historic and recent photographs, state government publications, manuscripts, and other resources on topics related to North Carolina. The Collections are free and full-text searchable, and bring together content from the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina.
North Carolina ECHO
NC ECHO enables users to search across thousands of digitized and born-digital historic materials including a wide variety of books, photographs, maps, family histories, state documents, newspapers, and much more from cultural heritage institutions around North Carolina. The collections available through NC ECHO include a diverse array of materials by and about the people, places, and history of North Carolina.
Documenting the American South from UNC
Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
Digital Public Library of America
Contains over 11,425,950 primary source items from libraries, archives, and museums. Many artifacts and documents pertaining to NC historical events can be found here. Great resource!
UNCG Digital Collections
The Digital Projects unit, a part of the Electronic Resources and Information Technologies (ERIT) Department, is responsible for the digitiaztion of primary source materials and other hitorical and archival resources both within the University Libraries and for external keepers of unique historical material, including UNCG faculty and local cultural heritage organizations.

What is a Primary Source Document?

A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.

Primary Sources Vs. Secondary Sources

Finding Primary Source Documents through Library Databases

HeritageQuest This link opens in a new window
Treasury of American genealogical sources: unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids. Includes historical census, PERSI, Revolutionary War records, and more.
Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
Newspapers.com North Carolina Collection. 3.5 million pages of digitized content from over 1,000 NC county newspapers.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Searchable database indexing over 200 historical periodicals and reference sources. Contains historical documents, biographies of historical figures, historical maps, photos and much more.
History Study Center This link opens in a new window
A collection of primary and secondary sources on global history from ancient times to the present day.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Women's writings from the Colonial period to 1950. Includes writings by Abigail Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Dorothea L. Dix, Julia Ward Howe, and more.
Sanborn Maps North Carolina This link opens in a new window
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970, provides access to large-scale maps of North Carolina towns and cities.

Finding Primary Source Documents Online

American Memory
Browse the Library of Congress American History Collections, and find essays, primary documents, images, and other artifacts.
American Rhetoric
Find political, social, movie, and religious speeches, among others.
Archive Grid
Access to primary source information, including birth and death records, ship logs, and cemetery records.
The Avalon Project
Digital documents from Yale University on Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.
DocsTeach
Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools.
Documenting the American South
Find books, diaries, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs related to the history, literature, and culture of the American South; from the UNC-Chapel Hill.
Internet Sites with Primary Sources for U.S. History (Bowling Green State)
Find Web sites with primary source documents related to the study of American History.
The Library of Congress
Web Guides from the Library of Congress Digital Reference Section.
Life Magazine Photo Archive
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.
Making of America (Cornell University)
Search this digital library of primary sources from the Cornell University to find social history sources from the antebellum period to reconstruction.
Making of America (University of Michigan)
Search this digital library of primary sources from the University of Michigan to find social history sources from the antebellum period to reconstruction.
National Archives and Records Administration: Research Our Records
Use this search interface to find documents, images, and other records related to the history of the United States.
National Archives Online Exhibits
Exhibits featuring online documents, photos and primary sources from the National Archives
Nature Transformed: The Environment in American History
Find essays--sponsored by the National Humanities Center--on a variety of topics related to the environment and American history, including the Columbian Exchange.
Smithsonian Primary Sources
Search for primary sources from the Smithsonian's collection by type (document, artifact, photograph) or by topic.
Our Documents
100 Milestone Documents of American History
The Valley of the Shadow
Find letters, diaries, newspapers, speeches, census records, and church records from two communities--one in Virginia, the other in Pennsylvania--to provide a glimpse of life during the Civil War era.

ENG 111 - Writing and Inquiry: Primary Source Documents