B. D. Schwartz Scrapbooks
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of twenty scrapbook albums containing letters, documents, news articles, awards, photos, advertisements, and brochures spanning sixty-seven years. Schwartz held many local and state offices in North Carolina, including Wilmington City Councilman, the Mayor of Wilmington, State Representative, and State Senator.
As mayor, Schwartz served during a time of civil unrest surrounding the Wilmington Ten and established a chapter of the Human Relations Commission in the city to ease tensions. In the General Assembly, Schwartz enacted several bills to prevent discrimination and help protect the environment.
He was involved in all facets of life in New Hanover County, donating his time to numerous philanthropic, educational, and religious organizations. Schwartz served as a trustee for UNC Wilmington and created the Sylvia and B.D. Schwartz Graduate Fellowship. Schwartz Hall, a dormitory on UNCW's campus, is named in his honor.
Dates
- 1918-1993
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Copyright Statement
Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Biographical Note
Benjamin David Schwartz was born in 1909 in Poland and immigrated to the United States in 1913 with his parents, settling in Wilmington. He attended Hemingway and Cornelius Harnett schools and was a part of the first class of New Hanover High School in 1921. Schwartz then attended UNC Chapel Hill, becoming a member of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity and graduating with a degree in commerce. In 1931, he married fellow graduate Sylvia Wolk. They went on to have two children, Melvin and Maxine. Before committing himself to public service, Schwartz managed his family's business, the Home Furniture Store, on Market Street.
During the 1960s, Schwartz began his career in politics serving as a member of the Wilmington City Council and as Mayor from 1970-1972. He was then elected to the N.C. House of Representatives from 1972-1978 and N.C. Senate from 1978-1979. Also active in the Wilmington community, Schwartz maintained memberships in the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, B’Nai B'Rith, the United Jewish Appeal, and the Committee of 100. He was named a trustee of Wilmington College in the 1950s and was elected to UNC Wilmington’s Board of Trustees in 1981, serving as chairman in his final term. A residence hall on UNCW’s campus is named in his honor. In 1993, The Wilmington Civitan Club honored Schwartz and his wife with its Good Citizenship Award.
B.D. Schwartz died at the age of 92 in 2001 and is buried at the B’Nai Israel Hebrew Cemetery.
Extent
4.58 Linear Feet (Contains 21 boxes.)
Language
English
Hebrew
Yiddish
German
French
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the general chronological order based on the arrangement of the scrapbooks as donated by the Schwartz family. However, the date range from page to page is not sequential.
Acquisition Information
This collection was donated by B.D. Schwartz on January 29, 1999.
Processing Information
Metadata for this collection was created by Kensi Laube and Rebecca Baugnon in 2022. This collection was digitized by Sarah Sawyer and Allie Humphrey.
Creator
- Title
- B.D. Schwartz Scrapbooks
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kensi Laube
- Date
- Spring 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2016-05-09: This finding aid has been revised for coversion to ArchivesSpace on May 9, 2016.
- 2019 July: This finding aid was revised for completion by Nicole Yatsonsky.
- 2022 February : This finding aid has been revised to reflect updates made to the container list by Kensi Laube.
Repository Details
Part of the Randall Library Special Collections Repository