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Treasurer's Office. Talcott Wait Brewer Records

Finding Aid & Inventory

Talcott Wait Brewer was the great-grandson of the University's first presient, Samuel Wait, who served as University treasurer from about 1912-1958. Materials include North Carolina Baptist Students Aid Fund, later known as the James W. Denmark Loan Fund, record books, College Board of Trustees and committees meeting agendas, notes, and related materials, and items related to propoerty bequests to the Univeristy and their settlements.

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Biographical and Historical Note

The N.C. Baptist Student Aid Fund was renamed the James W. Denmark Fund, also known as the Denmark Fund, in July 1925.

Talcott Wait Brewer was born October 9, 1882, in Raleigh, NC. He was the son of Samuel Wait Brewer and Bessie Felt Brewer. His paternal grandparents were Ann Elizabeth Wait Brewer and John Marchant Brewer, and his paternal great-grandparents were Sarah Merriam Wait and Samuel Wait, first president of Wake Forest College (1834-1845) and one of the fourteen founders of the NC Baptist State Convention. The Brewer family also has strong ties to Meredith College: Samuel Wait Brewer was a long-serving member on Meredith's Board of Trustees and uncle Charles Edward Brewer taught at Wake Forest (1889-1915) and Meredith College before becoming Meredith's president (1915-1939).

Talcott Brewer graduated from Wake Forest College magna cum laude (1903). While at Wake Forest, he was very active: Track Team manager, a Glee Club member, Wake Forest Band president, and Raleigh Club president. Nine years after his graduation from Wake Forest, Brewer became the school's treasurer, serving from 1912-1958. In 1960, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award of Wake Forest.

In addition to his work for the College, he worked in Raleigh, N.C., at the agricultural implement business S. W. Brewer and Son that his father had started around 1903. When Brewer retired from the business in 1960, it closed. In addition to being a merchant, Brewer also was an insurance agent, and according to the Meredith College Twig he "has distinction of being one of the oldest in-service agents in NC."

Talcott was an active member of First Baptist Church in Raleigh, where he was a life deacon and superintendent of the Sunday School for over 20 years. He served two terms (1948-1960) on the board of the Biblical Recorder and on the Board of Directors for the Raleigh YMCA and the Raleigh Board of Adjustment. He received a Distinguished Service Citation from Wake Forest on February 4, 1960.

Brewer also made a large donation to Meredith College to construct the Ellen Brewer House for Home Management (1960), in honor of Ellen Brewer, Talcott's cousin and the daughter of Charles Edward Brewer. Ellen Brewer was chairwoman for Meredith's Department of Home Economics beginning in 1922.

Talcott Wait Brewer married Alice Elizabeth Watkins from Winston-Salem, N.C. on January 8, 1906. The couple had no children, and Alice died in 1934. Talcott died July 1, 1970.

Sources:

  • Leath, Suzanne. "Ellen Brewer House to be Occupied Second Semester," The Twig, Meredith College, 1960 January 22. Accessed via Newspapers.com.
  • The Howler, 1903.
  • "Talcott W. Brewer Gives Home Management House to Meredith College," Biblical Recorder, 1959 April 25. Accessed via WFU's Digital Collections.

Collection Overview

This collection documents the work of Treasurer Talcott W. Brewer and the Board of Trustees, the bulk of which dates from the 1930s to the 1950s. Materials include North Carolina Baptist Students Aid Fund, later known as the James W. Denmark Loan Fund, record books, College Board of Trustees and committees meeting agendas, notes, and related materials, and items related to propoerty bequests to the Univeristy and their settlements.

Collection Inventory

  • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1937-1958)
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1937) box 2 folder 41-42
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1938) box 2 folder 43-45
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1939) box 2 folder 46
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1940) box 2 folder 47-48
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1940-1941) box 2 folder 49
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1941-1942) box 2 folder 50
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1941 September, November) box 2 folder 51-52
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1942) box 2 folder 53
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1942 February-March) box 3 folder 78
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1942 May-August) box 3 folder 79
    • Board of Trustees correspondence  (1942 July-November) box 3 folder 80
    • Board of Trustees meeting minutes  (1943 May) box 3 folder 81
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1943 November) box 3 folder 82
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1944-1946) box 2 folder 54-57
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1944 January) box 3 folder 83
    • Board of Trustees annual meeting materials (1944 June-1945 June) box 3 folder 84
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1944-) box 3 folder 85
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and Alumni Association materials  (1946 April-July) box 3 folder 86
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1946 May-July) box 3 folder 87
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1946 July-November, 1947 March) box 3 folder 91
    • Board of Trustees correspondence and charter amendments  (1946 August-October) box 3 folder 89
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1946 September-October) box 3 folder 88
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1946 October-November) box 3 folder 90
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1946 November) box 3 folder 92
    • Board of Trustees annual meeting materials and reports  (1947 April-June) box 3 folder 94
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1947 October-1948 March) box 3 folder 95
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1948 May-July) box 3 folder 96
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1948 May, 1949) box 3 folder 97
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1948 October-November) box 3 folder 99
    • Board of Trustees and Committee of 17 joint meeting materials (1948 October-November, 1949 January) box 3 folder 98
    • Board of Trustees special meeting materials  (1949 January) box 3 folder 100
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1949 February-June) box 3 folder 101
    • Board of Trustees annual meeting materials  (1949 May) box 3 folder 102
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1949 October-November) box 3 folder 103
    • Board of Trustees and Bowman Gray School of Medicine joint meeting materials  (1950 February-March) box 3 folder 104
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1950 April) box 3 folder 105
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1950 May-June) box 3 folder 106
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1950 October) box 3 folder 107
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1950 November) box 3 folder 108
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1951 January) box 3 folder 109
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1951 January-May) box 3 folder 110
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1951 May-June) box 3 folder 111
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1951 July-September) box 3 folder 112
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1951 October-November) box 3 folder 113
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1952 April-May) box 3 folder 115
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1952 June) box 3 folder 116
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1952 August-November) box 3 folder 118
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1952 September) box 3 folder 114
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and agreements  (1952 September) box 3 folder 117
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials, correspondence, and reports  (1953 January-February ) box 4 folder 1
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials, reports, and construction budgets and agreements  (1953 May-August) box 4 folder 2
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1953 May-June ) box 4 folder 3
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials, reports, and memorandums  (1953 September-October) box 4 folder 4
    • Board of Trustees meeting minutes  (1953 November) box 4 folder 5
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1953 November-December) box 4 folder 6
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and correspondence  (1954) box 2 folder 58-60
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1954 February) box 4 folder 11
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and reports  (1954 April) box 4 folder 9
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and memorandums  (1954 May-June) box 4 folder 10
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials, building name resolutions, and home disposition report  (1955 May) box 4 folder 12
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials, reports, and statement on segregation  (1955 January-May) box 4 folder 13
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1955 June) box 4 folder 14
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and memorandums  (1955 September-October) box 4 folder 15
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials  (1955 November) box 4 folder 16
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1955 November-1956 January) box 4 folder 18
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1955 December-1956 January) box 4 folder 17
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and correspondence  (1956) box 2 folder 62-64
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and resolutions  (1956 January-April) box 4 folder 19
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and correspondence  (1957) box 2 folder 65-69
    • Board of Trustees correspondence  (1957) box 2 folder 70
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1957 June-1958 January) box 5 folder 1
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and correspondence (1957 October-1958 February) box 5 folder 2
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and agreements (1957 November-1958) box 5 folder 3
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials and correspondence (1957 November-1958 January) box 5 folder 4
    • Board of Trustees meeting materials (1957 December-1958 January ) box 5 folder 5
  • College Files
    • Administration Building Fund donor cards  (1934) box 3 folder 2
    • Army Finance School contract committee materials  (1944) box 3 folder 5
    • Briggs, Thomas Henry, report and other notes  (circa 1918) box 3 folder 1
    • Briggs, Thomas Henry, report: committee notes regarding debt  (circa 1918) box 3 folder 3
    • Board of Trustees: Dean of Religion and O. T. Binkley correspondence  (1945 November ) box 3 folder 21
    • Board of Trustees Challenge Gift materials, meeting materials, reports, agreements, and resolutions  (1953-1954) box 4 folder 7
    • Board of Trustees proposed honorary degree recipient materials  (1953) box 4 folder 8
    • Bowman Gray School of Medicine annual report, meeting materials, and resolutions  (1956 May) box 4 folder 21
    • Bowman Gray School of Medicine Controller Harry O. Parker and Earnshaw memorandums regarding annual expenses  (1950 January 25, February 1) box 3 folder 75
    • Budget Committee correspondence  (1948) box 3 folder 6
    • Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting materials (1936 June 30) box 2 folder 10
    • Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting materials  (1945 November 8) box 2 folder 11
    • Convention and finance committee meeting materials  (1939) box 3 folder 7
    • Convention meeting materials (1936 November) box 2 folder 12
    • Hankins, George Foster, estate correspondence and related materials  (1951-1959) box 4 folder 23
    • Hankins, George Foster, investments and gifts correspondence  (1956) box 4 folder 27
    • Hankins, George Foster, properties: church properties correspondence  (1956) box 4 folder 26
    • Hankins, George Foster, properties management correspondence and notes  (1956) box 4 folder 24
    • Hankins, George Foster, properties Spruce Pine mineral rights correspondence  (1956) box 4 folder 25
    • House settlement materials: Easley, J. Allen and Madge  (1939-1958) box 4 folder 28
    • House settlement materials: Memory, Jasper Livingston  (1936-1956) box 4 folder 29
    • House settlement materials: O'Flaherty, James C. and Lucy  (1956-1957) box 4 folder 30
    • House settlement materials: Parker, John E. and June C.  (1950-1957) box 4 folder 31
    • House settlement materials: Yearns, Wilfred Buck and Marguerite Ward  (1950-1957) box 4 folder 32
    • Internal Revenue Code exemption status correspondence  (1941) box 4 folder 35
    • Investing Committee meeting materials  (1936-1940) box 2 folder 36-40
    • Investing Committee meeting materials  (1947-1948) box 3 folder 76
    • Investing Committee meeting materials  (1956 May-June) box 3 folder 77
    • Lauffer, Charles A., Scholarship Fund materials  (1954-1955) box 4 folder 33
    • Loan settlement materials: Briggs, Clarence G. and Clara  (1957 November) box 4 folder 34
    • Loyalty Building Fund (alumni and physical education building) pledge cards  (1930-1932) box 3 folder 4
    • Reynolds Trust gift reactions correspondence and related materials  (1946 April) box 4 folder 22
    • Wartime college arrangements correspondence  (1942 August-September ) box 3 folder 8
    • Yow, D. E., correspondence with Earnshaw regarding library donations  (1947-1952) box 4 folder 36
    • Board of Trustees: Committee meeting materials
  • Denmark Loan Fund
    • Denmark Loan Fund financial materials and correspondence (circa 1900-1939, undated) box 2 folder 2
    • James W. Denmark Loan Fund receipt book for promissory notes  (1933-1938) box 2 folder 1
  • Board of Trustees Executive Committee materials
    • Executive Committee joint meeting materials  (1936 June) box 2 folder 13
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1937) box 2 folder 14-16
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1938 March) box 2 folder 17
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1938 June) box 2 folder 18
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1939) box 2 folder 19-22
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1940) box 2 folder 23-28
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1940-1941) box 2 folder 30
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1941) box 2 folder 29
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1941 June-August) box 2 folder 31
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1942 January) box 2 folder 32
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 January 6) box 3 folder 9
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 March) box 3 folder 10
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 April-May) box 3 folder 11
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 July ) box 3 folder 12
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 September 15 ) box 3 folder 13
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1943 December 1) box 3 folder 14
    • Executive and Alumni Committees joint meeting materials  (1943 December 28) box 3 folder 15
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1944 March) box 3 folder 16
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1944 June 8) box 3 folder 17
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1944 September ) box 3 folder 18
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945) box 2 folder 33
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 May, September ) box 3 folder 19
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 September) box 3 folder 20
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 September-October) box 3 folder 22
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 October 29 ) box 3 folder 23
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 December ) box 3 folder 24
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1945 December 11) box 3 folder 25
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 January ) box 3 folder 26
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 March 5) box 3 folder 27
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 March-April) box 3 folder 28
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 June-July) box 3 folder 29
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 August ) box 3 folder 30
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1946 December ) box 3 folder 31
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1947 January-February ) box 3 folder 32
    • Executive Committee meeting materials regarding Baptist Hospital  (1947 March) box 3 folder 93
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1947 June-July) box 3 folder 33
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1947 July-August) box 3 folder 34
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1947 September) box 3 folder 35
    • Executive Committee Meeting   (1947 September-October ) box 3 folder 36
    • Executive Committee meeting materials (1947 October-1948 February) box 3 folder 37
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1948 March ) box 3 folder 38
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1948 March-April ) box 3 folder 39
    • Executive and Retirement Committees meeting materials and reports (1945 September, 1948 May) box 3 folder 40
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1948 August-September ) box 3 folder 41
    • Executive Committee meeting materials (1948 December-1949 January) box 3 folder 42
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1949 February-April ) box 3 folder 43
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and WFDD radio station report  (1949 April-August) box 3 folder 44
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1949 September 9) box 3 folder 45
    • Executive Committee meeting materials (1949 December-1950 March) box 3 folder 46
    • Executive and Southern Baptist Convention Committees joint meeting materials regarding eastern seminary location  (1950 April) box 3 folder 47
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1950 April-May ) box 3 folder 48
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1950 April-June ) box 3 folder 49
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1950 June) box 3 folder 50
    • Executive and Planning and Building Committees joint meeting materials  (1950 June-July ) box 3 folder 51
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1950 June-September ) box 3 folder 52
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1950 December 11) box 3 folder 53
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1951 February-March) box 3 folder 54
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1951 May) box 3 folder 55
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1951 June) box 3 folder 56
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1951 October) box 3 folder 57
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1951 November-December) box 3 folder 58
    • Executive Committee meeting materials (1951 December-1952 January) box 3 folder 59
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1952 March ) box 3 folder 60
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and reports  (1952 June-July) box 3 folder 61
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1952 September-December ) box 3 folder 62
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1953 April-May) box 3 folder 63
    • Executive Committee meeting materials, reports, and Winston-Salem Foundation agreements  (1953 October ) box 3 folder 64
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and Jester property, Winston-Salem, N.C., materials  (1954 March-April) box 3 folder 65
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and Hankins property, Lexington, N.C., sale materials  (1954 June-July) box 3 folder 66
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1955 June-August) box 3 folder 67
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1955 August-September) box 3 folder 68
    • Executive and Faculty Housing Committees joint meeting materials  (1955 November-December) box 3 folder 69
    • Executive Committee meeting materials (1955 December-1956 February) box 3 folder 71
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1956 January 10 ) box 3 folder 70
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and resolutions  (1956 March-April) box 4 folder 20
    • Executive Committee meeting materials and reports  (1956 April) box 3 folder 72
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1956 April-August) box 3 folder 73
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1956 August-September) box 3 folder 74
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1957) box 2 folder 34
    • Executive Committee meeting materials  (1958) box 2 folder 35
  • North Carolina Baptist Student Aid Fund
    • N.C. Baptist Students Aid Fund record book (1887, 1891-1937) box 1 volume 1 (Record book containing minutes of the trustees of the North Carolina Baptist Student Aid Fund. Dated January 28, 1891, until July 17, 1925, when the fund was renamed the James W. Denmark Loan Fund, and from March 9, 1926 to Aug. 26, 1937. A copy of the charter from the North Carolina General Assembly, Feb. 25, 1881, is in an envelope inside the cover.)
    • N.C. Baptist Students Aid Fund account book  (1908-1942) box 1 folder 2-4 (North Carolina Baptist Student Loan Fund accounts from treasurer E. W. Sikes, 1908-1942. Volume is mostly disbound.)

Summary Information

Repository
Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives
Creator
Wake Forest College. Treasurer's Office
Title
Treasurer's Office. Talcott Wait Brewer Records
ID
RG25.9
Date [inclusive]
Quantity
3 record cartons, 1 oversize box, 1 document box
Extent
5.82  Linear Feet

Administrative Information

Publication Information
Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, 2004
Revision Description
Revised by Parker Beverly and Stephanie Bennett, Stephanie Bennett and Nancy Sullivan, 2021, 2023
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for use. 
Copyright Notice
The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. 
Preferred Citation
Treasurer's Office. Talcott Wait Brewer Records (RG25.9), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. 

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