The prints have been arranged chronologically by years of service of the attorneys general.

Available for research.

Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Processed by Stephen E. Massengill, February, 1999

Encoded by Dietra Stanley

Encoding updated by Aaron Cusick, January, 2012

The Attorney General is elected by the people of North Carolina every four years as the states top law enforcement officer and top lawyer. Powers and duties of the Attorney General are set forth in the Constitution and Statutes of North Carolina. The first North Carolina Constitution, written in 1776, established the Office of the Attorney General. In the early 1800s, the General Assembly created the Department of Justice as part of a government-wide reorganization.

[Identification of item], PhC.77.1, Attorneys General of North Carolina Photograph Collection, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC, USA.

The North Carolina Department of Justice, Attorney General's Office in Raleigh transferred the photographs to the North Carolina Division of Archives and History on January 26, 1999. They were accessioned in February, 1999.

Additional information on topics found in this collection may be found in the Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS)  http://mars.archives.ncdcr.gov.

The collection contains photographs of thirty six former attorneys general of North Carolina from 1704 to the early 1990s. The photographs were on display in the Attorney General's Office for many years before being place in storage when the agency was moved into the renovated Education Building. The prints have been removed from their frames, and separated from their mats in most cases. The collection contains copy prints, one original painting, and many original photographs (including two cabinet cards from the 1870s and 1880s).