Chesley Midgett Papers, PC.5336
Abstract
Chesley Midgett is a Dare County resident and descendant of the Midgett family of Hatteras Island, North Carolina. Much of this collection focuses on Midgett's great-grandfather, Little Bannister Midgett, IV, a keeper with the United States Lifesaving Service who served at the Chicamacomico Station. The collection includes two letters, genealogical materials, clippings, images of Little Bannister Midgett, and a hand-illustrated portrait of him.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Chesley Midgett Papers
- Call Number
- PC.5336
- Creator
- Midgett, Chesley
- Date
- circa 1920s-1986 and undated
- Extent
- 0.210 cubic feet
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Outer Banks History Center
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by the 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 these materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], PC.5336, Chesley Midgett Papers, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.
Collection Overview
The papers in this collection were accumulated by Chesley Midgett and largely focus on his Midgett family descendants, especially Little Bannister Midgett, IV. Included are two letters: a 1938 letter from Josephus Daniels to A. Jack Daniels of Wanchese claiming Josephus's connection to the Daniels family line, and a 1953 letter from Ben Dixon MacNeill to Chesley Midgett Sr. about Little Bannister Midgett, IV. Also included is a folder of genealogical research into the Midgett family, a folder of material on Little Bannister Midgett, IV (including photographic negatives, clippings, and an article printed about him in the News and Observer), and a hand-illustrated portrait of Bannister.
Biographical/Historical
These papers were collected by Chesley Midgett, a resident of Roanoke Island, North
Carolina, and descendant of the Midgett family of Hatteras Island. The bulk of the
collection focuses on Chesley's great-grandfather, Little Bannister Midgett, IV, who
went by Bannister. Bannister was born 30 May 1852 in Salvo, North Carolina, to Dorothy
B. Payne Midgett (1828-1901) and Little Bannister Midgett, III (1825-1895). He had
11 siblings. As a young man, he enlisted as a surfmen with the United States Lifesaving
Service (USLSS). He was a skilled surfman, and according to one high-ranking USLSS
official, "considered to be the best surfman on the coast of North Carolina."
Bannister was named keeper of the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station in present-day
Rodanthe in 1879. He was transferred to the New Inlet station in 1888, only to be
sent back to Chicamacomico in 1894. He oversaw numerous successful rescues there,
including during the San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899. He was still with the USLSS when
it merged with the United States Revenue Cutter Service to become the United States
Coast Guard in 1915.
Bannister married Sobrina D. P. Midgett 11 January 1874. The couple had 10 children,
include Chesley Midgett's grandfather, Joseph Etheridge Midgett (1885-1970). Bannister
left the service shortly after the Coast Guard merger and enjoyed 13 years of retirement
before passing away in Manteo at the age of 76 on 24 January 1928. He is buried in
Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Manteo.
Contents of the Collection
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Donated by Chesley Midgett, June 2017.