Papers of a local scientist, author, and collector. Includes personal and professional correspondence; manuscript and typed copies of his writings on fossil collecting, the history of paleontology, and local history; files relating to his editorship of the Fossil Quarterly; and material pertaining to Shakespeare, including 18th century British newspapers, memorabilia from the 300th birthday celebration in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1864, and scripts, publicity stills, and programs of various 20th century productions in the United States and Great Britain. Also contains photographs and ephemera concerning Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and extensive files on the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, including reproductions of original documents from the Southern Historical Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill. Also includes correspondence (1939-47) of his wife, Elizabeth Carson Casanova of Statesville, as a student at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, while working in Washington, D.C., and as a Red Cross employee in England during World War II, and during the early years of their marriage.