NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The bulk of the Francis Edgar Thomas Papers date from 1944-1945 when Thomas was stationed in England as a Public Relations Specialist. Researchers interested in the United States Air Forces during World War II will find this collection of interest. It provides a view of the war through the eyes of someone not directly involved in combat.

The collection focuses primarily on Thomas’s military career with some items from civilian life. It contains a variety of printed materials, such as bulletins, pamphlets, and newspapers, as well as photographs, maps, and correspondence. Of particular note are the Hometown Stories written by Thomas. These press releases profile men in the 453rd Heavy Bombardment Group, including achievements and daily activities on the bomber base. The releases were sent with photographs to hometown newspapers for publication, but few photos remain.

Also of interest are photographs, correspondence, and miscellaneous materials from a Christmas party held for orphaned children in war-ravaged Nantes, France, by members of the 453rd. Included are photos by Life Magazine war correspondent and photographer, Eliot Elisofon.

Arrangement: This collection arranged into eight series by subject and document type. Within each series, materials are arranged by document type, then alphabetically. The series are: 453rd USAF, ca. 1944; Clarke, Allan Hugh, ca. 1944; Literary, ca. 1944; Maps, ca. 1944; Photographs, ca. 1944; Printed, ca. 1943-1945; Stewart, Jimmy; and Thomas, F. Edgar, ca. 1943-1953. Seven bound volumes of the newspapers Stars and Stripes (5 vol.; 1944-45) and Yank (2 vol.; 1944-45) were removed and placed in oversize, flat storage.

Provenance: The materials in this collection belonged to Thomas and were acquired mostly during his military service. His sister, Susannah Thomas Watson, donated the collection in May 1990, and it was assigned the accession number 1990.55.10.

Processing: Peter Austin began processing this collection. The arrangement and finding aid were completed by Christine A. Dumoulin, Archives Assistant, November 2000.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Francis Edgar Thomas was born on November 10, 1911, and grew up in Wadesboro, NC. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and after graduation, moved to Greensboro and taught in the public school system from 1937-1942. On September 17, 1942, Thomas was drafted into the Army Air Corps and remained on inactive duty until December 2, 1942. While on active duty from December 3, 1942 to February 3, 1946, he served as a Public Relations Specialist for the 453rd Heavy Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, stationed in England during World War II. Part of his duties included shielding actor Jimmy Stewart from the press. After leaving the service in 1946, Thomas taught history at Smith High School in Greensboro. In the early 1960s, he was appointed General Manager for The Lost Colony. He was also the director of public relations at Longwood College in Virginia. Thomas was never married. He died on August 22, 1986, in Salisbury, NC at age 74.

Biographical Sources:  The sources used to compile this biographical note include the original accession sheet, the newspaper article “Thomas’ Aim: Telling ‘Lost Colony’ Story” (Durham Morning Herald, January 21, 1962 (6:12.1)), and his obituary (Greensboro News & Record, August 24, 1986).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The types of materials in this collection include certificates, correspondence, maps, photographs, and printed material such as bulletins, pamphlets, newspapers and clippings.

The bulk of the collection relates to Thomas’s time as a public relations specialist in the 453rd USAF. His main duties focused on writing articles about the 453rd USAF and its bombing missions without divulging classified information. Included were profiles of approximately 200 enlisted men and their overseas activities for their hometown papers (1:12-36). These Hometown Stories detailed events such as shooting down enemy aircraft, promotions, awards, and biographical information. For example, Donald F. Strahan, a weather officer from Wayne, Nebraska, was promoted from 1st Lieutenant to Captain in 1944; he helped determine the weather forecast on which allied fighters and bombers depended. Jess L. Gerdiny of Wichita Falls, TX, was a group photographic officer, responsible for the installation of aerial cameras for bombardment photos, film processing of ground and aerial photos, and preparation of all photo records of the B-24 liberator base; he was cited for “Outstanding performance of duty.” Also included are numerous clippings (6:12.1-6) and a scrapbook (1:38) about the 453rd and its members. The photographs (1:37) show life on the bomber base from preparing for and returning from missions to leisure activities such as songfests and travel in the English countryside.

The collection does have weaknesses. While it provides a clear picture of Thomas as an enlisted man, it contains little about his civilian life. Although he lived in Greensboro and taught at Smith High School, no materials directly relate to the school or to Greensboro. In addition, the range of materials is limited to a two-year period, with only a few documents from later years.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. 453rd USAF. 38 folders (ca. 350 items). ca. 1944.

During World War II, Thomas was stationed with the 453rd Heavy Bombardment Group based in East Anglia, England; the unit was in operation for 15 months. Members of the unit flew B-24 Liberator bombers on missions over Germany to cripple the Nazi aircraft industry in 1944. The unit flew approximately 200 missions over 11 months.

The subseries Correspondence (1:1-4) is primarily of a personal nature. In a letter to Thomas dated August 28, 1974, Ramsay D. Potts reminisces about the 8th Air Force and expresses his gratitude for Thomas’s work. A letter from Thomas to the Carroll Stewart Family speaks of a reunion in Florida. Folder 1:4 contains several items pertaining to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including a Hinton James Day celebration in England with former UNC-CH students in the 8th Air Force, and a proposal to procure University of North Carolina Press books in English for a war-ravaged school library in Lyon, France.

The French Christmas Party (1:5-10) shows a glimpse of humanity during the war. On December 25, 1944, the 453rd bomber unit and members of the Red Cross held a Christmas party for some 3000 orphaned children in Nantes, France. Using their rations to purchase soaps, candy, food, and toiletries for presents, the unit wrapped the gifts and transported them via the liberator plane Liberty Run. The series includes correspondence (1:5-7), party scripts, flight plans, and schedules (1:8), and photos of the event (1:9). Among the Christmas party photographs are fourteen taken by Eliot Elisofon (1:10). Elisofon was a photographer and war correspondent for Life Magazine. Although known for his photography on African culture, these photos illustrate some of his wartime work.

Folders 1:12-36 contain press releases written by Thomas about the different members of the 453rd unit. These Hometown Stories chronicle the activities of the enlisted men and women through articles and photographs that were sent to local newspapers across the United States. Each folder is organized alphabetically.

The subseries Photographs (1:37) contains approximately ten images of different aspects of the bomber base. Several portraits include an American Red Cross worker with three enlisted men in front of a series of paintings by Allan Hugh Clarke, a wedding with Edgar Thomas in the photo and base buildings as a backdrop, and three American Red Cross workers in front of the club mobile. Three official Air Forces photos include two of airplanes purchased with war bonds and the people who raised them–Roosevelt Junior High School and the Jewish War Veterans- Post. No. 156, Ladies Auxiliary. The third official photo shows members of the British Navy learning how to use a fire extinguisher. Folder 1:38 is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the 453rd, its members and missions; it includes several articles on Col. James Stewart.

2. Clarke, Allan Hugh. 5 folders (ca. 52 items). ca. 1944.

Allan Hugh Clarke was a member of the 453rd unit as a tailgunner on the B-24 liberator Jughead. He used his off-duty hours to draw and paint the people and activities of the unit. While some of his paintings were sold to the Department of Education in Pittsburgh, the whereabouts of the remaining paintings are unknown.

This series contains some correspondence between Thomas and Clarke (2:2), biographical sketches of some of his subjects (2:1), and a series of photos of some of his artwork (2:3). The names mentioned in the biographical sketches are written on the folder in alphabetical order and indexed.

3. Literary. 3 folders (5 items). ca. 1944.

Researchers interested in women’s roles during World War II will find this series interesting. It contains a draft article of “10,000 Men and a Girl” (3:1), photos (3:2), and the magazine article, “10,000 Men and a Girl,” on Peggy O’Mara, a Red Cross worker who was stationed in England. Written by Carroll W. Stewart, it details the activities of O’Mara as a Red Cross worker and the important role she played in being a liaison for soldiers and their families, bringing food to soldiers after flying missions, and operating the canteen.

4. Maps. 4 folders (6 items). ca. 1944.

This series consists of both military and civilian maps. The military maps (4:1, 4:4) were used as navigational tools by the fighter pilots. The civilian maps (4:2-3) are of England and Wales, and a war map of Europe for people at home to see where servicemen were fighting and stationed.

5. Photographs. 8 folders (ca. 165 items). ca. 1944.

The photos in this collection are a combination of both military and personal photos. They provide researchers with a glimpse of life on the bomber base and those who worked in the public relations office. Those interested in aviation and World War II liberator planes will find not only photos of the bombers The Little Gramper, Zeus, (5:1), and Lonesome Polecat (5:8), but also aerial views of several bombing missions over Germany (5:2). These air strike photos range from before and after dropping bombs on the aerial targets of Chateaudun, Berlin, Hamburg, Wesel, and Politz, but also views of the targets below. One aerial view of Wesel shows buildings, homes, and a church damaged by bombs and fire. Folders 5:6-7 show the crash of two liberators, the Golden Gaboon and the Robins Glen.

The Bomber Base folder contains approximately seven images of the outside of the mess hall and the surrounding area after a heavy rain. One shows a line of men waiting in the mud to get into the mess hall as well as military trucks (5:3).

Folder 5:4 includes three unidentified landscape/building photos, probably taken somewhere in England. Approximately 35 photos show different aspects of the base (5:8), providing a glimpse of daily duties such as dishwashing in the mess hall and leisure activities such as a sing along and other programs. Five photos show bombs being loaded onto an aircraft and crates being unloaded outside the base buildings. Approximately 12 photos are portraits of different 453rd members and officers who are unidentified. Researchers can also see the parts of the English countryside, most likely East Anglia where the base was located.

6. Printed Materials. 29 folders (101 items). ca. 1943-1945.

This series is an interesting collection of wartime publications and personal items from ca. 1943 to 1945. The majority of bulletins, pamphlets, and newspapers are military publications. Facts in Review and Bulletins from Britain give researchers a broader look at the issues surrounding World War II from British and German perspectives. Other interesting items include the broadside “This is Our Affair,” a Communist propaganda piece about the invasion of Czechoslovakia (6:1) and a pocket card “Not to be produced in public” (6:20), with different phrases in Dutch, Spanish, French, and German. Soldiers who were lost, crossing enemy lines, etc. used this. “Now What Do You Want?” (6:21) is a pamphlet about the benefits of the veterans association, and the pamphlet “Message to Women” (6:18) was put out (August 10, 1941) by Queen Elizabeth of England, addressing the American women and their important role in the war. The newspapers The Scuttlebutt, The Liberator (6:11), Stars and Stripes (6:12.3), Yank (6:12.4), and the newspaper clippings (6:12.1-12.2), give firsthand accounts of the war in Europe.

7. Stewart, Jimmy. 3 folders (7 items).

This series contains articles (7:1, 7:3) and photographs (7:2) of Jimmy Stewart during his stint in the military in World War II. While best known as an actor, Col. James Stewart entered the Army in March 1941. During his tenure, he was eventually promoted to Colonel in the 8th Air Force, 453rd Heavy Bombardment Unit. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership role in bombing missions over Germany. While in the service, he chose to put aside his movie star image and wanted no special treatment. Three of the photos (7:2) show Stewart while on duty riding in a jeep, discussing flight plans with fellow pilots, and walking away from the liberator Male Call. Another photo shows Stewart as he is officially promoted to Colonel. These photos were sent to American newspapers. Also included are two photos of a painting of Stewart by Allan Hugh Clarke.

8. Thomas, F. Edgar. 36 folders (ca. 160 items). ca. 1943-1953.

This series consists of materials that personally belonged to Thomas and from his military service. Folders 8:1-3 contain limited correspondence dating from 1943-1953, primarily general letters of appointment to the Air Forces. Folders 8:5-22 are papers from his “201” personnel file, including discharge papers (8:7), medical forms (8:11), financial (8:8-11), and resume (8:19).

The subseries souvenirs (8:27-35) consists mostly of items relating to Thomas’s social activities in the service and when he was discharged. From the military is an interesting chemical warfare reference card used to identify different types of poisoning by gas (8:30). City guides for San Francisco and London, England, show different restaurants, transportation, and area nightspots (8:31). Two cocktail napkins represent Blanchard’s and Don the Beachcombers, possibly officers’ clubs (8:32), while a drink menu (8:35) and guest membership card (8:34) came from the Hotel Knickerbocker in Chicago. Also included is a guide to Camp Myles Standish (8:33), from which enlisted men embarked for the European theater of the war.

The photos folder (8:25) is somewhat more personal in nature. Approximately 10 interior photos of the PRO office show Thomas working with other PR staff members. Four portraits depict Thomas in uniform, both inside the PR office and outdoors; one is in his non-dress uniform cleaning his mess kit. Several group photos shows members of the PR staff outside the office; most of the members are unidentified.

Researchers interested in classified military documents will find the subseries Special Orders (8:36) interesting, as it contains sensitive information about strategic locations of bomber bases, orders where the men would be stationed, etc.

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Francis Edgar Thomas Papers (ca. 1944-1974)

NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found.

Airplanes: 5:1, 5:2
Airplane Crashes:
Golden Gaboon: 5:6
Robins Glen: 5:7
Alexander, Jack: 1:30
Allen, Fred Jr.: 1:19
American Red Cross: 1:7, 3:1, 3:3, 6:2
Angerman, Carl: 1:12
Arcoraci, Louis: 1:12
Arnold, Milton: 1:24
Arntz, Paul C.: 1:33

B-24 Liberators:
Alice Vander-Winde: 1:28
Begin to Beguine: 1:17
Butch: 1:13
Cooter: 1:28
Corky: 1:14
El-Flako: 1:32
Flak-Hack: 1:14, 1:17
Golden Gaboon: 5:6
Herman: 1:18, 1:30
Hit and Git: 1:25
Hoo Jive: 1:12
Hustlin’ Hussy: 1:17, 1:23
Jo Revieress: 1:14
Lace: 1:23
Liberty Run: 1:9, 1:10
Little Gramper: 5:1
Lonesome Polecat: 5:8
Lonesome Polecat I: 1:31
Lonesome Polecat II: 1:31
Male Call: 1:30, 7:2
Mary Harriet: 1:13
Partial Payment: 1:18
Robins Glen: 5:7
Rumplestilskin: 1:24
Star Eyes: 1:13
Zeus: 5:1
Baily, Russell C: 1:23
Bartley, Charles: 1:25
Battle of Britain, 6:14
Beecher, Fred: 1:14
Bell, Homer C. Jr.: 1:23
Bennington, William G.: 1:22
Berg, Donald E.: 1:19
Berry, John S.: 1:16
Bertagnoli, Clifford A.: 1:32
Bieck, Robert B.: 1:18, 2:1
Bigel, Nathan D.: 1:33
Boucher, Alfred R.: 1:25
Bradley, Adrian F.: 1:33
Brantenham, George: 1:29
Briggs, Ikie: 1:21
Brondel, Albert: 1:12
Brown, Arthur, 1:14
Brown, George E.: 1:29
Bumba, Andrew Z.: 1:19
Burbee, James: 1:28
Burcar, Louis: 1:33

Camp Myles Standish (Boston): 8:33
Cannavaro, Donald W.: 1:17
Carr, John T.: 1:24
Carr, John T.: 1:25
Carter, Herbert L.: 1:33
Carter, Warren R.: 1:32
Cathey, Henry O.: 1:33
Chemical warfare: 8:25
Clarke, Allan Hugh: 2:1- 5
Clearfield, William: 1:12, 2:1
Cline, Walter: 1:33
Coggeshall’s Clowns: 1:17
Coggeshall, Robert Dwight: 1:17, 1:23, 2:1
Colin, Wilbur, H.: 1:28
Communism: 6:1
Comstock, William E.: 1:26
Cornog, Douglas Y.: 1:27
Counselman, Roger G.: 1:18
Crawford, Lee R.: 1:24
Cross, Iris M.: 1:25
Cross, Winnifred: 1:25
Crummie, Kenneth R.: 1:16
Czechoslovakia: Invasion of: 6:1

Davidson, Jerry W.: 1:21
Dean, Richard M.: 1:12
DelCielo, Ray W.: 1:13
Demary, Russell (sic): 1:29
Denk, Edward B.: 1:21
Denk, Robert J.: 1:21
Dibble, Keith M.: 1:30
Dietz, Frank I.: 1:30
Dominick, Henry A.: 1:28
Doolittle, Lee. A.: 1:32
Dorschell, James C.: 1:17
Dowda, Van D.: 1:26
Drapeau, Kenneth: 1:25
Duryear, Richard H.: 1:21

Eby, Leonard W.: 1:28
Eige, Glenn E.: 1:15
Elisofon, Eliot, 1:11
Elizabeth, Queen: 6:6, 6:18 (1936-1952)
Erickson, Arvo: 1:32
Erickson, Leonard: 1:32
Evans, Lafayette: 1:30
Evje, Floyd: 1:24

Failla, Anthony T.: 1:33
Fairhurst, Kirk Standish: 1:17
Fallacaro, Dominic: 1:31
France: Christmas Party, 1944: 1:5-11
Chateaudun, bombardment of: 5:2
Lyon: 1:4
Nantes: 1:5-10
Felsen, Sam: 1:25
Fewer, William F.: 1:19
Fisichella, Mario: 1:33
Foddrell, Buford S.: 1:33
Foley, John D.: 1:19
Forbes, Richard R.: 1:14
Foster, Mel: 1:21

Gaal, Frank J.: 1:21
Galler, Aaron J: 1:33
Gates, George T.: 1:31
Gerding, Jess L.: 1:16
Germany: 6:6, 6:12.1
Berlin, bombardment of: 5:2
Hamburg, bombardment of: 5:2
Politz, bombardment of: 5:2
Wesel, bombardment of: 5:2
Gill, Vern J.: 1:13
Grabill, Marion P.: 1:33
Great Britain: 6:4, 6:15, 6:27
Griffen, Earl M.: 1:33
Griffeths, William E.: 1:26
Gunnel, James T.: 1:26
Gunsolley, Francis L.: 1:31, 1:32

Hagler, Elmo M.: 1:33
Hale, Ben F.: 1:17
Hankins, William E. (Lee): 1:24
Hanna, Wilbur G.: 1:19
Harcwhich, Lester C.: 1:27
Harris, James H.: 1:13
arris, Robert F.: 1:15
Hassing, James: 1:33
Hauger, Lester O.: 1:33
Heath, J.M.: 1:21
Heck, Eugene: 1:14
Hernandez, James: 1:34
Hinton James Day: 1:4
Hoff, Herman, J. Jr.: 1:34
Hometown Stories: 1:12-36
Hotel Knickerbocker (Chicago): 8:34-35
Hunt, Bernard J.: 1:19

Instant, Nancy J.: 1:34

Jeong, Lim W.: 1:14
Jewish War Veterans: 1:37
Jim Burbee’s Swingsters (band): 1:28
Johnson, Earl: 1:24
Johnson, Harlan R.: 1:24
Johnson, Harvey: 1:28
Johnson, John H.: 1:12
Johnson, Milton P.: 1:34
Jones, DeWitt C.: 1:15, 2:1
Joyce, William C.: 1:24

Kaczmarek, John P.: 1:25
Kappes, William: 1:32
Keirns, Rodney L.: 1:19
Kelleman, Frank J. Jr.: 1:29
Kelly, Stanley D.: 1:24
Kielar, Thaddeus, F.: 1:30
Kistler, Robert F.: 1:34
Klein, Jerome: 1:31
Knudsen, John M.: 1:19
Kotapish, James J.: 1:21
Kratky, James J.: 1:34
Kurzman, Maurice: 1:29
Kush, Raymond L.: 1:29

Larochelle, Arthur H. Jr.: 1:32
Laulec, Edward L.: 1:25
Leiloner, Stanley: 1:26
Liberator, The (newspaper): 6:11
Lieblich, Daniel Parke: 1:18
Linaycomb, R.L.: 1:31
LoSasso, John J.: 1:34
Lost Colony (North Carolina): 6:8, 6:12.1 (1962)
Lyon, Mose, S.: 1:34

Madison, Edward A.: 1:34
Maher, Charles: 1:29
Mauser, Mike M.: 1:27
Mazzone, Anthony: 1:34
McCarthy, Vincent J.: 1:14
McCarty, Arthur G.: 1:31
McCormack, Whitson W.: 1:19
McCormick, Donald: 1:26
McCrocklin, William M.: 1:30
McCrombie, Jack: 1:34
McDowell, Eugene F.: 1:13
McFadden, John C: 1:22
McFadden, John C.: 1:15
McFadden, John C.: 1:27
McLain, Walter W.: 1:30
Michael, John W.: 1:28
Miller, Winnifred: 1:18
Minor, Eugene N.: 1:30
Minyard, A.E.: 1:30
Mitchem, Chester F.: 1:34
Monette, Charles F.: 1:19
Montgomery, T.L.: 1:21
Morrison, Paul O.: 1:15
Moya, Guadalupe L.: 1:34
Mueller, Arthur L.: 1:26

Newman, Edward C.: 1:34
Noonan, Arthur T.: 1:31
Nowalse, Harrison: 1:29

O’Dwyer, Thomas J.: 1:17
O’Mara, Peggy: 3:1-3
Odell, William R.: 1:34
Olin, Gene: 1:30
Olin, James: 1:30

Perry, Ulma: 1:30
Pflug, Paul H.: 1:21
Phillips, Leonard: 1:30
Pillman, Faneal T.: 1:32
Piro, Sam R.: 1:28
Plaaje, Luverne, L.: 1:35
Pleskovich, Frank J.: 1:12
Poland, Warren J.: 1:14
Potts, Ramsay: 1:2 (1974)
Pringle, Reid, A.: 1:27
Prosser, Bruce P.: 1:24
Prouet, Ambrose L.: 1:26
Purdy, Lloyd H.: 1:20
Purdy, Lloyd H.: 1:20, 1:35
Purtzer, Robert L.: 1:24

Reynolds, John C.: 1:23
Rhode, Eldon, F.: 1:22
Richman, William L.: 1:35
Richter, Albert C.: 1:35
Rickson, Donald E.: 1:35
Rifles: Score book, 8:26
Riggs, Ira D.: 1:28
Robertson, Earl: 1:14
Roehrig, George G.: 1:29
Rogers, Harry L.: 1:31
Rose, Robert L.: 1:28
Rosebrock, Charles A.: 1:16
Ross, John A.: 1:35
Roth, Jack W.: 1:21
Royal Albert Hall: 6:24
Rundblad, Geo. J.: 1:14
Russo, Mike: 1:31

Sams, Charles P.: 1:26
San Marco, Michael: 1:19
Santoro, Sal. N.: 1:19
Scarcella, Dominick J.: 1:19
Schweitzer, Carl H.: 1:35
Scuttlebutt, The (newspaper): 6:11
Serfoze, Edward: 1:35
Shapiro, Melvin S.: 1:31
Shaw, James I.: 1:22
Siegal, Meyer: 1:28
Smith, Dana E.: 1:21
Smith, Melton: 1:28
Solomon, Chester Erwin: 1:17
Somers, James J.: 1:29
Stars and Stripes: 6:12.3
Statler, Elmer: 1:35
Steele, Robert: 1:19
Stephans, Charles B.: 1:13
Stewart, Carroll W.: 1:3 (1972)
Stewart, Jimmy (James): 1:38, 7:1-3
Stier, Russell: 1:12
Stoermer, Julius A.: 1:22
Stout, Mrs. John H.: 1:28
Strianse, Johnny: 1:12
Sullivan, Frank E.: 1:24
Sullivan, Frank Edward: 1:16

Tardiff, Betrand W.: 1:13
Theater Royal: 6:25
Thicknail, Joe: 1:19
Thomas, Carl R.: 1:35
Thomas, F. Edgar: 1:2, 1:3, 1:7, 5:7-9, 8:1-36
Thomas, Lawrence: 1:20
Thompson, Willard: 1:35
Tomko, Andrew D.: 1:23
Tronson, Gordon G.: 1:28
Trostle, Maxwell, L.: 1:27
Troupe, John: 1:28
Twarog, Leonard L.: 1:35

United States Air Force:
453rd Heavy Bombardment Unit: 1:1-38, 2:1-5, 5:1-8, 6:11, 6:12.1-12.4
Second Air Division Memorial: 6:27 (1963)
Special Orders: 8:34
Veterans Administration: 6:5, 6:21, 8:20 (1949, 1972)
University of North Carolina: 1:4

Valella, Samuel N.: 1:35
Valente, Anthony J.: 1:25
Veitre, Jimmy M.: 1:12

Walter, Boyd L.: 1:30
Ward, Charles A.: 1:30
Watt, Robert H.: 1:28
Weaver, Bernard W., 1:29
Webb, Ivan L.: 1:21, 2:1
Webster, Frank R.: 1:12
Wencker, Lorna Bernice: 1:29
Whilden, Roland: 1:12
Willis, Fred L.: 1:15
Wills, Thomas C.: 1:31
Witzel, Robert B.: 1:31
Woughter, Gerald L.: 1:26
Women: 3:1-3, 6:15, 6:18
Wright, Elwood: 1:35

Yank: 6:12.4
Yaros, Edward F.: 1:35
York, Perlie: 1:35

Zellers, Robert A.: 1:29

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Ted Sturm Collection documents the interests of an individual collector more so than the occurrences of a particular time or place. The collection is notable for the variety of Civil War ephemera and for materials relating to the history of Greensboro institutions.

Arrangement: This collection is arranged into eight series, and within series, materials are arranged alphabetically. The eight series are: Correspondence, 1908-?; Covers, 1861-?; Financial, 1852-1865; Legal, 1803-1873; Maps, 1757-1800; Photographs, nd; Printed, 1855-1935; and Prints and Engravings, 1794-1865.

Provenance: This collection was purchased from Ted Sturm’s sister, Mrs. Margaret S. Rose, in 1990 and assigned accession number 1990.057.106. Two books were removed and placed with book collection: American Etiquette and Rules of Politeness (1884), and Visit of St. Nicholas (n.d.). The Museum also acquired numerous three-dimensional objects from the Sturm estate, which can be accessed through the Collections Department.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by Catherine E. Clements in November 1996.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

A Greensboro native, Ted Sturm (1941-1984) had a great interest in local history and, as this collection reflects, was an avid collector of all types of material. Ted Sturm was born in Greensboro and graduated from Greensboro High School in 1959. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked for Pilot Life Insurance Company in the 1970’s. Sturm began collecting coins and magazines as a child and later became interested in Confederate material. Most of the items in this collection were collected in this region. According to his sister, Mrs. Margaret S. Rose, Sturm never sold items or acted as a dealer; he simply enjoyed collecting. He contributed a column entitled “Antique and Unique” to the Hamburger Square Post, a local newspaper.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This is a miscellaneous collection not comprehensive in nature, but containing a wide range of types of materials including: correspondence, financial documents, legal documents, maps, photographs, a variety of printed material, and a small collection of prints and engravings. Much of the material in this collection is undated, however, the bulk of the dated items are from the second half of the nineteenth century, much from the 1850s and 1860s. The strength of this collection lies in its diversity. Researchers interested in ephemera relating to the Civil War will find this collection useful. Those interested in local history will find several items concerning Greensboro Female College and the North Carolina College for Women (2:3,7:13,14). Greensboro establishments such as the Farmer’s Bank of North Carolina (3:2) and the Greensboro Mutual Life Insurance and Trust Company (3:6) are also represented.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence. 2 folders (2 items). 1860s-1908.

This series includes a handwritten letter from a Union soldier stationed at a “camp near New Bern” to his brother (1:1). A postcard postmarked Oct. 20, 1908, to a Miss Ruth Thomason in Salisbury, NC (1:2) is also included. The postcard depicts “the Nation’s Choice,” Wm. J. Bryan and John W. Kern for president and vice-president. A photograph of a young man has been affixed between the two candidates.

2. Covers. 5 folders (5 items). 1861-?.

Included in this series are two patriotic covers, one with a poem and image intended as a “Memorial to Col. Ellsworth” (2:2) from 1861 and the other depicting a woman holding a flag and pointing towards the word “Onward” (2:5). The other covers in this series relate to Greensboro establishments and individuals including Greensboro Female College (2:3); G. Will Armfield, dealer in drygoods, notions, and clothing (2:1); and Jesse F. Hoskins, messenger in bankruptcy (2:4).

3. Financial. 11 folders (13 items). 1852-1865.

The bulk of this series is comprised of examples of North Carolina currency from the 1850s and 1860s. From Greensboro, the Farmer’s Bank of North Carolina (3:2) and the Greensboro Mutual Life Insurance and Trust Company (3:6) are represented. Three items are from Fayetteville, including a sheet of uncut five-dollar notes from the Bank of Clarendon (3:3), a note for four shares in the Bank of Fayetteville (1852; 3:4), and a sheet of uncut notes from 1865 (3:5). Also included are two large uncut sheets of North Carolina five cent notes (3:7) and ten cent notes (3:8) and a North Carolina ten-dollar bill (3:9), all dated 1863. A page of uncut sixty cent notes from Richmond, VA (3:10), and a receipt from the Adams Express Company (3:1) dated 1861 are also included.

The most interesting item in this series is a ledger that belonged to Dr. Geo. B. Williams of Wilmington, NC, dating from the 1860s (3:11). It contains two distinct sets of information: a listing of expenses and accounts paid dated 1861-1867 and the doctor’s clinical notes, formulas for prescriptions, and notes on the diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases including syphilis, gonorrhea, and rheumatism.

4. Legal. 3 folders (3 items). 1803-1873.

This series contains miscellaneous items including an insurance policy for the Schooner Catharine from North Carolina to the West Indies and back (1803; 4:1), a license for Jacob T. Brown to practice law (4:2), and a summons to the office of the United States Marshal in Greensboro (1873; 4:3).

5. Maps. 3 folders (3 items). 1757-1800.

Two early maps of North Carolina (5:1,3) are included in this series, as well as a map of the 1781 Battle of Guilford (5:2) engraved for Stedman’s History of the American War (1794).

6. Photos. 5 folders (19 items). n.d.

This series includes portraits of unidentified men (6:4) and women (6:5), as well as portraits of Civil War soldiers and veterans (6:3). Several interesting items include a matted portrait of a Confederate veteran identified as W.H. Brotherton (6:2), a cased ambrotype of an unidentified African American woman in a head wrap (6:1), and a cased ambrotype of an unidentified man wearing a large black hat (6:4).

7. Printed. 28 folders (30 items). 1855-1935.

The largest of the collection, this series reflects Sturm’s interest in collecting different types of material. Included are: advertisements, broadsides, brochures, clippings, newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, programs, and tickets.

Items of special interest include two brochures from the North Carolina College for Women, now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, (7:13,14); local North Carolina newspapers dating from the 1850s and 1860s (7:16-20); and two boxing tickets dated 1892 for bouts between Sullivan and Corbett, Maher and Fitzsimmons (7:28).

8. Prints and Engravings. 8 folders (8 items). 1794-1831.

The eight items in this series include a print commemorating the capture of Fort Fisher, NC, in 1865 (8:1), two portraits of Major General Nathanael Greene (8:6,7), and a colored print of Lee’s cavalry skirmishing at the Battle of Guilford (8:8).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Ted Sturm Collection (ca. 1757-1935)

NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found. Dates of the items are given in parentheses for an individual Series/Folder or, if at the end, for the entire subject/name entry. The abbreviation GSO indicates a Greensboro association.

Adam’s Express Co.: receipt, 3:1 (1861)
Advertisements: 19th & 20th cent., 7:1-12
African Americans: photo of woman, 6:1; minstrel troupe ad, 7:1
Armfield, G. Will: cover, 2:1
Automobiles: Model 32 Roadster, 7:6

Bank of Clarendon, Fayetteville, NC: currency, 3:3
Bank of Fayetteville, NC: currency, 3:4 (1852)
Battle of Guilford: print, 8:8 (1781); map, 5:1 (1794)
Blum’s Farmers’ Almanac: 7:21 (1877)
Boxing: tickets (Sullivan & Corbett, et. al.), 7:28 (1892)
Boy Scouts: periodicals, 7:23, 25 (1935)
Boy’s Life: 7:23 (1935 Sept., Nov.)
Brotherton, W.H.: photograph, 6:2
Brown, Jacob T.: license to practice as attorney, 4:2 (1859)
Butler Bros., NY: 7:24 (1914)

Corbett, Jim (1866-1933): boxing ticket, 7:28 (1892)
Cornwallis, Charles, 1st Marquis (1738-1805): print of, 8:2 (1831)
Currency: Farmer’s Bank of NC.: 3:2 (1859)
Fayetteville, NC: 3:5 (1865); Bank of, 3:4 (1852); Bank of Clarendon, 3:3; 3:5 (1865)
Greensboro Mutual Life Insurance, 3:6 (1862)
North Carolina, 3:7-9 (1863)
Virginia, 3:10 (1862)

Davis, Jefferson (1808-1889): print of, 8:3 (1865)
Dixie Shoe Stores Co. (GSO): ad, 7:2 (1926)
Douglas, Robert, M.: summons, 4:3 (1873)

Erie Washer Co.: ad, 7:3 (1873)
Ellsworth, Ephraim Elmer (1837-1861): cover, 2:2 (1861)

F.M. Roberts and Co.: advertisement, 7:4
Farmer’s Bank of NC (GSO): currency, 3:2 (1859)
Fayetteville, NC: currency, 3:3-5 (1852, 1865)
Fayetteville Observer: 7:16 (Sept 13, 1858)
Fitzsimmons, Robert Prometheus (1862-1917): boxing ticket, 7:28 (1892)
Fort Fisher, NC: print, 8:1 (1865)
Fulghum, R.H. (photographer): broadside, 7:7
Furniture: broadside, 7:10 (1890); clipping, 7:15 (1855)

George III. (George William Frederick, 1738-1820): print of, 8:4 (1794)
Goldsboro, NC: photographers, 7:7
Grant, Ulysses Simpson (1822-1885): print of, 8:5
Greene, Nathanael, Major General (1742-1786): prints, 8:6-7
Greensboro Female College: brochure, 7:13 ((n.d., 19th c.); cover, 2:3
Greensboro Mutual Life Insurance: currency, 3:6 (1862)

High Point Classical School: program, 7:27 (1868)
Hoskins, J.Y.: summons, 4:3 (1873)
Hoskins, Jesse F.: cover, 2:4

Lee, Harry (Light Horse): print, 8:8
Lillington, NC: speech at, 7:12 (1880)

Maps: Battle of Guilford, 1781, 5:1 (1794); Carte de Caroline et Georgie, 5:2 (1757); North Carolina, 5:3 (1800)

New Bern, NC: corresp., 1:1; newspaper, 7:18 (1865)
Newspapers: NC, 19th cent., 7:16-20
North Carolina: currency 19th c., 3:7-9; map, 5:3 (1800)
North Carolina College for Women (GSO): brochure, 7:14
North Carolina Presbyterian: 7:17 (Jan 1863 & Apr 1864)
North Carolina Times (New Bern): 7:18 (Feb 7, 1865)

Ohio: 9th Regiment, broadside, 7:9 (1863)

Photographers: R.H. Fulghum (Goldsboro, NC), 7:7
Photographs: African American Woman, 6:1
Brotherton, W.H., 6:2
Military, 6:3
Portraits of Men, 6:4
Portraits of Women, 6:5
Politics: pamphlets, 7:22

Schooner Catharine: insurance policy, 4:1 (1803)
Scout Administrator (periodical): 7:25 (1935)
Southern Fire Insurance Co.: broadside, 7:11 (1869)
Spirit of the Age (newspaper): 7:19 (Oct 31, 1855)
Spotless Co. Inc., Richmond, VA: periodical, 7:26
Stein & Sons, M.: ad, 7:5
Sullivan, John Lawrence (1858-1918): boxing ticket, 7:28 (1892)

Thomason, Miss Ruth: corresp., 1:2 (1908)

Virginia: currency, 3:10 (1862)

Way of the World (newspaper): 7:20 (Aug 21, 1862)
Williams, Dr. Geo. B.: ledger, 3:11 (1860’s)

Young Col. Isaac J.: political broadside, 7:12 (1880)

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The principal subjects associated with this collection are Lyndon Swaim and his eldest daughter, Isabella Logan Swaim. Each one generated materials that cover different periods in the family’s history; therefore, those items can be viewed as discrete portions of the collection.

Researchers will find the collection strong in materials relating to Lyndon Swaim’s financial and legal affairs, as they relate to his activities in Greensboro, North Carolina, between 1835 and 1888. In particular, legal documents reveal aspects of his business relationship with Michael Swaim Sherwood and the history of the Greensborough Patriot. In addition, deeds documenting his land transactions help illuminate the evolution of Greensboro’s antebellum development. Also of interest to students of cultural history may be the drawings and expository writing of Isabella L. Swaim and the correspondence between her and H.A. Ogden and F.H. Packer, men of note in the art world around 1915. For researchers interested in the Logan family, the collection contains some genealogical information.

Arrangement: The materials that compose the Swaim Family Papers are alphabetically arranged into the following seven series: Correspondence, 1861-1915; Drawings, ca. 1894-1920; Financial, 1826-88; Legal, 1834-66; Literary, ca. 1900-20; Logan, 1827-42; and Printed, ca. 1850-87.

Provenance: The bulk of the Swaim Family Papers was donated by the estate of Isabella Swaim and assigned accession numbers 1971.184.1-4. Other accession numbers associated with the collection are 1972.143.14 and 1980.5.2. Included in the first group were approximately two and a half dozen photographs, ca. 1900, of family members and Greensboro scenes. The photographic materials are not included in this inventory, but they can be found in the photograph storage area of the Archives under the accession number. In addition, a 1904 photograph of “Belle” Swaim’s home is contained in an album not associated with this donation (Oversize Flat Box 102, acc. no. 1981.63.230).

The Museum also possesses additional materials on the Logan family, which are contained in a folder in the Miscellaneous Collection. Also, there is genealogical material on the Swaim family in the Vertical Files of the Archives.

Researchers interested in Lyndon Swaim may want to consult the inventory of his papers held in the Special Collections Library at Duke University. A copy of the inventory can be found in the first folder of this collection.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid prepared by Francis D. Pitts III in August 1999.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

In 1834, at the age of twenty-two, Lyndon Swaim (1812-1893) left home in Randolph County to work for his cousin William Swaim as a printer at the offices of the Greensborough Patriot. Upon the death of his cousin the next year, Lyndon Swaim’s work there temporarily came to an end. Although this first foray in the printing business was short-lived, the event marked the beginning of what would become a long association with the Greensboro newspaper. He subsequently would be involved in the affairs of the newspaper during many of the next thirty-five years.

Swaim served the public in a number of official capacities as well, most notably as the Chairman of the Board of Superintendents of Common Schools in Guilford County; clerk of the county court; a commissioner of Greensboro; and as a representative from Guilford County in the state legislature. In the 1870s he began to study architecture, and later is reputed to have become successful as an architect of residences and public buildings in Greensboro.

Lyndon Swaim was married twice. His first wife, Abiah Shirley Swaim, was the widow of William Swaim. His stepdaughter from this marriage, Mary Jane Virginia, became the mother of William Sydney Porter, more familiarly known as O. Henry. Abiah Swaim died in 1858, and almost two years later Lyndon Swaim married his second wife, Isabella Logan, the daughter of John M. Logan of Greensboro. Their marriage produced four children: Isabella, Mary, Lyndon, and Logan. After years of declining health, the elder Lyndon Swaim died at the age of eighty.

Isabella Swaim (ca. 1860-1939), the other principal subject of this collection, was the eldest child of Lyndon and Isabella Logan Swaim. The remaining details relating to her life, for the most part, are not presently known. What is known, however, is that she was a writer and an artist. Her artistic ability may have been held in high esteem by some, for correspondence from noted men in the art world allude to Swaim at one time having been given a commission to produce a portrait of General Nathanael Greene. It is also apparent she had an interest in her family history, which is borne out by fact that she provided a biographical sketch of John M. Logan, her maternal grandfather, for Founders and Builders of Greensboro, 1808-1908. Telling information about other aspects of her life is most likely contained in the loose-bound writing tablets that form a part of this collection.

Biographical Sources: The most useful secondary sources that provided information on members of the Swaim family included the following titles: Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Vol. 5, P-S, edited by William S. Powell (Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press, 1994); and Founders and Builders of Greensboro, 1808-1908, compiled by Bettie D. Caldwell (Greensboro, NC: Jos. J. Stone Company, 1925). In addition, the primary sources contained in the collection also shed light on the lives of the principal subjects.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

Types of materials in this collection include correspondence, drawings, legal and literary documents, receipts, and printed matter.

The bulk of the collection pertains mainly to the activities of Lyndon Swaim and his daughter Isabella. Researchers will find interesting and important materials associated with these two people, especially as it relates to local and regional history.

Of special note among the Lyndon Swaim materials are the agreement (4:1), between him and Michael S. Sherwood, and the deed (4:3), from Sherwood, that illuminate aspects of the history of the Greensborough Patriot. For researchers interested in the development of Greensboro and Guilford County, the other deeds (4:2,4-6) and items pertaining to architecture and building (1:1; 2:2; 4:8) will provide useful information. Also of interest in the Lyndon Swaim grouping is the receipt that represents the final accounting of his papers and vouchers as the former Chairman of the Board of Superintendents of Common Schools in Guilford County (3:2). For astute observations on English mores and manners in the mid nineteenth century, researchers should see a letter written to Swaim from a correspondent who is believed to be Benjamin Sherwood, M.S. Sherwood’s father (1:6).

Among the Isabella Swaim materials, the correspondence from H.A. Ogden (1:3), an authority on portraiture, and F.H. Packer (1:4), the sculptor of the Greene monument in the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, will be, perhaps, the most noteworthy to researchers. In these letters, information pertaining to representations of General Nathanael Greene is mentioned in relation to a commission that Ms. Swaim hoped to execute. Other materials in the collection, such as drawings (2:3) and expository writing (5:1-2), further reveal her artistic proclivities.

The collection also contains some genealogical information on the Logan family (1:7). For additional materials associated with this family, researchers should also see Series 6.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence. 7 folders (7 items). 1861-1915.

The bulk of this series consists of letters written to either Lyndon or Isabella Swaim. The items of interest to Lyndon Swaim are a note from a builder who has submitted plans for building his house (1:1); a letter from the Artificial Limb Department of the State of North Carolina (1:5); and correspondence from a man identified as “Ben,” who is believed to be Benjamin Sherwood, in which astute observations are made on English mores and manners in the mid 19th century (1:6). The most noteworthy items to Isabella Swaim are letters from H.A. Ogden (1:3), an authority on portraits and illustrative renderings of General Nathanael Greene; and F.H. Packer (1:4), sculptor of the Greene monument erected in the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. In these letters, information pertaining to various representations of Greene is mentioned in relation to a commission that Ms. Swaim was hoping to execute. Folder 1:7 contains information on Logan genealogy.

2. Drawings. 3 folders (11 items). ca. 1894-1920.

The most noteworthy items in this series are a rendering of a house (2:2), done by an unknown hand, and a group of drawings attributed to Isabella Swaim (2:3).

3. Financial. 5 folders (11 items). 1826-88.

This series contains a number of items of interest. The most noteworthy materials are receipts associated with Lyndon Swaim. In particular, researchers should see the final accounting of Swaim’s papers and vouchers as the former Chairman of the Board of Superintendents of Common Schools in Guilford County (3:2); and acknowledgments of his subscription to the Madison Branch Rail Road (3:4), for which he would receive stock in the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Rail Road, and to the capital stock of the National Bank of Greensboro (3:5).

4. Legal. 8 folders (9 items). 1834-66.

This series provides the researcher with a rich source of primary material. With the exception of one item, all of the materials directly relate to the activities of Lyndon Swaim. Of these items, the agreement with (4:1) and the deed (4:3) from M.S. Sherwood are important documents related to the history of the Greensborough Patriot. The other deeds in the series (4:2,4-6) contain invaluable information regarding the development of Greensboro in the antebellum period. Also of interest to researchers may be the contractor’s proposal and specifications submitted to Swaim for building a house (4:8); it is unclear whether this document has any relation to the correspondence (1:1) and drawing (2:2) in the collection that pertain to architecture.

5. Literary. 3 folders (3 items). ca. 1900-20.

This series consists of two loose-bound writing tablets that contain musings and ruminations, entitled “Folklore” and “Scribblings,” attributed to Isabella Swaim (5:1-2). In them, she explores aspects of vernacular culture, local history and events from her past. The remaining item appears to be a page from a paper on the history of architecture, particularly that of church structures, in America (5:3).

6. Logan. 1 folder (3 items). 1827-42.

This small series consists of three items that have a connection with members of the Logan family. Perhaps the most interesting items in the group are the billfold, which has 1827 and Greensboro N. Carolina inscribed on the front, and an 1834 blotter used by John M. Logan, a longtime resident of Guilford County.

7. Printed. 2 folders (2 items). ca. 1850-87.

This series consists of an etching (7:1), entitled “The Oaken Bucket,” and newspaper clippings from the 11 January 1887 edition of The Morning News (Greensboro).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Swaim Family Papers (1826-1920)

NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found. Dates of the items are given in parentheses for an individual Series/Folder or, if at the end, for the entire subject/name entry. The abbreviation GSO indicates a Greensboro association.

Adams, William: 4:2 (1834)
Andrews, W.S.: 1:1 (1861)
Architecture: 2:2 (nd); 4:8 (nd); 5:3 (nd)

Bagley (?), William H.: 1:2 (1866)

Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad: 3:4 (1888)
Cooper, Lippincott, Coffin & Co. (PA): 3:4 (1854)
Crowder (?), Alexander: 3:1 (1826)

Education: 3:2 (1853)

Gallaway, John M.: 3:4 (1888)
Greensborough Patriot: 3:3 (1835-36); 4:1,3 (1855-66)
Guilford County Common Schools: 3:2 (1853)

Harvey, Isaac: 4:7 (1848)
Hedgecock, Matthew: 3:3 (1835-36)

Krause (?), Junius A.: 4:7 (1848)

Lane, James: 4:7 (1848)
Logan, John E.: 4:6 (1860)
Logan, John M.: 6:1 (1827-34)
Logan, William M. (?): 6:1 (1842)

McLean, David: 4:4 (1855)
Madison Branch Railroad: 3:4 (1888)
Mitchell, Ishmael: 4:7 (1848)
Morning News, The (GSO): 7:2 (1887)

National Bank of Greensboro: 3:5 (1876)
Newspapers: Greensborough Patriot, 3:3 (1835-36); 4:1,3 (1855-66); Morning News, The (GSO), 7:2 (1887)
North Carolina, State of: Artificial Limb Department, 1:5 (1867)

“Oaken Bucket, The”: print, 7:1 (nd)
Ogden, H.A.: 1:3 (1915)

Packer, F.H.: 1:4 (1915)
Prosthesis: 1:5 (1867)

Railroads: 3:4 (1888)
Ross, Edward: 4:2,5 (1834-52)
Ryan, S.G.: 1:5 (1867)

Schools: Guilford County, 3:2 (1853)
Sherwood, Benjamin: 1:6 (1859)
Sherwood, Michael Swaim: 4:1,3 (1855-66)
Springs, Grayson S.: 3:4 (1842)
Swaim, Isabella: 1:3-4,7 (1914-15): 2:3 (ca. 1894-1920); 5:1-2 (ca.1900-20)
Swaim, Lyndon: 1:1,5-6 (1859-67); 3:2-5 (1835-88); 4:1,3-8 (1848-66)

Transportation: 3:4 (1888)

U.S. government: tax form, 3:4 (1866)

Wadlington, William J.: 3:1 (1846)
Walker, J.: 3:1 (1846)
Watson (?), L.G.: 3:1 (1826)

BRIEF INVENTORY

Title: Horace Stepp Collection

Dates: 1773 – 1917

Quantity: ½ box

Types of Material: correspondence, legal and financial materials, souvenir photographs, and printed materials

Accession Number:

Brief Description: This collection consists primarily of legal and financial materials. Items include: correspondence, receipts from the collection of state and county taxes, legal papers assigning bond, summons and other court orders, Ludwich Isley deed (1773), will of Thomas Ellicott, souvenir photographs of “Nieuport” airplane at Fort Monroe, Virginia (ca. 1917), a Union factory receipt, and an autographed print of Joseph Winston. It also contains two books: A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistle’s of St. Paul to the Galatians, Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians to which is Prefixed and Essay for the Understanding of St. Paul’s Epistles (1801) and Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress at the Commencement of the First Session of the Thirty-Second Congress Part 3 (1851).

Major Names/Subjects: Court records–North Carolina–Guilford County
Court records–North Carolina–Rowan Co.
Ellicot, Thomas
Isley, Ludwich

Date Surveyed: 1/11/2012

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Edward A. Small Family Papers primarily document the financial dealings of Mary Small as executor for the estate of her father, Isaac Thacker. A merchant in Greensboro in the 1880s, Edward A. Small served in the 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry during the Civil War and, after being captured at Gettysburg, was imprisoned at Johnson’s Island, OH. The final three months of his imprisonment are documented in his Civil War diary, while two speeches that he gave in Edenton, NC, reflect his passion for temperance. Also included in the collection are carte de visites of Union officers, postcards of the 1908 Greensboro centennial celebrations, a 1911 promotional publication about the city, and a 1937 city map.

Arrangement:  This collection is arranged into seven series by document type. The series are: Correspondence, 1868-1906; Financial, 1854-1908; Legal, 1841-1908; Literary, 1851-1865; Miscellaneous, 1849-1869; Photographs, ca. 1850-1923; and Printed Material, 1873-1937.

Provenance:  The financial documents relating to the estate of Isaac Thacker were donated by Edward and Mary Small’s grandson, William H. White Sr., in 1974 and assigned accession number 1974.98.1. The Civil War diary was loaned and the rest of the collection donated by his wife in 1976 and assigned accession numbers under 1976.168. The loaned diary was converted to a gift by William H. White Jr. in 2016.

Processing:  This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by Robert M. Browning in March 1996. A new folder listing and an index were prepared by Francis D. Pitts III in March 1997. Additional materials previously filed in the Miscellaneous Collection were incorporated and the folders were re-organized by volunteer Kim Lanham in April 2016.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Edward A. Small (1835-1890), originally from Edenton, NC, was a merchant in Greensboro during the 1880s. Little is known about him prior to the Civil War, in which he served as a Captain of Company F, 11th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry and saw action at Gettysburg, where he was captured by Union forces on July 3, 1863. He was imprisoned at Fort Delaware until July 18, 1863, when he was transferred to Johnson’s Island, a prison near Sandusky, OH. After being paroled on March 14, 1865, he returned to Richmond, VA, and eventually settled in Baltimore, MD, before coming to Greensboro.

Small married Mary E. Thacker (1850-1947), daughter of Mary F. and Isaac Thacker (ca. 1807-1883) of Guilford County, and had three children: Alice, Mary, and Lillian. It is possible that he and Isaac Thacker were business partners before Thacker’s death. Small died on March 10, 1890, three days shy of his fifty-fifth birthday, and was buried in Green Hill Cemetery. His daughter Alice married William O. White, a clerk for the Cone Export and Commission Company.

Biographical Sources: Information about Small’s military career can be obtained from Weymouth T. Jordan’s North Carolina Troops 1861-1865, A Roster, Vol. V (Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, 1975: p. 57). Additional biographical and genealogical information was found in the Guilford Country Register of Deeds database, on Ancestry.com and findagrave.com, and in the collection in the correspondence and some of the legal documents.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

Types of materials in this collection include correspondence; financial documents, such as  bills, receipts, and bonds; legal documents, including deeds, wills, agreements, contracts, indentures, and leases; a diary; speeches; photographs; and printed material, including a booklet, a broadside, programs, a map, and some news clippings.

The bulk of items relating to Greensboro are contained in the correspondence, photographs, and printed material. Photographic postcards show the 1908 Centennial celebrations in downtown Greensboro and employees of the Cone Export and Commission Company (6:1). A promotional booklet published by the Chamber of Commerce in 1911 provides interesting facts about Greensboro, and a pocket map shows the city in 1937 (7:3).

Edward Small’s Civil War diary (4:1) is an excellent primary source of information about conditions inside a Union Army prison during the final stages of the war. A small collection of Civil War era financial documents (2:1) show what Small was paid during his service in the Confederate Army. Two speeches (4:2) given by Small on the steps of the Chowan County Courthouse in Edenton, NC, in the 1850s call for temperance, and a return to the ways of God. Researchers studying social movements prior to the Civil War, particularly the temperance movement, will find these items useful.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence.  13 folders (ca. 30 items).  1868-1906.

The correspondence is mostly between various members of Edward Small’s family. Several letters are between Mary Small and her sister Georgia, while others are from Small’s daughters to their mother. It appears that some members of the family relocated to California. Other letters are financial in nature. One interesting item is an undated letter from Edward Small to his wife that speaks of their separation and his longing to be reunited with her. In it, he mentions temperance, which was clearly a passion. There is no evidence, however, that he wrote this letter while in prison. This series also contains a folder (1:13) with items from unidentified sources.

2. Financial.  12 folders (ca. 278 items).  1854-1908.

The bulk of this material is bills, receipts, and bonds relating to the estate of Isaac Thacker (2:3-12), Edward Small’s father-in-law. A few documents show some of the dealings of Edward and Mary Small (2:2), and appear to have no connection with the Thacker estate. The documents relating to Small’s service in the Confederate Army (2:1) include receipts of pay from the Confederate Quartermaster’s Department, and others regarding his stay at Johnson’s Island as a prisoner of war.

3. Legal.  1 folder (20 items).  1841-1908.

These materials relate to the business and legal dealings of Edward Small, Isaac Thacker and Mary Small. They include deeds, wills, agreements, contracts, and indentures. They are useful for establishing connections between various members of the Small and Thacker families.

4. Literary.  2 folders (3 items).  1851-1865.

These items include some of the most fascinating, and useful material in the collection. The diary (4:1) covers the final three months of Edward Small’s imprisonment at Johnson’s Island, OH, as a prisoner of war during the Civil War. In it he details camp life, weather, and the escapes of several prisoners from January to March 1865. After his parole in March, he seldom wrote in the diary. The notes he did make refer to travel and social engagements that he attended.

The speeches (4:2) were given by Small in Edenton, NC, in the 1850s and advocate temperance. They were given before a group named the Cadets of Temperance, and the general public.

5. Miscellaneous.  3 folders (15 items).  1849-1869.

This series contains an undated hand drawn floor plan of a house on the back of an envelope (5:1) and a school report from Edenton Academy showing Edward Small’s grades in 1849 (5:2). Also in this series are documents relating to his time in the military (5:3), including an oath of enlistment in “Small’s Relief Guard,” a company report, three coupons from the Quartermaster’s Department for train passage from Greensboro to Danville, and six checkout slips for “Small’s Circulating Library” at Johnson’s Island prison.

6. Photographs. 1 folder (23 items). ca. 1850-1923.

The photographs in this series include six carte de visites of officers in the Union Army and eleven photographic postcards of the 1908 centennial celebrations in Greensboro. Another photographic postcard shows employees of the Cone Export and Commission Co. on the steps of their offices at 111 W. Washington St. A sketch depicts the Small family home, and a 1923 portrait shows William Hale White at age 10. Finally, the series contains three cased images of unknown relation to the Small family: an ambrotype of Hugh Hirshell Davenport Hackney, a daguerreotype of an unknown woman, and a tintype of an unknown young man.

7. Printed Material.  3 folders (16 items).  1873-1937.

This series contains a broadside (7:1) announcing the sale of land previously owned by Isaac Thacker by his daughter, Mary Small, the executor of his estate. A short typed piece (7:2) titled “An Interesting Occurrence in Greensboro during the War Between the States,” written by Bettie Sue Beaman, tells of gold reportedly removed from Richmond, VA, during the Civil War and buried near Greensboro. Also contained in this series are a few miscellaneous news clippings and blank deposit slips for The National Bank of Greensboro (7:2). Lastly, this series holds printed material collected by William O. White, including the programs of several Presbyterian Church rallies and meetings in various locales throughout the country. A promotional pamphlet about Greensboro, published by the Chamber of Commerce in 1911, and a 1937 pocket map of the city of Greensboro are also of interest (7:3).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Edward A. Small Family Papers (1841-1937)

Note:  The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g., 1:1 — Series#:Folder# (or, if  no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can found. Dates of the items are given in parentheses for an individual Series/Folder or, if at the end, for the entire entry.

Acree, Coleman and Co.: 1:1 (1884)
Anderson, J.M.: 6:1 (ca. 1863-1864)

Beaman, Bettie Sue: 7:2 (n.d.)

Cadets of Temperance: 4:2 (ca. 1850s)
California: 1:9-12 (1883-1906)
Chamber of Commerce (Greensboro): 7:3 (1911)
Chilcutt, B.G.: 1:2 (1885-1887)
Civil War: 2:1, 4:1, 5:3 (1862-1865); prisons, 2:1, 4:1 (1863-1865); 7:2 (n.d.)
Cone Export and Commission Company: 6:1 (1908)
Confederate Army: 2:1 (1862-1865)

Edenton, NC: 4:2, 5:2 (ca. 1849-1851)

Goddard, Elias: 6:1 (ca. 1863-1865)
Greensboro, NC: 1 (1868-1906); 6:1 (1908); 7:3 (1906-1937); map, 7:3 (1937)

Johnson’s Island Prison (OH): 2:1, 4:1, 5:3 (1863-1865)

Meade, George: 6:1 (ca. 1861-1865)
Moore, Georgia E.: 1:3 (1886-1901)

National Bank of Greensboro: 7:2 (1880s)

Richardson, R.P.: 1:4 (1871-1873)
Rowe, W.D.: 1:5 (1902)

Small, Alice: 1:6 (n.d.)
Small, Edward A.: 1:7, 2:1-2, 3:1, 4:1-2, 5:1-2 (1841-1908)
Small, Mary E.: 1:8, 2:2-12, 3:1, 7:1 (1841-1908)
Spilman, Jas. D.: 1:9 (1868)

Temperance: 1:7, 4:2 (ca. 1850s)
Thacker, Bettie J.: 1:10 (1886-1906)
Thacker, Isaac: 2:3-12, 3:1, 7:1 (1841-1908)
Thacker, Mrs. S.M.: 1:11 (1883-1886)
Thacker, S.M.: 1:12 (1883-1885)
Thornburgh, Duff G.: 6:1 (ca. 1862-1865)

White, William H.: 6:1 (1923)
White, William O: 7:3 (1906-1937)

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name or topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Jacob Henry Smith Family Papers consist of genealogy, correspondence, manuscripts and other items pertaining to the ancestry, experiences, and ventures of the Smith family. The majority of items relate to the immediate family and direct descendants of Jacob Henry Smith, who served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church from 1859 to 1894. His wife, Mary Kelly Watson Smith, authored the original Civil War-era correspondence and diaries spanning 1904-1923 that are the highlight of this collection.

Arrangement: This collection is arranged into four groups and within each group materials are organized largely by document type. The four groups are: Family History; Smith Family, ca. 1846-1982; Jacob Henry Smith, ca. 1846-1897; and Mary Kelly Watson Smith, 1847-1927.

Provenance: The materials in this collection were acquired from descendants of Jacob Henry Smith and others over nearly six decades. A few of the major sources are described below.

Dr. Opie Norris Smith, a grandson, compiled and gave the typescripts of Jacob Henry Smith’s diaries (1997.93.1), the originals of which are held by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also donated family photos (1988.9.1), some of Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s correspondence (1992.5.3; 2002.96), “The Writings and Sermons of the Rev. J. Henry Smith” (1992.5.3), and items relating to his service in World War II (1993.51.1) and subsequent medical career (including 1987.156.1). He conducted extensive genealogical research on both the Smith and Dupuy branches of his family; this material was acquired through the estate of his wife, Rebecca, in 2007 and can be found in the Family History group.

The thirty original volumes of Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s diaries (1987.6.1) were donated by three of her granddaughters in 1987: Mrs. John B. Sealy Jr., Mrs. Mary W. McAlister Flora, and Miss Sarah L. McAlister. Their gift also included several letters and a wedding invitation (1987.6.2), and five years later Mrs. Mary Flora gave a binder containing an additional 73 letters (1993.81.1). During the processing of this collection, this binder was disassembled and the letters were integrated with those received from other sources.

Processing: This collection was organized by Stephen Catlett and intern Kate Hayworth, and the finding aid was written by Kate Hayworth in July 2013 and completed by volunteer Alice Bailey in January 2014.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897) was born in Lexington, Virginia, to Samuel Runckle Smith (1788-1869), a Calvinist refugee from the Rhenish Palatinate, and Margaret Fuller (1766-1846). He graduated from Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in the spring of 1843, briefly studying law before focusing on theology. The following fall, he entered Union Theological Seminary in Farmville, Virginia, and received his certificate two years later. In 1848, Smith married Catherine Malvina Miller (?-1854) of Powhatan, Virginia. He served in Presbyterian churches in Virginia and was employed as Principal and Professor of Latin and Greek at Samuel Davies Institute in Halifax County, Virginia, from 1850 to 1854. After the death of his first wife, he re-married to Mary Kelly Watson (1836-1924) on January 8, 1857, in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he continued to work as a preacher until he was called to serve as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro in 1859. He remained there until he died, assisted in the last three years of his service by his son, Egbert Watson Smith.

Jacob Henry Smith was a powerful speaker and traveled extensively, preaching before many congregations along the East Coast. During the Civil War, the buildings of First Presbyterian Church were used as a hospital for Confederate soldiers while Smith served as a Visiting Chaplain for the Confederate Army. In 1868, the church segregated its members, organizing the African Americans into the Colored Presbyterian Church and erasing their names from the First Presbyterian Church register. Smith served on the board of directors at Davidson College and Union Theological Seminary and received honorary Doctorates of Divinity from Hampden-Sydney College and the University of North Carolina in 1872 and 1877, respectively.

Mary Kelly Watson was born to Judge Egbert R. Watson and Mary Kelly Norris in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1836. She gave birth to seven children who survived infancy: Mary “Mollie” Lynn Smith (1857-1940), Henry “Harry” Louis Smith (1859-1951), Egbert Watson Smith (1862-1944), Charles “Phon” Alphonso Smith (1864-1924), Hay Watson Smith (1868-1940), Margaret Virginia Smith (1869-1927), and Norris Kelly Smith (1875-1882). During the Civil War, Mary was especially active in Soldiers’ Aid societies in Greensboro. She primarily participated in the operation of the temporary canteen at the Depot, which provided material comfort to soldiers traveling to and from the front by train, and was staffed by local women. Scavenged rags were routinely sewn together to make bandages, and carpets torn up and sent to the front to be used as blankets. In 1919 she published “The Women of Greensboro, NC, 1861-1865,” an essay on the Confederate war period. She was also the author of the posthumously published Some Meagre Recollections of Mammy (1927), a memoir recounting her relationship with a woman who worked in the family home first as a slave and then as a freedwoman. The Love That Never Failed (1928), edited by Susan McGee Heck Smith, is a collection of Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s letters.

Dr. Henry Louis Smith was a physicist and educator. In 1896, he married Julia Lorraine DuPuy (1873-1954) of Amherst County, Virginia, with whom he fathered eight children: Jacob Henry Smith (1897-1918), Helen Lorraine Smith (1899-1996), Raymond Dupuy Smith (1901-1955), Julia Dupuy Smith (1902-1993), Mary Kelly Smith (1906-1906), Louise Watson Smith (1907-1998), Opie Norris Smith (1909-2004), and Frank Simpson Smith (1911-1982). He is primarily known for his early research and experiments with x-ray photography and for performing one of its first medical applications. He taught at Davidson College as Professor of Sciences from 1887 until he was appointed president in 1901. From 1912 to 1929 he served as President of Washington and Lee College. Smith was credited by President Woodrow Wilson for substantially shortening World War I when he proposed informing the German army of Wilson’s intention to make peace by attaching messages to gas-filled balloons, which the wind carried across the French-German border. After retiring in 1929, he moved to Greensboro and became involved in civic and religious activities, and often traveled as a public speaker. In 1947 he published a collection of essays and speeches entitled This Troubled Country. During his life, he authored the column “Science and Our World” for the Greensboro Record. Constructed in 1951 as Greensboro’s first public housing project, Smith Homes at 707 West Florida Street was named in his honor, recognizing his advocacy of public housing assistance.

Opie Norris Smith (1909-2004) was born in Davidson, North Carolina, to Julia Lorraine Dupuy and Dr. Henry Louis Smith. He was raised in Lexington, Virginia, and graduated from Washington and Lee College before completing his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1933. In 1937, he married Rebecca Hines (1915-2007). After several residencies and internships at hospitals in Pennsylvania and at Duke Hospital, Norris Smith opened a practice in Greensboro in 1938. During World War II, he served in the Duke 65th General Hospital Unit at Fort Bragg, as well as the United States Air Force in England. After returning from the war, he founded and served as president of the Greensboro Academy of Medicine, working as Chief of Medical Services at Moses H. Cone Hospital. In 1981 he retired from the medical field. He retained the Smith family association with First Presbyterian Church, serving formally as elder and deacon. He was keenly interested in researching and documenting his family’s history and genealogy and transcribed sermons, diaries, letters and other documents created by his grandparents, Jacob Henry Smith and Mary Kelly Watson Smith. Many of the items in the Family History group were produced and organized by him. Together with his wife Rebecca Hines, he compiled and self-published The Descendants of Henry Hines, 1778-1868 (1970). The two were instrumental in founding the Guilford County Genealogical Society and establishing the Well-Spring retirement community.

Egbert Watson Smith was a minister, mission worker and author. Born in Greensboro, he attended Davidson College from 1878 to 1882, graduating as valedictorian of his class. After completing coursework at Union Theological Seminary in Farmville, Virginia, in 1886, he served as Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro and one year later was called to Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 1894 he married Mary Black Wallace (1874-1955) of Franklin, Tennessee. They had four children: Margaret Heiskel, Egbert Watson (1862-1944), Jessie Wallace, and Marion Wallace (1905-?). Between 1891 and 1894 he oversaw home mission efforts for the Presbyterian Synods of Mississippi and North Carolina. He received his Doctorate of Divinity from Davidson College in 1894 and afterward returned to Greensboro to assist his father Jacob Henry Smith as co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church. After his father’s death, he became pastor of First Presbyterian. During his time there, Egbert Watson helped establish several other churches in Greensboro and elsewhere in the state. In 1911, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky to work as Executive Secretary of Foreign Missions for the Presbyterian Church of the United States. The Desire of All Nations (1928) and The Creed of Presbyterians (1901) are among the many books he wrote about mission work during this period. Despite his attempts to retire, he continued to work and travel extensively for the Presbyterian Church of the United States until his death in 1932.

C. Alphonso Smith is best known as a prolific scholar of English, specifically of Anglo-Saxon literature, the American folkloric ballad and short story, and as the biographer of William Sydney Porter, whom Smith knew during childhood (O. Henry Biography, 1916). He authored numerous works of literary criticism, including What Can Literature Do for Me? (1913) and Edgar Allen Poe: How to Know Him (ca.1921). In 1905 he married Susan McGee Heck (1875-?) of Raleigh, North Carolina. They had three children: Susan McGee Smith (1906-?), Fannie Wilson Smith (1907-?), and Charles Alphonso Smith, Jr. In 1913 he founded the Virginia Folklore Society (one of the oldest of its kind,) and was the founder and first editor of the academic journal Studies in Philology. He received his A.B. and M.A. from Davidson College, and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. He was also awarded honorary degrees by the University of Mississippi, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Cincinnati. He taught at Louisiana State University from 1893 to 1902 before being appointed Head of the Department of English at the University of North Carolina. The next year he served as Dean of the Graduate School at the same University. During his tenure as Edgar Allen Poe Professor of English at the University of Virginia from 1909 to 1917, he taught at the University of Berlin as the Teddy Roosevelt Exchange Professor of English from 1910 to 1911. In 1917 he was appointed Head of the Department of English at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he remained until his death.

Hay Watson Smith was born in Greensboro and graduated from Davidson College in 1890. He withdrew from Union Theological Seminary in Farmville, Virginia, after one year to teach school in South Carolina, only to return in 1893 and graduate four years later. In 1902 he married Jessie Alice Rose (1877-1953) of Little Rock, Arkansas, and the couple had five children: Mary Virginia Smith, Margaret Rose Smith (1904-1957), George Rose Smith (1911-1992), Norris Kelly Smith, and Hay Watson Smith, Jr. (1909-1966). Hay Watson Smith conducted postgraduate work at Union Theological Seminary in New York and received his Doctorate of Divinity from Oglethorpe University of Georgia in 1920. He is best known for advocating the theory of evolution in opposition to the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a credentialed minister. He testified against a bill designed to prohibit the teaching of evolution in publicly funded schools in Arkansas. Although struck down in the state Senate, a public petition led the bill to be referred to a popular vote, by which it was approved. In 1929 he was investigated by the Arkansas Presbytery under suspicion of unorthodox faith. In a 5-2 vote the accusations were declared to be insubstantially grounded. This decision was appealed in 1931, but he did not stand trial for heresy, primarily due to the consistent support of the Arkansas Presbytery and Synod. He resigned from the Little Rock Second Presbyterian Church in 1939 and died the next year.

Lunsford Richardson (1854-1919) grew up in Johnston County, North Carolina, on a plantation (later raided by Sherman’s army), and as a boy was close friends with several of the slaves. He graduated from Davidson College in 1875 and married Mary Lynn Smith on August 28, 1884. Together they had five children: Henry Smith Richardson (1885-1972), Laurinda Vinson Richardson (1887-1980), Mary Norris Richardson (1889-1969), Lunsford Richardson, Jr. (1891-1953) and Janet Lynn Richardson (1895-1988). He moved to Greensboro and opened the Richardson & Fariss Drugstore with John B. Fariss in 1891. He left the partnership in 1898 and founded the L. Richardson Drug Company, which sold pharmaceutical preparations wholesale. Among the products he offered were 21 different salves of his own preparation branded “Vick’s Family Remedies,” of which VapoRub was one. Richardson’s childhood friendships with his family’s slaves likely inspired his later philanthropic efforts that sought to improve the welfare of African Americans in Greensboro. In 1914, he funded a visiting nursing service for blacks that marked the first effort to provide medical care to that population. He donated funds for the construction of an African American hospital named the Greensboro “Negro” Hospital Association, which had a bi-racial Board of Directors and was staffed by both white and black physicians. This facility replaced Trinity Hospital (constructed in 1918), an overcrowded, sub-standard medical facility for African Americans. In 1934, the new hospital was re-named the L. Richardson Memorial Hospital in his honor.

Henry Smith Richardson was born in Greensboro and inherited Vick Chemical Company from his father, Lunsford Richardson. Smith Richardson downsized the product line and began selling VapoRub exclusively, at which point it gained national popularity. He was interested in corporate structure and management practices, and during the 1930s introduced the Vick School of Applied Merchandising, a program to recruit prospective employees out of college. See the Richardson-Vicks Collection for more information about this branch of the family and their enterprise.

Biographical Sources: This biographical note was compiled using items in the collection, as well as the publications and online sources listed in the Appendix.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The bulk of this collection spans the mid to late 19th century. The types of material that may be the greatest interest to researchers include correspondence, diaries, and genealogical research by O. Norris Smith.

A large portion of the collection consists of correspondence to and from members of the Smith family. Mary Kelly Watson Smith wrote numerous detailed letters to her sister, “Hay” Watson (IV 1:2-10), during the Civil War era, describing occurrences in Greensboro, reactions to national events and war news, and interactions with household slaves.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Henry Smith kept detailed diaries for much of their adult lives. The collection contains Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s original diaries spanning 1904 to 1923 (IV 3:1-20); typed excerpts are available under Digital Highlights in the Archives section of the website. While Jacob Henry Smith’s original diaries are held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the collection includes enlarged facsimiles of the original pages and typescripts of their content spanning the years 1846 to1848 and 1859 to1897 (III 3:1-13).

Jacob Henry Smith’s grandson O. Norris Smith conducted extensive genealogical research into the Smith and Dupuy branches of his family, and the Family History group (I) contains a variety of materials including genealogical charts and anecdotes by Norris Smith. Additional materials of interest include World War II-era publications owned by Norris Smith (II 9:3,5-8) and a memorial compilation on his father, Henry Louis Smith, with copies of correspondence, reminiscences and diary entries, and printed material (II 8:1).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

I. Family History

1. Genealogy.  7 folders (7 items).

This series contains genealogical research conducted by O. Norris Smith. Among the materials he compiled are detailed genealogical charts, photographs, newspaper clippings, book excerpts, medical records, recollections written by family members, and his own anecdotal writings about family members. Smith’s findings on 18th century German immigrants may be of particular interest to some researchers (1:3).

2. Manuscripts.  10 folders (10 items).

The materials in this series pertain to O. Norris Smith’s research into the Dupuy (2:1-6) and Smith (2:7-10) branches of the family. His family “tidbits” contain a variety of items, including genealogical charts, photographs, copies of church records, correspondence, journal excerpts, and biographical descriptions.

II. Smith Family

1. Correspondence.  8 folders (ca. 10 items).  ca. 1851-1868.

This series contains miscellaneous handwritten letters to and from members of the Smith or Watson families. Among these are several by close family friend Sallie Lindsay (later Gilmer). While in Greensboro in 1860, she wrote several letters to Hay, Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s sister, in Charlottesville, Virginia (1:3-4). Sallie visited Charlottesville and “found the people very kind and hospitable.” She describes her recent activities and mentions Hay and Mary’s father’s remarriage (1:4, January 4, 1860).

Several letters in the series comment on the Civil War. Alphonso Smith, Jacob Henry Smith’s brother, wrote a letter to his mother while in the Confederate service in Virginia (1:6, May 26, 1862). In an October 28, 1863, letter Sallie remarks on the soldiers wounded in the fighting (including an acquaintance, Cal Gilmer) and how it “made [her] blood boil” to “hear them abused” in Richmond newspapers (1:3).

A letter from an anonymous writer to Hon. Smith in the U.S. House of Representatives concerns the U.S. visit of Lajos (Louis) Kossuth, leader of the failed Hungarian Revolution in 1848 (1:1).

2. Correspondence Copies.  3 folders (ca. 25 items).  ca. 1846-1918.

This series contains photocopies of letters to and from various members of the Smith or Watson families, including a bound volume assembled by O. Norris Smith (2:1). The originals of some letters can be found in the Correspondence series of Groups II and III. The letters include Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Henry Smith’s first impressions of their Greensboro home (2:1, April 29 & May 9, 1859).

3. Diary.  1 folder (1 item).  1982.

Rebecca Hines Smith recorded entries in a diary in the summer of 1982 (3:1). Her descriptions include a trip that she and her husband, O. Norris Smith, made “out West.”

4. Miscellaneous.  3 folders (3 items).  ca. ?-1924.

Alphonso Smith’s “Intemperance, an address in three parts” was delivered in Pitt County, Virginia, on May 30, 1847 (4:3). The series also contains the diploma that Gertrude Allen Smith received upon her graduation from North Carolina College for Women (later Woman’s College and UNCG) in 1924 (4:2), as well as handwritten notes on scraps of paper (4:1).

5. Photographs.  4 folders (ca. 15 items).  1891-?

The highlights of this series are the 1891 and 1896 family portraits featuring Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Henry Smith with their children, children’s spouses, and grandchildren (5:2). Typed guides identify the family members shown in each portrait. Also included in this series are undated portraits of Rebecca Norris Smith Benson, daughter of O. Norris Smith (5:1), as well as photographs of the homes of Robert B. Hines (5:3) and Egbert R. Watson (located at 713 Park St., Charlottesville; 5:4).

6. Printed Materials.  1 folder (1 item).  1936.

The printed lecture “Why I Believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ” belonged to Julia Lorraine Smith, wife of Henry Louis Smith (6:1). Walter L. Lingle, president of Davidson College, gave this lecture on January 28, 1936.

7. Publications.  2 folders (2 items).  1909-1915.

C. Alphonso Smith delivered the address “The Significance of History in a Democracy” at the “unveiling of a monument to the Muse of History at the Guilford Battle Ground” on August 3, 1909 (7:1). The address “The Bible Teacher” was delivered before the Greensboro Training School for Sunday School Workers on April 15, 1915, by W.C. Smith (7:2).

8. Smith, Henry Louis.  4 folders (4 items).  ca. 1890-1991.

Henry Louis Smith (1859-1951) was the eldest son of Jacob Henry Smith. In 1991, his son O. Norris Smith compiled a volume of photocopies containing writings, documents, and photos relating to his father (8:1). The series also includes a newspaper clipping about Smith conducting some of the first X-ray experiments in the United States (8:2), a portrait of Smith printed from an engraving (8:3), and his book entitled This Troubled Century, Selected Addresses (1947, 8:4).

9. Smith, O. Norris.  8 folders (ca. 25 items).  ca. 1940s-1960s.

The son of Henry Louis Smith and grandson of Jacob Henry Smith, O. Norris Smith (1909-2004) complied much of the genealogy, correspondence, and family history materials in this collection. This series mainly contains World War II-era items he acquired while serving as a medical officer. Included are photos of the 65th General Hospital, sponsored by Duke University (9:1). Greensboro officers in the pictures include O. Norris Smith, P.B. Whittington, Dr. William D. Farmer, Dr. Ed Apple, and Captain Kent Davis.

Printed material in the series includes pamphlets distributed to U.S. Armed Forces to help them familiarize themselves with U.K. cities (9:3), as well as service member editions of Time magazine from 1943-1945 (9:5-8).

Smith also compiled newspaper articles and other materials pertaining to “The Fluoridation Experience in Greensboro, North Carolina” from 1954-1968 (9:4).

III. Smith, Jacob Henry

1. Addresses.  1 folder (3 items).  ca. 1846.

Contained within this series are several handwritten addresses by Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897, 1:1). They include remarks to the Missionary Society at Hampden-Sydney College and a May 24, 1846, farewell address for the senior class at Union Theological Seminary (1:1).

2. Correspondence.  1 folder (4 items).  1860.

The folder contains two letters (and photocopies) written by Jacob Henry Smith, one to “Haydy” and the other to Mary Kelly Watson Smith, relating mainly family news (2:1).

3. Diaries.  13 folders (13 items).  1846-1897.

Smith kept a diary for decades, and this series contains typescripts and copies of the originals, which are held by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. O. Norris Smith created a typescript volume of the entries from 1846-1848, when Jacob Henry Smith held his pastorate at Pittsylvania Court House, Virginia (3:1). The next typescript volume includes the entries from Smith’s relocation to Greensboro until his death (1859-1897), additional content from the letters of Mary Kelly Watson Smith, and the rosters of black and white marriages recorded (3:3). Another typescript volume covers “the Civil War decade,” duplicating the material from the previous volume from 1859-1869 (3:2). The photocopied volumes consist of enlarged facsimiles of the diary pages (3:4-13). The 1846-1848 volume also includes a copy of the typescripts made by O. Norris Smith (3:4).

4. Photograph.  1 folder (1 item).  Undated.

This undated portrait of an older Jacob Henry Smith was taken by Greensboro photographer S.L. Alderman (4:1).

5. Printed Material.  3 folders (3 items).  1859-1951.

The small, ribbon-bound booklet contains a poem called “A Trusting Heart” by Thomas F. Andresen, who dedicated the poem to Jacob Henry Smith (5:1). Upon Jacob Henry Smith’s death, his son Egbert W. Smith wrote a piece that was published in “The Greensboro Presbyterian,” the church newsletter (5:3).

6. Sermons.  2 folders (6 items).  ca. 1865-1896.

The first folder contains three handwritten sermons delivered by Jacob Henry Smith (6:1). He recorded the dates and locations of each sermon on their last pages, as well as the numbers of the hymns that accompanied them (6:1). O. Norris Smith compiled a transcribed volume of Smith’s sermons and other writings, as well as the baptismal register during Smith’s time in Greensboro (1859-1896, 6:2).

IV. Smith, Mary Kelly Watson

1. Correspondence.  19 folders (ca. 60 items).  1847-1922.

This series contains correspondence to and from Mary Kelly Watson Smith (1836-1924). “I always write at night after the children are asleep, which is the only perfectly quiet time I enjoy during the day,” she comments in one 1860 letter (1:3, January 11). The bulk of her letters were written to her sister Hortensia Watson, known as “Hay” or “Haydy,” who lived in Charlottesville and never married.

NOTE: Below is an overview of the major topics and points of interest in the letters written by Mary Kelly Watson Smith, primarily between 1859 and 1866. A complete reading is suggested for the topics and specific years of interest.

News of Family and Friends: Letters from 1858-1859 describe church news, family news, and the marriages, deaths and other life events of acquaintances in Charlottesville and Greensboro (1:2). A letter dated April 22, 1859, contains first impressions of the Smiths’ new Greensboro home (1:2). General mention of church services and meetings led by Jacob Henry Smith are often made in Mary’s letters, and she describes a Synod meeting in a November 2, 1864 letter (1:6).

Mary often mentions the activities and occasional illnesses of her children, as well as their reactions to the war based on their childish understanding of it (1:3, 1860; 1:5, December 22, 1861; 1:6, January 18, 1862). For example, her four-year-old daughter Mollie questions if God loves the Yankees (1:5, December 22, 1861).

In an undated letter, she reacts to the news that her father had “won Mrs. Kent” and was planning to marry her (1:3). A February 9, 1860, letter mentions her father’s remarriage “last Thursday” (1:3).

Mary discusses the stages of mental illness of an acquaintance, young mother Mrs. Annette Wright (1:4, February 23 & April 6, 1861). She also mentions Mrs. Harper Evans having one of her frequent “attacks” without warning when she began screaming in the middle of a church service (1:6, April 22, 1861).

The romantic prospects of Hay and their friend Sallie Lindsay are recurring topics. In April 6, 1861, Mary writes to Hay, “Mr. Smith says there are seven young gentlemen in Greensboro, any one of whom he would be perfectly willing for you to marry!…For pity’s sake come on and try your fortune before the ranks are diminished!” (1:4). She also describes the complicated romance of Sallie and Mr. Gilmer, whom Sallie eventually married (1:4, January 8, 1861).

After the war, Mary mentions Jacob Henry Smith bringing his parents back from Virginia to live with them in Greensboro, where they rented a house (1:7, September 8, 1865 & January 8, 1866).

Household Slaves: Mary discusses her and her neighbors’ household slaves in several letters (1:5, June 30, 1861). She comments on the children of her slave Poca and the work and behavior of other slaves (1:5, October 1, 1861). The practice of hiring out slaves is also described (1:6, January 18, 1862). In a late 1863 letter she describes a search for a new servant, a “strong capable woman without children” (1:6).

After the war, she describes women and children going to live in “Freedom’s Camp” near town. She expresses her fear at hearing from neighbors that Poca “intended going to Danville with her children to live with Jim Henry.” However, upon questioning Poca about the rumors, she said she intended to continue to work for Mary. Mary was relieved, and commented that Poca would have “sorely repented it in a week,” as Jim would not have been able to provide for her and the children and “shield her from hard work as I do” (1:7, January 8, 1866).

By May 1866, Jacob Henry Smith had assisted in establishing a “Colored Sabbath School” at the church (1:7, May 15, 1866).

Pre-War Greensboro: Mary comments on a young woman “dismissed from the Methodist College last week for being an Abolitionist. She was one of the teachers and the girls complained that instead of giving music lessons she employed the time in inculcating and expressing very strongly her abolitionist sentiment” (1:3, undated letter)

She also remarks on a murder trial of a man suspected of killing a young woman who had gone missing. “The bones found in his plant bed and a few hairpins, common pins, buttons and hook and eyes found in the creek compose the testimony against him” (1:3, undated).

Reaction to National Events: Mary’s thoughts soon turned to the impending conflict between North and South. On April 19, 1861 (photocopy of letter), Mary comments on the Guilford Grays and Virginia Convention’s ordinance of secession, saying that “if it is true I am truly rejoiced, and think NC will follow in her footsteps without delay” (1:4). She adds, “Mr. Smith had been in favor of secession for a long time, but an avowal of his sentiments would have made him quite notorious” (1:4, April 19, 1861). In a letter dated December 22, 1861, she calls the Mason and Slidell affair “glorious” and comments that “Mr. Smith has been more aroused by Cameron’s plan for partitioning VA, than anything I believe that has occurred during the war” (1:5, December 22, 1861).

Wartime: She expresses hope that there will be “little or no blood shed” due to the Union army finding the Confederate Army too prepared and formidable to fight (1:5, May 16, 1861). In a letter to her grandmother she describes making fatigue shirts for an army company and notes its departure from Greensboro. She comments about hearing news of Mr. Smith’s brother Sam Smith, who served with the Rockbridge Artillery (1:5, May 28, 1861; 1:6, April 1 & April 15, 1862). Mary also makes mention of refugees from New Bern staying in town, and notes war news from around the state (1:5, October 1, 1861; 1:6, April 1 & April 22, 1862).

Additional Correspondence: This series also contains letters written to Mary Kelly Watson Smith. Several are from acquaintances she had as a young woman (1:11-14,16) and others are from her parents (1:17-18). A letter from Mary’s son Hay Watson Smith describes an operation performed on his throat (1:15). Also included is an invitation to the wedding of Henry Smith Richardson and Grace Stuart (1:19).

2. Correspondence Copies.  6 folders (ca. 40 items).  ca. 1859-1884.

This series contains photocopies of the majority of the letters written by Mary Kelly Watson Smith in the preceding series.

3. Diary.  20 folders (ca. 40 items).  1904-1923.

It is believed that Mary Kelly Watson Smith kept a diary all her life, although only the volumes from the last two decades seem to have survived. This series contains thirty handwritten volumes (3:6-20), as well as typescripts of her diaries from 1912-1914 (3:1-5). A more complete overview and typed excerpts from the diaries can be found under Digital Highlights in the Archives section of the website.

4. Photographs.  1 folder (1 item).  Undated.

This portrait of a middle-aged Mary Kelly Watson Smith sits in an oval, wooden frame (4:1).

5. Printed Material.  1 folder (1 item).  June 22, 1924.

A bulletin from First Presbyterian Church contains a written piece dedicated to the memory of Smith upon her death in 1924 (5:1).

6. Publications.  2 folders (2 items).  October 1919-December 1927.

A printed pamphlet based on a written sketch by Smith is dedicated to Bibby Mosby. Known as “Mammy,” she was a slave and later servant who worked for Egbert R. Watson, and helped raise Smith. Listed among the footnotes of the pamphlet are the names and birth years of Smith’s siblings (6:1).

“The Women of Greensboro, N.C., 1861-1865” is a pamphlet written by Smith, which she read “at a meeting of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Greensboro, October, 1919” (6:2).

FOLDER LISTING

APPENDIX

Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Confederate Guns were Stacked: Greensboro, North Carolina. Greensboro, NC: Piedmont Press, 1965.

Dillard, Tom W. “Hay Watson Smith.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History. Web. Last updated 09/10/2024, last accessed 10/15/2025. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=42

Founders and Builders of Greensboro, 1808-1908. Greensboro, NC: Jos. J. Stone & Company, 1925.

Gillespie, Molly P. “The Study of Physics at Davidson.” Web. Last updated 8/28/2012, last accessed 10/24/2013. http://www.phy.davidson.edu/history.html

“H. Smith Richardson: History of the Foundation.” Smith Richardson Foundation. Web. Last accessed 10/14/2021. http://www.srf.org/mission/history.php

Jordan, Paula S. Women of Guilford: A Study of Women’s Contributions 1740-1979. Greensboro Printing Company, 1979.

Powell, William Stevens. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: P-S. University of North Carolina Press, 1994: vol. 5.

Stockard, Sallie Walker. History of Guilford County, North Carolina. Knoxville, Tenn: Gaut-Ogden Company, Printers, 1902.

“The Virginia Folklore Society: A Retrospective.” The Virginia Folklore Society. Web. Last updated 06/12/1998, last accessed 10/24/2013. http://faculty.virginia.edu/vafolk/archive.htm

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The focus of this small collection is Robert Moderwell Sloan, merchant, long-time employee of the Southern Express Company, and Reconstruction mayor of Greensboro. Researchers will find it strong in Confederate States of America (CSA) and Reconstruction era content and particularly useful for the ca. 1860-ca. 1870 era in Greensboro.

Arrangement: The Sloan Family Papers are arranged six series, and within series are arranged alphabetically. The six series are: Correspondence, 1860-71; Financial, ca. 1850-1906; Legal, 1863-1906; Literary, ca. 1870; Maps, ca. 1870; and Printed, 1860-99.

Provenance: The provenance of the Sloan Family Papers is unknown.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid prepared by J. Timothy Cole in June 1996.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Robert Moderwell Sloan (1812-1905) was the first mayor of Greensboro after it became a city in 1870. Most of the collection focuses on him. Sloan was born in Lexington, Va., the son of John and Mary Shields Sloan. He moved to Greensboro in 1827, where he became a salesman in his uncle’s store. Sloan eventually established himself as a prominent Greensboro merchant. In 1836, he married Sarah Paisley and had seven children, including John Sloan, who was to become commanding officer of the Guilford Grays (Company B, 27th North Carolina). He retired from the mercantile business ca. 1860 and was then appointed the first agent of the Southern Express Company in Greensboro, a company with which he remained associated for the rest of his life.

Uncle Bob’s (as Sloan was affectionately called) tenure as mayor (1870-73) saw not only the creation of Greensboro’s first city charter, but also it’s first graded schools, garbage collections and pound for stray animals (Arnett, pp. 33-34). His tenure also coincides with the political strains of the Reconstruction period.

A few items in the collection are associated with Thomas J. Sloan, who attained the rank of 1st Corporal in the Guilford Grays. This Sloan may have been a nephew. Thomas J. Sloan became a member of the regimental band.

Biographical Sources: Sources for information on R.M. Sloan and the Sloan family include: Ethel Stephens Arnett, Greensboro, North Carolina: The County Seat of Guilford, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1955, pp. 33-34; Bettie D. Caldwell, Founders and Builders of Greensboro, 1808-1908, Greensboro: Jos. J. Stone & Company, 1925, pp. 129-32; Weymouth T. Jordan, Jr., compiler, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, Vol. VIII, Raleigh: Division of Archives & History, 1981; and John A. Sloan, Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays, Co. B, 27th N.C. Regiment, Washington, D.C.: R.O. Polkinhorn, Printer, 1883, p. 121

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

Types of materials in this collection include correspondence, account books, currency, lists, promissory notes, receipts, financial statements, deeds, petitions, wills, maps, clippings, envelopes, loyalty oaths, and soldier passes. The Sloan Family Papers primarily consist of financial, military, and legal documents from the period ca. 1860-ca. 1870.They are notable for Confederate States of America (CSA) content and include several different types of CSA paper: tax receipts (3:4-6; 6:7), soldier passes (6:11), currency (2:2), promissory notes (2:4-6), slave documents (2:5-6), financial statements (2:13), and receipts for bonds (6:6). The researcher will also find printed loyalty oaths (6:4) which Confederate soldiers and sympathizers were required to sign following the War.

Other interesting materials deal with Reconstruction politics (1:1; 3:2; 4:1) and ca. 1870 businesses and financial transactions in Greensboro (1:1-5; 2:1,3,8,11; 3:2; 6:5,8-10). Much of the material reflects R.M. Sloan’s long association with the Southern Express Company (1:3,6-7; 2:3-4; 6:3).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence. 7 folders (11 items). 1860-71.

In folder 1:1 may be found a letter (1870) in which D.W.C. Benbow, a sympathizer with the Radical Republican cause, discusses the presentation of a Confederate flag to a drunken Negro who voted for the Conservatives in the election of August 4th. Benbow’s letter was printed verbatim (with a description of the incident) in the Greensboro Patriot, August 18, 1870, p. 2. In 1:5, James A. Houston writes Sloan (1871) and criticizes him for business practices which have adversely affected him. The rest of the correspondence in the series seems to refer to mundane business transactions. Fine printed Southern Express Company envelopes (ca. 1870) can be found in 1:6 and 1:7.

2. Financial. 13 folders (ca. 45 items). ca. 1850-1906.

Folder 2:3 consists of a list, apparently pertaining to transactions of the Southern Express Company (ca. 1870). A group of promissory notes, many of which relate to expenses for the care of a family during the Civil War, can be found in 2:4. The document in 2:5 (1864) probably refers to the hire of a slave named Alfred, though neither the terms “slave” nor “Negro” are used. However, a similar promissory note in 2:6 (1864) clearly refers to the “hire of Negro boy Lewis.” The manuscript receipts group (2:7-12) consists largely of mundane transactions.

3. Legal. 7 folders (ca. 25 items). 1863-1906.

The most interesting item in this series is an 1869 petition (3:2) signed by a number of prominent Greensboro businessmen/citizens such a D.W.C. Benbow, James Sloan, A.B. Chapin, and A.J. Brockmann. The petition calls for the building of new roads between East Market and Washington streets. A number of CSA tax receipts (1863-65) can be found in 3:4-6, including receipts for “Confederate tithes.” Folder 3:1 contains a group of mainly late 19th century Durham County deeds.

4. Literary. 1 folder (1 item). ca. 1870.

This one folder series consists of a very interesting political statement, probably in the hand of R.M. Sloan, which seems to refer to voter intimidation during 1869 and 1870 and the so-called Kirk-Holden War. It includes references to “the murderer Kirk” and “the infamous Gov. Holden.” Apparently some voters, “professing to be conservatives,” were forced to vote for a Republican (?) named William A. Smith. These voters included Cyrus P. Mendenhall, N.H.D. Wilson, and Peter Adams, Sr.

5. Maps. 1 folder (1 item). ca. 1870.

This one folder series consists of a fine hand-colored map of Northern Missouri (ca. 1870) showing the North Missouri Railroad and its various connections.

6. Printed. 11 folders ( items). 1860-99.

This series has considerable CSA content. Folder 6:1 consists of a clipping (1899) with the words for the anthem of the Confederacy, “The Bonnie Blue Flag.” Post-war loyalty oaths of 1st Corporal Thomas J. Sloan (1865) of Company B, 27th Regiment, the famous “Guilford Grays” outfit, may be found in 6:4; one is dated Greensboro, May 2, 1865. Sloan was a member of the regimental band. There is also a soldier’s pass (1864) for Sloan (6:11) in the series. It was signed by 1st Lieutenant James Turner Morehead, who was later a Captain in the 45th North Carolina.

A number of receipts for Confederate bonds (1864) are in 6:6. They range in value from $100 to $1000 and originate from offices in Asheville, Charleston, SC, Raleigh, Christiansburg, Va., and Wilmington. A printed “Confederate tithes” receipt (1863) is found in 6:7.

Items associated with Greensboro businesses are also included in the series. Receipts for the Greensboro Gas Light Co. (1868) are found in folder 6:8; a very fine Greensboro Patriot receipt (1867) is in 6:9; and 6:10 contains a Greensborough Mutual Life & Trust receipt (1860).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Sloan Family Papers (ca. 1850-1906)

NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found. Dates of the items are given in parentheses for an individual Series/Folder or, if at the end, for the entire subject/name entry.

Adams Express Company: 6:5 (1864)
Adams, Peter, Sr.: 4:1 (ca. 1870)

Benbow, D.W.C.: 1:1, 3:2 (1869-70)
“Bonnie Blue Flag, The”: 6:1 (1899)
Brockmann, A.J.: 3:2 (1869)

Cavanah, F.P.: 1:2 (1868)
Chapin, A.B.: 3:2 (1869)
Coleman, R.L.: 3:5 (1863)
Confederate States of America: bonds, 6:6 (1864); currency, 2:2 (1861); soldier’s pass, 6:11 (1864); songs, 6:1 (1899); tithes, 6:7 (1863)
Courtney, J.C.: 1:3 (1869)

Gibson, Rufus Baxter: 2:9; 3:7 (1864-ca. 1870)
Greensboro (NC) (ca. 1860-70)
Greensboro Gas Light Company: 6:8 (1868)
Greensboro Patriot: 6:9 (1867)
Greensborough Mutual Life and Trust: 6:10 (1860)

Hopkins, L.: 1:4 (1860)
Houston, James (?) A.: 1:5 (1871)

Ingold, A.W.: 2:10 (1866)

Kirk-Holden War: 1:1; 4:1 (1870)

Mendenhall, Cyrus P.: 4:1 (ca. 1870)
Morehead, James Turner: 6:11 (1864)

North Carolina: Kirk-Holden War, 1:1; 4:1 (1870); politics and government, 13:2; 4:1 (1869-70)
North Missouri Railway: 5:1 (ca. 1870)

Reconstruction: 1:1; 3:2; 4:1 (1869-70)
Robertson, S.C.: 1:6 (1871)

Slavery: 2:5-6 (1864)
Sloan, James: 3:2 (1869)
Sloan, Robert Moderwell
Sloan, Thomas J.: loyalty oath, 6:4 (1865)
Smith, William A.: 4:1 (ca. 1870)
Southern Express Company: 1:6-7; 2:3; 6:3 (ca. 1865-70); envelopes, 1:6-7
Sullivan, Thomas: 1:7 (1867)
Sutton, W.T.: 2:11 (1864)

Thrash, P.H.: 3:6 (1863)
Tobacco: 2:12 (1863)

Wilson, N.H.D.: 4:1 (ca. 1870)

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Sellars Family Papers primarily document the financial and legal transactions of a prominent Randolph and Alamance County physician named Benjamin Abel Sellars. In addition, some of the documents in the collection relate to B.A. Sellars’ father Thomas Sellars, Jr., and to his probable father-in-law, David Kime, both of whom were natives of Orange/Alamance County.

The collection may be useful to researchers interested in the Company Shops/Burlington area of Alamance County in the mid to late 19th century.

Significant accumulations of Confederate bonds and currency may be of interest to specialists in those areas.

Arrangement: The Sellars Family Papers are arranged into five series, and within series materials are arranged alphabetically. The five series are: CSA imprints, 1861; Correspondence, ca. 1850-ca. 1945; Financial, 1754-1869; Legal, 1791-1916; and Printed, 1849-1949.

Provenance: The Sellars Family Papers were donated by Mrs. Elizabeth Sellars Little of Greensboro in 1988, and accessioned under 1988.76.15.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid prepared by J. Timothy Cole, June 1996.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The focus of this collection is Dr. Benjamin Abel Sellars (1816-1896), the third generation of an important Alamance County family. His grandfather, Thomas Sellars, Sr. (1740?- ? ), is known to have settled in Alamance by the 1760s. His father, Thomas Sellars, Jr. (1782-1865), was a wealthy cotton planter in both Orange and Alamance Counties. He is said to have owned as many as 100 slaves. Dr. Sellars’ mother was Nancy Rainey Sellars (1795-1881).

B.A. Sellars attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1844. He moved to Randolph County to practice medicine, and eventually he met and married (ca. 1850) Frusannah Elizabeth Kime (1833-1922). Dr. Sellars also practiced in Guilford County.

In the early 1870s, Dr. Sellars moved his family to Company Shops, NC (present-day Burlington). There he built a store where he sold primarily drugs, but also hardware, groceries, seeds and piece goods. The enterprise still existed as a department store in the early 1980s, though not at the original location on Front Street. Sellars was influential in changing the name Company Shops to Burlington.

The name David Kime ( ? -1850?) also figures prominently in the collection. This was a prominent German name in the Orange/Alamance County area in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kimes apparently settled initially in the Alamance Creek area. While nothing is known of David Kime, it seems likely that he was the father of Dr. Sellars’ wife, Frusannah Elizabeth Kime.

Biographical Sources: An excellent biographical source for Dr. Benjamin Abel Sellars and his family is Elinor Samons Euliss, Alamance County: The Legacy of Its People and Places, Greensboro, NC: Legacy Publications, 1984, pp. 386-87. The German name Kime is referred to in Walter Whitaker’s Centennial History of Alamance, 1849-1949, Burlington, NC: Alamance County Historical Association, 1974, p. 14.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

Types of materials in this collection include account books, CSA imprints, correspondence, receipts, envelopes (i.e., postal covers), Confederate bonds and currency, 18th century NC currency, deeds, contracts, estate inventories, tax receipts, court orders and various other legal documents, broadsides, circulars, certificates, clippings, ration books and postal cards.

Much of the material in the collection relates to business and legal matters concerning Dr. B.A. Sellars. His business correspondence can be found in 2:1-3,6-9,14,17-18. The letter (1874) in folder 2:18 is notable for a description of conditions in Missouri following the Panic of 1873. Financial and legal documents in the collection also shed light upon Dr. Sellars’ businesses and investments (see 3:12; 4:1,5,7,9,13,20). For example, folders 3:12 and 4:7 contain materials which relate to the North Carolina Railroad, and folders 4:1,5 pertain to Falls of Neuse Manufacturing Company. Materials relating to the financial transactions of Dr. Sellars’ father, Thomas Sellars, Jr., can be found in folders 4:10,11 and 3:10; and similar materials relating to his likely father-in-law, David Kime, are located in 4:6,19 and 3:6.

Researchers will find an 1861 Confederate imprint (unrecorded in T. Michael Parrish and Robert M. Willingham, Confederate Imprints: A Bibliography of Southern Publications from Secession to Surrender, Austin, TX: Jenkins Publishing Co., nd) in folder 1:1. This item, essentially a form letter issued by the CSA’s Post Office Dept. Appointment Bureau, apparently accompanied a commission. Accumulations of Confederate bonds and currency will be found in 3:2 and 3:3. In addition, some middle 18th century North Carolina currency can be found in 3:4; this folder includes a $10 note (1778) from the press of James Davis, North Carolina’s first printer and some examples of proclamation money.

An interesting slave document (1846) is located in 4:2. It concerns the hire of a negro slave named Fanny for a nine month period. There are also a few World War II materials in the collection, including: a ca. 1945 application for a mileage ration supplement (5:1); a collection of ca. 1945 ration books (5:20); and a letter written on a fine illustrated letterhead for Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base (2:5).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Confederate States of America imprints.  1 folder (1 item).  1861.

This one item series (1:1) consists of a form letter from the Appointment Bureau of the CSA’s Post Office Dept. which apparently accompanied a forwarded commission in the postal service. It is signed by the Chief of the Appointment Bureau, B.N. Clements, and dated July 31, 1861. This item is not listed in Parrish and Willingham.

2. Correspondence.  18 folders (ca. 40 items).  ca. 1850-ca. 1945.

Much of this series consists of late 19th century business correspondence with Dr. Sellars (2:1-3,6-9,14,17-18). One interesting letter in this group (2:18), from a Missouri correspondent named Thomas Stafford, describes conditions following the Panic of 1873.

Also found in this series is an 1869 letter (2:13) from L.P. Olds, NC Attorney General, which refers to constitutional arguments before the Supreme Court; and an 1865 letter (2:19) addressed to Gov. W.W. Holden from Joel F. Trogdon (?) in which the latter resigns as Justice of the Peace in Randolph County. Folder 2:5 contains a letter (ca. 1945) signed simply David, written on a very fine Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base letterhead.

3. Financial.  5 folders (ca. 235 items).  1754-1869.

The thirteen CSA bonds in folder 3:2 vary in value from 50 to 1000 dollars; all have been clipped. One includes a picturesque view of the City of Richmond, Va. Folder 3:3 includes about 150 CSA currency notes ranging in value from 10 cents to 100 dollars. Most are North Carolina notes and a few are associated with the Greensboro Mutual Life and Trust Company.

Some examples of early North Carolina currency can be found in 3:4. Included is proclamation money as well as a 10 dollar note (1778) bearing the imprint of James Davis, North Carolina’s first printer. Several manuscript receipts can be found in the series, including some from the 1850s associated with the Greensborough Patriot (3:5) and W.C. Porter (3:8). There are also large groups of 19th century manuscript receipts issued to Dr. Sellars (3:9) and David Kime (3:6).

Finally, the series includes documents relating to stock transfers for the Deep River Manufacturing Company (3:11) and the North Carolina Railroad Company (3:12).

4. Legal.  21 folders (ca. 50 items).  1791-1916.

The legal series includes an interesting 1846 slave document (4:2) relating to the hire of a negro slave named Fanny for nine months.

There are also several deeds (4:4-11) in the series, dated 1800 through 1885, which concern properties in Orange, Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties. The deed in folder 4:8 bears the signature of Gov. Edward Dudley; Gov. Thomas Bragg signed the deed in 4:10.

The document in 4:16 is an early eviction notice which orders a certain Polly Staley to relinquish possession of lands belonging to Dr. Sellars. The crudely written will (1916) in 4:21 is unsigned and appears to be unfinished. Folder 4:12 includes a detailed inventory of the estate of Dr. Sellars.

5. Printed.  32 folders (60 items).  1849-1949.

Folder 5:3 contains a stock certificate (1849) for the Deep River Manufacturing Company of Randolph County. Several ca. 1880 printed postal cards for the National Bank of Greensboro can be found in 5:19. A collection of World War II ration books in a leatherette pouch is located in 5:20.

A printed envelope (ca. 1890) for the B.A. Sellars Co. can be found in 5:15. Folder 5:17 consists of a memo book with advertising for drugs of the period ca. 1885. The back cover reads, “Dr. B.A. Sellars, Druggist, Company Shops, NC.”

Printed CSA receipts can be found in 5:22-23. The series also includes ca. 1880 printed receipts for the National Bank of Greensboro (5:26), a ca. 1885 receipt for Piedmont Air Line Railway (5:27), an 1886 receipt for the Richmond & Danville Railroad (5:29), and ca. 1880 receipts for the Southern Express Company (5:30). Folder 5:32 holds several wooden nickels issued during the Alamance County centennial observances in 1949.

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Sellars Family Papers (1791-1945)

NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found.

Advertising: drugs, 5:17 (ca. 1885)
Alamance County, NC: wooden nickels, 5:32 (1949)

Barton, William: 4:4 (1805)
Bragg, Gov. Thomas: 4:10 (1856)
Brower and Pickett (Liberty, NC): 2:1 (1886)
Burgess, J.C.: 2:2 (1877)
Burlington (NC)
Business letters: 2:1-3,6-9,14,17-18 (1862?-1919)

Carolina Coffin Factory (Company Shops, NC): 5:21 (1886)
Chambers, P.E.: 2:3 (1886)
Clements, B.N.: 1:1 (1861)
Colonial currency: 3:4 (1754-73)
Company Shops (NC)
Confederate States of America: bonds, 3:2 (1862-63), 5:22 (1864); currency, (1861-64); imprints, 1:1 (1861); postal service, 5:23 (1862-63)

Davis, James: 3:4 (1778)
Deep River Manf. Co.: 3:11; 5:3 (1849-50)
Dudley, Gov. Edward: 4:8 (1836)

Factories: North Carolina, 2:8; 3:11; 4:1,5; 5:3,7,21 (1849-86)
Falls of the Neuse Manf. Co.: 4:1,5; 5:7 (1876-ca. 1885)
Fonville, D.R.: 2:6 (1919)
Fox, W.A.: 2:7 (1874)

Gallega Mills Manf. Co.: 2:8 (1885)
Greene, Lindley & Bentley: 5:8 (ca. 1885)
Greensboro Mutual Life and Trust Company: 3:3 (1862)
Greensborough Patriot: 3:5 (1850-57)
Griffin & Bynum (Liberty, NC): 5:9 (1897)
Gullett, Robert (GSO): 5:24 (1881)

Hendricks, G.G.: 2:9 (1894)
Holden, Gov. W.W.: letter to, 2:19 (1865)
Holt & Moore (Burlington?): 5:10 (ca. 1885)

Kime, David: 3:6; 4:6 (1814-50)

Lanier, L.L.: 2:10 (1885)
Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base: 2:5 (ca. 1945)
Legal documents: defendant notices, 4:15 (1864); eviction notices, 4:16 (186 subpoenas, 4:17 (1871); summonses, 4:18 (1817); tax receipts, 4:19-20 (1791-1878)
Littleton Female College (Littleton, NC): 5:11 (1896)

Missouri: Economic conditions, 2:18 (1874)
Moffat, John: 5:6 (ca. 1880)
Moffitt, E.A.: 2:12 (1888)

National Bank of Greensboro: 5:19,26 (1879-81)
North Carolina: Currency,3:4 (1754-78)
North Carolina Railroad Company: 3:12; 4:7 (1869)

Olds, L.P.: 2:13 (1869)

Page, A.F. (Cary, NC): 5:13 (ca. 1885)
Physicians: North Carolina
Piedmont Air Line Railway: 5:27 (1885?)
Porter, William Clark: 3:8 (1857-59)
Proclamation money: 3:4 (1754-71)
Pugh, Thomas: 4:8 (1836)

Railroads: North Carolina, 3:12; 4:7; 5:16,27,29 (1869-90)
Randolph County, NC: 4:3; 5:14 (1854-ca. 1890)
Richmond (Va.), illustration of: 3:2 (1863)
Richmond & Danville Railroad: 5:29 (1886)
Rosenthal, G.: 2:14 (1879-81)
Ross, R.R.: 2:15 (1893)

Sellars, Benjamin A.: 3:9; 4:9,12 (1850-99)
Sellars, D.E.: 2:16 (1881)
Sellars, Thomas, Sr.: 4:11 (1800)
Sellars, Thomas, Jr.: 3:10; 4:10 (1856-61)
Sellars, B.A. & Sons, Inc.: 5:15 (ca. 1890)
Slavery: 4:2 (1846)
Smith, M.A.: 2:17 (1862?)
Southern Express Company: 5:30 (1879-80)
Southern Railway: 5:16 (ca. 1890)
Stafford, Thomas: 2:18 (1874)

Trogdon (?), Joel F.: 2:19 (1865)

US Post Office: 5:31 (1858-67)

Watkins, Cottrell & Co.: 5:2 (ca. 1890)
Wills: 4:21 (1916)
World War II: mileage ration supplement, 5:1 (ca. 1945); ration books, 5:20 (ca. 1945)

BRIEF INVENTORY

Title: Ronald Scott Papers

Dates (Inclusive & [bulk]): ca. 1963-85 [ca. 1970]

Quantity: 1/2 box

Types of Material: correspondence; printed certificates, clippings, pamphlets and periodicals; photos; scrapbooks; drawings

Accession Number: 1987.171.1

Brief Description: Ronald H. Scott (1950- ), a native of Kernersville, NC, saw action as a Corporal in the Marine Corps in Vietnam (ca. 1969) and was later employed with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Dept. This collection consists of materials related to the Vietnam War and his experiences as a combatant.
Materials include: a war letter from Scott to his brother, Mike Scott (1969); an issue of Parade magazine with an article on Vietnam veteran and MIAs activist Bo Gritz (1983); an ALS from Gov. Bob Scott (1970); a “Memory of South Vietnam” scrapbook (ca. 1970-85), which includes clippings about the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.; pamphlet, Marines in the 60s (ca. 1970); and the newspaper Sea Tiger, a publication of the Marines in Vietnam (1970).

Major Names/Subjects: Gritz, James, 1939
Scott, Mike
Scott, Robert Walker, 1929-2009
Scott, Ronald, 1950
Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Date Surveyed: 9/4/1996

NOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Richardson-Vicks Collection consists primarily of materials relating to Vick Chemical Co. and its predecessors, as well as a smaller number of items pertaining to the Richardson family. Vick Chemical was founded by Lunsford Richardson II and is best known for the cold salve called Vicks VapoRub. The company stayed in the family until it was acquired by Proctor & Gamble in 1985. The collection includes photographs, advertisements, books, pamphlets, and financial materials. Researchers interested in business history, Vick Chemical Co. history and operations, Greensboro history, advertising, the pharmaceutical industry, and the Richardson family will find this collection useful.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into seven series by subject or document type. The series are: Correspondence, 1893-1906; Legal, 1947; Photographs, ca. 1870-1955; Printed Material, 1862-1979; Richardson-Vicks, 1890s-1900s; S.S. Lunsford Richardson, 1944; and Vick Chemical Co., 1911-1944.

Provenance: The bulk of this collection was loaned to the museum by Smith Richardson Jr. in 1987 and assigned the accession number 1987.48.57. The loan was converted to a gift by his son, Peter Richardson, in 2016. Many of these materials were formerly on exhibit at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro.

The collection also contains individual items acquired from other sources. They include the booklet entitled “Don’t try to join this club” (1970.28.8; 4:9), a Vicks comic book (2020.70.1; 7:1), a pamphlet containing “Directions for using Vicks VapoRub” (2017.8.2; 7:4), a pamphlet about the “Vicks plan for better control of colds” (2015.12.1; 7:1), and materials relating to clinical studies of that plan (2019.53.4; 7:2). One copy of “The story of Blix and Blee” was purchased (2014.1.2; 7:1).

Processing: Archivist J. Stephen Catlett began processing this collection, and the arrangement and finding aid were completed by Archives Assistant Christine A. Dumoulin in June 2004. The collection was reorganized and the finding aid was revised by Archivist Elise Allison in November 2016.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The Richardson Family has a long history in Greensboro and was involved in both civic and business ventures.

Lunsford Richardson II (1854-1919) was born in Johnson County and grew up on the family plantation, Parker Heights. He graduated with honors from Davidson College and married Mary Lynn Smith on August 28, 1884. Richardson began in the pharmaceutical industry early, first owning a drug store in Selma, North Carolina, before moving to Greensboro. In 1891, he and John Fariss bought the W.C. Porter drug store. At that time, he began inventing remedies for colds, and in 1894 Vicks Magic Salve, a cure for croup, was introduced. With a desire to start his own company, he sold his share in Richardson & Fariss to his partner in 1898 and created the Lunsford Richardson Wholesale Drug Company. The company became Vick’s Family Remedies in 1905 and evolved into the Vick Chemical Co. by 1911, dropping all other products and keeping the newly named “Vicks VapoRub.” Lunsford would continue to play an active role in the family business, enlisting the help of his two sons. He passed away in 1919, leaving the company to Smith and Lunsford Jr.

Henry Smith Richardson (1885-1972) was the first of five children born to Lunsford and Mary Richardson. Smith worked early on in his father’s drug store, washing bottles and delivering pills and tonics to customers. He became a traveling salesman around the age of 14. After spending time at Davidson College and the U.S. Naval Academy, Richardson took a position in New York City as a nighttime railroad office worker, conductor, and eventually, a salesman. In 1907, he headed for home in Greensboro to become the sales manager for the Vick Company. Through his salesmanship, he touted the wonders of Vicks VapoRub and eventually recommended the change in company name to the Vick Chemical Company. He was also responsible for the success of international sales to South America and Europe.

Smith was also interested in business management and developing stable, productive companies that would withstand economic hardship and change. His dream of an institution to develop “creative leadership” was realized in 1970 with the establishment of the Center for Creative Leadership. The Smith Richardson Foundation provided the initial underpinning of the center and continues to generously support it. Smith passed away in 1972.

Lunsford Richardson Jr. (1891-1953), known as “Lump,” was also involved in the family business. He attended public schools, was a student at Davidson College, and studied at Eastman’s Business College in Poughkeepsie, NY. He first worked for Vick Chemical in 1913 as an office manager and assistant sales and advertising manager. By 1917, he was made a partner. He served as president from 1929 until 1938, when he joined the board of directors, eventually chairing it.

Lump was also involved in civic activities, supporting the L. Richardson Memorial Hospital and serving on the Board of Trustees at Davidson College. During World War I, he served as an enlisted man in Naval Aviation. Prior to his death, he was the director in the National Re-Insurance Company in New York and was formerly vice president of Richardson Realty Co. He died in 1953 of a heart attack.

Biographical Sources: The following sources were used in compiling the biographical note: the booklets H. Smith Richardson: Ideas into Action (4:4) and The early history of Richardson-Merrell (4:2), a biography of Lunsford Richardson II by Laurinda Carlson (GHM Vertical File), the Smith Richardson Foundation website, the Center for Creative Leadership website, and finding aids for the Henry Smith Richardson Papers and Richardson-Vicks, Inc., Records in the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

The types of materials in this collection include correspondence, photographs, company and family histories, and printed materials such as books, pamphlets and advertisements. The bulk of the items relate to the Vick Chemical Co., including its operations and corporate history. The family materials are mostly related to Lunsford Richardson and his two sons, H. Smith and Lunsford Richardson Jr.

The Vick Chemical Co. records show how the company evolved as a corporation and provide a glimpse into different aspects of its operations. Advertising includes photographs of billboards promoting Vicks VapoRub and an image of a drugstore with several Vicks products displayed on the counter as a pharmacist speaks with a customer (3:1). Printed advertisements include cardboard counter ads, a coupon for a free sample of Vicks VapoRub, and a complimentary notebook given out by the company (7:1). A book from 1906 presents an abstract on histology and bacteriology (4:1) and two memorandum books belonging to Lunsford Richardson contain recipes that he presumably developed (5:3). Materials related to operations include an album showing the various company buildings (3:7), a photograph of a men’s volleyball game with the Milton St. plant in the background (3:2), and factory interiors showing mixing kettles and labeling machines (3:6).

The family materials, though less voluminous, consist of photographs and printed materials. The photographs include an image of H. Smith Richardson and his brother Lunsford Jr. as children, a portrait of the Richardson women circa 1900 (3:3), and a Smith family photo album (3:4). Also included is interesting litigation pertaining to a lawsuit brought on by several benevolent agencies accusing the Richardson family of defrauding the Presbyterian Church; they were eventually found innocent (2:1). Other items are an 1861 sermon given by the Reverend J. Henry Smith (4:10) and a 1909 Greensboro High School annual (4:6).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Correspondence.  2 folders (2 items).  1893-1906.

This series contains a two-sided letter on L. Richardson Drug Co. letterhead (1906; 1:1). A form letter on the front is from Justice Drug Co. and thanks individuals or companies for their business, while the back contains a letter written to the sister of an unidentified Justice Drug Co. employee. Also included in this series is a brief letter from Smith Richardson to his mother in Selma, North Carolina (1:2). Written on November 2, 1893, the letter discusses events at school, such as being sent to chapel for kicking a paper ball as he marched.

2.  Legal.  1 folder (3 items).  1947.

The items in this series pertain to a lawsuit that was filed against the Richardson family and a trust fund. The family was sued by four benevolent agencies accusing them of defrauding their Presbyterian church. There is a resolution which cleared the family name of any wrong-doing, as well as two publications with information pertaining to the suit.

3.  Photographs.  9 folders (ca. 60 items).  ca. 1870-1955.

This series contains images relating to the Vick Chemical Co. and the Smith/Richardson families. The Vick Chemical images are of various advertising campaigns and business operations. Items of interest show advertising on a train station wall in West Union, Iowa, and several roadside billboards touting Vicks products for croup and cold relief (3:1). Older photos of company operations show women hand pouring the product into jars and men loading and unloading boxes of Vicks products onto their cars. Other photos show a more modern plant, including mixing kettles and labeling machines, the boxing room with the “Endless Belt System,” and W.J. Mulligan running cartons of Vicks VapoRub through a sealing machine (3:6).

The family photos show members of the Richardson and Smith families, the Richardson children, and an interior and exterior of a house, possibly the Richardson home (3:3-4). A photo album contains tintypes and albumen prints of distant Smith family relatives, Egbert Watson Smith and Hay Watson Smith as children, and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as well as Mary Lynn Smith’s calling card. Some of the more interesting portraits include a photo of Smith Richardson holding the 1 billionth jar of Vicks VapoRub produced, the Vick Chemical Co. men’s baseball team, and Lunsford Richardson with the ladies of the Vicks plant (3:8).

4.  Printed Material.  12 folders (14 items).  1862-1979.

The printed materials consist of books, pamphlets, news clippings, and a high school annual. Several books relate the history of the Vicks company and its owners. The early history of Richardson-Merrell tells the history of Lunsford Richardson, the Smiths early life, and Vick Chemical Co., which eventually merged with the Merrell Company (4:2). Also included are Mary Kelly Watson Smith’s reminiscences about her mammy, Bibby Mosby (4:11), and The love that never failed, an account about her life that includes transcripts of some of her letters to family members (4:5). Finally, a pamphlet contains a sermon delivered by the Rev. J. Henry Smith, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, on December 5, 1861 (4:10).

5.  Richardson-Vicks.  3 folders (4 items).  1890s-1900s.

This series contains materials relating to Lunsford Richardson, the Richardson & Fariss drug store and the L. Richardson Drug Co. Two memorandum books (5:3) that apparently belonged to Lunsford Richardson contain recipes, including those for Vicks Croup Salve, Red Cross Drops, Chill Tonic, Toothache Drops, and Godfrey’s Cordial. Also contained in this series are a receipt to G. Will Armfield from John B. Fariss (1898; 5:1), successor to Richardson & Fariss, and an order book used by salesman R.R. Hill to keep track of orders and sales (ca. 1900; 5:2).

6.  S.S. Lunsford Richardson.  2 folders (2 items).  1944.

This series contains two items relating to the commission and the maiden voyage of the S.S. Lunsford Richardson. A photograph shows the ship at anchor in New York Harbor in October 1944 (9:1), and a scrapbook details all of the events around its christening and send off (9:2).

7.  Vick Chemical Co.  6 folders (ca. 75 items).  1911-1944.

Vick’s Family Remedies was founded by Lunsford Richardson II in 1905 and became the Vick Chemical Co. in 1911. The earliest item in this series is a check made payable in 1911 to the Vicks Family Remedy Co. (7:4). A group of advertisements used to promote VapoRub range from broadsides, cardboard counter ads and wax bags with the Vicks logo on them, to the story of two pixies called Blix and Blee, a coupon for a free sample, and a comic book (7:1). Multiple product brochures from varying years provide a brief history of the company and instructions for using Vicks Nose & Throat Drops, Vicks VapoRub and Vicks Vatronol. Some VapoRub brochures also describe the product’s contents, how it works, and alternative uses for skin, muscle and tissue inflammation, and even for animals. One brochure contains two paragraphs in German, Italian, Swedish, Hungarian and Hebrew (7:5). Another example of Vicks international reach is a 1928 letter from export manager Hugh D. McKay in Spanish, with a translation. The letter appoints an agent to Bolivia and discusses the fiscal year 1928-1929 advertising campaign there (7:3). A publication order is accompanied by a 1928 summer schedule for advertising Vicks products (7:6). Also included in this series are materials relating to clinical studies on the Vicks “plan for better control of colds in the home” (7:2).

FOLDER LISTING

Index to the Richardson-Vicks Collection (1862-1979)

Note:  The numbers following the name/subject entry — e.g. 1:1 — indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no “:”, Series only) that name/topic can be found.

Advertising: 3:1, 7:1, 7:3, 7:6

Bolivia: 7:3

Carlson, Laurinda Richardson: 3:3
Carlson, Mary Lynn: 3:3

Eure, Mrs. N.L.: 7:2

Fariss, John B.: 5:1
First Presbyterian Church: 3:5, 4:10

Greensboro High School (Annual): 4:6

Hall, Dr. James K.: 3:8
Hines, Richard: 7:2

Jackson, Stonewall: 3:4
Justice Drug Co.: 1:1, 3:2

L. Richardson Drug Co.: 1:1, 5:2, 5:3
Lee, Robert E.: 3:4

McKay, Hugh D.: 7:3
Miles, S.S.: 3:2
Mosby, Bibby: 4:11

Preyer, William Y.: 3:8
Prickett, Lynn Richardson: 3:3

Richardson Civic Center: 3:5
Richardson, H. Smith: 3:3, 3:8, 4:2, 4:4, 4:9
Richardson, Lunsford Jr.: 3:3
Richardson, Lunsford Sr.: 3:8, 5:3
Richardson, Mary Lynn Smith: 3:3, 3:4
Richardson & Fariss: 5:1, 5:3

Scales, Gov. Alfred Moore: 3:8
Scales, Mrs. Alfred Moore (Kate): 3:8
Smith, Egbert Watson: 3:3, 3:4, 4:1
Smith, Hay Watson: 3:4
Smith, Rev. J. Henry: 3:3, 4:5, 4:10
Smith, Mary Kelly Watson: 3:3, 4:5. 4:12
S.S. Lunsford Richardson: 6:1-2

Vick Chemical Co.:
Advertising: 3:1, 7:1, 7:3, 7:6
Buildings: 3:2, 3:7
Financial: 7:4
History: 4:2, 4:4, 7:5
Operations: 3:6-7, 5:2, 5:3, 7:1-6
Products: 3:9, 7:1-6

Wicker & Rierson: 3:2