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No restrictions. Open for research.

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Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Edna McPherson papers #4666-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Doug Mattox of Raleigh, N.C., in June 1993 (Acc. 93092).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Automobile dealers--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Courtship--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Love-letters--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• McPherson, Edna.
• Vestal, R. M. (R. Morton)

In 1912, R. M. Vestal was the manager of the Vestal Automobile Company, seller of motor cars and supplies, in Greensboro, N.C. Edna McPherson was an art teacher at the Virginia Christian College in Lynchburg, Va.

Chiefly love letters, 22 January-22 June 1912, from Vestal in Greensboro to McPherson in Lynchburg. The first letter shows that, sometime before 1912, Vestal and McPherson both lived in Siler City, N.C., where McPherson apparently taught school. In this letter, Vestal seemed to be renewing his acquaintance with McPherson, who, he suggested, might be interested in a teaching position that might be available in Greensboro. While the teaching position never materialized, Vestal continued writing to McPherson, who he visited in February. In a letter dated 3 March, Vestal declared his love for McPherson; by mid-March, she had reciprocated. While subsequent letters chiefly declaim the couple's love for each other, there is occasional mention of family affairs, visits to Lynchburg, and selling cars in the days when salespeople made house calls to prospective clients and drove them around the countryside to show off a car's features. There is no information relating to McPherson's career or to the Virginia Christian College. In late May, Vestal and McPherson set 26 June 1912 as their wedding date; the last few letters are dedicated to discussions of wedding ring sizes and honeymoon logistics. Also included is one letter to McPherson, dated 20 June 1912, from a relative about general family business.