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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 18.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 12,000 items) |
| Abstract | James Spencer Love of Greensboro, N.C., was founder and chair of the board of Burlington Industries, Inc. The collection consists of family and personal letters, subject files relating to civic activities, clippings and other printed material, legal and financial papers, photographs, and other items of James Spencer Love and his wife, Martha Eskridge Love. Correspondence, chiefly 1917-1960, discusses family and household news, business conditions, politics, personal finances, and matters relating to Burlington Mills, Inc. Subject files document James Spencer Love's membership on boards and committees of the University of North Carolina, Harvard University, and Davidson College, and Martha Eskridge Love's involvement with the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina Heart Association, and other organizations. Also included are diaries kept by James Spencer Love as a boy; a series of scrapbooks pertaining to Burlington Mills; a large number of photographs of Love family, friends, and associates, and textile mills; and speeches by James Spencer Love and Martha Eskridge Love. Some materials, including a narrative by Love, relate to James Spencer Love's World War I experiences with the 78th Army Infantry Division; other materials relate to Martha Eskridge Love's service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II. The addition of 1982 is chiefly photographs, but also includes a diploma and University of North Carolina Dialectic Society certificate, both 1853. The addition of 1994 includes a thesis, 1958, on Burlington Industries, Inc., and a scrapbook, 1948-1949, documenting the activities of the Anglo-American Council on Productivity. The addition of 1997 is comprised of four e.e. cummings letters, 1908-1910, written to James Spencer Love from cummings's boyhood home of Joy Farm, Silver Lake, N.H. The letter of 17 July 1908 contains several ink drawings by Cummings, including a self-portrait. The letter of 23 July 1908 is addressed to several family members--James Spencer, his mother Julia Spencer Love, and his sister Cornelia--with ink drawings of an elephant and deer. The letter of 14 July 1909 contains an acrostic "James Spencer Love" with several drawings, including a small picture of Cummings's study. The 16 August 1910 letter sends greetings and closes with a humorous self-portrait. The addition also includes two sketch books, 1872 and 1874, by Julia Spencer (Love), mother of James Spencer Love and daughter of Cornelia Phillips Spencer. The June 1872 book was created for Julia Spencer's uncle, Samuel Field Phillips. |
| Creator | Love, James Spencer, 1896-1962. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
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.
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Related Collections
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Biographical Information
| 1896 | Born, 6 July, Cambridge, Mass., son of James Lee Love and Julia Spencer Love. |
| 1917 | Graduated, A.B., Harvard University. |
| 1918 | Served on headquarters staff of 78th Division, U.S. Infantry, in France. |
| 1919 | Became paymaster at Gastonia (N.C.) Cotton Manufacturing Company. |
| 1922 | Married Sara Elizabeth Love, 25 January. Their children were: James Spencer Love Jr., Robert Lee Love, Richard Love, and Julian Love. |
| 1924 | Founded Burlington Mills, Inc., Burlington, N.C. |
| 1937 | Incorporated numerous mills into Burlington Mills Corporation (in 1955 the name changed to Burlington Industries). |
| 1941 | Married Dorothy Ann Beattie, 26 September. No children. |
| 1943 | Appointed director of Textile, Clothing, and Leather Goods Bureau, War Production Board. |
| 1944 | Married Martha Effie Eskridge, 23 July. Their children were: Charles Eskridge Love, Martin Eskridge Love, Cornelia Spencer Love, and Lela Porter Love. |
| 1962 | Died, 20 January, Palm Beach, Fla. |
| 1911 | Born, 22 November, Shelby, N.C., daughter of Charles Lester Eskridge and Lela Porter Eskridge. |
| 1933 | Graduated, Agnes Scott College. |
| 1935 | Received degree in personnel management, Simmons College, Boston, Mass., circa 1935. Became personnel manager, J. B. Ivey Co., Charlotte, N.C. |
| 1942 | Joined Women's Army Corps. |
| 1944 | Married James Spencer Love, 23 July. |
| 1968 | Married Nathan McNeill Ayers. |
| 1980 | Died, 25 May, Greensboro, N.C. |
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Scope and Content
About one-third of the James Spencer Love papers are family and personal letters, 1917-1960. This correspondence discusses family and household news, business conditions, politics, personal finances, and matters relating to Burlington Mills, Inc. Another third of the papers are subject files relating to membership of James Spencer Love on boards and committees of the University of North Carolina, Harvard University, and Davidson College. Others pertain to involvement of Martha Eskridge Love with the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina Heart Association, and other organizations. The remaining third of the papers are volumes; a large number of photographs of Love family, friends, and associates; photographs of textile mills; clippings and other printed material; a number of speeches by James Spencer Love and Martha Eskridge Love; and a few legal and financial papers. Among the volumes are several diaries kept by James Spencer Love as a boy and a series of scrapbooks pertaining to Burlington Mills, Inc.
The addition of 1982 is chiefly photographs of Love family, friends, and associates, but also includes a diploma and Dialectic Society certificate, both 1853. The addition of 1994 includes a thesis, 1958, on Burlington Industries, Inc., and a scrapbook, 1948-1949, documenting the activities of the Anglo-American Council on Productivity. The 1997 addition is comprised of four letters, dated 17 July 1908, 23 July 1908, 14 July 1909, and 16 August 1910, written to James Spencer Love by noted poet e. e. cummings. All four letters were written to Love from cummings's boyhood home of Joy Farm, Silver Lake, N.H. The letter of 17 July 1908 contains several ink drawings by cummings, including a self-portrait. The letter of 23 July 1908 is addressed to several family members--James Spencer Love, his mother Julia Spencer Love ("June"), and his sister Cornelia Love. All are in verse with ink drawings of an elephant and deer. The letter of 14 July 1909 contains an acrostic on "James Spencer Love" with several drawings, including a small picture of cummings's study. The 16 August 1910 letter sends greetings and closes with a humorous self-portrait. The 1997 addition also includes two sketch books by Julia Spencer. The June 1872 book was created for Samuel Field Phillips, the brother of Julia Spencer's mother, Cornelia Phillips Spencer. The second book is dated 1874.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1851-1979 (bulk 1917-1960).
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, bulk 1917-1960, consists chiefly of letters and memoranda to and from James Spencer Love ("Spencer" or JSL). James Spencer Love's correspondents include his parents, James Lee Love ("Lee") and Julia Spencer Love ("June"), his sister Cornelia Love, and various other family members, friends, and associates, including officers and division heads of Burlington Mills, Inc.
Prior to 1920, however, there are letters to and from all of the members of the Love family: James Lee, Julia, Cornelia, and Spencer. These letters discuss affairs of the Love household in Cambridge, Mass., 1889-1920; news of other family and friends; Cornelia's and Spencer's upbringing and education; Lee Love's business and professional activities; and details of summer jobs and excursions in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York. Particularly prominent are letters from Cornelia and Spencer at camp in Maine, 1909-1912; letters from Lee Love written in 1910 while he was in Lincolnton, N.C., helping his brother Edgar organize the Saxony Spinning Company; letters between Lee and June Love written during the summers of 1911 and 1912, while he was at Columbia University as a director of the summer session and she was in Cambridge managing his business, the Provident Teachers Agency; and, finally, letters from Spencer Love, 1917-1919, describing his military service.
From 1919, when Spencer Love went to work at the Gastonia Cotton Manufacturing Company, until 1924, when Burlington Mills opened, there are numerous letters from Lee Love to his son giving observations and advice about business and financial matters. The elder Love was in Washington, D.C., 1919-1921, working for the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, and in Philadelphia, 1922-1923, working for the Harvard Committee on Economic Research. Letters from James Spencer Love, during this period, are few and scattered.
In 1917, Cornelia Love moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., to work for the University of North Carolina Library, where she remained employed until her retirement in 1948. She continued to live in Chapel Hill until the 1970s, and her letters contain news of the town and University as well as of family and friends.
During the 1920s, letters are somewhat less frequent than in the period 1917-1919. However, during the 1930s and 1940s, the number of letters increases, especially those addressed to Spencer Love. From the late 1920s, carbon copies of James Spencer Love's outgoing letters are also present. Lee Love and Cornelia Love are the most frequent correspondents. Letters between James Spencer Love and his father during the late 1930s and early 1940s discuss political and economic issues as well as family matters.
During the late 1940s, and throughout the 1950s, there are also letters and memoranda between James Spencer Love and other members of the Burlington Mills organization. Principal concerns are speeches and personal engagements of James Spencer Love, and civic and philanthropic activities of Burlington Mills/Burlington Industries and of James Spencer Love and the Love family.
After James Spencer Love's death in January 1962, correspondence diminishes.
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Series 2. Subject Files, 1932-1980.
Correspondence, agendas, minutes, reports, lists, and other material pertaining to civic and educational involvement of James Spencer Love and Martha Eskridge Love. The majority of the files in subseries 2.1. deal with James Spencer Love's membership on various boards and committees of the University of North Carolina, Harvard University, and Davidson College--in particular, the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees, the Harvard Business School, and the Davidson Development Committee--chiefly during the 1940s and 1950s. The files also document some of Love's gifts to and fund-raising efforts for these institutions.
Subject files of Martha Eskridge Love are arranged separately in subseries 2.2. They pertain to her involvement with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Board of Trustees, the North Carolina Heart Association, and other groups, chiefly in the period after James Spencer Love's death. There is also a small file concerning household employees.
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Subseries 2.1. James Spencer Love, 1932-1967.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
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Subseries 2.2. Martha Eskridge Love, 1951-1980.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
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Series 3. Writings, 1868-1970.
Primarily speeches by James Spencer Love, 1943-1962, and by Martha Eskridge Love, 1941 and 1958-1970, with a few by other individuals. There are multiple drafts of some speeches. Besides the speeches, there are drafts of several articles by James Lee Love, 1947-1948, and miscellaneous writings by other authors, including poetry by Cornelia Phillips Spencer as well as drafts of the "Spencer Love Story," published by Burlington Industries after James Spencer Love's death. Of particular interest is a copy of the "Hooper Club Magazine," 1908, "published" by a group of Cambridge, Mass., children which included James Spencer Love and e. e. cummings.
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Series 4. Financial and Legal Material, 1854-1950.
Arrangement: chronological.
Miscellaneous and scattered papers including receipts, expense accounts, wills, and certificates. Among these items are an attorney's license for James Monroe Spencer, 1854; a list of expenditures for relief of the poor in Chapel Hill, N.C., 1867; and wills, 1936 and 1950, of James Lee Love.
| Folder 625 |
1854-1934 #04240, Series: "4. Financial and Legal Material, 1854-1950." Folder 625 |
| Folder 626 |
1936-1950 #04240, Series: "4. Financial and Legal Material, 1854-1950." Folder 626 |
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Series 5. Other Material, circa 1899-1974.
Arrangement: chronological.
Roughly one-fourth of this material is themes and reports written by James Spencer Love for various classes at Cambridge Latin School and Harvard University, 1910-1917, along with copies of exam questions, report cards, and other school-related items.
Another fourth consists of copies of official orders, memos, and telegrams related to James Spencer Love's service in World War I and to the actions of the 78th Division, United States Infantry, January 1918-July 1919. In addition, there is a nine-page account by James Spencer Love, dated 24 February 1919, of his experiences in the war. There are less numerous memos, orders, etc., related to Martha Eskridge's service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, 1942-1944.
The remaining half of the material consists largely of various lists, 1944-1974, created chiefly by Martha Eskridge Love. These include lists of addresses; of invitations for weddings, dinner parties, etc.; of visitors received; and of Christmas cards and gifts sent and received. Also included are lists of condolence messages received at the deaths of James Lee Love in 1950 and James Spencer Love in 1962. Additionally, there are detailed plans for large dinner parties, including lists of preparations to be made, menus, directions for household staff, expenses, etc.
Other materials include a few biographical and genealogical papers; awards and certificates of Martha Eskridge Love and James Spencer Love; and a few broadsides and an audio disc relating to Burlington Corporation, Burlington Mills, and the textile industry.
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Series 6. Printed Material, 1877-1965.
Printed material consists of items by and about Cornelia Phillips Spencer, playbills, clippings, invitations, pamphlets, programs, magazines, and a miscellaneous collection of poems, menus, reports, dance cards, and membership cards. Included are items pertaining to the Harvard Crimson; the Harvard Dramatic Club; President Woodrow Wilson's 14 February 1919 visit to Boston; a dinner honoring Nikita Khrushchev given by the Economic Club of New York, 17 September 1959; the 1949 presidential inauguration; the Cambridge Review; and other materials. Magazines contain articles about James Spencer Love and Burlington Industries.
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Series 7. Volumes, 1874-1965.
Arrangement: chronological.
Primarily scrapbooks and diaries, with a few school notebooks, memo books, and account books. There are seven large scrapbooks containing mostly newspaper clippings that deal with the history of Burlington Mills and the life of James Spencer Love. Also included is a scrapbook kept by Cornelia Love while she was a student at Radcliffe College, 1910-1914, and two scrapbooks containing photographs and other materials from European trips taken by James Spencer Love and Martha Eskridge Love, 1952-1954. Among the diaries are a number kept by James Spencer Love as a boy and as a young man. The remaining volumes include mainly school notebooks and memo books kept by James Spencer Love, James Lee Love, and Julia James Spencer Love ("June").
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Series 8. Pictures, circa 1850-1974.
Pictures, including photographs, photograph albums, drawings, and sketchbooks, are divided into three subseries. Subseries 8.1. consists of photographs of Love family members, friends, and associates, and of numerous social, civic, and professional events. Also included are a few ambrotypes and tintypes and seven photograph albums (circa 1900-1954). The photographs document family life, education, recreation, and professional and civic life. Subseries 8.2. contains snapshots (circa 1930s) of textile mills, mill construction, and mill houses. Subseries 8.3. consists of photographs of two Love residences, five sketchbooks (circa 1868-1870) of Julia Spencer ("June"), a few other drawings of hers and a photograph of one of her paintings.
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Subseries 8.1. Love Family, Friends, and Associates, circa 1850-1974.
Photographs are arranged in this order: identified individuals, identified groups, identified events and scenes, unidentified individuals and events, photograph albums.
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Subseries 8.2. Textile Mills, 1920s-1930s.
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Subseries 8.3. Other Pictures, circa 1868-1950.
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Additions.
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Addition of July 1982 (Acc. 82093), 1853-1962.
Photographs of James Spencer Love; members of the Love family, including his mother, Julia Spencer Love ("June"); his third wife, Martha Eskridge Love; and his children, James Spencer Love Jr., Julian Love, Martin Love, Charles Love, Cornelia Spencer Love ("Spencie"), and Lela Porter Love. Photographs also depict scenes and activities associated with James Spencer Love's work with Burlington Mills. Also included are an 1853 University of North Carolina diploma and Dialectic Society certificate, both for James Monroe Spencer.
In this series, oversize pictures are numbered as part of the regular run of pictures.
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Addition of November 1994 (Acc. 94169), 1948-1949, 1958.
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Addition of July 1995 (Acc. 95082), undated.
Image P-4240/623-624
P-4240/623P-4240/624 |
Unidentified group of men sitting around swimming pool #04240, Subseries: "Addition of July 1995 (Acc. 95082), undated." P-4240/623-624 |
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Addition of May 1997 (Acc. 97070), 1872, 1874, 1908-1910.
Four letters written to James Spencer Love by noted poet, e. e. cummings, dated 17 July 1908, 23 July 1908, 14 July 1909, and 16 August 1910. All four letters were written to Love from cummings's boyhood home of Joy Farm, Silver Lake, N.H. The letter of 17 July 1908 contains several ink drawings by cummings, including a self-portrait. The letter of 23 July 1908 is addressed to several family members--James Spencer, his mother Julia Spencer Love, and his sister Cornelia. All are in verse with ink drawings of an elephant and deer. The letter of 14 July 1909 contains an acrostic on "James Spencer Love" with several drawings, including a small picture of cummings's study. The 16 August 1910 letter sends greetings and closes with a humorous self-portrait. Also included are two sketch books by Julia Spencer (Love), mother of James Spencer Love and daughter of Cornelia Phillips Spencer. The June 1872 book was created for Julia Spencer's uncle (and Cornelia Phillips Spencer's brother), Samuel Field Phillips. The second book is dated 1874.
| Folder 710 |
Photocopies of four letters to James Spencer Love from e. e. cummings, 17 July 1908; 23 July 1908; 14 July 1909; 16 August 1910 #04240, Subseries: "Addition of May 1997 (Acc. 97070), 1872, 1874, 1908-1910." Folder 710 |
| Separated Folder SEP-4240/1 |
Four letters to James Spencer Love from e. e. cummings, 17 July 1908; 23 July 1908; 14 July 1909; 16 August 1910 #04240, Subseries: "Addition of May 1997 (Acc. 97070), 1872, 1874, 1908-1910." SEP-4240/1Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
| Folder 711 |
Two sketch books by Julia Spencer, 1872, 1874 #04240, Subseries: "Addition of May 1997 (Acc. 97070), 1872, 1874, 1908-1910." Folder 711 |
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Scrapbooks, 1920s-1962 (Addition of June 2004).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 099829
| Oversize Volume SV-04240/35 |
Scrapbook, 1920s-1950s #04240, Subseries: "Scrapbooks, 1920s-1962 (Addition of June 2004). " SV-04240/35 |
Oversize Volume SV-04240/36-38
SV-04240/36SV-04240/37SV-04240/38 |
Scrapbooks of sympathy letters to Martha Eskridge Love following James Spencer Love's death, circa 1962 #04240, Subseries: "Scrapbooks, 1920s-1962 (Addition of June 2004). " SV-04240/36-38 |
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Items Separated
Processed by: Susan Ballinger, 1981-1997
Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, December 2006
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, April 2010
Updated because of addition in January 2019
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