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.
This collection was processed with support, in part, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.
Size | 19.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 8000 items) |
Abstract | H. Smith Richardson (Henry Smith Richardson) was born in Greensboro, N.C. In 1907, he became sales manager for the Vick Company (later Richardson-Vicks, Inc.), which his father founded in 1905 to market Vicks Family Remedies. Richardson was also an early leader in management development, including the Vick School of Applied Merchandising, a college recruiting program in the 1930s, and special reports to shareholders on the importance of management development. He was also a pioneer in corporate governance, initiating practices in the 1940s that spread to other companies in later years. The collection includes personal and business correspondence, writings, newspaper clippings and other printed material, and business and association records documenting H. Smith Richardson's career; papers of Richardson's family, including his father Vick Chemical founder Lunsford Richardson and his brother Lunsford, Jr.; and papers relating to Smith and Richardson family history, including audio cassettes of interviews with 17 Richardson family members and printed and videotaped oral histories of the Richardson family. Richardson's correspondence addresses a broad range of issues, including his business interests in the Vick Chemical Company, Richardson- Merrell, Inc., Reinsurance Corporation of New York, and other companies. Letters also document his participation in the America First Committee, the Republican Party, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Boy Scouts of America, the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, and the Smith Richardson Foundation (formerly Richardson Foundation). They also document his interests in anticommunism, Senator Joe McCarthy's tactics, local politics in both North Carolina and Connecticut, and segregation both in the U.S. and South Africa. Writings include a series of articles about the causes of the Depression in North Carolina. Also included are diaries and correspondence of his father-in-law Jacob Henry Smith, Presbyterian minister in Greensboro during the second half of the 19th century, and his wife Mary Kelly Watson Smith, including materials relating to Greensboro during the Civil War and a letter from a slave. Pictures and other documents relate to Richardson's father's birthplace Parker Heights Plantation near Salem, N.C. |
Creator | Richardson, Henry Smith, 1885-1972. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Karen Kruse Thomas, November 1994 with additions
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas and Becca Stubbs, January 2022
Finding aid updated for digitization by Kathryn Michaelis, December 2010
This collection was processed with support, in part, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.
Back to TopThe 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.
Jacob Henry Smith Richardson was born on 19 July 1885 in Greensboro, N.C., the first son of Lunsford and Mary Lynn Smith Richardson. He attended public schools in Greensboro and, upon graduation, matriculated to Davidson College, from which his father and several of his maternal uncles had graduated. He remained but one school year (1902 1903) before entering the United States Naval Academy. Part of the wholesale expulsion of midshipmen that occurred in 1906, when fully one third of the student body was dismissed, H. Smith Richardson, as he was known for most of his life, then journeyed to New York. After some hardship, he established himself as a salesman. Soon thereafter, his father, a manufacturing chemist who had founded the Vick Chemical Company in Greensboro in 1905, asked his son to join him as a salesman in this enterprise.
During the early years of the business, Smith Richardson's marketing ability was a primary reason for the company's success in the United States and expansion abroad beginning in the 1920s. He traversed the countryside, a gruelling chore given the state of rural roads at that time, introducing his products to remote retailers. His imaginative advertising campaigns were revolutionary; Vick's effective newspaper advertising, roadside signs, point-of-sale displays, and aggressive utilization of free samples hastened its impressive sales expansion. Perhaps most importantly, Richardson recognized early the company's one truly unique product, Vick's Magic Croup Salve, an effective reliever of common cold symptoms developed by Lunsford Richardson, using menthol from Japan. He pressured his reluctant father to drop the company's assortment of other remedies in order to concentrate sales efforts on this, their most successful item, which they renamed Vick's VapoRub.
With the death of Lunsford Richardson in 1919, Smith Richardson was named president of the firm, a position he held until 1929 when he became chairman of the board. In addition to pioneering in advertising and international expansion, Richardson was far ahead of his time in both management development and corporate governance. From the earliest years, he attracted able young people who played an important part in the company's future success. In a 1926 memorandum, he wrote, "The future of the business is going to depend upon the human material we put into it, and the most important work facing the company is to build an organization that will live." In 1930, during the Great Depression, he set for the company the objective of being an "Enduring Enterprise." He realized that, to accomplish this goal, management development would have to be the company's #1 job. He discussed the reasons companies fail and the importance of management development in several reports to shareholders, starting in 1933.
By the mid-1930s, Vick was one of the largest United States college recruiters, using the novel approach of a post-graduate 15-month course in marketing, known as the Vicks School of Applied Merchandising. The program was so highly regarded that Vick could attract many top college graduates each year. On completion of each year's program, Vick kept the best students and helped the others secure good jobs.
In corporate governance, Vick initiated a number of practices that were adopted by other companies in later years. These include establishing a committee selected annually by shareholders to nominate directors; establishing an audit committee independent of management; forming an executive personnel committee from members of the board of directors that was concerned with management development; using an outside professional director; and, in order to strengthen the board in its role of independent review of operating management, having as chairman of the board someone other than the chief executive officer.
In addition to holding executive positions at Vick and in a number of financial, insurance, and real estate companies, Richardson was a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce and active in the National Association of Manufacturers, especially during the early years of World War II when the Association was particularly vocal. Richardson also participated in numerous civic and philanthropic activities benefitting both North and South Carolina and the nation, as did his brother Lunsford Richardson, Jr., who worked alongside Smith in the family business. Smith Richardson was an isolationist on the eve of World War II and actively supported the America First Committee, a strong voice against American entry into the war.
In 1935, Richardson established the Richardson Foundation (later Smith Richardson Foundation), which came to be the focus of his later life. One of the Foundation's first projects was to encourage judicial reform in North Carolina. After World War II, the Foundation concentrated on "Cold War education" and encouraged the work of anti-Communist organizations. Throughout his life, Richardson was strongly anti-Communist and was concerned about communism's possible negative influences on the country, especially its young people. The Foundation later turned to developing leadership and management skills among young North Carolinians with a Richardson (later North Carolina) Fellows program at leading colleges and universities. Through the Foundation, Richardson supported institutions of higher education, such as the University of North Carolina, the University of South Carolina, Presbyterian College, and Davidson College. In 1970, the Foundation established the Center for Creative Leadership to study and to teach creativity and leadership. The Center has since become an outstanding institution in its field with thousands of people participating in its programs in the United States and abroad.
Richardson was proud of his Scotch-Irish heritage and considered the South more "American" than other regions whose populations included more immigrants. He named North Carolina's racial heritage as one of its assets in an article about how the state could survive the Depression and improve its economy. His correspondence and writings contain numerous references to his racial attitudes, including a letter to the South African Information Service comparing apartheid to segregation in the American South.
Richardson actively guided his family's interests, both financial and otherwise. He guided the investment of the family's substantial resources and held executive positions in a number of family-owned financial, insurance, and real estate companies, notably the Reinsurance Corporation of New York. His personal holdings included real estate in Connecticut and North Carolina and Mount Holly Plantation outside Charleston, S.C. Another facet of Richardson's vision for his family's future was his insistence that all members remain informed of and active in family affairs. To promote family solidarity and to insure that members would not sell their interests in the Richardson holdings, he initiated biannual family meetings and trained younger generations to appreciate the family's history and what he saw as its duty to society. Such duties included responsible, community-oriented, patriotic philanthropy.
The family's reputation came under fire in the 1940s when officials of the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro challenged the Richardson's father's will. Richardson hotly refuted the claims made in the lawsuit, and, when the suit was resolved, insured that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States adopt a resolution clearing the Richardson name.
An avid outdoorsman, Richardson was influential in the passage of legislation creating the North Carolina Wildlife Commission. He was also a life member of the National Council Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America (one of less than a dozen so honored) and was very active in this capacity until his death.
Richardson spent the last 40 years of his life at Green Farms, Fairfield County, Conn., and was active in area affairs, officially through the Foundation and privately as a member of various clubs and associations. Richardson was also a lifelong member and financial supporter of the Presbyterian Church.
Richardson died at Green Farms on 11 February 1972.
(Parts of this biographical note were supplied by H. Smith Richardson, Jr., in 1995.)
Back to TopPapers include personal and business correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings and other published materials, printed by-laws and meeting minutes, Richardson's writings and annotations of the writings of others, materials relating to Richardson's recreational activities, and family history materials. Correspondence, speeches, and writings of Smith Richardson address a broad range of 20th-century issues.
Materials are filed, for the most part, as they were received from the Smith Richardson Foundation, which selected these as representative of Richardson's life and character from a larger collection in their possession. The bulk of the collection relates to Smith and Richardson family history.
The addition of October 1999 contains a printed oral history and a videotaped oral history of the Richardson family. Also included are audiocassettes of interviews with seventeen Richardson family members.
Smith family papers collected and transcribed by O. Norris Smith of Greensboro, N.C.:
"The Writings and Sermons of the Rev. J(acob) Henry Smith, D.D., Pastor, Greensboro, N.C., Presbyterian Church," collected and transcribed by a grandson, O. Norris Smith, Greensboro, N.C., 1990. Addresses, 1841-1846, given by J. Henry Smith when he was a student at Washington College and Union Theological Seminary; sermons, 1846-1849, given at Pittsylvania C.H. Presbyterian Church; sermon, 1852, at Samuel Davies Academy, Halifax C.H., Va.; sermons, 1855-1858, given at Charlottesville, Va., Presbyterian Church; and sermons, 1859-1986, given as pastor of the Greensboro, N.C., Presbyterian Church. Also included are transcriptions of poems, letters, diary excerpts, and other writings by Smith, as well as photocopies of pictures of Smith and houses he lived in.
"Letters and Writing of Mrs Mary Kelly (Watson) Smith, wife of Rev. Jacob Henry Smith, D.D., Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, N.C.," transcribed 1985 by O. Norris Smith. Transcripts of other family papers, chiefly genealogical information, newspaper stories about members of the Smith family, and Lunsford Richardson's account of the beginning of Vick Chemical Company, were added by O. Norris Smith in 1990.
"The Religion of Family," by Herrick Jackson. History of the Richardson and Jackson families, written by Herrick Jackson in the form of a conversation between his grandfathers, H. Smith Richardson and John Day Jackson. Appended are family trees and photocopies of many items related to the history of the two families.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Personal and business correspondence of H. Smith Richardson, including letters about politics, financial interests, and organizations to which Richardson belonged. This collection covers a wide variety of topics, but none in great depth.
Correspondence is filed in chronological order, however some series of correspondence with one individual are grouped together and filed by the date of the most recent letter. In this description, when letters within such a series are cited, the date of the letter is cited, followed by "filed with [most recent date in series]."
Among the earliest letters is a booklet of photocopies H. Smith Richardson wrote as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, 1902-1905.
For the most part, the correspondence is of a personal nature, although there are occasional business letters included that relate especially to reinsurance and realty companies. Among the personal topics discussed are hunting and fishing, historical and political interests, scouting, and family matters. Of particular interest are letters revealing Richardson's views on South Africa, his support for the isolationist movement during World War II, his opposition to communism, and his racial views.
By far the most common subject in Richardson's correspondence is politics. He corresponded with and financially supported numerous politicians, including senators Bailey (11 May 1933), Joseph McCarthy and William Benton (17 September 1952), Prescott Bush (series filed with 27 June 1962); Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (series filed with 28 July 1968), Florida Governor Farris Bryant (series filed with 10 June 1963), Congressman Abner Sibal (15 September 1964), and Ambassador to Nicaragua Capus Waynick (series filed with 22 January 1965). Papers filed with 23 September 1941 deal with Richardson's opposition to the United States's entry into World War II and his active support of the America First Committee. Richardson remained a lifelong opponent of communism and felt that even the Democratic Party had become too friendly to communism (26 March 1954). He decried the "pressure groups" who exerted influence on Congress (3 June 1953). He supported the McCarran-Walter bill restricting immigration because he believed many foreign immigrants brought communism with them (21 May 1952). In a letter of 20 January 1956, Richardson mentions his fear of the possibility of a communist invasion. Considering the northeast more vulnerable to attack, he kept a house in Greensboro as "insurance" in case the Cold War heated up.
Many letters mention the Smith Richardson Foundation, a philanthropic organization through which Richardson funded numerous anti-communist activities and organizations, including the Institute of American Strategy (2 June 1961, Wood series filed with 16 June 1966). Richardson corresponded with Governor Farris Bryant of Florida regarding the Foundation's support of the state's unique "Cold War Education" program (series filed with 10 June 1963). Letters of 15 September 1960 and 16 January 1961 discuss seminars funded by the Foundation and given by the U.S. Army on how to "educate the people to the danger of Communism" (series filed with 16 June 1966). In a letter dated 8 September 1961, Richardson's grandson Herrick Jackson suggested that the Smith Richardson Foundation should turn its attention from anti-communist activities and move toward philanthropy in science and research (series filed with 20 May 1964). A further explanation of Richardson's policies on funding projects through the Smith Richardson Foundation appears in his correspondence with T. Henry Patterson (series filed with 18 January 1966).
In addition to anti-communism, letters document Richardson's strong support of the two-party system, which moved him to pen a 4 January 1951 letter congratulating Democratic Senator William Benton on his election victory in 1951. Richardson, a Republican, admitted in the same letter that he had voted against Benton. Ironically, a 17 September 1952 letter reveals that during the next election, Richardson tried to engage Senator Joseph McCarthy to speak as part of the Connecticut Republicans' campaign against Benton. Richardson also wrote to Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, supporting the president's policies (1 July 1966). Toward the end of his life, Richardson sharply criticized the Republican platform for being too similar to that of the Democrats. He charged that both were "appealing to minorities" and "outdoing each other on give away appeals" (series filed with 19 April 1963). One of Richardson's final political writings was a position paper in which he supported George Wallace's presidential campaign and complained of the news media's unfair reporting on "underdog" candidates, but declared his intention to vote for Nixon (28 October 1968).
Richardson's interest in politics extended to foreign affairs. He compared U.S. foreign policy favorably to Europe's because of the U.S. government's accountability to its citizens through Congress, but stressed the need for citizens to be informed about foreign affairs (20 June 1957). He joined the United Nations Association, but criticized the U.N.'s National Council for Civic Responsibility for smearing the organizations it was supposed to be impartially investigating (series filed with 23 October 1963). Richardson detailed his world travels and commented on conditions in Asia in a letter of 15 April 1964. He also corresponded with Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield about the character of Russian leadership (series filed with 28 July 1968).
A few letters deal specifically with South Africa. In a letter of 7 June 1955, Richardson described his trip there, which combined bird watching with observing the country's political situation. Of the growing institution of apartheid, Richardson noted, "These people are thinking exactly as we did in the South when you and I were boys." Richardson's continued interest led him to correspond with officials in the Information Service of South Africa (series filed with 11 September 1964). Especially interesting are exchanges relating to how the South African government could present "the true picture of what South Africa has done and is doing, particularly in the racial field," as represented by a pamphlet entitled "Progress Through Separate Development-South Africa in Peaceful Transition" (pamphlet not included).
Many letters mention Richardson's attitudes on race. He discusses his pride in his Scotch-Irish background in correspondence with a Dublin bookseller (filed with 28 October 1953). Richardson believed that communism and unionism, both of which he opposed, were strongest in the North, where, he believed, "vast populations of a different breed have arisen" (16 June 1944). He also felt that there was more contact between members of different classes in the South than in the North (11 May 1933).
Some letters document Richardson's innovative business ideas. Richardson's business philosophy, however, is more clearly outlined in his speeches, newspaper articles, and other writings. He criticized insurance tax laws in North Carolina for discriminating against widows and orphans (4 July 1928, see also speech of 27 September 1928). Earlier in his career, he encouraged increased cooperation among persons engaged in business in North Carolina and between business and government. He also supported the New Deal's "governmentally planned industry and agriculture" (11 May 1933). By the 1960s, however, Richardson was warning of the threats posed by increasing government control and arguing for the preservation of free enterprise and the decentralization of industry in North Carolina (Waynick series filed with 22 January 1965). Other business topics include corporate management strategy (15 January 1943), plans to make the Reinsurance Corporation profitable after a series of losses (series filed with 17 January 1944), arrangements for the continued operation of Richardson's various companies after his death (1 October 1963), and tax-exempt trusts (Wood series, filed with 16 June 1966).
A few scattered items of social and cultural interest include letters relating to tuberculosis (20 December 1920), the domestic effects of World War II (24 April 1944), the role of women ("a man certainly should not leave to an inexperienced woman the very serious question of the investment of this life insurance fund," 4 July 1928), and the need to teach children about the Founding Fathers (3 June 1953).
Folder 1-2
Folder 1Folder 2 |
1902-1905 |
Folder 3 |
1920-1949 |
Folder 4 |
1950-1956 |
Folder 5 |
1957-1962 |
Folder 6 |
1963-1964 |
Folder 7 |
1965-1966 |
Folder 8 |
1967-1972 |
Arrangement: writings by subject; speeches chronologically.
Speeches and writings by H. Smith Richardson on business management, how to control government spending, the history of the Richardson-Vicks Company, industrialization and the Southern economy, social and economic improvements in North Carolina during the first half of the 20th century, Cold-War-era foreign policy, and rural life in North Carolina. Richardson's speeches include numerous anecdotes with local color and racial stories. They also contain religious references, Bible quotes, and comparisons of Christianity to good business practice.
In a series of articles on North Carolina in the 1930s, Richardson critiqued North Carolina's faltering economy, which he blamed mostly on a tax structure that discouraged industry. He analyzed the reasons for widespread bank failures and large public debt in North Carolina during the Depression and made suggestions for strengthening the state's economy. He included economic statistics, such as the amount of government debt at the county, city and state levels, as well as comparisons of North Carolina to Virginia. In the North Carolina bank and trust articles of 1933, Richardson warned of the dangers of government overspending and private financial irresponsibility.
Folder 9 |
"Early History and Management Philosophy of Richardson Merrell" |
Folder 10-11
Folder 10Folder 11 |
North Carolina articles: "What Has Happened to North Carolina?" |
Folder 12 |
Vol. S-1. North Carolina bank and trust articles, 1933 (see SV-4283/1) |
Oversize Volume SV-4283/1 |
North Carolina bank and trust articles, 1933 |
Folder 13 |
Speeches, 1928-1950 |
Folder 14 |
Speeches, 1951-1957 |
Arrangement: by subject.
Documents culled from H. Smith Richardson's personal files. Topics cover his civic, recreational, political, business, genealogical, and philanthropic interests.
The file on Senator Joseph McCarthy contains articles and correspondence concerning a report Richardson commissioned Carlisle Bergeron to write about whether or not McCarthy had "smeared innocent people" along with guilty ones. Bergeron concluded that McCarthy had not.
Several folders contain material related to Richardson's participation in the National Association of Manufacturers, 1939-1941. He resigned from the group in 1942. Richardson served as chairman of the Association's government finance committee in 1939 and 1940. These files contain materials reflecting his concern for the national debt (then around $40 billion) and his proposal to educate the public on this issue.
The file labeled "Papers of H. Smith Richardson" contains the Smith Richardson Foundation's correspondence with various historical archives to find a suitable repository for Richardson's papers.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Folder 15-16
Folder 15Folder 16 |
Amendment to North Carolina constitution for tax reform, 1927 |
Folder 17 |
Bridgeport Hospital |
Folder 18-20
Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20 |
Boy Scouts of America |
Folder 21 |
Buffalo Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, N.C. |
Folder 22 |
Christmas cards |
Folder 23-31
Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31 |
Condolence letters on Richardson's death |
Folder 32-35
Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35 |
Fairfield County Hunt Club |
Folder 36 |
First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, N.C. |
Folder 37 |
H. Smith Richardson: Ideas into Action , W. C. Burton |
Folder 38 |
Hunting and dogs: certificates and registrations |
Folder 39 |
McCarthy, Joseph |
Folder 40 |
McNairy House, Greensboro, N.C. |
Folder 41 |
Medical records |
Folder 42 |
Memberships |
Folder 43-45
Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45 |
Mid-Fairfield County Youth Museum |
Folder 46 |
National Association of Manufacturers |
Folder 47-52
Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52 |
Correspondence, 1938-1940 |
Folder 53-55
Folder 53Folder 54Folder 55 |
Economic Policy Committee |
Folder 56-63
Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63 |
Government Finance Committee |
Folder 64 |
Printed Material |
Folder 65-66
Folder 65Folder 66 |
American Industry: Platforms |
Folder 67-68
Folder 67Folder 68 |
Papers of H. Smith Richardson |
Folder 69-74
Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74 |
Pequot Library Association |
Folder 75 |
Poems and jokes (Richardson often enclosed these items in letters) |
Folder 76-81
Folder 76Folder 77Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81 |
Potatuck Club |
Folder 82-83
Folder 82Folder 83 |
Potatuck Land Company |
Folder 84-85
Folder 84Folder 85 |
Presbyterian College |
Folder 86-89
Folder 86Folder 87Folder 88Folder 89 |
Publicity regarding Richardson and his family: 1934-1972 |
Folder 90-91
Folder 90Folder 91 |
Reminiscences of the early days at Vick's |
Folder 92-95
Folder 92Folder 93Folder 94Folder 95 |
Southport Area Association |
Folder 96-97
Folder 96Folder 97 |
Trips abroad with regard to Vick's exports |
Folder 98 |
University of North Carolina: Smith Richardson Foundation Grants |
Folder 99 |
University of South Carolina: Smith Richardson Foundation Grants |
Arrangement: by subject.
Papers relating to the activities of both H. Smith Richardson and his brother Lunsford, Jr., in the affairs of the college. H. Smith Richardson's papers relate to the Davidson Alumni Association, fraternities, university officials, and philanthropic gifts to the college. Lunsford Richardson, Jr.'s papers relate to the Alumni Association, the Alumni Athletic Council, and other topics.
Folder 100-108
Folder 100Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105Folder 106Folder 107Folder 108 |
H. Smith Richardson |
Folder 109-112
Folder 109Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112 |
Lunsford Richardson, Jr. |
Folder 113 |
Scholastic records of Richardson family alumni |
Arrangement: chronological.
Reports and other papers related to family conferences to which H. Smith Richardson invited the members of each generation, all of whom owned stock in Vick Chemical Company. The meetings were both stockholders' meetings and recreational retreats. Richardson's goal was to instill a strong sense of family loyalty, reconcile differences, and maintain the long-term profitability of Vick as a family-owned business. This tactic was successful for decades, as family members refused to sell their interest in the company in spite of repeated take-over attempts. (Richardson-Merrell was bought out by Procter and Gamble in 1985). In the conferences, Richardson also wished to encourage family members to develop good citizenship and a sense of responsibility to society.
See also materials relating to the "church case" in subseries 6.7.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Arrangement: chronological.
Documents related to "Family Stockholder Training," which taught practical matters associated with Vick and other family holdings and instilled family pride.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Folder 168 |
Plan for younger and future generations |
Folder 169 |
35-year plan for owners |
Folder 170 |
1954-1960 |
Folder 171 |
1961-1967 |
Nineteenth-century and early 20th-century writings of H. Smith Richardson's maternal ancestors, including diaries of Jacob Henry Smith, a Presbyterian minister in Virginia and North Carolina, and his wife Mary Kelly Watson Smith. Topics include family life, the Civil War, and religion.
Arrangement: chronological.
Diaries of Jacob Henry Smith, H. Smith Richardson's namesake and maternal grandfather. The 1846-1847 section covers Smith's first pastorate in Pittsylvania County, Va., near Lynchburg. When the diary resumes in 1860, Smith had just begun preaching at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Typed copies of the diary, 1 January-3 February 1860, 1 June-15 July 1861, 1 January-13 February 1883, and 1- 31 January, 1890 are included. Diaries for 1848-1859 and 1872 are missing. (See subseries 5.3. for letters of Jacob Smith and edited version of the diary, 1860-1869, contained in The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C. )
Folder 172 |
1846-1847 |
Folder 173 |
1860-1861 |
Folder 174 |
1862-1866 |
Folder 175 |
1867-1871 |
Folder 176 |
1873-1875 |
Folder 177 |
1878-1882 |
Folder 178 |
1883-1885 |
Folder 179 |
1886-1889 |
Folder 180 |
1890-1893 |
Folder 181 |
1894-1897 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Typed copies of diaries of Mary Kelly Watson Smith, H. Smith Richardson's maternal grandmother. Describes early 20th-century family and religious life. (See subseries 5.3. for letters of Mary Smith.)
Folder 182-184
Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184 |
Volume 1: 1906-1909 |
Folder 185-186
Folder 185Folder 186 |
Volume 2: 1910-1911 |
Folder 187-189
Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189 |
Volume 3: 30 December 1911-3 March 1915 |
Folder 190-191
Folder 190Folder 191 |
Volume 4: 4 March 1915-31 December 1917 |
Folder 192-193
Folder 192Folder 193 |
Volume 5: 1 January 1918-21 November 1923 |
Arrangement: alphabetical by family member, then chronological.
Original and photocopies of family letters, biographical sketches, poems, sermon notes of Jacob Henry Smith, and other writings of members of the Smith family of Charlottesville, Va., and Greensboro, N.C. Subjects include family life, religion, and the Civil War.
Included are letters from Alphonso Smith to his mother, Mary K. W. Smith, while he traveled in Germany and studied in Berlin in 1901. The letters mention German reaction to American "Open Door" policy in China and an assassination attempt on the Kaiser, as well as various literary, religious, and social topics of the day.
Papers of Jacob Henry Smith include letters, poems, sermon notes, news clippings, and speeches. (See subseries 5.1. for Smith's diary.)
Letters of Mary Smith to her children and other family members, especially her sister "Hay" (Hortensia Hay Watson), contain descriptions of church and local affairs. (See subseries 5.2. for Mary Smith's diary.)
The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C., compiled by O. Norris Smith in 1989, contains an edited transcript of Jacob Henry Smith's diary from 1860 to 1869; letters from Mary Kelly Watson Smith to family members in Charlottesville, Va.; records from the Greensboro Presbyterian Church; and an index.
Papers of Samuel C. Smith include biographical sketches of father, Samuel K. Smith, and childhood of brother Jacob Henry Smith. There are also two photocopies of letters written from the front during the Civil War.
Letters of Judge Egbert R. Watson, Mary Kelly Watson Smith's father, were written on the occasions of his infant son's death and his third honeymoon. Also included is a letter from Watson to Confederate General Ewell regarding the organization of "a guerilla corps" from Orange County, Va. A series of correspondence from H. Smith Richardson regarding the historical and monetary value of the letter to Ewell is included. There is also a letter to Judge Watson from one of his slaves. The subject of the letter is unclear; it either thanks Watson for saving the slave's life or asks him to help the slave get out of jail.
Folder 194 |
Letters of Mary Kelly |
Folder 195 |
Letters from Alphonso Smith to Mary Kelly Watson Smith |
Folder 196 |
Jacob Henry Smith papers, 1841-1897 |
Folder 197-198
Folder 197Folder 198 |
Mary Kelly Watson Smith papers, 1858-1918 |
Folder 199a |
The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C. |
Folder 199b |
Greensboro, NC 1859-1897 as recorded in the diaries of Rev. J. Henry Smith, D.D., Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, and in the letters of his wife Mary Kelly (Watson) Smith |
Folder 200 |
Papers of Samuel C. Smith, 1858-1865 |
Folder 201a |
Letters of Judge E. R. Watson |
Folder 201b |
Letters of Judge E. R. Watson |
Folder 202 |
Miscellaneous family papers |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4283/1b |
Photostatic copies of Watson's letters and prayer book of Richard Price and Jane Price Watson |
Family history materials relating to the Richardson, Smith, and related families, including many items relating to Annals of an American Family ; transcriptions of family documents; correspondence about family history; files on individual family members, especially H. Smith Richardson; newspaper clippings; family newsletters; materials about cemeteries, monuments, museums, and genealogical organizations; some family correspondence; and a family Bible.
Arrangement: alphabetical by family member.
Obituaries of Smith and Richardson family members clipped from newspapers across North Carolina. Included with obituaries of Grace Richardson is a collection of her favorite jokes and stories, mostly racial humor.
Folder 203 |
Grace Richardson |
Folder 204 |
H. Smith Richardson |
Folder 205 |
Lunsford Richardson |
Folder 206 |
Lunsford Richardson, Jr. |
Folder 207 |
Mary Lynn Smith Richardson |
Folder 208 |
Charles Alphonso Smith |
Folder 209 |
Egbert W. Smith |
Folder 210 |
Hay Watson Smith |
Folder 211 |
Henry Louis Smith |
Folder 212 |
Mary Kelly Watson Smith |
Folder 213 |
Reed Smith |
Folder 214 |
Margaret Smith Vaughn |
Folder 215 |
Miscellaneous family members |
Arrangement: by type.
Memos, news articles, and family reminiscences, mainly about H. Smith Richardson and his father Lunsford Richardson.
Folder 216-219
Folder 216Folder 217Folder 218Folder 219 |
H. Smith Richardson |
Folder 220 |
Family biography |
Folder 221 |
Tributes to H. Smith Richardson |
Folder 222 |
National Cyclopedia of American Biography |
Folder 223 |
Lunsford Richardson, including Laurinda Richardson Carlson's recollections of him |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
News articles, legal documents, reports, and newsletters regarding Richardson family members. Legal documents pertain to the establishment of trusteeship to administer insurance policies of Margaret B. Richardson and a partnership agreement for Vick Chemical Company between Lunsford Richardson and his sons. The Sapp guardianship file contains documents concerning H. Smith Richardson's guardianship of two children, Robert and Mary Sapp.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Folder 224 |
Mary Keen Richardson Jackson, Grace Richardson Lambert (daughters of H. Smith Richardson) |
Folder 225 |
Egbert W. Smith |
Folder 226 |
Henry Louis Smith |
Folder 227 |
Family clippings |
Folder 228 |
Quotations and news clippings |
Folder 229 |
Dedications and memorials |
Folder 230 |
Legal documents |
Folder 231 |
Lunsford Richardson ship launching publicity |
Folder 232 |
Sapp guardianship |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Personal correspondence between members of the Smith and Richardson families.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Folder 233 |
Family newsletters and correspondence, 1942-1947 |
Folder 234 |
W. Allen Perkins |
Folder 235 |
Richardson family correspondence |
Folder 236 |
H. Smith Richardson/Lunsford Richardson, Jr. |
Folder 237 |
Smith family correspondence |
Arrangement: by subject.
Family history materials relating to the Richardson, Smith and related families; typed copies of family documents; correspondence about family history; files on individual family members, especially H. Smith Richardson; newspaper clippings; materials about museums, genealogical research, and organizations; and a family Bible (Vol. S-3). The materials are arranged by subject, in original order in which collection was received.
"Smith Family Tidbits" is a volume containing family history items collected and edited by O. Norris Smith in 1989.
"Footsteps of the Past," with a foreword by Mrs. Richardson and an introduction by Burke Davis, consists of research notes collected by Grace Jones Richardson on her genealogical background and a typed manuscript written by Elizabeth Hawes Ryland.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Folder 238 |
"Smith Family Tidbits" (see SV-4283/2) |
Oversize Volume SV-4283/2 |
Smith Family Tidbits |
Folder 239 |
Family Bible (see SV-4283/3) |
Oversize Volume SV-4283/3 |
Family Bible |
Folder 240 |
To Whom Sent ( Annals of An American Family ) |
Folder 241 |
Drafts of Richardson family annals |
Folder 242-243
Folder 242Folder 243 |
Mamie Richardson family history research |
Folder 244 |
Facts and exhibits |
Folder 245-255
Folder 245Folder 246Folder 247Folder 248Folder 249Folder 250Folder 251Folder 252Folder 253Folder 254Folder 255 |
"Footsteps of the Past" |
Folder 256 |
H. Smith Richardson's Scottish McAlister clan cap (MU-4283/1) |
Folder 257-259
Folder 257Folder 258Folder 259 |
Genealogy |
Folder 260 |
Books, Reed Smith, royalty rights |
Folder 261 |
Family history material, 1987-1993 |
Folder 262 |
Materials relating to gathering family historical material, 1986-1989 |
Arrangement: by subject.
Research materials, drafts, and correspondence related to Annals of An American Family, a history of the Richardson family commissioned by H. Smith Richardson in the 1930s and revised in 1953. The files are arranged according to subject, in the original order in which they were received. Each folder includes an index of contents at front.
The Sylvia Holder file contains information about the last living ex-slave of the Richardson family. H. Smith Richardson maintained correspondence with and sent money to Sylvia Holder until she died in 1952. (See series 8, P-4283/111-132 for photographs of Holder).
Maps, blueprints, and other oversized items in this subseries include the following:
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Arrangement: by subject.
Legal documents, correspondence, minutes, and pamphlets relating to the lawsuit brought against the heirs of Lunsford Richardson in 1941 by the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, N.C. The trustees believed that Lunsford Richardson's will granted them ownership of Vick stock that his wife had sold to the church before her death. To defend his family's reputation, H. Smith Richarson published a booklet, "Strange Record of a Gift," which gives a detailed account of the case. He mailed it to friends, family members, and the session of every church in the Presbyterian Church in the United States (P.C.-U.S.) denomination. Also included are the minutes of the denomination's general assembly meetings in 1946 and 1947, with passages exonerating the Richardson family marked.
Documents are arranged according to subject, in original order in which the collection was received. (See also materials relating to this lawsuit in subseries 4.1.)
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have been retained.
Information relating to the Vick Chemical Company and to other Richardson family financial interests. In 1925, one-fourth of the Vick stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and sold to the public. In 1930, several drug companies, including the Vick Chemical Company, Bristol Meyers, Life Savers, and the United Drug Company (later Rexall and the Dart Industries) merged in the largest drug merger of the day to form Drug, Inc. United Drug suffered so greatly in the 1929 crash that it was a serious drag on the combined operation. Drug, Inc. was, therefore, demerged in such a way that each of the companies continued separately under its own management, but every shareholder owned stock in all of the companies. Richardson played a key role in the merger and led the campaign to split up Drug, Inc. Over the years, the Richardson family sold off the other drug companies and reinvested the funds.
The family diversified their holdings into real estate, stock investments, a realty company, and an insurance company. Family members also held stock in other business concerns, including the Reinsurance Corporation of New York (RECO, originally Vick Financial). In addition to their financial interests, the Richardson family, with H. Smith Richardson taking the initiative, established the Richardson Foundation, later the Smith Richardson Foundation, to oversee philanthropic gifts.
Arrangement: chronological.
Included are financial reports from 1926 and 1927, weekly newsletters detailing the achievements of the Vick sales force ("Post Scripts," 1938-1939), the "Vick Family Newsletter" (a few copies from the years 1940 to 1945, relating news of the entire Vick workforce, including those serving in World War II), and a booklet commemorating the 75th anniversary of Richardson-Merrell, Inc., in 1980.
Folder 373 |
Public relations materials |
Folder 374-376
Folder 374Folder 375Folder 376 |
Vick "Post Scripts" newsletter |
Arrangement: chronological.
Reports and correspondence concerning the Vick Financial Corporation, which was reorganized in 1936 as the Reinsurance Corporation of New York and National Insurance, then became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Piedmont Managment Company, Inc., in 1968.
Folder 377 |
1920s |
Folder 378-379
Folder 378Folder 379 |
1930s |
Folder 380-381
Folder 380Folder 381 |
1940s |
Folder 382 |
1950s |
Folder 383-388
Folder 383Folder 384Folder 385Folder 386Folder 387Folder 388 |
1960s |
Folder 389-390
Folder 389Folder 390 |
1970s |
Folder 391-393
Folder 391Folder 392Folder 393 |
1980s |
Folder 394-396
Folder 394Folder 395Folder 396 |
1990s |
Arrangement: chronological.
Memos, correspondence, news clippings, and reports relating to the Smith Richardson Foundation (formerly Richardson Foundation), the philanthropic organization of the Richardson family, founded by H. Smith Richardson in 1935. The Foundation supported numerous causes in North Carolina, including historic preservation, legal reform, curriculum reform, the establishment of small businesses, and the encouragement of leadership potential in youth. The subseries includes 1948 plans detailing a $14.3 million gift from Richardson to the Foundation. The Foundation's objectives in the 1960s focused on developing creative leadership and corporate management strategies.
Folder 397 |
1948 Foundation plans (OP-4283/48) |
Folder 398 |
Foundation news clippings |
Folder 399-401
Folder 399Folder 400Folder 401 |
Foundation objectives, 1964-1967 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Included is information concerning the 1985 buyout of Richardson-Vicks by Procter and Gamble; a 1989 appraisal of Mary's Island plantation in South Carolina, owned by the Richardson family; investment advice from William Preyer; and histories of Richardson companies.
Folder 402 |
Family, W. Y. Preyer, 1951 |
Folder 403 |
History of Richardson family companies |
Folder 404 |
Richardson-Vicks merger with Procter and Gamble |
Folder 405 |
Mary's Island Plantation appraisal |
Included are black-and-white photographs and a few slides, color photographs and sketches, mostly of Richardson family members. Note that some of the pictures listed below are grouped together as received.
Image Folder PF-4283/1 |
P-4283/1-20: Portraits of H. Smith Richardson, circa 1900-1959 |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/7 |
Oversize portrait of H. Smith Richardson, circa 1900-1959 |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/10-11
OP-P-4283/10OP-P-4283/11 |
Oversize portraits of H. Smith Richardson, circa 1900-1959 |
Image Folder PF-4283/2 |
P-4283/21-23: "Uncle" Albert [1860s?] |
Image Folder PF-4283/3 |
Ten photographsP-4283/24: Photograph of paining of Judge John Henry Dillard, North Carolina Supreme Court justice, 1879-1881, undated P-4283/26: Mary Anne Perkins (Mrs. Chiswell Dabrey) Langhorne, 1870s[?] P-4283/27: Buck Newsom (Vick salesman) at 17, 1934 P-4283/30: Clement Richardson, 21 years, 1867 P-4283/31-32: Clement Richardson, 57, 12 October 1903 P-4283/33: Photo of portrait of Grace Jones Richardson P-4283/34: Lunsford Richardson P-4283/35a: Lunsford Richardson, engraving with signature P-4283/35b: Mary Lynn Smith Richardson |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/25 |
Photograph of painting of Captain John Keen, 1787-1872, undated |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/28 |
"Aunt Lizzie" Perkins, one of the Watson twins |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/29 |
"Aunt Helen" Rawlings, one of the Watson twins |
Image Folder PF-4283/4 |
Nine photographsP-4283/36a: Photograph of newspaper photograph of Lunsford Richardson, Jr. P-4283/36b: Lunsford Richardson, Jr., in Navy uniform P-4283/37: Mrs. William Richardson, Jr. P-4283/38a: J. Marion Sims P-4283/38b-c: Charles Alphonso Smith P-4283/39-41: Egbert Smith |
Image Folder PF-4283/5 |
Twelve photographsP-4283/42-48: Henry Louis Smith P-4283/49-50: Jacob Henry Smith, 23 January 1896 P-4283/51: Engraving of Jacob Henry Smith with signature P-4283/52-53: Norris Kelly Smith, son of Jacob Henry and Mary Kelly Smith, age 6, 1881 |
Image Folder PF-4283/6 |
Eleven photographsP-4283/54: Samuel M. Smith, 29 April 1867 P-4283/55: Samuel M. Smith P-4283/56: George Vick (as boy) P-4283/57: George Vick (as young man) P-4283/58: Photograph of portrait of Judge Egbert R. Watson (1810-1887) P-4283/61: Printer's layout with pictures of Lunsford Richardson, Jacob Henry Smith, Egbert Smith, and Mary Lynn Smith Richardson playing backgammon P-4283/62: Group photo of Jacob Henry Smith family, circa 1900 (all members identified on photo) P-4283/63-64: Lunsford Richardson, Jr., family, circa 1910 (all members identified on photo) P-4283/65a: Grace Richardson with daughters Grace and Mary, circa 1910 P-4283/65b: Lunsford Richardson, Jr., and H. Smith Richardson, circa 1895 |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/59-60
OP-P-4283/59OP-P-4283/60 |
Photographs of portrait of relative of Egbert R. Watson, possibly daughter Mary Kelly Watson who later married Jacob Henry Smith |
Image Folder PF-4283/7 |
Eleven photographsP-4283/66: Helen Watson Rawlings and Lizzie Watson Perkins P-4283/67: H. Smith Richardson and Vick staff, 1941 P-4283/68-69: H. Smith Richardson and unidentified man with portrait of Lunsford Richardson, Jr., late 1930s P-4283/70: H. Smith Richardson and Vick staff, 6 February 1952 P-4283/71: H. Smith Richardson with two Vick employees, 16 November 1956 P-4283/72: H. Smith Richardson and family, Klick Ranch, 1962 P-4283/73: H. Smith Richardson and Bill Horne at Merrell's cocktail party, August 1970 P-4283/74-76: First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro |
Oversize Image OP-P-4283/77-84
OP-P-4283/77OP-P-4283/78OP-P-4283/79OP-P-4283/80OP-P-4283/81OP-P-4283/82OP-P-4283/83OP-P-4283/84 |
Interior and exterior of the Moorings, H. Smith Richardson's home in Green Farms, Conn., 1930s |
Image Folder PF-4283/8 |
Ten photographsP-4283/85: Lunsford Richardson's home in Selma, N.C. P-4283/86: Ruins of Rosewell Plantation P-4283/87-88: Jacob Henry Smith's home in Greensboro, N.C. P-4283/89: Drug store rules, W. C. Porter Drug Store, Greensboro, 1854 P-4283/90-94: Unidentified members of Smith and Richardson families, late 19th century to mid-20th century |
Image Folder PF-4283/9 |
Eleven photographsP-4283/95-105: Unidentified members of Smith and Richardson families, late 19th century to mid-20th century |
Image Folder PF-4283/10 |
Nine photographsP-4283/106-109: Unidentified members of Smith and Richardson families, late 19th century to mid-20th century P-4283/110: Unidentified house P-4283/111-114: "Aunt" Sylvia Holder, last living ex-slave of Richardson family, on Parker's Height Plantation |
Image Folder PF-4283/11 |
Fourteen photographsP-4283/115-128: "Aunt" Sylvia Holder, last living ex-slave of Richardson family, on Parker's Height Plantation |
Image Folder PF-4283/12 |
Ten photographsP-4283/129-132: "Aunt" Sylvia Holder, last living ex-slave of Richardson family, on Parker's Height Plantation P-4283/133-138: Parker's Height Plantation, subjects identified on photos |
Image Folder PF-4283/13 |
Thirteen photographsP-4283/139-151: Parker's Height Plantation, subjects identified on photos |
Image Folder PF-4283/14 |
Eleven photographsP-4283/152-159: Parker's Height Plantation, subjects identified on photos P-4283/160-162: "The Oaks" cemetery at Parker's Height |
Image Folder PF-4283/15 |
Photographs and drawingsP-4283/163-168: First Lunsford Richardson mill (later Pharaoh's) P-4283/169: Old school house near Parker's Height P-4283/170-174: Sketches of Parker's Height by Cora Richardson Michaels |
Image Folder PF-4283/16 |
SlidesP-4283/175-207: Slides of Smith and Richardson family members from Annals of An American Family, and were used at a June 1975 family meeting. Attached list identifies slides. |
Image Folder PF-4283/17 |
Lunsford Richardson |
Image Folder PF-4283/18 |
Dr. Henry Jacob Smith |
Image Folder PF-4283/19 |
Unknown family members |
Image Folder PF-4283/20-21
PF-4283/20PF-4283/21 |
Parker Heights Plantation |
Folder 406-409
Folder 406Folder 407Folder 408Folder 409 |
Addition of March 1998 |
Folder 410 |
Addition of July 1998 |
A printed oral history of the Richardson family, a videotaped oral history of the Richardson family, audiocassette recordings of 20 interviews by Claudia Egelhoff with 17 Richardson family members, and Egelhoff's detailed, typed notes on each interview and an interview guide. The printed oral history, 61 pages long, titled The Richardson Family: An Oral History , and dated 1999, contains quotes from interviews with Richardson family members and is illustrated with family photographs. It also contains a family tree that depicts the relationships among the descendants of Lunsford Richardson. The videotaped Richardson Family Oral History, written and directed by Claudia Egelhoff, contains some of the same photographs that are printed in the book, but also contains moving pictures of family activities and outings. Narration is supplied from the interviews.
Egelhoff's notes for each interview identify the interviewee, the date and place of the interview, give a summary of the content, and give a detailed index of the tapes.
The interviews focus primarily on memories of childhood, parents, grandparents, family gatherings, family business, and family legacies.