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Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 85 items) |
Abstract | James Spencer Worth, son of David Gaston Worth and Julia Stickney Worth, was active in the insurance business and other enterprises in Wilmington, N.C. Correspondence, printed material, and photographs of James Spencer Worth. Most items are letters, 1893-1899, from Worth to his wife, Josephine McBryde Worth, concerning family matters. Also included are letters about personal matters from family friends Cornelia Phillips Spencer and June Spencer Love, and correspondence, 1920s, from Frances McBryde Worth, about her missionary activities in Africa. Photographs include pictures, 1920s, of Frances Worth and Africans in the Congo region. |
Creator | Worth, James Spencer, 1869-1900. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Jane H. Odom, April 1983; Connie Cartledge, with processing assistance from Mark Beasley October 1986
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010
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.
James Spencer Worth, son of David Gaston and Julia Stickney Worth and grandson of North Carolina governor Jonathan Worth, was born on 6 December 1869, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was named for his father's friend and UNC classmate, then deceased, James M. Spencer. He attended Bingham School, a military academy in Mebane, North Carolina and, later, the University of North Carolina. Returning to Wilmington, Worth became involved in banking and insurance sales, and shortly thereafter, he and Frank H. Stedman, a local businessman, formed the insurance firm of Stedman and Worth. In December 1893, Worth married Josephine McBryde, of Little River Academy, Cumberland County, North Carolina. To them were born three children--David Gaston Worth, II, Frances McBryde Worth, and Katharine Worth. From 1895 to 1898, JSW served as deputy collector of customs in Wilmington; he then became a large shareholder in the Worth Company, a mercantile firm owned by the family. He also was actively involved in other public and private businesses, notably the Wilmington Seacoast Railroad where he served as director. James Spencer Worth died on 13 May 1900, at the age of 30.
Back to TopCorrespondence, printed material, and photographs of James Spencer Worth. Most items are letters, 1893-1899, from Worth to his wife, Josephine McBryde Worth, concerning family matters. Also included are letters about personal matters from family friends Cornelia Phillips Spencer and June Spencer Love, and correspondence, 1920s, from Frances McBryde Worth, about her missionary activities in Africa. Photographs include pictures, 1920s, of Frances Worth and Africans in the Congo region.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Primarily letters from James Spencer Worth to Josephine McBryde (Worth) immediately before and during their marriage. They chiefly concern family and personal matters. There are also several letters to and from other family members, as well as letters during the 1880s and after JSW's death, from family friends, especially Cornelia Phillips Spencer, wife of James M. Spencer, from whom JSW was named, and CPS's daughter, Julia "June" Spencer Love. Also included is correspondence of Frances McBryde Worth relating to her missionary activities in Africa in the 1920s.
Folder 1 |
1865-1887 |
Folder 2 |
1888-1890 |
Folder 3 |
1891-1890 |
Folder 4 |
March-October 1893 |
Folder 5 |
November-December 1893 |
Folder 6 |
1894 |
Folder 7 |
1895 |
Folder 8 |
1896 |
Folder 9 |
1897 |
Folder 10 |
1898 |
Folder 11 |
1899 |
Folder 12 |
1900-1910 |
Folder 13 |
1924-July 1925 |
Folder 14 |
August-December 1925 |
Folder 15 |
1926 |
Folder 16 |
1927-1930 |
Folder 17 |
1952-1953 |
Folder 18 |
1954 and undated |
Other papers include financial and legal items, genealogical material, and other material. The financial and legal items consist primarily of stock certificates belonging to various members of the Worth family. The printed material consists chiefly of newspaper clippings concerning the James Spencer Worth family. Included is a booklet memorializing David Gaston Worth (1831-1897), the father of JSW.
Folder 19 |
Financial and legal material |
Folder 20 |
Printed material |
Folder 21 |
Miscellaneous |
Mainly cabinet cards and other family photographs of James Spencer Worth and members of his family as well as photographs of Frances Worth's mission in the Congo. Also included are some special format materials. An item list follows.