John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988

Collection Number: 70156

Collection Title: John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988

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.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	15 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 8000 items)
Abstract	Contains the papers of the white Morehead Family, primarily John Motley Morehead III and his cousin John Lindsay Morehead. Materials include correspondence, business records, family materials, and planning materials. Topics include the Morehead Family; John Motley Morehead III’s work with Union Carbide; Morehead’s involvement in politics; and Morehead’s work with the University of North Carolina, including the gift and planning of the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, the construction and donation of the planetarium building and the purchase of the Zeiss planetarium instrument, and the establishment of the John Motley Morehead Foundation (since 2007, the Morehead-Cain Foundation).
Creator	Morehead, John Motley, III, 1870-1965.
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language	English

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access: No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use: No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice: 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 John Motley Morehead III Papers #70156, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information: Received from the John Motley Morehead Foundation in June 2023 (Acc. 20230606.2).

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.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Rebecca Stubbs, July 2023

Encoded by: Laura Smith, July 2023

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Expand/collapse 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.

Expand/collapse Biographical Information

John Motley Morehead III (1870-1965), a white chemist, politician, diplomat, and philanthropist, was the son of Union Carbide founder James Turner Morehead and the grandson of North Carolina governor John Motley Morehead (1796-1866). An alumnus of the University of North Carolina, Morehead III endowed the John Motley Morehead Foundation, which awards annual undergraduate scholarships. He also served as mayor of Rye, N.Y., and as the United States Ambassador to Sweden. Morehead III's cousin, John Lindsay Morehead (1894-1964), was a white textile executive and principal officer of the John Motley Morehead Foundation.

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Contains the papers of the Morehead Family, primarily John Motley Morehead III and his cousin John Lindsay Morehead. Materials include correspondence, business records, family materials, and planning materials. Topics include the Morehead Family; John Motley Morehead III’s work with Union Carbide; Morehead’s involvement in politics; and Morehead’s work with the University of North Carolina, including the gift and planning of the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, the construction and donation of the planetarium building and the purchase of the Zeiss planetarium instrument, and the establishment of the John Motley Morehead Foundation (since 2007, the Morehead-Cain Foundation).

Business and company correspondents include: the John Motley Morehead Foundation; Union Carbide Company; Diebold Safe & Lock Co.; Julien P. Friez & Sons, Inc.; Charles H. Schuman, Inc.; Thomas E. Sears, Inc.; Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; Ideal Power Lawn Mower Co.; Taylor Instrument Companies; United States Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau; Wahl & Ferguson Tree Surgery and Landscape Forestry; Rock Wool Insulation Corporation; Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company; Hale Desk Company; School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University; Frederic Blank & Company, Inc.; Williams & Harvey Nursery; Moeller Instrument Company; York Safe and Lock Co.; Erb Electrical Supply Co.; First Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Greensboro, NC; Barber & Coccola, Inc.; Armour Fertilizer Works; Artistic Painting Company, Inc.; New York Board of Fire Underwriters; Pietro Sforza & Sons; Lockwood & Almquist; Spray Water Power & Land Co.; Insurance Exchange; West Virginia Hydro Electric Co.; Henry Claws & Co.; George Pick & Co.; Gulf Oil Corporation; Florida East Coast Railway; Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Sedgwick Machine Company; US Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service; Bethlehem Steel Company; Eggers & Higgins; Leaksville Woolen Mills, Inc.; Order of the Golden Fleece; Phi Beta Kappa; New York State Department of Labor, Division of Employment; R.C.A. Service Company; Jeddo-Highland Coal Company; Evangelical Covenant Church; American Museum of Natural History; United States Olympic Association; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; Morehead Cotton Mills; North Carolina Business Hall of Fame; and others.

Individual correspondents include: John Motley Morehead III; John Lindsay Morehead; Lily C. Mebane; President Herbert Hoover; Judge Isaac Meekins; Landscape Architect L. Lundquist; Attorney Roger Faherty; Grant G. Simmons; Mrs. Von Lindern; Fred Starek; Norman A. Cocke; Dr. Frank Porter Graham; William Carmichael; Bob Fetzer; Claude E. Teague; Judge Shepard Bryan; Arthur Roe; D. Hidden Ramsey; Fred. H. Weaver; Lambert Davis; Edward P. F. Eagen; Francis Vandeveer Kughler; Fred L. Bumgardner; J. Maryon Saunders; Richard T. Chatham; William C. Friday; Robert Hanes; Governor Luther Hodges; Gordon Gray; Harold Tribble; Lily Connally Wiley; Orene Fagge; Mrs. J. P. Campbell; Harry Stewart; Hunter Williams; W. J. O'Shaughnessy; Walter J. Benko; Roy Armstrong; James A. Gray; and others.

Contents list

Expand/collapse John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988

Folder 1	Draft of speech, 1914 Speech topics: acetylene gas and calcium carbide
Folder 2	John Motley Morehead miscellaneous correspondence, 1916-1918
Folder 3-5 Folder 3 Folder 4 Folder 5	John M. Morehead miscellaneous correspondence, 1919
Folder 6-8 Folder 6 Folder 7 Folder 8	Correspondence and financial documents, 1919
Folder 9	Lighting, British Oxygen, and Calorimeter, 1919-1922
Folder 10	Correspondence and financial documents, 1920-1924
Folder 11	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1920-1926
Folder 12	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1926-1928
Folder 13	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1927-1929
Folder 14-15 Folder 14 Folder 15	Correspondence and financial documents, 1929
Folder 16	Correspondence with Malcolm K. Harris, 1918-1928
Folder 17	Lily C. Mebane, 1926
Folder 18-19 Folder 18 Folder 19	Lily C. Mebane, 1927
Folder 20	Lily C. Mebane, 1928
Folder 21	Lily C. Mebane, 1929-1930
Folder 22	Correspondence, 1919-1930 Regarding Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower plans, payments, dedication with University of North Carolina officials, state dignitaries, and Louis Graves.
Folder 23	Family history and genealogy, 1920-1921
Folder 24	Family history and genealogy, 1921-1922
Folder 25-27 Folder 25 Folder 26 Folder 27	Family genealogy, 1907, 1918-1932
Folder 28-29 Folder 28 Folder 29	Village of Rye documents and correspondence, 1917-1919
Folder 30-31 Folder 30 Folder 31	Village of Rye documents and correspondence, 1920s
Folder 32	James Turner Morehead estate, 1918-1920
Folder 33	James Turner Morehead estate, 1921-1922
Folder 34	James Turner Morehead estate, 1923-1924
Folder 35	James Turner Morehead estate, 1925-1929
Folder 36	James Turner Morehead estate & miscellaneous correspondence, 1926-1928
Folder 37	Continental & Commercial National Bank, 1926-1928
Folder 38	Dittlinger Lime Company, 1928-1928
Folder 39	Equitable trust documents, 1920-1928
Folder 40-41 Folder 40 Folder 41	Diamonds, 1923-1937
Folder 42	Fishers Island Corporation, 1926-1940
Folder 43	Correspondence with Mrs. Elizabeth Birkhoff, 1924-1938
Folder 44	First Presbyterian Church Cemetery correspondence, 1927-1928 Correspondence pertains to protecting the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Greensboro, N.C.
Folder 45	Chimes, 1920-1928 Correspondence pertains to the installation of chimes at the Rye House.
Folder 46	Chisolm pre-welding process, 1928
Folder 47	American Magnesium Corporation correspondence, 1918-1925
Folder 48	Byrnes, Townsend, and Brickenstein correspondence, 1926-1927
Folder 49	Sterling Clock Company correspondence, 1922-1928 Correspondence also includes Lockwood & Almquist.
Folder 50	Political Consultant Fred Starek correspondence, 1929-1930
Folder 51	Investment/ financial documents & correspondence, 1926-1928
Folder 52	George Pick & Company documents, 1927-1928
Folder 53	Mrs. Genevieve Morehead's presentation at Buckingham Palace, 1926
Folder 54	Correspondence with Patek Philippe & Co. Watches, 1927-1930
Folder 55	The Peoples Gas, Light & Coke Company correspondence, 1926
Folder 56	Governor Morehead bust, 1927
Folder 57	Correspondence with Mrs. R. L. Parrish, 1926-1927
Folder 58	Metal Syndicate, lead, 1924-1926
Folder 59	Metal Syndicate, iron, 1924-1926
Folder 60	Metal Syndicate, miscellaneous, 1924-1926
Folder 61	John M. Morehead personal correspondence, 1928-1932
Folder 62	United Hospital, 1929-1930
Folder 63	John M. Morehead prohibition proposal; election, 1930-1931; 1932
Folder 64	Correspondence, 1931-1932
Folder 65-66 Folder 65 Folder 66	Correspondence, 1932
Folder 67	Correspondence, 1933-1934
Folder 68	Correspondence with Malcolm K. Harris, 1932-1933; 1935-1936; 1941-1942
Folder 69	Family genealogy, 1933-1939, 1969
Folder 70	Leaksville Mills correspondence, 1929-1930
Folder 71	Leaksville Woolen Mills, 1936-1941, 1963
Folder 72	Sun Dial plans and unveiling, 1954-1962
Folder 73-74 Folder 73 Folder 74	Correspondence and financial documents, 1931
Folder 75-76 Folder 75 Folder 76	Correspondence and financial documents, 1932
Folder 77	Correspondence and financial documents, 1933
Folder 78-79 Folder 78 Folder 79	John M. Morehead personal correspondence, 1933
Folder 80	Correspondence and financial documents, 1934
Folder 81	Correspondence and financial documents, 1935
Folder 82-83 Folder 82 Folder 83	Correspondence and financial documents, 1936
Folder 84	Personal correspondence, 1934-1939
Folder 85	Personal correspondence, 1934-1939
Folder 86	Correspondence and financial documents, 1937-1939
Folder 87	Political and government correspondence, 1933-1935 Correspondence pertains to John M. Morehead's European war debt repayment plan.
Folder 88	Political campaign correspondence, 1933-1936 Correspondents include Lily C. Mebane, President Herbert Hoover, and Judge Isaac Meekins.
Folder 89	Correspondence, memos and writings, 1933-1949 Materials relating to acetylene gas; Union Carbide; chemical/scientific trials and experiments; and the James Turner Morehead Medal.
Folder 90	Greensboro Cemetery Association, 1939-1941
Folder 91	Correspondence with James T. Morehead, cousin, 1936-1960
Folder 92	Correspondence & receipts, 1936-1940
Folder 93	Appointment to Minister to Sweden & army reenlistment, 1929-1930
Folder 94-95 Folder 94 Folder 95	Stockholm correspondence, 1930
Folder 96-97 Folder 96 Folder 97	Stockholm correspondence, 1931
Folder 98	Stockholm correspondence, vendors and organizations, 1931-1932
Folder 99	Stockholm correspondence & Stockholm house, 1930-1934
Folder 100-102 Folder 100 Folder 101 Folder 102	Stockholm correspondence, 1932
Folder 103	Stockholm correspondence and telegrams, 1931-1932
Folder 104	Stockholm correspondence, 1931-1935
Folder 105	Stockholm correspondence, 1933
Folder 106	Stockholm correspondence, 1933-1934 Includes resignation from ambassador post and reimbursement for travel home.
Folder 107	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1933-1934
Folder 108	Stockholm correspondence & Stockholm house, 1935
Folder 109	Stockholm correspondence, 1936
Folder 110	Mrs. Genevieve Morehead Stockholm correspondence, 1930-1932
Folder 111-112 Folder 111 Folder 112	Correspondence and receipts
Folder 113	Correspondence and financial documents
Folder 114	Morehead - Patterson Bell Tower, 1931
Folder 115	Morehead - Patterson Bell Tower, 1932-1941
Folder 116	Correspondence - UNC Chapel Hill, 1933-1934
Folder 117	Correspondence with UNC officials and dignitaries, 1934-1941 Correspondence pertains to John Motley Morehead's presidency of the New York UNC Alumni Club; broadcast of a 1934 UNC-Duke football game; and the 50th reunion of the Class of 1891.
Folder 118	Village of Rye and Rye house, 1931-1932
Folder 119	Village of Rye and Rye house renovations, 1933-1934
Folder 120-121 Folder 120 Folder 121	Village of Rye and Rye house renovations, 1935-1936
Folder 122	Leadership and involvement of Rye Community Chest, 1932-1933
Folder 123	Westchester County, New York, 1933-1936
Folder 124	Leadership and involvement of Rye Community Chest, 1934, 1941
Folder 125	Village of Rye and Rye house renovations, 1937-1940
Folder 126	Playland Amusement Park, 1937-1940
Folder 127-128 Folder 127 Folder 128	Morehead Rye employee documentation, 1935-1940 Includes wages, taxes, insurance for New York State and unemployment insurance.
Folder 129	25th Wedding anniversary - John and Genevieve Morehead, 1940
Folder 130	Correspondence, 1940-1941
Folder 131	Correspondence and financial documents, 1940-1942
Folder 132	Village of Rye, Rye house, and employees, 1941
Folder 133	Correspondence with Fred Starek, 1936, 1940-1946 Includes information on Starek’s health, financial, and legal status.
Folder 134	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1945
Folder 135	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1946
Folder 136-137 Folder 136 Folder 137	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1947
Folder 138	Planetarium correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1947
Folder 139-140 Folder 139 Folder 140	Correspondence, 1948
Folder 141	John Motley Morehead Foundation correspondence, 1948
Folder 142-143 Folder 142 Folder 143	Correspondence, 1949
Folder 144	Correspondence with Roy K. Marshall, 1949 Includes correspondence and progress reports regarding the Morehead Planetarium.
Folder 145	Financial documents, 1946-1962
Folder 146	Correspondence with UNC officials, 1943-1953 Includes correspondence with Frank Porter Graham and Billy Carmichael regarding plans for the Morehead Foundation and Planetarium.
Folder 147	Correspondence with Norman A. Cocke, 1945-1952
Folder 148	Correspondence with Norman A. Cocke, 1953-1964
Folder 149	Correspondence with Roy K. Marshall, 1950-1955
Folder 150	Correspondence with A. F. Jenzano and John Lindsay Morehead, 1951-1959
Folder 151	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1950
Folder 152	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1951
Folder 153	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1952
Folder 154	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1953
Folder 155	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead & Alice Smith, 1954
Folder 156	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1955
Folder 157	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead & Bob Fetzer, 1955
Folder 158	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1956
Folder 159	Correspondence, 1956
Folder 160	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1957
Folder 161-162 Folder 161 Folder 162	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1958
Folder 163	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1959
Folder 164	Correspondence with UNC officials, 1954-1959
Folder 165	Morehead Foundation correspondence, 1951-1959
Folder 166	Correspondence with William H. Nelson, foundation trustee, 1959-1963
Folder 167	Correspondence with Hugh G. Chatham, 1951-1964 Also includes correspondence with Foundation Trustee Richard T. Chatham.
Folder 168	Morehead Foundation correspondence, 1956-1964
Folder 169	Correspondence with Robert M. Hanes, foundation trustee, 1951-1959 Also includes information on Robert Hanes's illness and death in 1959.
Folder 170	Award and recognition correspondence, 1953-1960 Regarding John Motley Morehead's Honorary Degree from Davidson College and Order of the Golden Fleece and Phi Beta Kappa awards.
Folder 171-172 Folder 171 Folder 172	Rye House correspondence, 1950s
Folder 173	Donation documentation, 1950-1963 Includes donations to Morehead High School, "Spray" (now Eden), among other facilities and involvement from Governor Luther Hodges.
Folder 174-175 Folder 174 Folder 175	Appreciation letters, 1953 Regarding the construction and opening of Morehead Football Stadium, Leaksville.
Folder 176-177 Folder 176 Folder 177	North Carolina Railroad correspondence, 1955-1959
Folder 178	Tax code provisions, 1951-1954
Folder 179	Morehead Hospital, 1958-1962
Folder 180	Addresses/speeches, 1952-1964
Folder 181	Charitable donations and causes, 1953-1960
Folder 182	Morehead City School correspondence, 1957-1964 Regarding donations.
Folder 183	Research Triangle Park establishment, 1954-1961
Folder 184	Morehead employee documentation, 1956-1964 Includes wage, tax, and insurance documents.
Folder 185	Morehead family homeplace, Spray, NC, 1956-1964 Includes documents and correspondence regarding the maintenance and expenses of the Morehead family home. Correspondence chiefly with Orene Fagge.
Folder 186	Correspondence with Dorsey Wiley, Sr., 1958-1964 Regarding John Motley Morehead paying the tuition of Lily Connally Wiley at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Folder 187	Correspondence with Ralph Howland, Chatham Manufacturing Co., 1957-1964 Regarding publicity for the Morehead Foundation.
Folder 188	Letters to trustees and correspondence, 1960
Folder 189	The Morehead Foundation, 1961 Includes financial statements and architects' invoices regarding the renovation to the Morehead building.
Folder 190	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1962
Folder 191	Rye House correspondence & receipts, 1960-1962
Folder 192	Rye House documentation, 1963-1964
Folder 193	First National City Bank, 1961-1965 Includes documents regarding John Motley Morehead's purchase and maintenance of various state and municipal bonds through First National City Bank.
Folder 194	Charitable donations and causes, 1961-1964
Folder 195	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1962-1964
Folder 196	Morehead Planetarium correspondence, 1962-1964 Correspondence with John Motley Morehead and John Lindsay Morehead.
Folder 197	Correspondence with John Lindsay Morehead, 1963
Folder 198	Correspondence with Albert K. Murray, Artist, 1963 Correspondence includes John Lindsay Morehead and Roy Armstrong regarding the John Motley Morehead portrait.
Folder 199	Morehead Foundation expenses, 1964
Folder 200	City of Rye Town Hall, 1962-1964 Correspondence and materials regarding the donation of Town Hall to the City of Rye by John Motley Morehead.
Folder 201	Morehead Cotton Mills, 1960-1964 Includes materials regarding Morehead Cotton Mills, including correspondence and finance reports. Also includes documents on Harris Nelson's death.
Folder 202	Correspondence with Fanny Watt Burns, Cousin, 1960-1964
Folder 203	Correspondence with Roy Armstrong, 1960-1964
Folder 204	North Carolina Railroad correspondence, 1960-1964 Includes correspondence from president John Motley Morehead, financial statements, and audits.
Folder 205	John Motley Morehead's will, 1951-1964
Folder 206	John Motley Morehead NC Business Hall of Fame induction, 1988; obituary from Union Carbide Includes biographical information.
Folder 207	John Motley Morehead's funeral and estate, 1965-1968 J.M. Morehead's funeral service was held on January 9, 1965. Also includes correspondence and documents regarding his funeral and the settlement of his estate.

Navigate this page

Search Within This Page

Collection Number: 70156 Collection Title: John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Contents list

Expand/collapse John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 18

Folder 19

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Folder 29

Folder 30

Folder 31

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 65

Folder 66

Folder 73

Folder 74

Folder 75

Folder 76

Folder 78

Folder 79

Folder 82

Folder 83

Folder 94

Folder 95

Folder 96

Folder 97

Folder 100

Folder 101

Folder 102

Folder 111

Folder 112

Folder 120

Folder 121

Collection Number: 70156

Collection Title: John Motley Morehead III Papers, 1914-1988