Oliver Max Gardner Papers Inventory (#3613)

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Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
block Descriptive Summary Including Abstract
block Administrative Information
block Online Catalog Terms
block Biographical Note
block Collection Overview
plus Series Descriptions
block Items Separated
block Related Collections
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
Processed by
Jill D. Snider
Date Completed
April 2000
Encoded by
Jill D. Snider
Revisions:
Finding aid updated in July 2000 by John Foster.
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Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title
Oliver Max Gardner Papers (#3613)1892-1966
Creator
Gardner, Oliver Max, 1882-1947.
Extent
About 32,000 items (47.0 linear feet)
Repository
Southern Historical Collection
Abstract
Oliver Max Gardner (1882-1947), lawyer of Shelby, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; state senator, 1910-1915, lieutenant governor, 1916-1920, and governor, 1929-1933, of North Carolina. He married Fay Webb (1885-1969), who was active in the Democratic Party and in women's organizations. The collection includes corrrespondence, legal documents, financial records, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, photographs, college notebooks, and scrapbooks of O. Max Gardner, 1892-1947; of Gardner family members, 1905-1966; of Shelby lawyer, businessman, and politician Odus M. Mull, 1930-1942; and of Shelby educator Isaac C. Griffin, 1917-1918. Included are items relating to Fay Webb Gardner and other family members. Legal papers give insight into adoption, child custody cases, land sales, and estate and debt settlements in Cleveland County, N.C.; into corporate litigation, 1920s-1930s; into the establishment of the Ackland Art Museum; and into legal affairs of the textile, soft drink, and aviation industries. Political papers describe the state State Democratic Executive Committee's organizing efforts, 1908-1915, 1930-1936; state and national political campaigns, 1900s-1950s; and the offices of North Carolina lieutenant governor, 1916-1921, and governor, 1929-1933. Letters comment the New Deal; Democratic Party patronage; the Supreme Court packing controversy of 1937; and economic policy, taxation, and industrial policy. Business papers document Shelby Public Schools during World War I and the operation of family businesses. Personal correspondence, photographs, notebooks, and scrapbooks document the Gardners' courtship; family activities during World War II; the endowment of Gardner-Webb College; administration of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina; the role of the political wife; and the activities of women's organizations. Significant correspondents include Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Cale K. Burgess, Josephus Daniels, Victor Emanuel, William C. Friday, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Russell Leonard, A. J. Maxwell, Angus McLean, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Cameron Morrison, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, John Parker, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Rogers, W. Kerr Scott, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Bess Truman, Harry S Truman, William B. Umstead, Lindsay Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Y. Webb, James E. Webb, J. Wallace Winborne, and Robert Woodruff. Additions include deeds and other documents relating to real estate transactions in and around Shelby, N.C.; items relating to the death of O. Max Gardner; and family correspondence, particularly of Gardner's sisters, one of whom lived in Alberta, Canada, and his niece, who lived in rural Washington state.
Language
English.


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Administrative Information

Access
No restrictions.
Usage Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Provenance
Received from Fay Webb Gardner of Shelby, N.C., in 1962, 1964, and 1966; Sterling A. Stoudemire (one item) of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1977 (Acc. 79037); William Geer of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1962 and March 1998 (Acc. 98059); and Anne Geer of Chapel Hill, N.C., in November 1999 (Acc. 98518) and November 2000 (Acc. 98789).
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Online Catalog Terms

Ackland Art Museum--History.
Adoption--North Carolina.
Aircraft industry--United States--History.
Anthony, Graham Hudson.
Bailey, Josiah William, 1873-1946.
Bost, William Thomas, 1878-1951.
Broughton, J. Melville (Joseph Melville), 1888-1949.
Burgess, Cale Kight, 1891- .
Child custody--North Carolina.
Cleveland Cloth Mills (Shelby, N.C.).
Cleveland County ( N.C.)--History.
Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948.
Democratic Party (N.C.)--History--20th century.
Democratic Party (U.S.)--History--20th century.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--20th century.
Friday, William C. (William Clyde).
Gardner, Fay Webb, 1885-1969.
Gardner, Oliver Max, 1882-1947.
Gardner family.
Gardner-Webb College.
George, Walter F. (Walter Franklin), 1878-1957.
Gill, Edwin M. (Edwin Maurice), 1899-1978.
Gossett, Benjamin B. (Benjamin Brown), 1884-1951.
Governors' spouses--North Carolina.
Governors--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Graham, Frank Porter, 1886- .
Griffin, Isaac Cebern, 1873- .
Hanes, John Wesley, 1892-1987.
Hanes, Robert March, 1890-1959.
Hoey, Clyde Roark, 1877-1954.
Kendall, Henry Wiseman, 1897-1968.
Lawyers--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Lawyers--Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.
Legislators--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Leonard, Russell, 1906- .
Love letters--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Maxwell, A. J. (Allen Jay), b. 1873.
McLean, Angus Wilton, 1870-1935.
McPherson, Holt, 1906- .
Miller, Julian Sidney, 1886-1946.
Morrison, Cameron, 1869-1953.
Morrison, Fred W. (Fred Wilson), 1890- .
Mull, Odus M.
New Deal, 1933-1939.
North Carolina State University--History.
North Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950.
Parker, John Johnston, 1885-1958.
Patronage, Political--United States.
Political campaigns--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Public schools--North Carolina--Shelby.
Ramsey, D. Hiden, 1892-1966.
Real estate business--North Carolina--Shelby.
Riemer, Harry.
Rogers, George.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.
Scott, William Kerr, 1896-1958.
Shelby ( N.C.)--History.
Soft drink industry--United States--History.
Stevens, Robert.
Taylor, Vernon.
Textile industry--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Truman, Bess Wallace.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.
Umstead, William Bradley, 1895-1954.
United States. Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion.
United States. Supreme Court--History--20th century.
United States--Politics and government--1933-1953.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--History.
Warren, Lindsay C. (Lindsay Carter), 1889-1976.
Weathers, Lee Beam, 1886- .
Webb, E. Y.(Edwin Yates), 1872-1955.
Webb, James E. (James Edwin), 1906- .
Webb family.
Winborne, John Wallace, 1884-1966.
Women in politics--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Women--Alberta--Social life and customs.
Women--Washington (State)--Social life and customs.
Women--Societies and clubs.
Woodruff, Robert Winship.
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Related Collections

Edwin Yates Webb Papers (#3482);
Edwin M. Gill Papers (#4011).
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Biographical Note

Oliver Max Gardner (1882-1947) was a politician, businessman, and lawyer of Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C. A 1903 graduate of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Gardner studied law, 1905-1906, at the University of North Carolina, and, in 1907, opened a law practice in Shelby, N.C., where he also founded the Shelby Cloth Mills (later renamed the Cleveland Cloth Mills), the Gardner Land Company, and other businesses; he also operated a farm.

Active in the Democratic Party, he was elected a North Carolina state senator in 1910 and 1915, lieutenant governor in 1916, and governor in 1929. In 1934, Gardner moved to Washington, D.C., and established Gardner, Morrison & Rogers, a law firm representing the interests of the textile, soft-drink, and aviation industries, among others. He later served as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion's Advisory Board, 1945-1946; as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946; and as ambassador-elect to England, December 1946-February 1947. He was also a director of the Sperry Corporation and a member of the board of trustees of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina. With his wife, Fay Gardner, he helped build an endowment for Boiling Springs Junior College (renamed Gardner-Webb College) in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Fay Webb Gardner (1885-1969), civic leader and first lady of North Carolina, married Gardner in 1907. She was active in women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C., and in the state and national Democratic Party, representing the state twice as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She also served on the North Carolina State Advisory Board of Paroles, as president of the Gardner Foundation, Inc. (which helped support Gardner-Webb College), and as a trustee of the school.

The Gardners had four children: Margaret Love Gardner Burgess (b. 1908), who married N. E. Burgess; James Webb Gardner (1910-1946), who married Iris Rollins; Ralph Webb Gardner (b. 1912); and O. Max Gardner, Jr. (1922-1961), who married Sara Mull. Ralph Webb Gardner graduated from Yale University Law School and practiced law in Shelby, N.C. Elected a state senator in 1939, he enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. James Webb Gardner was executive vice-president of Cleveland Cloth Mills, 1941-1946. O. Max Gardner, Jr., a graduate of North Carolina State College, was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Army. After World War II, he helped manage the Cleveland Cloth Mills and was treasurer of Gardner-Webb College.

Odus McCoy Mull (1880-1962), farmer, lawyer, businessman, and politician, was born in Cleveland County, N.C. Holding undergraduate and law degrees from Wake Forest College, Mull practiced law in Shelby, N.C., and became active in Democratic Party politics. He served two terms as state chair of the Party. Elected to the General Assembly, he served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1941.

Isaac Cebern Griffin (d. 1940), of Shelby, N.C., was chair of the State Fuel Administration's Local Fuel Committee for Cleveland County, N.C., and superintendentof the Shelby Public Schools during World War I.

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Collection Overview

More than three-quarters of the collection consists of papers of O. Max Gardner, including political, legal, business, and limited personal papers. The remaining third of the papers are primarily political, business, and personal papers of Fay Webb Gardner and James Webb Gardner, with additional papers belonging to Odus M. Mull, Isaac C. Griffin, and various family members of Shelby, N.C.

The papers are organized into eleven series: Series 1, O. Max Gardner Chronological File; Series 2, O. Max Gardner Political File; Series 3, O. Max Gardner Law Office Files; Series 4, O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers; Series 5, Gardner Family Papers; Series 6, Gardner-Webb College Papers; Series 7, Odus M. Mull Papers; Series 8, Isaac C. Griffin Papers; Series 9, Pictures; and Series 10, Notebooks and Scrapbooks. Because of the way this collection was accessioned and processed over the years, there is considerable redundancy across these series. Researchers are therefore advised to become familiar with the types of materials filed in the various series and to be prepared to search several of them for materials on topics of interest.

By far the largest series is Series 1, a chronological file, 1906-1947 (bulk 1933-1947) of legal, business, political, and some personal papers belonging to O. Max Gardner. Many of the early legal papers were kept by Gardner's law partner, Charles A. Burrus. The file comprises mostly correspondence, but also contains legal documents, political campaign materials, and other items. Upon receipt of the papers at the Southern Historical Collection in the early 1960s, they were placed in chronological order, and many items originally attached to each other were separated. For this reason, researchers are encouraged to search all years thought relevant to a particular topic. Items in this chronological file are similar in nature to those found in the other series (Series 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10) that contain papers of O. Max Gardner. Items in Series 2, 3, 4, and 6 reflect the original order in which Gardner kept them.

Series 5, Gardner Family Papers, contains many of the papers belonging to Fay Gardner and her sons. However, additional papers for individual family members can be found elsewhere. Fay Gardner's papers are in Series 5, 6, 9, and 10. Papers of Ralph Webb Gardner are in Series 5, 9, and 10; those for James Webb Gardner are in Series 4 and 5; and those for O. Max Gardner, Jr., are in Series 5, 6, and 9.

Legal papers (Series 1 and 3) give insight into adoption, child custody cases, land sales, estate settlements, and debt settlements in Cleveland County, N.C.; into corporate litigation, 1920s-1930s, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia; into the William Hayes Ackland estate case, 1940s; and into the legal affairs of industries, especially the textile industry, soft-drink industry, and aviation industry, during the New Deal and World War II. Firms and associations for which there is significant legal correspondence include Kimbrough-Veazy Corporation, Coca-Cola Company, the Cotton Textile Institute, Inc., the Rayon Manufacturers of America, the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, and the Aviation Corporation.

Political items (Series 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, and 10) describe the North Carolina State Democratic Executive Committee's organizing efforts, 1908-1915, 1930-1936; state and national political campaigns, 1900s-1950s, of O. Max Gardner, Josiah W. Bailey, Clyde R. Hoey, Walter George, and others; and the offices of lieutenant governor, 1916-1921, and governor, 1929-1933, of North Carolina. Many letters comment on Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal; Democratic Party political patronage, including the Supreme Court packing controversy of 1937; and economic policy, taxation, and industrial policy during World War II and in the postwar period.

Business papers (Series 1, 4, 5, 9, and 10) document Cleveland County, N.C., fuel policy, and the Shelby Public Schools during World War I; operations, 1920s-1947 (bulk 1935-1947) and labor strikes, 1930s, at the Cleveland Cloth Mills; and activities of the Gardner Land Company, the Cleveland Realty Company, and the Sperry Corporation.

Personal correspondence (Series 1 and 5), photographs (Series 9), and notebooks and scrapbooks (Series 10) document the Gardners' courtship (including love letters); student life at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, 1900-1904, the University of North Carolina, 1905-1906, and Yale University Law School, 1937-1939; North Carolina politics and political campaigns; life in the executive mansion in Raleigh, N.C., 1929-1933; summer camp in Asheville, N.C., 1937-1938; United States Army training in World War II (includes soldiers' letters); the endowment of Gardner-Webb College; Gardner family businesses and personal finances; administration of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina system; the role of the political wife; the activities of women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; the Men's Bible Class of the First Baptist Church of Shelby; and O. Max Gardner's death and tributes to him.

Frequent correspondents in O. Max Gardner's papers are Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Josephus Daniels, Victor Emanuel, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Russell Leonard, Angus McLean, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, Judge John Parker, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Rogers, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Lindsay C. Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Y. Webb, James E. Webb, and Robert Woodruff. Correspondents of note in Fay Gardner's papers are Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman, Edwin M. Gill, William C. Friday, and W. Kerr Scott. Family members for whom there are significant letters are Mary Ivey Gardner Beck, James Webb Gardner, O. Max Gardner, Jr., Ralph Webb Gardner, Reca Gardner, Bess Gardner Hoey, and Addie Gardner Farthing. Other correspondents of note in the collection are Cameron Morrison, William B. Umstead, Cale K. Burgess, and A. J. Maxwell.

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Organization of Collection

1. O. Max Gardner Chronological File
2. O. Max Gardner Political Files
2.1. Speeches
2.2. Publicity Materials
2.3. Political Correspondence
2.3.1. Wartime File
2.3.2. Postwar File
2.4. Political Subject Files
2.4.1. United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Files
2.4.2. Undersecretary of the United States Treasury Files
2.4.3. Ambassador-Elect Files
2.4.4. Miscellaneous Files
3. O. Max Gardner Law Office Files
3.1. Shelby Law Firm Records
3.2. Washington, D.C., Firm Records
4. O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers
4.1. Cleveland Cloth Mills
4.1.1. Owner's Records
4.1.2. Executive Vice President's Records
4.2. Business and Personal Subject Files
4.3. Business and Personal Correspondence File
5. Gardner Family Papers
5.1. Fay Webb Gardner Papers
5.1.1. Family, Personal, and Political Correspondence
5.1.2. Invitations and Visiting Cards
5.1.3. Sumpathy Letter Files
5.2. Ralph Webb Gardner Papers
5.3. James Webb Gardner Papers
5.4. O. Max Gardner, Jr., Papers
6. Gardner-Webb College Files
7. Odum M. Mull Papers
8. Isaac C. Griffin Papers
9. Pictures
10. Notebooks and Scrapbooks
Additions
Addition of November 1999
Addition of November 2000
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Items Separated

Items separated include photograph albums (PA-3613/1-2); pictures (P-3613/folders 1-18; OP-P-3613/folders 1-4); oversize papers (OP-3613/folder 1); and oversize volumes (V-3613/S-8 - S-24, S-26 - S-32).

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Series Descriptions

1. O. Max Gardner Chronological File, 1906-1946 and undated.

About 18,000 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Papers (bulk dates 1915-1917, 1920, 1933-1946) of O. Max Gardner, primarily documenting his law practice and political career in Washington, D.C. Materials also pertain to Gardner's early practice in Shelby, N.C., and to his business and farm affairs there. The papers comprise mostly political and legal correspondence, with considerable business and very limited personal correspondence; legal documents; financial records; and political campaign materials. Topics include the state and national Democratic Party and government in North Carolina, 1901-1947; Gardner's campaigns for and terms as lieutenant governor and governor of North Carolina; New Deal politics in Washington, D.C.; responses to the National Recovery Act (especially the Wagner Act) and tax legislation by the textile industry, soft-drink industry, aviation industry, and other industries; strikes at the Cleveland Cloth Mills in the 1930s; the 1937 Supreme Court controversy; consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the outbreak of World War II; and United States economic policy.
Researchers, especially those interested in legal cases, should search all years in which relevant documents dated prior to litigation may occur. For additional political papers of O. Max Gardner, see Series 2; for additional legal papers, see Series 3.
Papers, 1906-1911, are letters, legal documents, and miscellaneous items relating to Gardner's law practice in Shelby, N.C.; his work for the State Democratic Executive Committee; and land he and others purchased in Cleveland County, N.C.
Materials, 1915-1917 and 1919-1928, concern Gardner's early political career; his law practice in Shelby, N.C.; and his farming and business interests. Political papers include correspondence, 1916, with administrators at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts concerning hiring decisions at the school; correspondence, 1916-1917 and 1919-1920, with supporters during his runs for lieutenant governor and governor; correspondence, 1917 and 1919-1920, as lieutenant governor concerning legislation, public works, and political affairs; correspondence, 1917, relating to the Selective Service Legal Advisory Board; office records of Gardner's 1920 campaign headquarters in Shelby, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C.; and scattered letters, 1921-1928, concerning the 1924 gubernatorial race, the National Democratic Convention, the North Carolina State Fair Association, the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture, and Gardner's nomination for governor in 1928. Legal papers include correspondence with clients and colleagues (including law partners J. A. Anthony and Charles A. Burrus), and deeds, depositions, petitions, and other documents. Business papers are mostly receipts and correspondence with suppliers and buyers for Gardner's lumber, textile, real estate, investment, and farming activities in Shelby, N.C. Correspondents of note are S. B. Alexander, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, W. T. Chambliss, Hugh Chatham, Josephus Daniels, John W. Hanes, Claude Kitchin, Angus McLean, Odus M. Mull, and Robert Reynolds. There are family letters from Gardner's niece, Mary Ivey Gardner Beck of Morton, Wash., mostly discussing her financial difficulties. Of interest is a letter, 19 July 1927, from O. Max Gardner to his father-in-law, James L. Webb, describing a trip to England and Holland.
Papers, 1929-January 1932, are principally Gardner's correspondence as governor. They discuss legislation, political campaigns and political organizing in North Carolina, and as well as Gardner's future plans. A handful of personal letters are from Fay Gardner, Ralph Gardner, and Bess Gardner Hoey, who wrote giving news of family members. Bess Hoey's letters often discuss the financial difficulties of Mary Ivey Gardner Beck. Much of the correspondence in 1932 is that of Edwin M. Gill on behalf of Gardner (see Series 2.4.4 for similar correspondence). Of note among Gardner's correspondents are Josiah W. Bailey, Charles A. Burrus, Josephus Daniels, John W. Hanes, Angus McLean, Cameron Morrison, and Curtis B. Johnson. Filed with the undated material are a few biographical sketches and brochures.
Almost half of the papers, 1933-1943, are pleas received by Gardner for political patronage or favors. The remaining materials comprise correspondence, legal briefs, clippings, and other items relating to Gardner's work as counsel for the Rayon Manufacturers of America, the Cotton Textile Institute, Inc., the Coca-Cola Company, the Aeronautics Chamber of Commerce of America, the Aviation Corporation, and other clients; correspondence with the managers (including James Gardner) of the Cleveland Cloth Mills; and correspondence with politicians, educators, and others concerning North Carolina politics, national politics, consolidation of the University of North Carolina, the endowment and operation of Gardner-Webb College, and World War II economic policy. Frequent correspondents are Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, N. E. Burgess, Harry Byrd, W. J. Carter, Norman Cocke, Josephus Daniels, J. C. B. Ehringhaus, Victor Emanuel, James A. Farley, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, Baxter Jackson, H. Wiseman Kendall, Thurman Kitchin, Russell Leonard, Harold McGuire, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, Drew Pearson, W. S. Pepperell, Harry Reimer, Robert Reynolds, George Rogers, Seymour Sheriff, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Zeno Wall, Lindsay Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Yates Webb, James E. Webb, and Robert Woodruff. Occasional family letters were exchanged with Ralph Gardner, Fay Gardner, Bess Gardner Hoey, James Gardner, and Gardner's niece, Mary Ivey Gardner Beck, who wrote concerning financial woes and poor state of the lumber industry in Morton, Wash.
Papers, 1944-1946, are mostly correspondence and other papers relating to the business of the Advisory Board of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, Gardner's work as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, and cases handled by Gardner, Morrison & Rogers. Other correspondence is similar to that for 1933-1943 and includes many of the same correspondents. Letters also discuss many of the same topics, including Gardner-Webb College, consolidation of the University of North Carolina, the William Hayes Ackland estate case, North Carolina politics and national politics, operations at the Cleveland Cloth Mills, and Gardner's other business interests in Shelby, N.C. There are scattered family letters from Ralph Gardner, James Gardner, O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Madge Webb Riley that concern family news, finances, and politics.
Folder 1
1906-1909
Folder 2
1910-1911
Folder 3-26
1915
Folder 27-35
1916
Folder 36-60
1917
Folder 61-70
1919
Folder 71-99
1920
Folder 100
1921-1923
Folder 101
1924
Folder 102
1925
Folder 103-104
1926
Folder 105
1927
Folder 106-107
1928
Folder 108-111
1929
Folder 112-113
1930
Folder 114
1931
Folder 115-117
1931
Folder 118-157
1933
Folder 158-187
1934
Folder 188-217
1935
Folder 218-243
1936
Folder 244-287
1937
Folder 288-330
1938
Folder 331-348
1939
Folder 349-365
1940
Folder 366-396
1941
Folder 397-426
1942
Folder 427-474
1943
Folder 475-526
1944
Folder 527-615
1945
Folder 616-697
1946
Folder 698-703
1947

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2. O. Max Gardner Political Files, 1905-1947.

About 2,200 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Speeches, 1905-1947; publicity items, 1929-1947; correspondence, 1942-1947; and subject files, 1920-1947, pertaining to the political career of O. Max Gardner. Items document most fully Gardner's term as governor of North Carolina and his decision whether or not to run for the United States Senate in 1944. The papers also provide glimpses into his work for the State Democratic Executive Committee, 1908-1915 (Series 2.1); Gardner's thoughts on World War I domestic policies; his term as lieutenant governor, 1916-1920 (Series 2.1); his gubernatorial campaigns, 1920 and 1928 (Series 2.1 and 2.4.4); his work as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., 1933-1942 (Series 2.1, 2.3.1, and 2.4.4); his service as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion's Advisory Board, 1945-1946 (Series 2.3.1 and 2.4.1); his term as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946 (Series 2.3.2 and 2.4.2); and his brief time as ambassador to England, 1946-1947 (Series 2.3.2 and 2.4.3). Other topics include state and national political races; Gardner-Webb College; consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; Gardner's business and civic affairs in Shelby, N.C.; and United States economic policy. Important correspondents are William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Don Elias, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Odus M. Mull, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Lee Weathers, and R. E. Williams.
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2.1. Speeches, 1905-1947 and undated.
About 500 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
O. Max Gardner's speeches, draft and final, 1905-1947; research materials used in their preparation; and related correspondence, event programs, and clippings. The speeches (campaign and political speeches, commencement and radio addresses, talks to social, business, and professional organizations, and addresses to the North Carolina General Assembly) best document Gardner's term as governor, 1929-1933. They also provide insight into his time as a political organizer for the State Democratic Executive Committee, 1908-1915; as lieutenant governor, 1916-1920; as a gubernatorial candidate, 1920, 1928; as a Washington, D.C., lawyer, 1934-1942; as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Advisory Board, 1942-1946; and as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946.
Speeches, 1929-1933, were often prepared by Edwin M. Gill or Fred W. Morrison. Early topics are state and national politics; World War I; immigration restriction; prohibition ; highway construction; farm, labor, and education policy; and the United States Federal Reserve. Gubernatorial speeches address Gardner's "Live-at-Home" program, state finances, taxation, state prisons and schools, juvenile delinquency, agriculture and industry, labor strife, highways, and government reform. Post-1934 illuminate Gardner's role as a legal representative of the textile industry, with scattered items pertaining to federal banking and economic policy and the construction of an airport in Shelby, N.C. in 1944. There are commencement addresses for Shelby High School, North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina College for Women, Gardner-Webb College, and High Point College, among others.
Of interest in the background materials are items, June 1930, saved from a writing contest in support of Gardner's "Live-at-Home" program. Included is a copy of the winning essay by an African American student from Windsor Colored High School, Windsor, N.C. (see also 4/P-3613 for photograph of winners). For additional speeches, see Series 2.4.2.
Folder 704
1905
Folder 705
1908
Folder 706
1916-1921
Folder 707
ca. 1905-1922
Folder 708
1926-1927
Folder 709
1928
Folder 710-721
1929
Folder 722-733
1930
Folder 734-751
1931
Folder 752-762
1932
Folder 763-764
ca. 1930-1932
Folder 765-766
1933
Folder 767
1934
Folder 768-769
1935
Folder 770
1936
Folder 771-776
1937
Folder 777
1938
Folder 778-779
1939
Folder 780
Undated 1930s
Folder 781
1940
Folder 782
1941
Folder 783
1942
Folder 784-788
1943
Folder 789
1944
Folder 790
1945
Folder 791-796
1946
Folder 797
1947
Folder 798-799
Undated fragments and speech material
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2.2. Publicity Materials, 1929-1945 and undated.
About 150 items.
Press releases, 1929-1932, 1937, 1943, 1945, and undated, prepared by Fred W. Morrison; newspaper and magazine articles, 1930, 1932, by O. Max Gardner; transcripts of newspaper and radio interviews with Gardner, 1942-1943, 1946; and drafts of various governor's proclamations, 1931. Most of the press releases summarize Gardner's speeches. Articles are Gardner's "1929 Review of North Carolina" (Virginian Pilot), "One State Cleans House " (Saturday Evening Post), and "Economy in State Government" (The Wharton News). Topics in the interviews are Gardner's gift of scholarships to Boiling Springs Junior College, North Carolina politics, and the United States postwar economy.
Folder 800
1928
Folder 801-803
1929
Folder 804-814
1930
Folder 815-818
1931
Folder 819-822
1932
Folder 823
1937, 1943, 1945 and undated
Folder 824
Article: "1929 Review of North Carolina," 1930
Folder 825
Article: "One State Cleans House," 1932
Folder 826
Article: "Economy in State Government," 1932
Folder 827
Interview: Scholarships, 4 June 1942
Folder 828
Interview: North Carolina politics, October 1943
Folder 829
Interview: Radio, June 1946
Folder 830
Proclamations, 1931
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2.3. Political Correspondence, 1942-1947.
About 1,150 items.
Extensive correspondence, 1942-1945, that O. Max Gardner maintained on North Carolina and national politics, and limited correspondence, 1946-1947 (file incomplete), relating to his service as undersecretary of the United States Treasury and ambassador-elect to England. The principal topic in the wartime file is the possibility of Gardner's running for the United States Senate in 1944. Also discussed are political strategies and assessments of candidates in other state and national political races; Gardner-Webb College; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the North Carolina textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; and United States economic policy.
Journalists who were frequent correspondents include William T. Bost, H. Wiseman Kendall, Holt McPherson, Lee Weathers, Don Elias, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Julian S. Miller, R. E. Williams, and Jonathan Daniels. Political correspondents include Clyde R. Hoey, J. Melville Broughton, Edwin M. Gill, and Walter F. George. The postwar correspondence, comprising a small section (the letters G, M, and S) of an alphabetical file, is mostly routine office mail.
2.3.1. Wartime File, 1942-1945.
About 1,100 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Extensive correspondence, 1942-1945, that O. Max Gardner maintained on state and national politics. The principal topic in letters with prominent North Carolina journalists and politicians is the possibility of Gardner's running for the United States Senate in 1944. Also discussed are Josiah Bailey's 1942 United States Senate re-election bid; the 1944 North Carolina governor's race; the 1944 presidential race; the endowment and administration of Gardner-Webb College; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the North Carolina textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; and United States economic policy. Correspondents of note include William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Jonathan Daniels, Don Elias, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, R. C. Lawrence, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Lee Weathers, and R. E. Williams. The letters speak freely and in great detail concerning political strategies and personal opinions of candidates and issues. Enclosed with many of the letters are speeches and clippings.
Folder 831
A
Folder 832-833
B
Folder 834-835
Bailey, Josiah W.
Folder 836
Bost, W. T.
Folder 837-838
Broughton, J. Melville
Folder 839
C
Folder 840
D
Folder 841-842
Democratic National Convention
Folder 843
Doughton, R. L.
Folder 844
E
Folder 845
Elias, Don S.
Folder 846
F
Folder 847
G
Folder 848
George, Walter F.
Folder 849
Gill, Edwin
Folder 850
H
Folder 851
Hoey, Clyde
Folder 852
I
Folder 853-854
J
Folder 855
K
Folder 856-857
Kendall, H. Wiseman
Folder 858
L
Folder 859
Lawrence, R. C.
Folder 860
Leonard, Russell
Folder 861-862
M
Folder 863-865
McPherson, Holt
Folder 866
Miller, Julian S.
Folder 867
Myers, A. G.
Folder 868
N
Folder 869
O
Folder 870
Politics
Folder 871
P
Folder 872
Q
Folder 873
R
Folder 874
Ramsey, D. Hiden
Folder 875
Reynolds, Robert R.
Folder 876
Riener, Harry
Folder 877
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Folder 878
S
Folder 879
T
Folder 880
U
Folder 881
V
Folder 882
W
Folder 883
Weathers, Lee B.
Folder 884
Williams, R. E. (Fleet)
2.3.2. Postwar File, 1946-1947.
About 50 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
A small section (G, M, S) of an alphabetical office file, 1946-1947, that O. Max Gardner maintained as undersecretary of the United States Treasury and as ambassador-elect to England. The letters are mostly routine requests for information or for help expediting business with various governmental agencies. Several letters, especially those with Odus M. Mull and Edwin M. Gill, address politics and civic affairs in Shelby, N.C.; political and economic issues facing North Carolina and the nation; and Gardner's business ventures in Shelby, N.C. Of note is a letter, 16 March 1946, to Odus Mull, in which Gardner describes his job at the United States Treasury.
Folder 885
Gill, Edwin
Folder 886
Mull, Odus
Folder 887-888
S
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2.4. Political Subject Files, 1920-1947 and undated.
About 500 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Subject files maintained by O. Max Gardner as chair of the Advisory Board of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, 1945-1946; as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946; and as ambassador-elect to England, 1946-1947. There are also miscellaneous political subject files, 1920-1944. Included are meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, memoranda, reports, clippings and other press items, campaign materials and other political items, and event programs.
2.4.1. United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Files, 1945-1946.
About 50 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by type.
Primarily minutes, April 1945-March 1946, of United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Advisory Board meetings, with scattered agendas, resolutions, correspondence, memoranda, and reports concerning wages, prices, labor, employment, farm production, industry, and taxes.
Folder 889-909
Advisory Board Minutes, 1945-1946
Folder 910
Advisory Board Meetings: Agendas, 1944-1946
Folder 911-912
Advisory Board Meetings: Miscellaneous, 1945
Folder 913-914
Advisory Board Meetings: Resolutions
Folder 915
Advisory Board Meetings: Wage-Price Policy
Folder 916
Reconversion Section
Folder 917
State Department of Labor: Harry Wolfe
2.4.2. Undersecretary of the United States Treasury Files, 1946.
About 150 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by type.
Mostly letters received in response to Gardner's request for comments on the applicability to the country's economic situation of his ideas, contained in a 1933 speech, on cutting governmental expenditures, and other correspondence and press items relating to Gardner's work as undersecretary of the United States Treasury. Of interest in the press materials are a copy of Gardner's statement upon taking office, two brief biographical sketches of him, and two draft speeches by him.
Folder 918-919
Comments: 1933 Speeches
Folder 920
Miscellaneous
Folder 921
Press materials
2.4.3. Ambassador-Elect Files, 1946-1947.
About 150 items.
Mostly correspondence, press releases, clippings from United States and London newspapers, and miscellaneous files relating to Gardner's assumption of the position of ambassador to England and to the staffing and operation of the American Embassy in London. There are a few political files on topics such as Palestine and the United Nations. Of note in the correspondence is a letter, 7 December 1946, from Gardner to Henry R. Luce, describing his economic policy and sharing his thoughts on his new position.
Folder 922
Anglo-American Cooperation: Draft
Folder 923
Applications: Embassy positions
Folder 924-925
Clippings
Folder 926
Correspondence
Folder 927
Credentials: Presentation to the King
Folder 928
Embassy at London
Folder 929
Embassy: Furnishings
Folder 930
Embassy: Households supplies (including food and liquor)
Folder 931
Embassy: Personnel and employees
Folder 932
International laws
Folder 933
International trade
Folder 934
Medical service for O. Max Gardner
Folder 935
Palestine
Folder 936
Party government in America
Folder 937
Press representatives
Folder 938
Public Law 724: Foreign Service
Folder 939
Public statements: O. Max and Fay Webb Gardner
Folder 940
Stationery
Folder 941
Transportation, shipping facilities, arrangements
Folder 942
Treatment of expenses
Folder 943
United Nations
Folder 944
British universities
2.4.4. Miscellaneous Files, 1920-1944.
About 100 items.
Miscellaneous political subject files, 1920, 1928-1944 (mostly 1929-1933). The files contain correspondence, reports, memoranda, campaign and other political materials, event programs, and scattered clippings. Of particular interest is a small amount of constituent mail Gardner received in 1932 (answered by Edwin M. Gill) and materials from Gardner's 1920 gubernatorial campaign, Walter F. George's 1938 United States Senate campaign, and the North Carolina governor's race and United States Senate race of 1944. A few items also pertain to the United States air mail and to North Carolina prisons and agriculture.
Folder 945
Agriculture
Folder 946
Ashurst: Farewell to the Senate
Folder 947
Conference of Governors, 1931
Folder 948
Constituent mail: Edwin Gill, 1932
Folder 949-950
Event programs, 1931-1938
Folder 951
Farley, James
Folder 952
Florida Purity League
Folder 953
Foreign Air Mail Service
Folder 954
Gill, Edwin, 1933-1938
Folder 955
Gill, Edwin: "The Gardner Administration"
Folder 956
Gossett, B. B., 1942-1944
Folder 957
Governor's race: Gardner, 1920
Folder 958
Hanes, John W., 1939-1940
Folder 959
Hohe, H. G., 1937
Folder 960
Miscellaneous
Folder 961
Morrison, Fred, 1938
Folder 962
Photo requests, 1941
Folder 963-966
Politics, 1929-1942
Folder 967
Gill, Edwin: "The Return of the Native"
Folder 968
Reynolds, Bob, 1937
Folder 969
Senate and governor's races, 1944
Folder 970
Walter, George: Senate campaign, 1938
Folder 971
Tobacco, 1930

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3. O. Max Gardner Law Office Files, 1901, 1911, 1916-1934, 1941-1946.

About 2,100 items.
Arrangement: by firm.
Files (bulk 1919-1930) from O. Max Gardner's Shelby, N.C., law firm, and files, 1937, 1941-1946, from his Washington, D.C., practice, Gardner, Morrison & Rogers. The Shelby files are principally those of Gardner's partner, Charles A. Burrus. They document family law, debt collection, and estate settlements in Cleveland County, N.C., and surrounding counties, and litigation of corporate cases in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The papers include correspondence; research materials; legal documents; and scattered financial records for the firm and for O. Max Gardner, Fay Gardner, and James Gardner (Burrus was a financial representative of the Gardner family). Items relating to Gardner, Morrison & Rogers are primarily billing records and files on the settlement of the William Hayes Ackland estate case. Additional files document litigation relating to the textile industry, railroad industry, utilities industry, and other industries.
Researchers are advised to search all years thought germane to a particular case or individual. Related legal papers are also scattered throughout the chronological files in Series 1.
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3.1. Shelby Law Firm Records, 1901, 1911, 1916-1934, and undated.
About 1,550 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Papers (bulk 1919-1930) of Charles A. Burrus, Gardner's law partner in Shelby, N.C., with scattered business and financial papers that Burrus kept for the Gardner family. Gardner items, 1923-1928, are found only infrequently and comprise mostly stock reports, 1920s, for Gardner & Suttle; papers, 1923-1924, relating to Gardner's construction of an automotive garage in Shelby, N.C.; miscellaneous stock reports for Fay Gardner; and Charles Burrus's correspondence, 1929-1933, with O. Max Gardner and James Gardner documenting the Gardners' financial affairs. Also included, 1927-early 1930s, are items relating to Burrus's work as city attorney for the town of Shelby, N.C.
Legal papers include correspondence, loan agreements, contracts, deeds, adoption papers, divorce and child custody petitions, wills and other estate papers, mortgage and insurance papers, summonses, affidavits, and sales receipts. Items dated 1901, 1911, and 1916-1917, actually pertain to later cases. The firm's client base drew primarily from the Cleveland County, N.C., area. Its reach, however, extended significantly into South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Corporate clients included the Southern Railway Company; Kimbrough Veazey Company, Appalachee, Ga.; Gaffney Livestock Company, Gaffney, S.C. ; Chero-Cola Bottling Company, Shelby, N.C.; Joseph Ness Art and Advertising, Atlanta, Ga.; and Southern Wood Preserving Company, Atlanta, Ga. Individual clients are mostly military pension petitioners, litigants in child custody and adoption cases, those seeking payment of delinquent accounts, and estate administrators. Miscellaneous papers pertain to problems Charles Burrus experienced with tenants of properties owned by his family and correspondence concerning improvements to his home. Correspondence, 1929-1933, between Gardner and Burrus documents Gardner's financial affairs.
Folder 972
1901, 1911, 1916-1919
Folder 973-974
1920
Folder 975-978
1921
Folder 979-981
1922
Folder 982-985
1923
Folder 986-994
1924
Folder 995-998
1925
Folder 999-1003
1926
Folder 1004-1011
1927
Folder 1012-1018
1928
Folder 1019
1929
Folder 1026-1027
1930
Folder 1028
1931-1934
Folder 1029
Undated
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3.2. Washington, D.C., Firm Records, 1937-1946.
About 500 items.
Papers, 1937, 1941-1946, including financial records, of Gardner, Morrison & Rogers, and correspondence, legal documents, and research materials relating to cases handled by the firm. Best documented is the William Hayes Ackland estate case, which gave the University of North Carolina claim to funds provided by Ackland's will to build the present-day Ackland Art Museum. Included are scattered items relating to the Cannon Mills Company, Cone Export and Commission Company, Southern Railway Company , Peerless Oil & Gas Company, and North American Rayon Corporation. Files relating to North Carolina include one on the Boiling Springs Water Works and one on the Cleveland Foundation, Inc. (later the Gardner Foundation).
Folder 1030-1036
William Hayes Ackland estate case, 1937-1945
Folder 1037
Boiling Springs Water Works Board
Folder 1038
Breyer estate case
Folder 1039
Cannon Mills case, 1940-1942
Folder 1040
Cleveland Foundation, Inc., 1943
Folder 1041
Cone Export and Commission Company
Folder 1042-1046
Client bills and other papers, 1942
Folder 1047
Correspondence, 1938-1940, 1946
Folder 1048
Fees collected, 1942
Folder 1049
Financial statements, 1942
Folder 1050
Independent Aid, Inc.
Folder 1051
Miscellaneous
Folder 1052
North American Rayon Corporation
Folder 1053
Office
Folder 1054
Peerless Oil & Gas, 1939-1942
Folder 1055
Pennsylvania Railroad Company
Folder 1056
Mrs. R. J. Reynolds vs. R. J. Reynolds: 1946
Folder 1057
Sheriff, Seymour, 1942-1943
Folder 1058
Southern Railway, 1946
Folder 1059
Stonecutter Mills Company
Folder 1060
Symington, Stuart, 1946

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4. O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers, 1931-1947 and undated.

About 6,000 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Records, 1935-1947, of the Cleveland Cloth Mills, and a subject file, 1931-1947, and correspondence file, 1945-1947, relating to the business and personal affairs of O. Max Gardner. Mill records, maintained separately by O. Max Gardner and James Gardner, document the mill's financing, operations, management, sales, litigation, and eventual sale in 1946, a