Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#3060
JOHN LIPSCOMB JOHNSON PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: John Lipscomb Johnson (1835-1915) was a native of
Virginia, graduate of the University of Virginia,
Baptist minister, Confederate chaplain, author,
professor of English at the University of Mississippi,
president of Mary Sharpe College in Winchester, Tenn.,
and of Hillman College in Clinton, Miss., and planter
near Duck Hill, Miss. His son, John Lipscomb Johnson,
Jr. (1869-1932), was the first president of
Mississippi Woman's College.
Correspondence and other papers of John Lipscomb
Johnson, including correspondence of John Lipscomb
Johnson, Jr., and the latter's children, Cecil Johnson
(b. 1900) and Rachel Johnson (b. 1903). Many letters
discuss family matters, social events, and daily
activities in Mississippi and Tennessee.
Correspondence and other items document Johnson's
service at the University of Mississippi and Mary
Sharpe College; his compilation of biographies of
University of Virginia graduates killed in the Civil
War; involvements of members of the Johnson family
with Southern Baptist churches; social and academic
activities of students at Mississippi Woman's College,
1910s-1930s; Cecil Johnson's career teaching history,
primarily at the University of North Carolina in
Chapel Hill; Rachel Johnson's career with the
Associated Press in Geneva, Switzerland, in the 1930s
and with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services in
Italy and North Africa in 1943 and 1945; and other,
largely family, matters.
Online Catalog Terms:
Associated Press--Switzerland--History--20th century.
Baptists--Southern States--History.
College teachers--Southern States--History.
Education, Higher--Southern States--History.
Family--Southern States--Social life and customs.
Johnson, Cecil S., b. 1900.
Johnson, John Lipscomb, 1835-1915.
Johnson, John Lipscomb, 1869-1932.
Johnson, Rachel, b. 1903.
Journalists--Switzerland--History--20th century.
Mary Sharpe College (winchester, Tenn.)--Presidents.
Mississippi Woman's College--History--20th century.
United States. Office of Strategic Services.
Universities and colleges--Southern States--History.
University of Mississippi--Faculty--History.
University of North Carolina (1795-1962)--Faculty--History.
University of Virginia--Students--History--Civil War,
1861-1865.
Women--Education (Higher)--Mississippi--History.
Women's colleges--Southern States--History.
World War, 1939-1945--Italy.
World War, 1939-1945--Africa, Northern.
Size: About 4700 items (6.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Cecil S. Johnson of Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, in 1954, October 1965, and June
1970; and from Waller Batson of Arlington,
Virginia, in November 1987.
Access: No restrictions.
Related Collections: Cecil S. Johnson Papers (#3806).
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Financial and Legal Material
Series 3. Writings
Subseries 3.1. University of Virginia Biographies
Subseries 3.2. Speeches
Subseries 3.3. Poetry
Subseries 3.4. Personal Narrative
Series 4. Other Papers
Subseries 4.1. Mississippi Woman's College
Subseries 4.2. Printed Materials
Subseries 4.3. Miscellaneous Items
Series 5. Volumes
Series 6. Pictures
Shelf List
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
John Lipscomb Johnson (1835-1915), an educator and Baptist
minister, was born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the son of
Lewis Johnson (1800-1853) and Jane Dabney Johnson (1800-1863).
He was one of at least five children that the couple raised at
Forest Hill, the family plantation.
In 1854, Johnson began his studies at the University of
Virginia. He was graduated in 1860, and, on 10 June of that
year, was ordained in Charlottesville as a minister in Southern
Baptist churches. One month after his ordination, Johnson
married Julia Anna Toy in Norfolk. At the outbreak of the Civil
War, he enlisted as chaplain of the 17th Virginia Infantry.
Later, he served as a hospital chaplain in Lynchburg.
Following the war, Johnson preached in Baltimore, Maryland,
and in Portsmouth, Lynchburg, and other towns in Virginia. He
also held various offices in the Southern Baptist Convention and
assisted in raising money for Richmond College. To honor his
alma mater, he compiled the University Memorial Biographical
Sketches of Alumni of the University of Virginia Who Fell in the
Confederate War (Baltimore: Turnbull Brothers, 1871).
In 1873, Johnson moved with his wife and two children to
Oxford, Mississippi, where he taught English at the University of
Mississippi. He taught at Oxford, preaching on Sundays, for
sixteen years, until he and four other professors were dismissed
in 1889 after a feud with the chancellor, Alexander Peter Stewart
(1821-1908).
Johnson then took his family to Tennessee, where he was
president of Mary Sharp College in Winchester. After two years,
he again became embroiled in controversy and left his position.
The next stop was Columbia, Mississippi, where Johnson was
pastor of the First Baptist Church. In 1896, he resigned as
pastor and retired to the "Purnell Place," two miles from Duck
Hill. He enjoyed an active retirement, writing articles,
preaching, and working within the church hierarchy. For a short
time, he served as president of Hillman College for Young Women.
He died in 1915.
Six of Johnson's children reached adulthood: Julia Toy,
Crawford Toy, John Lipscomb, Jr., Jessie Rosalind, Wortley
Valentine, and Mary Rawlings. John Lipscomb, Jr. (1869-1932),
followed most closely in his father's footsteps. Shortly after
marrying Sue Bell Moody in Georgia, Johnson moved to Mississippi.
There his responsibilities included teaching at Georgia Normal
and Industrial College in Milledgeville, acting as chair of the
Laymen's Executive Committee of the Mississippi Baptist
Convention, and serving as mayor of Clinton. With the help of
the Convention, Johnson became president of the Mississippi
Woman's College in Hattiesburg, where he guided the college
through its formative years.
The Johnsons had five children reaching adulthood: Cecil
Slaton, Rachel, Julia Toy, Jacqueline van Roden, and Sue Bell.
Cecil (b. 1900) studied at Yale University and at the University
of Virginia. He taught at the Tunica Agricultural High School in
Mississippi, Wake Forest College, Limestone College in Gaffney,
South Carolina, and the University of North Carolina. Most of
his career was spent in the History Department at Chapel Hill.
(See the CECIL S. JOHNSON PAPERS, #3806, in the Southern
Historical Collection).
Rachel (b. 1903) worked first as a teacher and then joined the
Associated Press in Europe, operating primarily out of Geneva,
Switzerland. During World War II, she joined the WACs, serving
in the Office of Strategic Service in Italy and North Africa.
After the war, she married Waller Batson and lived in Washington,
D.C.
Collection Overview
The papers are chiefly correspondence of John Lipscomb
Johnson, John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr., and the latter's children,
Cecil and Rachel. Many of the letters discuss family matters,
social events, and daily activities. Much correspondence has to
do with education, having been written by one of the Johnsons as
a student, professor, or school administrator. Scant
documentation of John Lipcomb Johnson's military career is
included. There is, however, a significant number of items
pertaining to his granddaughter Rachel's WAC activities during
World War II.
Also included are financial and legal materials, writings of
various family members in the form of speeches, poetry, or
personal narratives, printed items, and pictures.
The arrangement is as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Financial and Legal Material
Series 3. Writings
Subseries 3.1. University of Virginia Biographies
Subseries 3.2. Speeches
Subseries 3.3. Poetry
Subseries 3.4. Personal Narrative
Series 4. Other Papers
Subseries 4.1. Mississippi Woman's College
Subseries 4.2. Printed Materials
Subseries 4.3. Miscellaneous
Series 5. Volumes
Series 6. Pictures
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1850-1984 and undated. About 4050 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly correspondence between members of the Johnson
family. Also included are professional letters relating to
Baptist affairs and to education. Of particular interest are
letters in the 1890s relating to the outbreak of yellow fever in
Mississippi and those in the 1930s and 1940s about Rachel
Johnson's career. Letters throughout document the family's
long-standing interest in women's education.
1850-1899
Correspondence in this period relates chiefly to
John Lipscomb Johnson and his son John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr.
The elder Johnson wrote of compiling biographies of University
of Virginia graduates who died during the Civil War (see also
Subseries 3.1), and of serving as professor at the University
of Mississippi and president of Mary Sharp College. The
younger Johnson wrote about his courtship of Sue Bell Moody,
about yellow fever in Mississippi, and about the Georgia
Normal and Industrial College.
Folder 1 1850-1868
2-3 1869
4 1870-1879
5 1880-1883
6 1884-1885
7-8 1886
9 1887
10-12 1888
13-18 1889
19-23 1890
24 1891
25-26 1892
27 1893-1896
28-34 1897
35-43 1898
44 1899
1900-1919
In this decade, John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr., continued to
write about his involvement with higher education and with
Southern Baptist churches. During this time, he was
vice-president of Hillman College for Young Women and, later,
president of Mississippi Woman's College (see also Subseries
4.1). Also included are family letters from Johnson's wife to
her relatives in Georgia, letters from soldiers during World
War I, and Johnson's remarks about his trip to Europe in 1907.
Folder 45 1900
46-47 1901
48 1902
49 1903
50 1904
51 1905
52 1906
53-57 1907
58 1908
59 1909
60-67 1910
68 1911
69-73 1912
74-75 1913
76-78 1914
79-80 1915
81-84 1916
85-86 1917
87-94 1918
95-103 1919
1920-1929
During this period, the children of John Lipscomb Johnson,
Jr., reached maturity and left Mississippi. Johnson himself
remained at Mississippi Woman's College, from which he wrote
letters about the social and academic activities of the
students. He also wrote about his work with the Southern
Baptist Convention.
Folder 104-109 1920
110-113 1921
114-118 1922
119-125 1923
126-138 1924
139-144 1925
145-152 1926
153-162 1927
163-177 1928
178-186 1929
1930-1939
Depression era letters continue the same themes as the
previous decade. John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr., remained at
Mississippi Woman's College, and Cecil Johnson wrote from
various academic posts, including Yale University and the
University of North Carolina. Letters document Rachel
Johnson's work with the Associated Press in Geneva,
Switzerland, and also with the Inter American Commission of
Women (see also Subseries 4.2).
Folder 187-191 1930
192-201 1931
202-211 1932
212-216 1933
217-219 1934
220-223 1935
224-228 1936
229-232 1937
233-237 1938
238-242 1939
1940-1984
In this period, letters document the family's continued
association with Mississippi Woman's College and Southern
Baptist churches after the death of John Lipscomb Johnson,
Jr., in 1932. Cecil Johnson continued to write from the
University of North Carolina. There is a great deal of
correspondence in 1943 and 1945 from Rachel Johnson, serving
in the Office of Strategic Services in Europe and North
Africa. Her letters give a detailed view of her World War II
experiences. Also included are wartime letters from other
soldiers, and, after the war, letters from friends at Georgia
State College for Women and St. Mary's College in Raleigh,
North Carolina.
Folder 243-247 1940
248-253 1941
254-256 1942
257-258 1943
259-260 1944
261-262 1945
263-265 1946
266-270 1947
271-274 1948
275-278 1949
279-281 1950
282-283 1951
284-286 1952
287-288 1953
289 1954
290 1955
291 1956-1957
292 1958-1984
Undated
Folder 293-299
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
1781-1942. About 150 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly Mississippi and Georgia land deeds, teaching
certification papers, and bills and receipts for household items
and taxes. The early deeds are for property in Oglethorpe
County, Georgia, and relate to Sue Bell Moody Johnson's family.
Of interest is an agreement between John Lipscomb Johnson and the
chancellor of the University of Mississippi concerning the 1889
dispute that eventually sent Johnson packing.
Folder 300 1781-1830
301 1835-1865
302 1868-1870
303 1872-1880
304 1881-1894
305 1898-1901
306 1903-1904
307 1905-1915
308 1916-1920
309 1921-1925
310 1926-1928
311 1929-1931
312 1932-1942
Series 3. Writings
Subseries 3.1. University of Virginia Biographies
1868-1871. About 120 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Handwritten versions of short biographical sketches gathered
by John Lipscomb Johnson for his monograph on University of
Virginia students who died during the Civil War.
Folder 313-322
Subseries 3.2. Speeches
1910-1935 and undated. About 50 items.
Chiefly speeches, drafts, and notes of John Lipscomb Johnson,
relating to his activities with Southern Baptist churches.
Folder 323-326
Subseries 3.3. Poetry
1890-1950 and undated. About 200 items.
Chiefly handwritten versions of poems composed by Rachel
Johnson, Sue Bell Moody Johnson, and John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr.,
some of which were later published.
Folder 327 1890-1929
328 1930-1950
329-337 Undated
Subseries 3.4. Personal Narrative
Undated. 1 item.
Typed version of Rachel Johnson's "North Africa in Wartime"
(apparently never published), in which she describes her service
with the WACs during World War II.
Folder 338
Series 4. Other Papers
Subseries 4.1. Mississippi Woman's College
1909-1920. About 90 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Clippings, brochures, and short histories relating to
Mississippi Woman's College.
Folder 339-341
Subseries 4.2. Printed Material
1887-1960. About 60 items.
Newspaper and magazine clippings, programs, menus, and flyers
relating to John Lipscomb Johnson, John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr.,
Southern Baptist churches, and educational institutions. Also
included are two issues of The Swiss Monthly, which contain a
two-part article on Rachel Johnson's 1931 bicycle tour of
Switzerland.
Folder 342 Baptist Church
343 Education
344 John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr.
345 Cecil Johnson
346 Rachel Johnson
347 Miscellaneous
Subseries 4.3. Miscellaneous Items
1870-1940. About 60 items.
Materials on genealogy, religion, education, and other topics.
The religious material relates to John Lipscomb Johnson's
participation in the Baptist Association Convention in Virginia.
The educational material pertains to the Georgia Normal and
Industrial College, the University of North Carolina, and other
schools.
Folder 348 Genealogy
349 Religion
350 Education
351 Miscellaneous
Series 5. Volumes
1891-1958. 9 items.
Arrangement: chronological
Volume 1. Unknown child's notebook of miscellaneous
writings and drawings, 1891.
2. Sue Bell Moody's diary, teacher's notebook,
and personal account book, Milledgeville and
Winterville, Georgia, and Clinton,
Mississippi, 1896-1898, 1902.
3. Sue Bell Moody Johnson's diary, 1901.
4. John Lipscomb Johnson, Jr.'s scrapbook of news
clippings concerning his involvement in
education, Mississippi Woman's College, and
Baptist affairs, 1912-1929.
5. Sue Bell Moody Johnson's notebook, Clinton,
Mississippi, undated. Contents appear to be
speeches regarding Baptist Women's Work.
6. Scrapbook honoring the 25th wedding
anniversary of Sue Bell Moody and John
Lipscomb Johnson, Jr., 1923.
7. Apparently teaching notes for Sunday school
classes, ca. 1930.
8. "Plautus Therus Lipsey: Memories of Early
Life, 1865-1888," 57 pages, duplicated
typescript, 1949. Lipsey, a Mississippi
clergyman and editor, was the husband of Julia
Toy Johnson.
9. Autobiographical Notes, by John Lipscomb
Johnson, 387 pages, privately printed, 1958.
Series 6. Pictures
P-3060/1. "Presidents of Our Mississippi Baptist
Colleges: J. W. Provine, Mississippi College;
J. L. Johnson, Jr., Mississippi Woman's
College; M. A. Petterson, Clarke College"
(undated).
/2. Sue Bell Moody Johnson (1935).
/3-4. Johnson family (1946).
/5-7. Milledgeville (Ga.) Class of 1897 Reunion
(1947).
SHELF LIST
Box 1 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 1-33)
Box 2 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 34-66)
Box 3 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 67-100)
Box 4 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 101-134)
Box 5 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 135-165)
Box 6 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 166-200)
Box 7 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 201-237)
Box 8 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 238-274)
Box 9 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 275-299)
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
(folders 300-312)
Box 10 Series 3. Writings (folders 313-338)
Box 11 Series 4. Other Papers (folders 339-351)
Box 12 Series 5. Volumes (volumes 1-9)
Items separated:
OP-3060/1-11 Oversized papers
P-3060/1-7 Series 6. Pictures