Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#570
LEE SLATER OVERMAN PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Lee Slater Overman (1854-1930), lawyer,
legislator, and U.S. senator, was born in Salisbury,
N.C., where he opened a law office and served as
president of the Salisbury Savings Bank. In 1878, he
married Mary Paxton Merrimon, and they had three
daughters. In 1882, he was elected to the state House
of Representatives and was reelected four times,
serving as speaker of the House for the 1893 session.
In 1914, Overman became the first U.S. senator from
North Carolina to be elected by popular vote, having
been previously appointed to the seat by the state
legislature in 1902 and again in 1909. Despite his
political conservatism, Overman supported most of the
measures of the Wilson administration, including the
Federal Reserve Act, the income tax law, and federal
assistance to farmers. He wrote and sponsored the
Overman Act of 1918, which gave the president
extraordinary powers to coordinate government agencies
in wartime. However, Overman stood firm in his
conservatism as a leader of southern resistance to
woman suffrage. Overman served almost 28 years on
Capitol Hill.
Correspondence of Senator Overman with his
constituents and with North Carolina and national
leaders. Letters reflect a broad spectrum of the
interests and opinions of Overman's constituents in
regard to the federal government and relate to many of
the major issues of the 1920s, including pensions for
World War I veterans, the proposed sale of the Muscle
Shoals facility, farm legislation, prohibition,
foreign relations, race relations, immigration
restrictions, and the bitter fight among North
Carolina Democrats during the 1928 presidential
campaign. The collection covers only the latter part
of Overman's long political career, and there is a gap
in the papers from November 1921 to May 1924. For
earlier material see the papers of Edwin Clarke
Gregory, Overman's son-in-law, at Duke University
Library.
Online Catalog Terms:
Democratic Party (N.C)--History--20th century.
Emigration and immigration--United States--Law and
legislation--History--20th century.
Legislators--United States--Correspondence.
Muscle Shoals (Ala.)--History--20th century.
North Carolina--Politics and government--1865- .
North Carolina--Race relations--History--20th century.
Overman, Lee Slater, 1854-1930.
Pensions, Military--United States--World War, 1914-1918--Law
and legislation.
Prohibition--United States--History--20th century.
United States. Congress. Senate--Constituent communication.
United States--Politics and government--1919-1933.
Size: About 14,000 items (13.0 linear feet).
Date Span: 1918-1931.
Provenance: Received from Mrs. Edwin C. Gregory of Salisbury,
N.C., before 1940, and from Davis Library in
September 1996 (Acc. 96128).
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support, in
part, from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Division of Preservation and
Access.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Lee Slater Overman (1854-1930), lawyer, legislator, and U.S.
senator, was born in Salisbury, N.C., the son of William H. and
Mary E. Slater Overman. Overman graduated from Trinity College
in 1874. For the next two years he taught at one of the state's
first public schools in Winston, and in 1876, Trinity awarded him
a master of arts degree. A lifelong Methodist and friend of
public education, Overman served on the board of trustees of Duke
University and The University of North Carolina. Both schools
awarded him an honorary LL.D. degree, as did Davidson College.
Overman worked in the 1876 gubernatorial campaign of Zebulon
B. Vance and subsequently became Governor Vance's private
secretary. During these years, Overman read law and was admitted
to the North Carolina bar in 1878. That same year he married
Mary Paxton Merrimon, the daughter of Augustus Summerfield
Merrimon, a U.S. senator and chief justice of the North Carolina
Supreme Court. They eventually had three daughters: Margaret
Gregory, Kathryn Hambley, and Grace Snow. Another daughter and a
son died in infancy.
In 1880, Overman opened his own law office in Salisbury and
became president of the Salisbury Savings Bank. In 1882, he was
elected to the state House of Representatives, and was reelected
four times, serving as speaker of the House for the 1893 session.
In 1914, Overman became the first U.S. senator from North
Carolina to be elected by popular vote, having been previously
appointed to the seat by the state legislature in 1902 and again
in 1909.
Despite his political conservatism, Overman supported most of
the measures of the Wilson administration, including the Federal
Reserve Act, the income tax law, and federal assistance to
farmers. He wrote and sponsored the Overman Act of 1918, which
gave the president extraordinary powers to coordinate government
agencies in wartime. The senator also worked for the creation of
a Department of Labor and for passage of the Clayton Anti-Trust
Act. Through Josephus Daniels, President Wilson persuaded
Overman to cast the deciding vote for the confirmation of Louis
D. Brandeis for the U.S. Supreme Court. However, Overman stood
firm in his conservatism as a leader of southern resistance to
woman suffrage.
Overman served almost twenty-eight years on Capitol Hill. On
12 December 1930, he died in his Washington apartment at the
Shoreham Hotel after suffering a stomach hemorrhage. According
to his request, the funeral service was conducted in the chamber
of the U.S. Senate. Overman was buried in Chestnut Hill
Cemetery, Salisbury. For additional information see The
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography.
DESCRIPTION
Correspondence of Senator Overman with his constituents and
with North Carolina and national leaders. Letters reflect a
broad spectrum of the interests and opinions of Overman's
constituents in regard to the federal government and relate to
many of the major issues of the 1920s, including pensions for
World War I veterans, the proposed sale of the Muscle Shoals
facility, farm legislation, prohibition, foreign relations, race
relations, immigration restrictions, and the bitter fight among
North Carolina Democrats over the presidential election of 1928
(Overman supported Alfred E. Smith, in opposition to the senior
senator from North Carolina, Furnifold M. Simmons; North
Carolina's electoral votes went to Herbert Hoover, the Republican
candidate). In addition to national issues that preoccupied
constituents of the 1920s, letters document numerous local
concerns of small town and rural North Carolinians of the period.
The collection covers only the latter part of Overman's long
political career, and there is a gap in the papers, from November
1921 to May 1924. For earlier material see the papers of Edwin
Clarke Gregory, Overman's son-in-law, at Duke University Library.
The correspondence is arranged chronologically, with a few
folders of loose enclosures and other materials filed at the end
of the collection.
Folder 1 1918-1919
1920
2 January-May
3 June-October
4 1-23 November
5 24-30 November
6 1 December
7 2 December
8 3 December
9 4-5 December
10 6 December
11 7 December
12 8 December
13 9 December
14 10 December
15 11-12 December
16 13 December
17 14 December
18 15 December
19 16 December
20 17 December
21 18-19 December
22 20 December
23 21-22 December
24 23-25 December
25 27-30 December
26 31 December 1920
1921
27 1-3 January
28 4 January
29 5 January
30 6-7 January
31 8-9 January
32 10 January
33 11 January
34 12 January
35 13 January
36 14 January
37 15 January
38 16-17 January
39 18 January
40 19 January
41 20 January
42 21 January
43 22-23 January
44 24 January
45 25 January
46 26 January
47 27 January
48 28 January
49 29 January
50 30-31 January
51 1 February
52 2 February
53-55 3 February
56 4-5 February
57 6-7 February
58 8 February
59 9 February
60 10 February
61 11 February
62 12 February
63 13-15 February
64 16-17 February
65 18-19 February
66 20-22 February
67 23-24 February
68 25 February
69 26 February
70 28 February
71 1-2 March
72 3-4 March
73 5-6 March
74 7-8 March
75 9-10 March
76 11 March
77 12 March
78 14 March
79 15 March
80 16-17 March
81 18 March
82 19-21 March
83 22-23 March
84 24-25 March
85 26-27 March
86 28-29 March
87 30-31 March
88 1-4 April
89 5-7 April
90 8-10 April
91 11 April
92 12 April
93 13 April
94 14 April
95 15 April
96 16 April
97 17-18 April
98 19 April
99 20-21 April
100 22 April
101 23-24 April
102 25 April
103 26 April
104 27-28 April
105 29-30 April
106 1-2 May
107 3-4 May
108 5 May
109 6 May
110 7 May
111 8-9 May
112 10 May
113 11-12 May
114 13 May
115 14 May
116 15-16 May
117 17 May
118 18-19 May
119 20 May
120 21-23 May
121 24 May
122 25 May
123 26-27 May
124 28-29 May
125 30-31 May
126 1 June
127 2 June
128 3-4 June
129 5-6 June
130 7 June
131 8 June
132 9 June
133 10 June
134 11 June
135 12-13 June
136 14 June
137 15 June
138 16 June
139 17-18 June
140 19-20 June
141 21 June
142 22 June
143 23-24 June
144 25-26 June
145 27-28 June
146 29 June
147 30 June
148 1 July
149 2-5 July
150 6-7 July
151 8 July
152 9-11 July
153 12-13 July
154 14 July
155 15-16 July
156 17-18 July
157 19-20 July
158 21 July
159 22-23 July
160 24-26 July
161 27-28 July
162 29 July
163 30-31 July
164 1 August
165 2-3 August
166 4-5 August
167 6-8 August
168 9-11 August
169 12 August
170 13-15 August
171 16 August
172 17 August
173 18 August
174 19-20 August
175 21-23 August
176 24-25 August
177 26-27 August
178 28-31 August
179 1-4 September
180 5-6 September
181 7-8 September
182 9-12 September
183 13-14 September
184 15-16 September
185 17-19 September
186 20-21 September
187 22-23 September
188 24-25 September
189 26-27 September
190 28-29 September
191 30 September
192 1-2 October
193 3-4 October
194 5-6 October
195 7 October
196 8 October
197 9-10 October
198 11-12 October
199 13-14 October
200 15-16 October
201 17 October
202 18 October
203 19-20 October
204 21-22 October
205 23-26 October
206 27-28 October
207 29-31 October, and November
1924
208 May-June
209 July
210 August
211 September
212 October
213 November
214 December
1925
215 March
216 1-13 April
217 14-30 April
218 1-18 May
219 19-30 May
220 1-16 June
221 17-30 June
222 1-21 July
223 22-31 July
224 1-19 August
225 20-31 August
226 2-17 September
227 18-30 September
228 1-15 October
229 16-31 October
230 2-16 November
231 17-30 November
232 December
1926
233 June-24 July
234 25-31 July
235 2-15 August
236 16-31 August
237 1-17 September
238 18-30 September
239 1-14 October
240 15-30 October
241 1-4 November
242 5-18 November
1927
243 March
244 1-11 April
245 12-19 April
246 20-30 April
247 2-21 May
248 22-31 May
249 1-15 June
250 16-30 June
251 1-11 July
252 12-20 July
253 21-30 July
254 1-11 August
255 12-24 August
256 25-31 August
257 1-13 September
258 14-30 September
259 1-7 October
260 8-18 October
261 19-24 October
262 25-31 October
263 1-7 November
264 8 November
265 9-14 November
266 15-30 November
267 December
1928
268 January-May
269 1-15 June
270 16-30 June
271 2-12 July
272 13-18 July
273 19-31 July
274 1-9 August
275 10-14 August
276 15-27 August
277 28-31 August
278 1-11 September
279 12-18 September
280 19-24 September
281 25-29 September
282 1-8 October
283 9-16 October
284 17-31 October
285 1-7 November
286 8-13 November
287 14-30 November
288 December 1928
1929
289 January-April
290 May-June
291 1-15 July
292 16-31 July
293 1-8 August
294 9-19 August
295 20-31 August
296 September
297 October
298 November
299 2-4 December
300 5-6 December
301 7-9 December
302 10-12 December
303 13-18 December
304 19-26 December
305 27-31 December
1930
306 1-6 January
307 7-9 January
308 10-13 January
309 14-15 January
310 16-17 January
311 18-20 January
312 21-22 January
313 23-24 January
314 25-27 January
315 28 January
316 29-31 January
317 1-3 February
318 4-5 February
319 6-7 February
320 8-10 February
321 11-12 February
322 13 February
323 14-17 February
324 18-20 February
325 21-23 February
326 24-26 February
327 27-28 February
328 1-2 March
329 3-4 March
330 5-7 March
331 8-11 March
332 12-13 March
333 14-17 March
334 18-20 March
335 21-23 March
336 24-26 March
337 27-28 March
338 29-31 March
339 1-4 April
340 5-8 April
341 9-13 April
342 14-17 April
343 18-22 April
344 23-25 April
345 26 April
346 27-30 April
347 1-5 May
348 6-8 May
349 9-10 May
350 12 May
351 13-15 May
352 16-20 May
353 21-23 May
354 24-27 May
355 28-31 May
356 2-6 June
357 7-11 June
358 12-13 June
359 14-16 June
360 17-18 June
361 19-20 June
362 21-24 June
363 25-26 June
364 27-30 June
365 1-4 July
366 5-7 July
367 8-10 July
368 11-13 July
369 14-16 July
370 17-19 July
371 20-22 July
372 23-28 July
373 29-31 July
374 1-4 August
375 5-8 August
376 9-14 August
377 15-18 August
378 20-25 August
379 26-30 August
380 1-5 September
381 6-12 September
382 13-18 September
383 19-22 September
384 23-25 September
385 26-30 September
386 1-5 October
387 6-9 October
388 10-16 October
389 17-24 October
390 25-31 October
391 1-8 November
392 9-15 November
393 16-20 November
394 21-29 November
395 1-10 December
396 1931 and undated
397 Loose enclosures, clippings
398 Loose enclosures, printed materials
399 Loose enclosures, miscellaneous
Addition of September 1996 (Acc. 96128)
Size: 1 item.
Dates: 1929.
Provenance: Received from Davis Library in September 1996 (Acc.
96128).
Description: Letters of Lee S. Overman, 1929, a copy of the
state of New York's ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and an
article about a letter purported to have been written by Cotton
Mather. These items were bound into a pamphlet. They were in
the circulating collection of the University of North Carolina
Library until 1996.
Filed in Box 26, folder 400.