Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4283
HENRY SMITH RICHARDSON PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: H. Smith Richardson, born in Greensboro, N.C.
After brief stints at Davidson College, the U.S. Naval
Academy, and sales jobs in New York City, in 1907, he
became sales manager for the Vick Company (later
Richardson-Vicks, Inc.), which his father founded in
1905 to market Vicks Family Remedies. Richardson's
marketing strategies and concentration of sales
efforts on Vick's Vaporub allowed the company to
expand into virtually every market in the world.
Richardson was also an early leader in management
development, including the Vick School of Applied
Merchandising, a college recruiting program in the
1930s, and special reports to shareholders on the
importance of management development. He was also a
pioneer in corporate governance, initiating practices
in the 1940s that spread to other companies in later
years.
Personal and business correspondence, writings,
newspaper clippings and other printed material, and
business and association records documenting H. Smith
Richardson's career; papers of Richardson's family,
including his father Vick Chemical founder Lunsford
Richardson and his brother Lunsford, Jr.; and papers
relating to Smith and Richardson family history, including
audiocassettes of interviews with seventeen Richardson family
members as well as printed and videotaped oral histories
of the Richardson family. Richardson's correspondence addresses
a broad range of issues, including his business interests in
the Vick Chemical Company, Richardson-Merrell, Inc.,
Reinsurance Corporation of New York, and other
companies. Letters also document his participation in
the America First Committee, the Republican Party, the
United States Chamber of Commerce, the National
Association of Manufacturers, the Boy Scouts of
America, the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro,
and the Richardson Foundation. They also document his
interests in anticommunism, Senator Joe McCarthy's
tactics, local politics in both North Carolina and
Connecticut, and segregation both in the United States
and South Africa. Writings include a series of
articles about the causes of the Depression in North
Carolina. Also included are diaries and
correspondence of his father-in-law Reverend Jacob
Henry Smith, Presbyterian minister in Greensboro
during the second half of the 19th century, and his
wife Mary Kelly Watson Smith, including materials
relating to Greensboro during the Civil War and a
letter from a slave. Pictures and other documents
relate to Richardson's father's birthplace, Parker
Heights Plantation, near Selma, N.C.
Online Catalog Terms:
America First Committee.
Anti-communist movements--United States.
Boy Scouts of America.
Connecticut--Social life and customs--20th century.
Depressions--1929--North Carolina.
Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.
Family-owned business enterprises--United States--History.
First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro (N.C.).
Greensboro (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957.
National Association of Manufacturers.
Nonprofit organizations--United States.
North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Parker Heights Plantation (Johnston County, N.C.).
Pharmaceutical industry--United States.
Race relations--South Africa.
Race relations--United States.
Reinsurance Corporation of New York.
Republican Party (U.S.).
Richardson, Henry Smith, 1885-1972.
Richardson family.
Richardson Foundation.
Richardson-Merrell, Inc.
Richardson-Vicks, Inc.--History.
Slaves--Correspondence.
Smith, Jacob Henry, 1820-1897.
Smith, Mary Kelly Watson, 1836-1924.
Southern States--Industries.
United States Chamber of Commerce.
Vick Chemical Company.
Size: About 8,000 items (19.5 linear ft.).
Dates: 1811-1999.
Provenance: Received from H. Smith Richardson, Jr., beginning
after H. Smith Richardson's death in 1972 (also
donor of Richardson-Vicks Corporation Records
after the company's merger with Procter & Gamble
in 1985), O. Norris Smith of Greensboro, N.C., in
March 1998 (Acc. 98032), Herrick Jackson of
Wilton, Conn., in July 1998 (Acc. 98166), and Piedmont
Financial Corporation of Greensboro, N.C., and Claudia
Egelhoff of Raleigh, N.C., in October 1999 (Acc. 98476).
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support, in
part, from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Division of Preservation and
Access.
Items separated include: Volumes 4283/S1-3; MU-4283/1
(transferred to North Caroliniana Gallery); OP-4283/1-48;
P-4283/1-207; OP-P-4283/7, 10-11, 25, 28-29, 59-60, 77-84;
F-4283/1; T-4282/1-2; VT-4283/1-2; C-4283/1-36.
Related Collections: Richardson-Vick Corporation Records (#4468).
Consult staff for lists of Richardson and Richarson-Vicks
materials in other collections (Richardson-Vicks control file
"Lists of materials in other collections"). These include
samples of Richardson-Vicks products in the North Carolina
Division of Archives and History, Richardson family and
Richardson-Vicks photographs at the Greensboro Historical
Museum, and books written by or about Richardson family
members at the Center for Creative Leadership.
See also Jacob Henry Smith Diary (#1938) and "The Civil War
Decade in Greensboro, N.C. as recorded in the diary of
Rev. Mr. J. Henry Smith, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
of Greensboro, and in the letters of his wife Mrs. Mary Kelly
(Watson) Smith to family members back in Charlottesville, Va.,
with a few quotes from church reccords and other sources,"
abstracted and edited by a grandson, O. Norris Smith, 1989,
in Miscellaneous Papers (#517.59)
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. Speeches and Writings
Series 3. Subject Files
Series 4. Family Conferences and Training
Series 5. Smith family writings
Series 6. Richardson family history
Series 7. Family investments and philanthropy
Series 8. Pictures
Series 9. Film, audio and video
Additions
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
Jacob Henry Smith Richardson was born on 19 July 1885 in
Greensboro, N.C., the first 6son of Lunsford and Mary Lynn Smith
Richardson. He attended public schools in Greensboro and, upon
graduation, matriculated to Davidson College, from which his
father and several of his maternal uncles had graduated. He
remained but one school year (1902-1903) before entering the
United States Naval Academy. Part of the wholesale expulsion of
midshipmen that occurred in 1906, when fully one-third of the
student body was dismissed, H. Smith Richardson, as he was known
for most of his life, then journeyed to New York. After some
hardship, he established himself as a salesman. Soon thereafter,
his father, a manufacturing chemist who had founded the Vick
Chemical Company in Greensboro in 1905, asked his son to join him
as a salesman in this enterprise.
During the early years of the business, Smith Richardson's
marketing ability was a primary reason for the company's success
in the United States and expansion abroad beginning in the 1920s.
He traversed the countryside, a gruelling chore given the state
of rural roads at that time, introducing his products to remote
retailers. His imaginative advertising campaigns were
revolutionary; Vick's effective newspaper advertising, roadside
signs, point-of-sale displays, and aggressive utilization of free
samples hastened its impressive sales expansion. Perhaps most
importantly, Richardson recognized early the company's one truly
unique product, Vick's Magic Croup Salve, an effective reliever
of common cold symptoms developed by Lunsford Richardson, using
menthol from Japan. He pressured his reluctant father to drop
the company's assortment of other remedies in order to
concentrate sales efforts on this, their most successful item,
which they renamed Vick's VapoRub.
With the death of Lunsford Richardson in 1919, Smith
Richardson was named president of the firm, a position he held
until 1929 when he became chairman of the board. In addition to
pioneering in advertising and international expansion, Richardson
was far ahead of his time in both management development and
corporate governance. From the earliest years, he attracted able
young people who played an important part in the company's future
success. In a 1926 memorandum, he wrote, "The future of the
business is going to depend upon the human material we put into
it, and the most important work facing the company is to build an
organization that will live." In 1930, during the Great
Depression, he set for the company the objective of being an
"Enduring Enterprise." He realized that, to accomplish this
goal, management development would have to be the company's #1
job. He discussed the reasons companies fail and the importance
of management development in several reports to shareholders,
starting in 1933.
By the mid-1930s, Vick was one of the largest United States
college recruiters, using the novel approach of a post-graduate
15-month course in marketing, known as the Vicks School of
Applied Merchandising. The program was so highly regarded that
Vick could attract many top college graduates each year. On
completion of each year's program, Vick kept the best students
and helped the others secure good jobs.
In corporate governance, Vick initiated a number of practices
that were adopted by other companies in later years. These
include establishing a committee selected annually by
shareholders to nominate directors; establishing an audit
committee independent of management; forming an executive
personnel committee from members of the board of directors that
was concerned with management development; using an outside
professional director; and, in order to strengthen the board in
its role of independent review of operating management, having as
chairman of the board someone other than the chief executive
officer.
In addition to holding executive positions at Vick and in a
number of financial, insurance, and real estate companies,
Richardson was a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce
and active in the National Association of Manufacturers,
especially during the early years of World War II when the
Association was particularly vocal. Richardson also participated
in numerous civic and philanthropic activities benefitting both
North and South Carolina and the nation, as did his brother
Lunsford Richardson, Jr., who worked alongside Smith in the
family business. Smith Richardson was an isolationist on the eve
of World War II and actively supported the America First
Committee, a strong voice against American entry into the war.
In 1935, Richardson established the Smith Richardson
Foundation, which came to be the focus of his later life. One of
the Foundation's first projects was to encourage judicial reform
in North Carolina. After World War II, the Foundation
concentrated on "Cold War education" and encouraged the work of
anti-Communist organizations. Throughout his life, Richardson
was strongly anti-Communist and was concerned about communism's
possible negative influences on the country, especially its young
people. The Richardson Foundation later turned to developing
leadership and management skills among young North Carolinians
with a Richardson (later North Carolina) Fellows program at
leading colleges and universities. Through the Foundation,
Richardson supported institutions of higher education, such as
the University of North Carolina, the University of South
Carolina, Presbyterian College, and Davidson College. In 1970,
the Foundation established the Center for Creative Leadership to
study and to teach creativity and leadership. The Center has
since become an outstanding institution in its field with
thousands of people participating in its programs in the United
States and abroad.
Richardson was proud of his Scotch-Irish heritage and
considered the South more "American" than other regions whose
populations included more immigrants. He named North Carolina's
racial heritage as one of its assets in an article about how the
state could survive the Depression and improve its economy. His
correspondence and writings contain numerous references to his
racial attitudes, including a letter to the South African
Information Service comparing apartheid to segregation in the
American South.
Richardson actively guided his family's interests, both
financial and otherwise. He guided the investment of the
family's substantial resources and held executive positions in a
number of family-owned financial, insurance, and real estate
companies, notably the Reinsurance Corporation of New York. His
personal holdings included real estate in Connecticut and North
Carolina and Mount Holly Plantation outside Charleston, S.C.
Another facet of Richardson's vision for his family's future was
his insistence that all members remain informed of and active in
family affairs. To promote family solidarity and to insure that
members would not sell their interests in the Richardson
holdings, he initiated biannual family meetings and trained
younger generations to appreciate the family's history and what
he saw as its duty to society. Such duties included responsible,
community-oriented, patriotic philanthropy.
The family's reputation came under fire in the 1940s when
officials of the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro
challenged the Richardson's father's will. Richardson hotly
refuted the claims made in the lawsuit, and, when the suit was
resolved, insured that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church of the United States adopt a resolution clearing the
Richardson name.
An avid outdoorsman, Richardson was influential in the passage
of legislation creating the North Carolina Wildlife Commission.
He was also a life member of the National Council Executive Board
of the Boy Scouts of America (one of less than a dozen so
honored) and was very active in this capacity until his death.
Richardson spent the last 40 years of his life at Green Farms,
Fairfield County, Conn., and was active in area affairs,
officially through the Foundation and privately as a member of
various clubs and associations. Richardson was also a lifelong
member and financial supporter of the Presbyterian Church.
Richardson died at Green Farms on 11 February 1972.
(Parts of this biographical note were supplied by H. Smith
Richardson, Jr., in 1995.)
Collection Overview
Papers include personal and business correspondence, business
records, newspaper clippings and other published materials,
printed by-laws and meeting minutes, Richardson's writings and
annotations of the writings of others, materials relating to
Richardson's recreational activities, and family history
materials. Correspondence, speeches, and writings of Smith
Richardson address a broad range of 20th-century issues.
Materials are filed, for the most part, as they were received
from the Smith Richardson Foundation, which selected these as
representative of Richardson's life and character from a larger
collection in their possession. The bulk of the collection
relates to Smith and Richardson family history.
The addition of October 1999 contains a printed oral history
and a videotaped oral history of the Richardson family. Also
included are audiocassettes of interviews with seventeen
Richardson family members.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Speeches and Writings
Series 3. Subject Files
Subseries 3.1. General Subject Files
Subseries 3.2. Davidson College
Series 4. Family Conferences and Training
Subseries 4.1. Family Conferences
Subseries 4.2. Family Solidarity-Stockholder Training
Series 5. Smith Family
Subseries 5.1. Diary of Jacob Henry Smith
Subseries 5.2. Diary of Mary Kelly Watson Smith
Subseries 5.3. Smith Family Papers
Series 6. Richardson Family
Subseries 6.1. Obituaries
Subseries 6.2. Biographical Material
Subseries 6.3. Subject Files
Subseries 6.4. Family Correspondence
Subseries 6.5. Family History
Subseries 6.6. Annals of An American Family
Subseries 6.7. First Presbyterian Church Lawsuit
Series 7. Family Investments and Philanthropy
Subseries 7.1. Public Relations Material
Subseries 7.2. Vick Financial/Reinsurance Corporation of
New York
Subseries 7.3. Richardson Foundation
Subseries 7.4. General
Series 8. Pictures
Series 9. Film, Audio, and Video
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1904-1972. About 300 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal and business correspondence of H. Smith Richardson,
including letters about politics, financial interests, and
organizations to which Richardson belonged. This collection
covers a wide variety of topics, but none in great depth.
Correspondence is filed in chronological order, however some
series of correspondence with one individual are grouped together
and filed by the date of the most recent letter. In this
description, when letters within such a series are cited, the
date of the letter is cited, followed by "filed with [most recent
date in series]."
Among the earliest letters is a booklet of photocopies H.
Smith Richardson wrote as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy at
Annapolis, 1902-1905.
For the most part, the correspondence is of a personal nature,
although there are occasional business letters included that
relate especially to reinsurance and realty companies. Among the
personal topics discussed are hunting and fishing, historical and
political interests, scouting, and family matters. Of particular
interest are letters revealing Richardson's views on South
Africa, his support for the isolationist movement during World
War II, his opposition to communism, and his racial views.
By far the most common subject in Richardson's correspondence
is politics. He corresponded with and financially supported
numerous politicians, including senators Bailey (11 May 1933),
Joseph McCarthy and William Benton (17 September 1952), Prescott
Bush (series filed with 27 June 1962); Senate Majority Leader
Mike Mansfield (series filed with 28 July 1968), Florida Governor
Farris Bryant (series filed with 10 June 1963), Congressman Abner
Sibal (15 September 1964), and Ambassador to Nicaragua Capus
Waynick (series filed with 22 January 1965). Papers filed with
23 September 1941 deal with Richardson's opposition to the United
States's entry into World War II and his active support of the
America First Committee. Richardson remained a lifelong opponent
of communism and felt that even the Democratic Party had become
too friendly to communism (26 March 1954). He decried the
"pressure groups" who exerted influence on Congress (3 June
1953). He supported the McCarran-Walter bill restricting
immigration because he believed many foreign immigrants brought
communism with them (21 May 1952). In a letter of 20 January
1956, Richardson mentions his fear of the possibility of a
communist invasion. Considering the northeast more vulnerable to
attack, he kept a house in Greensboro as "insurance" in case the
Cold War heated up.
Many letters mention the Richardson Foundation, a
philanthropic organization through which Richardson funded
numerous anti-communist activities and organizations, including
the Institute of American Strategy (2 June 1961, Wood series
filed with 16 June 1966). Richardson corresponded with Governor
Farris Bryant of Florida regarding the Richardson Foundation's
support of the state's unique "Cold War Education" program
(series filed with 10 June 1963). Letters of 15 September 1960
and 16 January 1961 discuss seminars funded by the Foundation and
given by the U.S. Army on how to "educate the people to the
danger of Communism" (series filed with 16 June 1966). In a
letter dated 8 September 1961, Richardson's grandson Herrick
Jackson suggested that the Richardson Foundation should turn its
attention from anti-communist activities and move toward
philanthropy in science and research (series filed with 20 May
1964). A further explanation of Richardson's policies on funding
projects through the Richardson Foundation appears in his
correspondence with T. Henry Patterson (series filed with 18
January 1966).
In addition to anti-communism, letters document Richardson's
strong support of the two-party system, which moved him to pen a
4 January 1951 letter congratulating Democratic Senator William
Benton on his election victory in 1951. Richardson, a
Republican, admitted in the same letter that he had voted against
Benton. Ironically, a 17 September 1952 letter reveals that
during the next election, Richardson tried to engage Senator
Joseph McCarthy to speak as part of the Connecticut Republicans'
campaign against Benton. Richardson also wrote to Democratic
President Lyndon Johnson, supporting the president's policies (1
July 1966). Toward the end of his life, Richardson sharply
criticized the Republican platform for being too similar to that
of the Democrats. He charged that both were "appealing to
minorities" and "outdoing each other on give away appeals"
(series filed with 19 April 1963). One of Richardson's final
political writings was a position paper in which he supported
George Wallace's presidential campaign and complained of the news
media's unfair reporting on "underdog" candidates, but declared
his intention to vote for Nixon (28 October 1968).
Richardson's interest in politics extended to foreign affairs.
He compared U.S. foreign policy favorably to Europe's because of
the U.S. government's accountability to its citizens through
Congress, but stressed the need for citizens to be informed about
foreign affairs (20 June 1957). He joined the United Nations
Association, but criticized the U.N.'s National Council for Civic
Responsibility for smearing the organizations it was supposed to
be impartially investigating (series filed with 23 October 1963).
Richardson detailed his world travels and commented on conditions
in Asia in a letter of 15 April 1964. He also corresponded with
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield about the character of
Russian leadership (series filed with 28 July 1968).
A few letters deal specifically with South Africa. In a
letter of 7 June 1955, Richardson described his trip there, which
combined bird watching with observing the country's political
situation. Of the growing institution of apartheid, Richardson
noted, "These people are thinking exactly as we did in the South
when you and I were boys." Richardson's continued interest led
him to correspond with officials in the Information Service of
South Africa (series filed with 11 September 1964). Especially
interesting are exchanges relating to how the South African
government could present "the true picture of what South Africa
has done and is doing, particularly in the racial field," as
represented by a pamphlet entitled "Progress Through Separate
Development-South Africa in Peaceful Transition" (pamphlet not
included).
Many letters mention Richardson's attitudes on race. He
discusses his pride in his Scotch-Irish background in
correspondence with a Dublin bookseller (filed with 28 October
1953). Richardson believed that communism and unionism, both of
which he opposed, were strongest in the North, where, he
believed, "vast populations of a different breed have arisen" (16
June 1944). He also felt that there was more contact between
members of different classes in the South than in the North (11
May 1933).
Some letters document Richardson's innovative business ideas.
Richardson's business philosophy, however, is more clearly
outlined in his speeches, newspaper articles, and other writings.
He criticized insurance tax laws in North Carolina for
discriminating against widows and orphans (4 July 1928, see also
speech of 27 September 1928). Earlier in his career, he
encouraged increased cooperation among persons engaged in
business in North Carolina and between business and government.
He also supported the New Deal's "governmentally planned industry
and agriculture" (11 May 1933). By the 1960s, however,
Richardson was warning of the threats posed by increasing
government control and arguing for the preservation of free
enterprise and the decentralization of industry in North Carolina
(Waynick series filed with 22 January 1965). Other business
topics include corporate management strategy (15 January 1943),
plans to make the Reinsurance Corporation profitable after a
series of losses (series filed with 17 January 1944),
arrangements for the continued operation of Richardson's various
companies after his death (1 October 1963), and tax-exempt trusts
(Wood series, filed with 16 June 1966).
A few scattered items of social and cultural interest include
letters relating to tuberculosis (20 December 1920), the domestic
effects of World War II (24 April 1944), the role of women ("a
man certainly should not leave to an inexperienced woman the very
serious question of the investment of this life insurance fund,"
4 July 1928), and the need to teach children about the Founding
Fathers (3 June 1953).
Folder 1-2 1902-1905
3 1920-1949
4 1950-1956
5 1957-1962
6 1963-1964
7 1965-1966
8 1967-1972
Series 2. Speeches and Writings
1928-1975. 36 items.
Arrangement: writings by subject; speeches chronologically.
Speeches and writings by H. Smith Richardson on business
management, how to control government spending, the history of
the Richardson-Vicks Company, industrialization and the Southern
economy, social and economic improvements in North Carolina
during the first half of the 20th century, Cold-War-era foreign
policy, and rural life in North Carolina. Richardson's speeches
include numerous anecdotes with local color and racial stories.
They also contain religious references, Bible quotes, and
comparisons of Christianity to good business practice.
In a series of articles on North Carolina in the 1930s,
Richardson critiqued North Carolina's faltering economy, which he
blamed mostly on a tax structure that discouraged industry. He
analyzed the reasons for widespread bank failures and large
public debt in North Carolina during the Depression and made
suggestions for strengthening the state's economy. He included
economic statistics, such as the amount of government debt at the
county, city and state levels, as well as comparisons of North
Carolina to Virginia. In the North Carolina bank and trust
articles of 1933, Richardson warned of the dangers of government
overspending and private financial irresponsibility.
Folder 9 "Early History and Management Philosophy of
Richardson Merrell"
10-11 North Carolina articles: "What Has Happened to
North Carolina?"
12 Vol. S-1. North Carolina bank and trust articles,
1933
13 Speeches, 1928-1950
14 Speeches, 1951-1957
Series 3. Subject Files
1900-1972. About 2,450 items.
Subseries 3.1. General Subject Files
1900-1972. About 2,100 items.
Arrangement: by subject.
Documents culled from H. Smith Richardson's personal files.
Topics cover his civic, recreational, political, business,
genealogical, and philanthropic interests.
The file on Senator Joseph McCarthy contains articles and
correspondence concerning a report Richardson commissioned
Carlisle Bergeron to write about whether or not McCarthy had
"smeared innocent people" along with guilty ones. Bergeron
concluded that McCarthy had not.
Several folders contain material related to Richardson's
participation in the National Association of Manufacturers, 1939-
1941. He resigned from the group in 1942. Richardson served as
chairman of the Association's government finance committee in
1939 and 1940. These files contain materials reflecting his
concern for the national debt (then around $40 billion) and his
proposal to educate the public on this issue.
The file labeled " Papers of H. Smith Richardson" contains the
Smith Richardson Foundation's correspondence with various
historical archives to find a suitable repository for
Richardson's papers.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 15-16 Amendment to North Carolina constitution for tax
reform, 1927
17 Bridgeport Hospital
18-20 Boy Scouts of America
21 Buffalo Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, N.C.
22 Christmas cards
23-31 Condolence letters on Richardson's death
32-35 Fairfield County Hunt Club
36 First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, N.C.
37 H. Smith Richardson: Ideas into Action, W. C.
Burton
38 Hunting and dogs: certificates and registrations
39 McCarthy, Joseph
40 McNairy House, Greensboro, N.C.
41 Medical records
42 Memberships
43-45 Mid-Fairfield County Youth Museum
46 National Association of Manufacturers
47-52 Correspondence, 1938-1940
53-55 Economic Policy Committee
56-63 Government Finance Committee
64 Printed Material
65-66 American Industry: Platforms
67-68 Papers of H. Smith Richardson
69-74 Pequot Library Association
75 Poems and jokes (Richardson often enclosed these
items in letters)
76-81 Potatuck Club
82-83 Potatuck Land Company
84-85 Presbyterian College
86-89 Publicity regarding Richardson and his family:
1934-1972
90-91 Reminiscences of the early days at Vick's
92-95 Southport Area Association
96-97 Trips abroad with regard to Vick's exports
98 University of North Carolina: Smith Richardson
Foundation Grants
99 University of South Carolina: Smith Richardson
Foundation Grants
Subseries 3.2. Davidson College
1920-1970. About 350 items.
Arrangement: by subject.
Papers relating to the activities of both H. Smith Richardson
and his brother Lunsford, Jr., in the affairs of the college. H.
Smith Richardson's papers relate to the Davidson Alumni
Association, fraternities, university officials, and
philanthropic gifts to the college. Lunsford Richardson, Jr.'s
papers relate to the Alumni Association, the Alumni Athletic
Council, and other topics.
Folder 100-108 H. Smith Richardson
109-112 Lunsford Richardson, Jr.
113 Scholastic records of Richardson family alumni
Series 4. Family Conferences and Training
1929-1991. About 510 items.
Subseries 4.1. Family Conferences
1929-1991. About 500 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Reports and other papers related to family conferences to
which H. Smith Richardson invited the members of each generation,
all of whom owned stock in Vick Chemical Company. The meetings
were both stockholders' meetings and recreational retreats.
Richardson's goal was to instill a strong sense of family
loyalty, reconcile differences, and maintain the long-term
profitability of Vick as a family-owned business. This tactic
was successful for decades, as family members refused to sell
their interest in the company in spite of repeated take-over
attempts. (Richardson-Merrell was bought out by Procter and
Gamble in 1985). In the conferences, Richardson also wished to
encourage family members to develop good citizenship and a sense
of responsibility to society.
See also materials relating to the "church case" in subseries
6.7.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 114 Family conferences and reports-index, 1929-1956
115 Richardson's report to family meeting, 10 June
1929
116 1939
117 August 1940
118 Yeaman's Hall, December 1941
119 Newsletter, Christmas 1941
120 Yama Farms, October 1942
121 1943
122-123 Special meeting, 1 November 1943
124 Follow-up to Vick Chemical Co. long-range policy,
1944-1950
125 Memoranda to lady stockholders, 10 February 1944
126 Mary Lynn Richardson fund meeting, 11 February
1944
127 Richardson Foundation meeting, 23 May 1944
128 Newsletter, September 1944
129 Memoranda to lady stockholders, 27 October 1944
130 Memo to Vick board of directors, 31 October 1944;
report to senior members, 17 November 1944
131 1944
132 Newsletter, Christmas 1944
133 1945
134 Newsletter, February 1945
135 Sea Island, Ga., 18 February-2 March 1946
136 Report to the family, 26 July 1946
137 Hot Springs, Va., 28 October-3 November 1946
138 Reports on church case progress, May-June 1947
139 Report, 1 July 1947
140 Newsletter, October 1947
141 Church case material, 22 December 1947
142 December 1947
143 Richardson Foundation letter to Treasury Dept.,
11 February 1948
144 Sea Island, Ga., April 1948
145 Continuation of discussions at Sea Island, 15 July
1948
146 Agenda for future conferences, 28 October 1948
147 Concerning the good name of our church, 16
December 1948
148 To members of the third generation, 10 February
1949
149 Letter to senior and junior family members, 3
August 1949
150 Richardson Foundation purposes and plans,
investment service, basic policy, 3 July 1950
151 1951
152 New York, November 1956
153-154 Roaring Gap, N.C., June 1959
155 Roaring Gap, N.C., June 1961
156 Roaring Gap, N.C., June 1963
157 June 1963; June 1964; minutes of lineal
descendants of Grace Richardson
158 Family News, 1964-1972
159 Roaring Gap, N.C., June 1965
160 Skytop, Pa., June 1967
161 Sea Island, Ga., June 1969
162 Roaring Gap, N.C., June 1971
163 R. R. Richardson, 1975 meeting presentation
164 Norris W. Preyer, Richardson family history talk
165 Family meeting materials, 1977-1991
166-167 Mailings from Richardson to family members, 1953
-1973
Subseries 4.2. Family Solidarity-Stockholder Training
1939-1967. 10 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Documents related to "Family Stockholder Training," which
taught practical matters associated with Vick and other family
holdings and instilled family pride.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 168 Plan for younger and future generations
169 35-year plan for owners
170 1954-1960
171 1961-1967
Series 5. Smith Family
1811-1923. About 150 items.
Nineteenth-century and early 20th-century writings of H. Smith
Richardson's maternal ancestors, including diaries of Jacob Henry
Smith, a Presbyterian minister in Virginia and North Carolina,
and his wife Mary Kelly Watson Smith. Topics include family
life, the Civil War, and religion.
Subseries 5.1. Diary of Jacob Henry Smith
1846-1897. 40 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Diaries of Jacob Henry Smith, H. Smith Richardson's namesake
and maternal grandfather. The 1846-1847 section covers Smith's
first pastorate in Pittsylvania County, Va., near Lynchburg.
When the diary resumes in 1860, Smith had just begun preaching at
the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Typed copies of the
diary, 1 January-3 February 1860, 1 June-15 July 1861, 1 January-
13 February 1883, and 1- 31 January, 1890 are included. Diaries
for 1848-1859 and 1872 are missing. (See subseries 5.3. for
letters of Jacob Smith and edited version of the diary, 1860-
1869, contained in The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C.)
Folder 172 1846-1847
173 1860-1861
174 1862-1866
175 1867-1871
176 1873-1875
177 1878-1882
178 1883-1885
179 1886-1889
180 1890-1893
181 1894-1897
Subseries 5.2. Diary of Mary Kelly Watson Smith
1906-1923. 5 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Typed copies of diaries of Mary Kelly Watson Smith, H. Smith
Richardson's maternal grandmother. Describes early 20th-century
family and religious life. (See subseries 5.3. for letters of
Mary Smith.)
Folder 182-184 Volume 1: 1906-1909
185-186 Volume 2: 1910-1911
187-189 Volume 3: 30 December 1911-3 March 1915
190-191 Volume 4: 4 March 1915-31 December 1917
192-193 Volume 5: 1 January 1918-21 November 1923
Subseries 5.3. Smith Family Papers
1811-1918. About 100 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by family member, then
chronological.
Original and photocopies of family letters, biographical
sketches, poems, sermon notes of Jacob Henry Smith, and other
writings of members of the Smith family of Charlottesville, Va.,
and Greensboro, N.C. Subjects include family life, religion, and
the Civil War.
Included are letters from Alphonso Smith to his mother, Mary
K. W. Smith, while he traveled in Germany and studied in Berlin
in 1901. The letters mention German reaction to American "Open
Door" policy in China and an assassination attempt on the Kaiser,
as well as various literary, religious, and social topics of the
day.
Papers of Jacob Henry Smith include letters, poems, sermon
notes, news clippings, and speeches. (See subseries 5.1. for
Smith's diary.)
Letters of Mary Smith to her children and other family
members, especially her sister "Hay" (Hortensia Hay Watson),
contain descriptions of church and local affairs. (See subseries
5.2. for Mary Smith's diary.)
The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C., compiled by O.
Norris Smith in 1989, contains an edited transcript of Jacob
Henry Smith's diary from 1860 to 1869; letters from Mary Kelly
Watson Smith to family members in Charlottesville, Va.; records
from the Greensboro Presbyterian Church; and an index.
Papers of Samuel C. Smith include biographical sketches of
father, Samuel K. Smith, and childhood of brother Jacob Henry
Smith. There are also two photocopies of letters written from
the front during the Civil War.
Letters of Judge Egbert R. Watson, Mary Kelly Watson Smith's
father, were written on the occasions of his infant son's death
and his third honeymoon. Also included is a letter from Watson
to Confederate General Ewell regarding the organization of "a
guerilla corps" from Orange County. A series of correspondence
from H. Smith Richardson regarding the historical and monetary
value of the letter to Ewell is included. There is also a letter
to Judge Watson from one of his slaves. The subject of the
letter is unclear; it either thanks Watson for saving the slave's
life or asks him to help the slave get out of jail.
Folder 194 Letters of Mary Kelly
195 Letters from Alphonso Smith to Mary Kelly Watson
Smith
196 Jacob Henry Smith papers, 1841-1897
197-198 Mary Kelly Watson Smith papers, 1858-1918
199 The Civil War Decade in Greensboro, N.C.
200 Papers of Samuel C. Smith, 1858-1865
201 Letters of Judge E. R. Watson
202 Miscellaneous family papers
Series 6. Richardson Family
1882-1981. About 2800 items.
Family history materials relating to the Richardson, Smith,
and related families, including many items relating to Annals of
an American Family; transcriptions of family documents;
correspondence about family history; files on individual family
members, especially H. Smith Richardson; newspaper clippings;
family newsletters; materials about cemeteries, monuments,
museums, and genealogical organizations; some family
correspondence; and a family Bible.
Subseries 6.1. Obituaries
1882-1979. About 100 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by family member.
Obituaries of Smith and Richardson family members clipped from
newspapers across North Carolina. Included with obituaries of
Grace Richardson is a collection of her favorite jokes and
stories, mostly racial humor.
Folder 203 Grace Richardson
204 H. Smith Richardson
205 Lunsford Richardson
206 Lunsford Richardson, Jr.
207 Mary Lynn Smith Richardson
208 Charles Alphonso Smith
209 Egbert W. Smith
210 Hay Watson Smith
211 Henry Louis Smith
212 Mary Kelly Watson Smith
213 Reed Smith
214 Margaret Smith Vaughn
215 Miscellaneous family members
Subseries 6.2. Biographical Material
1968-1978. About 100 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Memos, news articles, and family reminiscences, mainly about
H. Smith Richardson and his father Lunsford Richardson.
Folder 216-219 H. Smith Richardson
220 Family biography
221 Tributes to H. Smith Richardson
222 National Cyclopedia of American Biography
223 Lunsford Richardson, including Laurinda Richardson
Carlson's recollections of him
Subseries 6.3. Subject Files
1911-1971. About 100 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
News articles, legal documents, reports, and newsletters
regarding Richardson family members. Legal documents pertain to
the establishment of trusteeship to administer insurance policies
of Margaret B. Richardson and a partnership agreement for Vick
Chemical Company between Lunsford Richardson and his sons. The
Sapp guardianship file contains documents concerning H. Smith
Richardson's guardianship of two children, Robert and Mary Sapp.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 224 Mary Keen Richardson Jackson, Grace Richardson
Lambert (daughters of H. Smith Richardson)
225 Egbert W. Smith
226 Henry Louis Smith
227 Family clippings
228 Quotations and news clippings
229 Dedications and memorials
230 Legal documents
231 Lunsford Richardson ship launching publicity
232 Sapp guardianship
Subseries 6.4. Family Correspondence
1917-1981. About 80 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Personal correspondence between members of the Smith and
Richardson families.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 233 Family newsletters and correspondence, 1942-47
234 W. Allen Perkins
235 Richardson family correspondence
236 H. Smith Richardson/Lunsford Richardson, Jr.
237 Smith family correspondence
Subseries 6.5. Family History
1934-1976. About 300 items.
Arrangement: by subject.
Family history materials relating to the Richardson, Smith and
related families; typed copies of family documents;
correspondence about family history; files on individual family
members, especially H. Smith Richardson; newspaper clippings;
materials about museums, genealogical research, and
organizations; and a family Bible (Vol. S-3). The materials are
arranged by subject, in original order in which collection was
received.
"Smith Family Tidbits" is a volume containing family history
items collected and edited by O. Norris Smith in 1989.
"Footsteps of the Past," with a foreword by Mrs. Richardson
and an introduction by Burke Davis, consists of research notes
collected by Grace Jones Richardson on her genealogical
background and a typed manuscript written by Elizabeth Hawes
Ryland.
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 238 "Smith Family Tidbits" (Vol. S-2)
239 Family Bible (Vol. S-3)
240 To Whom Sent (Annals of An American Family)
241 Drafts of Richardson family annals
242-243 Mamie Richardson family history research
244 Facts and exhibits
245-255 "Footsteps of the Past"
256 H. Smith Richardson's Scottish McAlister clan cap
(MU-4283/1)
257-259 Genealogy
260 Books, Reed Smith, royalty rights
261 Family history material, 1987-1993
262 Materials relating to gathering family historical
material, 1986-1989
Subseries 6.6. Annals of An American Family
1920-1937. About 2,000 items.
Arrangement: by subject.
Research materials, drafts, and correspondence related to
Annals of An American Family, a history of the Richardson family
commissioned by H. Smith Richardson in the 1930s and revised in
1953. The files are arranged according to subject, in the
original order in which they were received. Each folder includes
an index of contents at front.
The Sylvia Holder file contains information about the last
living ex-slave of the Richardson family. H. Smith Richardson
maintained correspondence with and sent money to Sylvia Holder
until she died in 1952. (See series 8, P-4283/111-132 for
photographs of Holder).
Maps, blueprints, and other oversized items in this subseries
include the following:
OP-4283/11: Map of Lunsford Richardson property with attached
letter dividing property, including tenants, among
heirs (William Richardson, Thomas H. Atkinson and
wife Martha Richardson, Rosetta Richardson and
Lunsford Richardson, Jr.), sworn before justices
of the court of Johnston County, N.C., in January
1860.
OP-4283/12-15: Drawings of Parker Heights.
OP-4283/16: "The Facts Concerning the Lunsford Richardson
Estate" (poster)
OP-4283/17-18: Poster of article in Greensboro Daily News, 26
June 1941: "Vick Co. Defendant in Suit for
$1,600,000"
OP-4283/19: Blueprint of subdivision of Richardson property in
Greensboro, N.C., in 1916. Surveyed by W. B.
Fluharty of Greensboro.
OP-4283/20: 1929 blueprint for exterior improvements to H.
Smith Richardson's Greensboro home by Charles
Barton Keen, Philadelphia architect, with attached
letter estimating cost.
OP-4283/21-41: Plans for The Moorings, H. Smith Richardson's
estate in Green Farms, Conn., 1927-1928, by A.
Raymond Ellis, of Hartford, Conn.
OP-4283/42: Map of Greene Township in eastern Guilford County,
N.C., drawn in 1958 by J. H. Thode, Jr.
OP-4283/43: Map of Bald Mountain property, drawn in 1958 by J.
H. Thode, Jr.
OP-4283/44-45: Charts of the organization of the Presbyterian
Church of the United States and its general
assembly, 26 November 1945.
OP-4283/46: Poster: "Why Corporations Go to Delaware,"
comparing taxes in Greensboro, N.C.,
Philadelphia, Pa., and Wilmington, Del.
OP-4283/47: 1938 Vick Chemical Co. poster
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 263 Index to family history files
264-269 Mary Rawlings version, 1933
276-288 R. McBlair version, 1938
Correspondence
289 Mrs. C. I. Carlson, 1929-1952
290 James M. Richardson
291 Mary Rawlings
292 Atkinson
293 James P. Richardson
294 George D. Vick
295 Miscellaneous
296 Genealogies, Media research
297 Source material from C. A. Smith
298 "Beginnings" (not used)
299 Richardsons, 1861
300 Appendices and genealogical tables
301 Richardsons in North Carolina
302 May quotations for reprint, "The Love that Never
Failed"
303 Vinsons, Smiths, and Cobbs
304 Vinson family
305 Richardsons, Revolutionary War
306 Virginia material
307 Salling, Fuller, Price
308 Smiths, Fullers
309 Samuel Runckle and Smiths
310 James Watson I and II
311 Colonel Richard Price II
312 Norris, Opie, Metcalfe
313 Sarah Norris
314 Vinson, Smith, Cobb (not used)
315 Mary Rawlings outline
316 North Carolina original sources
317 Materials not used
318 Controversial points
319 Cobbs
320 C. A. Smith
321 Crittendon about Atkinson House
322 Greensboro, N.C., and Charlottesville, Va.
323 Robert McBlair
324 Mrs. Carlson, Mary Rawlings, Nancy Richardson
325 Extra material
326-328 Business correspondence
329 College studies for younger family members
330 Lists of family members
331 Lunsford Richardson's 1836 letter to Laurinda
Vinson
332 Smiths of Guilford
333 N. Callahan's material for family letter
334 Smith-Richardson family correspondence
335-336 Richardson genealogy--Correspondence, 1926-1931
337 Richardson family history--Miscellaneous
338 Reports: Guiles Davenport, David Rockford
R. McBlair
339 Research
340 Washington, D.C., and North Carolina
341 Richardson family in Civil War
342 Genealogy, Virginia and North Carolina
343 Carlson-Delamar correspondence about corrections
344-345 Carlson correspondence, 1939-1965
346 Norris-Opie ancestors
347 Family history correspondence
348 United Daughters of the Confederacy/Daughters of
the American Revolution
349 Holder, Sylvia
350 Grace Jones Richardson
351 Greensboro Historical Museum, Blueprints of
designs for display cabinets (OP-4283/1-7)
352 Greensboro Civic Center
353 O. Henry-Richardson Memorial, Greensboro Civic
Center
354 Family annals, 1951
355 Annals appendix--transcribed family documents
356 Neusiok Girl Scout Council project, Blueprints for
plans for Mary Atkinson Girl Scout Camp by
Thomas Morse, 15 September 1960 (OP-4283/8-10)
357 Parker Heights project
358 Family graveyards: Parker Heights, N.C.; Forest
Hill, Va.
359 Parker Heights cemetery
361-361 Parker Heights monument
362 Vinson family documents
363 "An Economic History of the First Seven
Generations" by Norris W. Preyer (1967)
364 Books written by family members, including "Some
Meagre Recollections of Mammy" by Mary Watson
[Mrs. Henry] Smith, 1927
365 Maps, blueprints, and other oversized items (OP
-4283/11-47)
Series 6.7. First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro Lawsuit
1922-1975. About 120 items.
Arrangement: by subject.
Legal documents, correspondence, minutes, and pamphlets
relating to the lawsuit brought against the heirs of Lunsford
Richardson in 1941 by the trustees of the First Presbyterian
Church of Greensboro, N.C. The trustees believed that Lunsford
Richardson's will granted them ownership of Vick stock that his
wife had sold to the church before her death. To defend his
family's reputation, H. Smith Richarson published a booklet,
"Strange Record of a Gift," which gives a detailed account of the
case. He mailed it to friends, family members, and the session
of every church in the Presbyterian Church in the United States
(P.C.-U.S.) denomination. Also included are the minutes of the
denomination's general assembly meetings in 1946 and 1947, with
passages exonerating the Richardson family marked.
Documents are arranged according to subject, in original order
in which the collection was received. (See also materials
relating to this lawsuit in subseries 4.1.)
Note that, in most cases, original file folder labels have
been retained.
Folder 366 Basic study of Smith-Richardson family used by
defense in First Presbyterian Church of
Greensboro case
367 Chronology of litigation
368 Church case--old documents
369 "Strange Record of a Gift" mailing
370 H. Smith Richardson's response to court case
371 Minutes of the 86th General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church
372 Minutes of the 87th General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church
Series 7. Family Investments and Philanthropy
1926-1994. About 500 items.
Information relating to the Vick Chemical Company and to other
Richardson family financial interests. In 1925, one-fourth of
the Vick stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and sold
to the public. In 1930, several drug companies, including the
Vick Chemical Company, Bristol Meyers, Life Savers, and the
United Drug Company (later Rexall and the Dart Industries) merged
in the largest drug merger of the day to form Drug, Inc. United
Drug suffered so greatly in the 1929 crash that it was a serious
drag on the combined operation. Drug, Inc. was, therefore,
demerged in such a way that each of the companies continued
separately under its own management, but every shareholder owned
stock in all of the companies. Richardson played a key role in
the merger and led the campaign to split up Drug, Inc. Over the
years, the Richardson family sold off the other drug companies
and reinvested the funds.
The family diversified their holdings into real estate, stock
investments, a realty company, and an insurance company. Family
members also held stock in other business concerns, including the
Reinsurance Corporation of New York (RECO, originally Vick
Financial). In addition to their financial interests, the
Richardson family, with H. Smith Richardson taking the
initiative, established the Richardson Foundation, later the
Smith Richardson Foundation, to oversee philanthropic gifts.
Subseries 7.1. Vick Chemical Co. Public Relations Materials
1926-1980. 43 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Included are financial reports from 1926 and 1927, weekly
newsletters detailing the achievements of the Vick sales force
("Post Scripts," 1938-1939), the "Vick Family Newsletter" (a few
copies from the years 1940 to 1945, relating news of the entire
Vick workforce, including those serving in World War II), and a
booklet commemorating the 75th anniversary of Richardson-Merrell,
Inc., in 1980.
Folder 373 Public relations materials
374-376 Vick "Post Scripts" newsletter
Subseries 7.2. Vick Financial/Reinsurance Corp. of New York
1926-1995. About 300 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Reports and correspondence concerning the Vick Financial
Corporation, which was reorganized in 1936 as the Reinsurance
Corporation of New York and National Insurance, then became a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Piedmont Management Company, Inc.
Folder 377 1920s
378-379 1930s
380-381 1940s
382 1950s
383-388 1960s
389-390 1970s
391-393 1980s
394-396 1990s
Subseries 7.3. Richardson Foundation
1948-1967. About 100 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Memos, correspondence, news clippings, and reports relating to
the Richardson Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the
Richardson family, founded by H. Smith Richardson in 1935. The
Foundation supported numerous causes in North Carolina, including
historic preservation, legal reform, curriculum reform, the
establishment of small businesses, and the encouragement of
leadership potential in youth. The subseries includes 1948 plans
detailing a $14.3 million gift from Richardson to the Foundation.
The Foundation's objectives in the 1960s focused on developing
creative leadership and corporate management strategies.
Folder 390 1948 Richardson Foundation plans (OP-4283/48)
391 Richardson Foundation news clippings
392-394 Richardson Foundation objectives, 1964-1967
Subseries 7.4. General
1951-1989. About 60 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Included is information concerning the 1985 buyout of
Richardson-Vicks by Procter and Gamble; a 1989 appraisal of
Mary's Island plantation in South Carolina, owned by the
Richardson family; investment advice from William Preyer; and
histories of Richardson companies.
Folder 395 Family, W. Y. Preyer, 1951
396 History of Richardson family companies
397 Richardson-Vicks merger with Procter and Gamble
398 Mary's Island Plantation appraisal
Series 8. Pictures
Ca. 1860-1970. 211 items.
Included are black-and-white photographs and a few slides,
color photographs and sketches, mostly of Richardson family
members. Note that some of the pictures listed below are grouped
together as received.
P-4283/1-20 Portraits of H. Smith Richardson, c. 1900-1959
(including OP-P-4283/7, 10-11)
P-4283/21-23 "Uncle" Albert [1860s?]
P-4283/24 Photograph of paining of Judge John Henry
Dillard, North Carolina Supreme Court
justice, 1879-1881, undated
OP-P-4283/25 Photograph of painting of Captain John Keen,
1787-1872, undated
P-4283/26 Mary Anne Perkins (Mrs. Chiswell Dabrey)
Langhorne, 1870s [?]
P-4283/27 Buck Newsom (Vick salesman) at 17, 1934
OP-P-4283/28 "Aunt Lizzie" Perkins, one of the Watson twins
OP-P-4283/29 "Aunt Helen" Rawlings, one of the Watson twins
P-4283/30 Clement Richardson, 21 years, 1867
P-4283/31-32 Clement Richardson, 57, 12 October 1903
P-4283/33 Photo of portrait of Grace Jones Richardson
P-4283/34 Lunsford Richardson
P-4283/35 Lunsford Richardson, engraving with
signature
P-4283/36a Photograph of newspaper photograph of Lunsford
Richardson, Jr.
P-4283/36b Lunsford Richardson, Jr., in Navy uniform
P-4283/37 Mrs. William Richardson, Jr.
P-4283/38a J. Marion Sims
P-4283/38b-c Charles Alphonso Smith
P-4283/39-41 Egbert Smith
P-4283/42-48 Henry Louis Smith
P-4283/49-50 Jacob Henry Smith, 23 January 1896
P-4283/51 Engraving of Jacob Henry Smith with signature
P-4283/52-53 Norris Kelly Smith, son of Jacob Henry and Mary
Kelly Smith, age 6, 1881
P-4283/54 Samuel M. Smith, 29 April 1867
P-4283/55 Samuel M. Smith
P-4283/56 George Vick (as boy)
P-4283/57 George Vick (as young man)
P-4283/58 Photograph of portrait of Judge Egbert R.
Watson (1810-1887)
OP-P-4283/59-60 Photographs of portrait of relative of Egbert
R. Watson, possibly daughter Mary Kelly
Watson who later married Jacob Henry Smith
P-4283/61 Printer's layout with pictures of Lunsford
Richardson, Jacob Henry Smith, Egbert
Smith, and Mary Lynn Smith Richardson
playing backgammon
P-4283/62 Group photo of Jacob Henry Smith family, ca.
1900 (all members identified on photo)
P-4283/63-64 Lunsford Richardson, Jr., family, ca. 1910 (all
members identified on photo)
P-4283/65a Grace Richardson with daughters Grace and Mary,
ca. 1910
P-4283/65b Lunsford Richardson, Jr., and H. Smith
Richardson, ca. 1895
P-4283/66 Helen Watson Rawlings and Lizzie Watson Perkins
P-4283/67 H. Smith Richardson and Vick staff, 1941
P-4283/68-69 H. Smith Richardson and unidentified man with
portrait of Lunsford Richardson, Jr., late
1930s
P-4283/70 H. Smith Richardson and Vick staff, 6 February
1952
P-4283/71 H. Smith Richardson with two Vick employees, 16
November 1956
P-4283/72 H. Smith Richardson and family, Klick Ranch,
1962
P-4283/73 H. Smith Richardson and Bill Horne at Merrell's
cocktail party, August 1970
P-4283/74-76 First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro
OP-P-4283/77-84 Interior and exterior of the Moorings, H. Smith
Richardson's home in Green Farms, Conn.,
1930s
P-4283/85 Lunsford Richardson's home in Selma, N.C.
P-4283/86 Ruins of Rosewell Plantation
P-4283/87-88 Jacob Henry Smith's home in Greensboro, N.C.
P-4283/89 Drug store rules, W. C. Porter Drug Store,
Greensboro, 1854
P-4283/90-109 Unidentified members of Smith and Richardson
families, late 19th century to mid-20th
century
P-4283/110 Unidentified house
P-4283/111-132 "Aunt" Sylvia Holder, last living ex-slave of
Richardson family, on Parker's Height
Plantation
P-4283/133-159 Parker's Height Plantation, subjects
identified on photos
P-4283/160-162 "The Oaks" cemetery at Parker's Height
P-4283/163-168 First Lunsford Richardson mill (later
Pharaoh's)
P-4283/169 Old school house near Parker's Height
P-4283/170-174 Sketches of Parker's Height by Cora Richardson
Michaels
P-4283/175-207 Slides of Smith and Richardson family members
from Annals of An American Family, and
were used at a June 1975 family meeting.
Attached list identifies slides.
Series 9. Film, Audio, and Video
1962-1981. 4 items.
F-4283/1 History of Richardson-Vicks, ca. 1980, narrated by
John Scott and H. Smith Richardson, Jr., 16 mm.
film
T-4283/1-2 Speeches by H. Smith Richardson at the North
Carolina Society of New York's 65th annual
Dinner Dance, 14 December 1962, reel-to-reel
tape
VT-4283/1 H. Smith Richardson, Jr.'s 35th anniversary, 3
June 1981, 1" VHS, 15 minutes
ADDITION OF MARCH 1998 (Acc. 98032)
Size: 2 items (0.5 linear feet).
Dates: 1841-1919 and undated.
Provenance: Received from O. Norris Smith of Greensboro, N.C.,
in March 1998.
Access: No restrictions.
Description:
Smith family papers collected and transcribed by O. Norris Smith
of Greensboro, N.C.:
"The Writings and Sermons of the Rev. J(acob) Henry Smith, D.D.,
Pastor, Greensboro, N.C., Presbyterian Church," collected and
transcribed by a grandson, O. Norris Smith, Greensboro, N.C., 1990.
Addresses, 1841-1846, given by J. Henry Smith when he was a student
at Washington College and Union Theological Seminary; sermons, 1846-1849,
given at Pittsylvania C.H. Presbyterian Church; sermon, 1852, at Samuel
Davies Academy, Halifax C.H., Va.; sermons, 1855-1858, given at
Charlottesville, Va., Presbyterian Church; and sermons, 1859-1986,
given as pastor of the Greensboro, N.C., Presbyterian Church. Also
included are transcriptions of poems, letters, diary excerpts, and
other writings by Smith, as well as photocopies of pictures of Smith
and houses he lived in.
"Letters and Writing of Mrs Mary Kelly (Watson) Smith, wife of Rev.
Jacob Henry Smith, D.D., Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of
Greensboro, N.C.," transcribed 1985 by O. Norris Smith. Transcripts
of other family papers, chiefly genealogical information, newspaper
stories about members of the Smith family, and Lunsford Richardson’s
account of the beginning of Vick Chemical Company, were added by
O. Norris Smith in 1990.
Folders 406-409
ADDITION OF JULY 1998 (Acc. 98166)
Size: 1 item.
Dates: 1998.
Provenance: Received from Herrick Jackson of Wilton, Conn., in July 1998.
Access: No restrictions.
Description: "The Religion of Family," by Herrick Jackson. History of the
Richardson and Jackson families, written by Herrick Jackson
in the form of a conversation between his grandfathers, H. Smith
Richardson and John Day Jackson. Appended are family trees and
photocopies of many items related to the history of the two
families.
Folder 410
ADDIITION OF OCTOBER 1999 (Acc. 98476)
Size: About 50 items (0.5 linear feet).
Dates: 1998-1999.
Provenance: Received from Claudia Egelhoff of Raleigh, N.C., in October 1999 (Acc. 98476).
Access: No restrictions.
Description:
Series 6.8. Richardson Family Oral History
1998-1999. About 50 items.
A printed oral history of the Richardson family, a videotaped oral history of the
Richardson family, audiocassette recordings of 20 interviews by Claudia Egelhoff with 17
Richardson family members, and Egelhoff’s detailed, typed notes on each interview and an
interview guide. The printed oral history, 61 pages long, titled The Richardson Family: An Oral
History, and dated 1999, contains quotes from interviews with Richardson family members and is
illustrated with family photographs. It also contains a family tree that depicts the
relationships among the descendants of Lunsford Richardson. The videotaped Richardson Family
Oral History, written and directed by Claudia Egelhoff, contains some of the same photographs
that are printed in the book, but also contains moving pictures of family activities and
outings. Narration is supplied from the interviews.
Egelhoff’s notes for each interview identify the interviewee, the date and place of the
interview, give a summary of the content, and give a detailed index of the tapes.
The interviews focus primarily on memories of childhood, parents, grandparents, family
gatherings, family business, and family legacies.
Folder 411 The Richardson Family: An Oral History, 1999
VT-4283/2. Richardson Family Oral History, 1999. VHS.
412 Interview guide
413 Interviews, tapes C-4283/1-10
C-4283/1. Stetson, Grace Richardson. 22 June 1998.
C-4283/2-4. Richardson, H. Smith. 8 April 1998.
C-4283/5. Richardson, R. Randolph. 4 November 1998.
C-4283/6-8. Carlson, Carl Ivan. 20 February 1998.
C-4283/9-10. Calhoun, Beda Carlson. 20 June 1998.
414 Interviews, tapes C-4283/11-20
C-4283/11-12. Schenck, Laurinda V. Carlson. 17 August 1998.
C-4283/13-16. Preyer, William Yost. 24 February 1998, 14 May 1998.
C-4283/17-18. Preyer, Lunsford Richardson (Rich). 7 May 1998, 14 May 1998.
C-4283/19-20. Preyer, Robert Otto. 29 April 1998.
415 Interviews, tapes C-4283/21-36
C-4283/21-22. Preyer, Norris Watson. 30 April 1998.
C-4283/23-24. Preyer, Frederick Lynn. 11 June 1998.
C-4283/25-26. Richardson, Lunsford, Jr. 11 April 1998.
C-4283/27-28. Smith, Molly Richardson. 26 March 1998.
C-4283/29-30. White, Margaret (Beebee) Ball Richardson. 26 March 1998.
C-4283/31-32. Richardson, Eudora (Dora) L. 27 March 1998.
C-4283/33-34. Gunzenhauser, Lynn Chapin. 30 April 1999.
C-4283/35-36. Boney, Sion. 20 October 1998.