Inventory of the Nelson Ferebee Taylor Papers, 1903-2002

Collection Number 5113

Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Descriptive Summary

Repository

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.

Creator

Taylor, Nelson Ferebee.

Title

Nelson Ferebee Taylor Papers, 1903-2002

Call Number

5113

Language of Materials

Materials in English

Extent

Items: About 3,000

Linear Feet: 6.5

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access

No restrictions.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Nelson Ferebee Taylor of Chaple Hill, N.C., in February 2003 (Acc. 99416) and from Diane J. Taylor of Chapel Hill, N.C., in August and November 2005 (Acc. 100159, 100277).

Processing Information

Processed by: Brian Dietz and Nancy Kaiser, January 2006

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, January 2006

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Nelson Ferebee Taylor Papers #5113, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Corporate lawyers--United States.

Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.

Ferebee family.

Ferebee, Nelson McPherson, 1849-1917.

Lawyers--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Sailors--United States--History--World War, 1939-1945.

Taylor family.

Taylor, Nelson Ferebee.

Uniroyal, inc.

United States. Navy--History--World War, 1939-1945.

United States. Navy--Sea life.

United States Rubber Company.

University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Social life and customs.

University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--History--20th century.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Administration.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chancellor (1973-1980 : Taylor)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Faculty--History--20th century.

World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American.

Related Collections

Records of the Office of Chancellor: Nelson Ferebee Taylor Records (#40023)

Biographical Note

Nelson Ferebee Taylor (1920-2004) of Oxford, N.C., was a corporate lawyer, university chancellor, and professor of law.

Taylor graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1942 with a degree in American history. While a student, he participated as a member or officer of Phi Beta Kappa, University Club, the student legislature, Zeta Psi, Order of the Golden Fleece, and the Order of the Grail. After graduation, Taylor enlisted in the United States Navy. During World War II, he served as a midshipman aboard destroyers in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific, during which time he was awarded the bronze star, nine battle stars, and two commendations. After release from active duty, Taylor attended Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1949. Following law school Taylor studied at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship.

Upon returning to the United States, Taylor joined the New York law firm of Arthur, Dry and Dole, as an associate from 1951 to 1958. He made partner at Arthur, Dry, Kalish, Taylor and Wood, where he stayed until 1970.

Taylor maintained close ties to North Carolina throughout his corporate law career. He served as president of the University of North Carolina Alumni of Metropolitan New York and as trustee of the North Carolina Society of New York. In 1968, he returned to North Carolina as a visiting professor. Two years later he accepted the position of vice president for administration, a position he held until his tenure as the university's fifth chancellor, from 1972 to 1980. His administration was marked by improvements to library facilities, endowment growth, and building on the campus. Taylor resigned as chancellor in 1980 for health reasons, but remained on the law school faculty until his retirement in 1991.

Taylor received many honors while at the University of North Carolina, including the Frederick B. McCall Award for teaching excellence in 1983; a Distinguished Service Medal in 1988 from the the UNC General Alumni Association; and honorary doctor of laws degrees from Elon College in 1973, Duke University in 1977, and UNC in 1993. In 2001, he received the William R. Davie Award from the UNC Board of Trustees.

Taylor married Louise Ellington in 1946 and with her had daughters Louise Ferebee Taylor, Sarah Taylor Peterson, and Martha Gregory Taylor. In 1986, he married his second wife Diane Jackson Taylor.

Collection Overview

The collection consists of personal and legal papers of Nelson Ferebee Taylor (1920-2004), a corporate lawyer, professor of law, and chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1972-1980. Taylor's personal papers are comprised of correspondence; school writings, club records, and other materials from when he was a student at Oxford High School, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Harvard University Law School; financial papers; newspaper clippings and other biographical materials; photographs; and printed materials. There are a few items relating to his service in the United States Navy during World War II and to his tenure as law professor and chancellor at the University of North Carolina. Also included are two unpublished memoirs, one by Taylor and one by his grandfather, Nelson MacPherson Ferebee. The legal materials chiefly concern Taylor's work as a corporate lawyer with Arthur, Dry and Dole (later Arthur, Dry, Kalish, Taylor and Wood) in New York, working on cases for Uniroyal, inc., United States Rubber Company, and other corporate entities. Included are correspondence, daily calendars, contracts, stock certificates, and other administrative and legal papers.

Arrangement of Collection

1. Personal Papers
2. Legal Papers

Items Separated

Audio disks (D-5113/1-3)
Oversize papers (OP-5113/1)
Photographs (P-5113/1)

Detailed Description of the Collection