Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

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

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Louisa Reid Wilcox Papers #4753, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Benson R. Wilcox of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1990 (Acc. 95058) and 2007 (Acc. 100707).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Courtship--History--20th century.
• Diaries.
• England--Description and travel.
• Military education--North Carolina--History--World War, 1914-1918.
• Military hospitals, American.
• Soldiers--United States--Correspondence.
• Travelers--Diaries.
• United States. Army--Medical care.
• United States. Army--Military life.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--History--20th century.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Social life and customs.
• Wilcox, James S.
• Wilcox, Louisa Reid, 1898-1945.
• Women college graduates--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Women college students--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Women travelers--Diaries.
• Women--Education (Higher)--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Women--North Carolina--Diaries.
• World War, 1914-1918--North Carolina.
• World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, American.
• World War, 1914-1918--United States.
• World War, 1914-1918--Virginia.

Louisa Reid Wilcox was born 15 May 1898 in Gastonia, N.C., the daughter of James Pressley and Cynthia Louisa Kirkpatrick Reid. She received an A.B. degree from Queens College, Charlotte, N.C., in 1917 and a B.A. (1918) and M.A. (1921) from the University of North Carolina. While pursuing the M.A., Louisa was a leader in the successful fight to fund a women's dormitory at the University. Louisa taught at Peace Institute in Raleigh, N.C., 1919-1920, then worked as a substitute teacher at Chapel Hill High School until 1922, when she went to Oxford, England, and the Sorbonne in Paris to continued her studies.

In 1923, Louisa married James S. Wilcox of Charlotte, N.C., vice-president and treasurer of Johnson Mills. The couple had three sons: James Simpson Wilcox, Jr.; Robert Pressley Wilcox; and Benson Reid Wilcox, who became chair of the Surgery Department at the University of North Carolina Medical School. After her marriage, Louisa became a community leader, active in church and civic affairs, especially as a founder of the Charlotte Little Theater. She died in 1945.

Correspondence, 1917-1920, is chiefly between Louisa Reid Wilcox (then Louisa Reid) and her future husband, James S. Wilcox. Early letters are from Louisa at home in Gastonia, N.C. Beginning in September 1917, most letters are from Louisa at school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. In her first letter from Chapel Hill, dated 24 September 1917, Louisa wrote, "Really, I never have seen so many boys in my life." Subsequent letters detail Louisa's activities, 1917-1919, as a co-ed at the University. Letters discuss Louisa's classes and exams; relations with other students, male and female; participation in social and sporting events; observations on training activities during World War I; and many other topics relating to general campus life. Early letters from James discuss daily life in Charlotte, N.C., where he was vice-president and treasurer of Johnson Mills. In July 1919, James joined the United States Army and included among this correspondence is his Order of Induction. Later letters document his service as a clerical worker at the Debarkation Hospital in Virginia, as well as his attempts at dischargement, which were finally successful in April 1920. The correspondence also documents the growing friendship and romance between Louisa and James, who often sent her candy and other gifts. Also included are paper and electronic transcriptions of Louisa's diaries, 1922-1945. The 1922-1923 diary documents a trip to England, while the later volumes include brief entries about daily affairs. There are also several papers Louisa wrote for English classes and copies (handwritten and typed transcription) of a play about Flora MacDonald that Louisa appears to have written and presented as a final project (see letters beginning on 14 April 1919). There are also a few biographical materials, including photocopies of information about Louisa from the alumni office at the University of North Carolina and photocopies of clippings relating to the Wilcox's marriage in 1923 and Louisa's death in 1945.

Items separated include a floppy disk (FD-4753/1) with electronic transriptions of Louisa Reid Wilcox's diaries, 1923-1945.