Timeline extended for launch of Wilson Library facilities work.

Collection Number: 04734

Collection Title: Leverette C. Smith Papers, 1878-1937

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 250 items)
Abstract In 1902, Leverette C. Smith of Duluth, Minn., married Nellie B. Cole of Raleigh, N.C., daughter of John W. and Sarah D. Burns Cole. The couple began their married life in Duluth, but quickly relocated to Nellie's family home in Raleigh. Among Leverette and Nellie's children were musicians Leslie and Llewellyn A., both of whom served with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Correspondence and related items include business letters, 1878- 1895, of John W. Cole and his brother-in-law D. S. Burns of Chatham County, N.C.; a 1917 letter describing an automobile trip from Chicago to Los Angeles; letters, 1917-1919, from Leslie and Llewellyn A. Smith, both with the American Expeditionary Forces, first in camps in the United States, then in France, chiefly describing military life; and a few letters relating to Leslie's musical career, among them several from minstrel and other traveling shows interested in recruiting Leslie to play in their orchestras. Also included are Cole family financial and legal materials, 1878-1911, many of which relate to settlements of various family estates, and Smith family financial and legal materials, 1890-1937, some of which relate to property Leverette C. Smith owned in Osceola County, Fla. Also included are clippings about family members; photographs of family members and World War I scenes; and an account of a 1929 tour of a musical band from Charlotte, N.C., to the West.
Creator Smith, Leverette C., 1848-1922.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

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 Leverette C. Smith Papers #4734, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from J. Douglas Mattox of Raleigh, N.C., in August 1994 (Acc. 94177).
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.
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, Enola Guthrie, September 1995

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

In 1902, Leverette C. Smith of Duluth, Minn., married Nellie B. Cole of Raleigh, N.C., daughter of John W. and Sarah D. Burns Cole. The couple began their married life in Duluth, but quickly relocated to Nellie's family home in Raleigh. Among Leverette and Nellie's children were musicians Leslie and Llewellyn A., both of whom served with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Correspondence and related items include business letters, 1878- 1895, of John W. Cole and his brother-in-law D. S. Burns of Chatham County, N.C.; a 1917 letter describing an automobile trip from Chicago to Los Angeles; letters, 1917-1919, from Leslie and Llewellyn A. Smith, both with the American Expeditionary Forces, first in camps in the United States, then in France, chiefly describing military life; and a few letters relating to Leslie's musical career, among them several from minstrel and other traveling shows interested in recruiting Leslie to play in their orchestras. Also included are Cole family financial and legal materials, 1878-1911, many of which relate to settlements of various family estates, and Smith family financial and legal materials, 1890-1937, some of which relate to property Leverette C. Smith owned in Osceola County, Fla. Also included are clippings about family members; photographs of family members and World War I scenes; and an account of a 1929 tour of a musical band from Charlotte, N.C., to the West.

Back to Top

Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Correspondence and Related Items, 1878-1930 and undated.

About 100 items
Folder 1

Correspondence, 1878-1895

Chiefly business letters relating to enterprises in which John W. Cole of Raleigh, N.C., and his brother-in-law D. S. Burns of Chatham County, N.C., were involved. Included are materials about the sale of D. S. Burns's interest in his father Silas Burns's estate, for which John W. Cole was executor.

Folder 2

Correspondence, 1902-July 1918

A few family letters, including one dated 10 January 1917 from C. W. Smith in Los Angeles to L. C. Smith in Raleigh, describing an automobile trip from Chicago to Los Angeles and plans for future trips. Letters beginning in 1917 are from brothers Leslie and Llewellyn A. Smith, both with the American Expeditionary Forces, first in camps in the United States, then in France, to L. C. Smith in Raleigh. Letters chiefly describe camp life and traditional military complaints--bad food, no mail, etc. In October 1918, the brothers were involved in trying to find each other in France; on 14 November, Llewellyn wrote, "Well as you sea the war is won...."

Folder 3

Correspondence, August-December 1918

See Folder 2 description.
Folder 4

Correspondence, 1919

Chiefly letters from Llewellyn and Leslie to their father. Leslie remained in the Army until May. On 1 August 1919, there is a letter from Rhoda Royal Trained Animal Shows to Leslie, by profession a drummer, trying to recruit for the Show's traveling orchestra.

Folder 5

Correspondence, 1920-1923 and undated

Family and business letters, the latter chiefly relating to Leslie's musical career. Included are a 15 July 1920 letter to Leslie recruiting him for Sam Griffin's All White Original Premier Minstrels and similar letters in September and August 1920 to him from George Peck's Grand Revival of Stetson's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Folder 6-7

Folder 6

Folder 7

Cole family financial and legal materials, 1878-1911

Miscellaneous bills, accounts, and other items, some relating to settlements of various family estates. About 20 items.

Folder 8-9

Folder 8

Folder 9

Smith family financial and legal materials, 1890-1937

Miscellaneous bills, accounts, and other items, some relating to property L. C. Smith owned in Osceola County, Fla. About 20 items.

Folder 10

Clippings

Mainly clippings relating to Cole or Smith family members, including one from 1908 showing Leslie and Llewellyn Smith as drummers in a G.A.R. band. About 20 items.

Folder 11

Miscellaneous

Included are a few address books; some printed materials relating to procedures following during World War I; and an account of a 1929 trip by R. L. Martin with a musical band from Charlotte, N.C., to the West. About 20 items.

Image Folder PF-4734/1

Photographs of miscellaneous family members and locations, most of them unidentified, including a few showing collapsed buildings

Image Folder PF-4734/2

Photographs of miscellaneous World War I scenes, chiefly of unidentified men in uniform at various camps

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Back to Top