Loula White Fleming Papers
1884-1967, undated
Manuscript Collection #414- Creator(s)
- Fleming, Loula White, 1878-1967
- Physical description
- 1.3 Cubic Feet, 350 items , 1.3 cubic feet consisting of correspondence, organizational publications, photographs, newspaper clippings and typescripts of other materials, bank books, a notebook, and genealogical files.
- Preferred Citation
- Loula White Fleming Papers (#414), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
- Repository
- ECU Manuscript Collection
- Access
- No restrictions
Papers (1884-1967) including correspondence, organizational publication, photographs, newspaper clippings, typescripts, Civil War events, Women's club, songs, jewelry, bank books and notebook.
Biographical/historical information
Loula Victoria White Fleming (1878-1967) was the daughter of Captain Charles Alexander White and Louisa Amanda Cory of Greenville, N.C. She studied music at Hollins College in Virginia and was a volunteer organist and choir director at The Memorial Baptist Church in Greenville for thirty years. In 1899, she married James Lawson Fleming, a prominent Greenville lawyer and member of the state legislature. The Flemings lived at Third and Greene Streets, Greenville, where they raised three children, Louise Elizabeth, Margaret, and James Lawson, Jr. Mrs. Fleming was widowed in 1909 when her husband was killed in an auto accident. She was a member of the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Eastern Star, the End of the Century Book Club, the Greenville Women's Club, the Greenville Music Club, and the East Carolina Art Society.
Scope and arrangement
The collection mainly consists of correspondence and printed material relating to Mrs. Fleming's club-related and Arts Council activities.
Mrs. Fleming was involved with the Works Progress Administration sponsored Federal Art Council. Material dealing with the Federal Art Council Gallery includes correspondence concerning rental renovation of the building used for the gallery in Greenville (1939-1940) and the purchase of a building for a community art center (1960). Other items relating to the arts include publications by the General Federation of Women's Clubs, the W.P.A., and the East Carolina Art Society; materials concerning art exhibits and galleries; and items documenting the finances and programs of the Art Society and Community Art Center.
The majority of the material in the collection relates to Mrs. Fleming's many club-related activities, especially her work with the United Daughters of the Confederacy (1921-1957). In addition to membership information, programs (1921-1957), and magazine clippings, U.D.C. material contains correspondence dealing with the War Relief Committee (1919), the Soldier's Home Committee (1922), and the Stone Mountain Memorial in Georgia (1924, 1925). Among Stone Mountain Memorial items are booklets, magazines, and articles on the memorial and its construction. Additional materials related to the U.D.C. are publications and instructional handbooks on the Civil War and Confederate Flags; information on U.D.C. rituals, songs, emblematic jewelry, and medals; and photographs (c. 1945) of the Bentonville Memorial. Also included is the genealogy information compiled by Mrs. Fleming and her daughters for admission into the U.D.C., the Colonial Dames, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mrs. Fleming was involved in a number of clubs in Greenville including the Greenville Women's Club, the Greenville Garden Club, the Greenville Music Club, the End of the Century Book Club, and the East Carolina Faculty Wives. Materials concerning the Greenville Women's Club include the club's accomplishments (1942), finances (1943-1944), dues (1917-1919), programs, meetings, and constitution. Publications (1922, 1926) relating to Women's Club activities are also found in the collection. Another substantial group of items concerns Mrs. Fleming's work with the End of the Century Book Club. The material pertains to the group's constitution and bylaws, programs (1901-1965), and a presidential address to the club (1949).
Additional materials in the collection consist largely of programs, clippings, and publications for a variety of clubs including the Order of the Eastern Star (1947, 1963-1966), the Wednesday Club of Richmond, Virginia (1914 Music Festival), the East Carolina Faculty Wives Club (1950-1962), and the Greenville Music Club (1934-1963).
Material found on The Memorial Baptist Church reflects Mrs. Fleming's life-long affiliation with that institution. Included in this folder are bulletins from services, histories of the church, and material from the Women's Missionary Union.
Another sub-group consists of material belonging to Mrs. Fleming's daughter Louise. Included in these materials is correspondence (1920-1935) from Louise's brother James and Robert Lee Humber while in Europe; a report card (1913-1914); and genealogical files on the White, Grady and Whitfield Families.
Oversize materials consist of publications and newspaper clippings.
Correspondence, found in folders a and b of box 1, between Mrs. Fleming and her daughter and correspondence dating from 1884 were removed from Collection No. 437 as well as materials from folders a and b in box 6. For related material see Collection No. 437, James L. Fleming Papers.
Administrative information
Custodial History
Source of acquisition
Gift of Ms. Louise Fleming
Gift of Mr. James L. Fleming
Processing information
Processed by H. Smith, June 1985
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Copyright notice
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
Fleming, Loula White, 1878-1967Corporate Names
End of the Century Book Club (Greenville, N.C.)Federal Art Project
Greenville Museum of Art (Greenville, N.C.)
Greenville Women's Club (Greenville, N.C.)
Memorial Baptist Church (Greenville, N.C.)
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Topical
Arts--North Carolina--GreenvilleWomen--North Carolina--Greenville--Societies and clubs
Places
North Carolina--GenealogyNorth Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Monuments--Photographs