Papers (1830-2014, undated) [Bulk: 1895-1970] of the Humber Family, documenting the lives of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. (1898-1970) and his extended family, including the papers of his father, Robert Lee Humber, Sr. (1864-1952), a businessman and inventor and his mother, Lena Clyde Davis Humber (1870-1936) and her family, of Kinston, Greenville and Davis Island, North Carolina; his siblings, John Davis Humber, MD (1895-1991), Leslie Mumford Humber (1907-1925), and Lena Dye Humber Smith (1902-1973); also including his wife, Lucie Julie Jeanne Berthier Humber (1895-1982) and the Berthier family of Villeneuve and Paris, France, and their children and grandchildren, families, educations, careers, activities, and writings; including correspondence, files, ephemera, museum objects, published materials and oversized materials, arranged generally in alphabetical order by the donors.
Berthier, Honorine Victoria Marie Desiree Rouxelle (Mme. Adolphe Louis Berthier) (1866-1944), the mother of Lucie Julie Jeanne Berthier Humber, pursued a voluminous correspondence with her children: Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber (1895-1982), Andre Berthier (1898-1976), and Suzanne Berthier Rateau (Mme. Charles) (1901-1956), regarding family news, and events. Her oldest son, Marcel Andre Louis Berthier (1893-1916) was killed in action during World War I and care of his grave and gravesite features prominently in the collection. She died in France during the German occupation.
The collection also includes correspondence with her grandchildren and members of the Humber family. It includes correspondence regarding the Humber family's escape from France in 1940 and of their early adjustment to life in America. Primarily French language; also English and Spanish language.
Dameron, Maud Davis [Mrs. Lorenzo Lee Dameron] (1877-1947) was the sister of Lena Clyde Davis Humber [Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Sr.]. Her papers reveal that Mrs. Dameron maintained prolific family correspondence and produced numerous photographs and scrapbooks featuring family outings, travels, pets, and portraits. She was particularly interested genealogy and in cases like the Lindberg Baby Kidnapping case and Wallis Simpson's scandalous relationship with King Edward VIII leading to his abdication. She had been a nursing student at the Washington Sanitarium, Takoma Park, Maryland and participated in her husband's dental practice to some degree. Some of his business records are in the collection. The correspondence pertains primarily to her family, genealogical and social interests and to her husband, Lorenzo Lee Dameron (1858-1919)'s dental practice in Kinston, NC.
Davis, Charles Webb (1888-1959) was the brother of Lena Clyde Davis Humber [Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Sr.] (1870-1936) and a Kinston, NC attorney. His life centered mainly around family, church, and business matters. During World War I, he served in the American Expeditionary Force and postwar became active in the American Legion veterans organization. In 1927, he travelled to the American Legion convention in Paris
Davis, John Dixon (1845-1899), maternal grandfather of Robert Lee Humber, Jr., was a veteran of the Confederate Army, had been sheriff of Carteret County; and later served as clerk of court, and collector of customs for the port of Beaufort, NC. The family lived next door to the shop.
Humber, Leslie Mumford (1907-1925) was the younger brother of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. He was the son of Robert Lee Humber, Sr., and Lena Clyde Davis Humber. Like his brothers, he grew up in Greenville, NC and attended local schools, including Greenville High School and Wake Forest College. The bulk of the papers relate to his school years, including school notebooks, yearbooks, essays, exams, grade reports, scrapbooks, and memorabilia. He was active in athletic and social organizations and popular among his schoolmate. The collection also includes a significant amount of material relating to his sudden illness and death from a misdiagnosed appendicitis attack in October 1925, including correspondence, medical reports, newspaper clippings, church services and funeral. While not noted for his academic brilliance, like his two older brothers, he seems to have been a personable young man. Although only 18 at the time of his death, many of his friends continued to remember the anniversary of his death as late as the mid-1930s.
Davis, Lucy McLean (1875-1946) was the sister of Lena Clyde Davis Humber.
Davis, Marion Leslie (1879-1952) was the brother of Lena Clyde Davis Humber (1870-1936). He had been educated at Beaufort High School, Wake Forest College, and later had a political career serving in the North Carolina State House of Representatives from Carteret County, 1907-1908, 1915-1916, and the North Carolina State Senate, 1911-1914.
Humber, John Davis, MD (1895-1991) older brother of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. became a prominent doctor, cancer researcher, and co-owner of a medical testing laboratory in San Francisco, California. John Davis Humber was born in Greenville, NC, and attended Greenville High School before graduating from Wake Forest College in 1917. While attending Wake Forest, he served as an Assistant in Anatomy, 1916-1917. During World War I, Humber enlisted in the U. S. Navy, where he served in a Training Program that included study at both Harvard and Yale medical schools. After the war, he attended Tulane University, in New Orleans where he graduated from the Medical School in 1920. In 1921, he moved to San Francisco where he began private medical practice as a family doctor.
Humber rose rapidly in the medical profession in San Francisco and became superintendent and assistant chief surgeon at Southern Pacific General Hospital, 1927-1938, before moving to St. Francis Memorial Hospital. Meanwhile, he had become co-owner of the Coffee-Humber Malignancy Clinic which became known for its cancer research in the 1930s. He retired from practice in 1985.
John Davis Humber married Agnes Innocence Frolli Humber (5 March 1893-1 January 1958) on 4 June 1928. She had served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I and had already been a nurse at Southern Pacific General Hospital in San Francisco for a year, when Humber began attending patients there in 1921.
Following Agnes' death, in 1958, Humber married again to Roberta "Bobby" Marr Humber of St. Helena, CA (15 May 1916-20 September 1996) date unknown. He died in San Francisco at the age of 95.
Sources:
A collection of Dr. Humber's papers is currently held at the University of North Carolina Library. John Davis Humber Papers | ZSR Library John Davis Humber Papers (MS347), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
An oral history is also available through the East Carolina Manuscript Collection online finding aids. John Davis Humber Oral History Interview (#OH0078)
Humber, John Leslie (1933-2017) was born in Neuilly, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France. He was the second son of Robert Lee and Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber. In 1940, when the Germans invaded France, he moved with his family to the family home in Greenville, NC. The collection includes extensive information about his childhood, and education at Mars Hill College (1952); he later received a BA in Music from University of North Carolina (1954) and an MA in History from University of North Carolina (1961). He did research, writing and cartography while working on his doctorate in North Carolina History at UNC. In 1955 he married Jean Rachel Luffman (1933-2019). The couple had three children: Ninette Humber of Greensboro, NC; Michael Humber, who married to Robin Poole of Charlotte, NC; and Lucie Humber Swanson who married David Swanson of Belleville, MI. They had 2 grandchildren: Jeremy Swanson (married to Jennifer) and Brian Swanson; and 3 great-grandchildren: Elizabeth, Lucas, and Emily Swanson. John served in the US Naval Air Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain. He died in Chapel Hill, NC on 25 February 2017.
Humber, Lena Clyde Davis (Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Sr.) (1870-1936) was the mother of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. She was born in Kinston, NC and maintained a strong tie to her family and social, educational, and church activities in that city. Having strong Baptist Church ties, she was a longtime member of Memorial Baptist Church of Greenville, from her marriage in 1895. She served during most of her life in many capacities, as a parishioner, Sunday School teacher, and as an officer of the Building and Centennial Funds, and of the Woman's Missionary Society, and as a donor and fundraiser. In her later years, from 1920 until her death, she suffered increasing health problems. The collection contains extensive files on her final illness, medical care, death, and funeral in 1936. She also acquired collection of published works relating to her Baptist Church activities.
Humber, Robert Lee, Jr. (1898-) was born in Greenville, North Carolina and attended the Greenville Graded Schools from 1905-1913, and then attended Winterville High School, where he took college preparation courses, including Greek and Latin, graduating in 1914. He then attended Wake Forest College, earning a BA, graduating cum laude in May1918, having also done most of the work for MA and LLB degrees during the summers. He later received those degrees in 1919 and 1921. Humber was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1920.
After earning his BA, Humber attended Harvard University in pursuit of a doctorate in the Department of Government, History, and Economics. In July 1918, however, before beginning his studies, he enrolled in the Army Reserve Military Training Camp, and was sent to Camp Plattsburg, in New York where he completed his training and commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in Field Artillery. The war ended before he saw action, so he resigned his commission and returned to Harvard to begin his graduate studies.
During the Boston Police Strike in September of 1919, he served as a volunteer policeman and later was appointed a tutor in the Department of Government, History, and Economics.
In November 1919, Humber was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend New College, Oxford, to begin in January 1920. Humber immediately requested and received a deferment of the Rhodes Scholarship and changed his Harvard program to an MA program and continued his tutoring until the end of the year, lacking only completion of the language requirement to obtain his MA. He ultimately received his Harvard MA in 1926.
Humber spent the next three years enrolled at New College, Oxford, on his Rhodes Scholarship, 1921-1923, earning a B.Litt. in 1923. In 1921, he also completed a grand tour, circumnavigating the globe, and visiting Egypt and the Middle East, India, Japan, and China, on his way. While attending Oxford, Humber travelled widely through the British Isles and Europe, meeting many influential political, literary, and intellectual leaders in the process.
In 1923, Humber enrolled in an independent doctoral program at the University of Paris, which he had visited during the previous trips to France. While attending the University of Paris, Humber became affiliated with the American University Union, a non-profit organization established to provide information and social opportunities to young Americans expatriates living in the city. The American University Union had been established during World War I, with support from the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations. He also became affiliated with the American Church in Paris, remaining a life-long supporter and contributor to the church.
Humber completed most of his doctorate, as an American Field Service Fellow, during 1926-1928. Meanwhile, he tutored and led tours for American students and travelers in Paris. At the end of that time, he had completed all the requirements for a doctorate except for the publication of his dissertation on the political thought of John C. Calhoun. For unknown reasons, he refused to allow publication of the work despite offers from publishers to do so. As a result, he never received a Ph.D.
In 1996, the Wellington B. Gray Gallery at East Carolina University produced a major exhibit to honor Robert Lee Humber's life and accomplishments. To accompany and document the exhibit, the gallery produced a book entitled Robert Lee Humber: A Collector Creates, which included a series of articles on Humber's life and accomplishment, the art he collected and the art institutions he established and supported.
Humber, Robert Lee, Sr. (1864-1953), the father of Robert Lee Humber, Jr., had been named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Robert Lee Humber, Sr. inherited his father's blacksmith shop at age 14 and converted it into a profitable machine and repair shop, known as the Robert Lee Humber Machine Works. He eventually branched out into bicycle repair, gunsmithing, and locksmithing. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, unlike his wife, who was a strong Baptist as were all his children, but he supported his wife's church activities and contributed to Baptist Church activities. He was a member of the Masonic Order for most of his life. In the 1920s, he was also a member of the Ku Klux Klan organization in Greenville. For several years, he served the organization as its "Klabee" or secretary-treasurer. His papers include membership, dues, and bank records of the organization during the mid-to-late 1920s. Meanwhile, he also began operating a gas station, near his machine shop. His papers consist largely of his business records, including sales ledgers, bank records, and correspondence with dealers, vendors, customers, insurance companies, and catalogs of parts and equipment. The settlement of his estate was lengthy and complicated and he left substantial amounts to his children and other beneficiaries. His executor, Robert Lee Humber, Jr. provided cash advances out of his own pocket to assist his sister and her husband. The home he built in downtown Greenville, in which he raised his family and lived throughout his life, was later donated to the city of Greenville following the death of Lucie Julie Jeanne Berthier Humber in 1982.
Smith, Lena Dey Humber (Mrs. Lindley Dawson Smith) (1902-1973) was the only daughter of Robert Lee Humber, Sr. and Lena Clyde Davis Humber and the sister of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. She was born in Greenville, NC and spent the bulk of childhood Greenville, NC. She then attended Meredith College for women, in Raleigh, NC, during 1921-1923, but she did not graduate. She appeared to be most interested in art classes. After leaving Meredith, she attended Boyd's School for Secretaries, in Washington, DC where she learned shorthand. From time to time, shorthand notes appear in her correspondence.
In 1926 she married Lindley Dawson Smith, of Sanford, NC who was a chief steward for a steamship company. In the early 1930s, Lena and her husband moved to San Francisco, CA and began to work in the medical testing lab at the Coffee-Humber Malignancy Clinic, co-owned by her brother John Davis Humber, MD. During the 1930s, Lena returned to Greenville, NC on several occasions to help care for Lena Clyde Davis Humber, her mother, when she was seriously ill. She managed the home for several months each time. Within a few months after her mother's death, in 1936, her father engaged a housekeeper, which allowed Lena Dey to return to San Francisco.
Lena Dey continued to work at the lab until she was injured in a work accident in 1951. She received benefits from the California Insurance Commission but complained that it was insufficient and won increased benefits after several years of legal proceedings. She never returned to work. It seems that her brothers both provided financial assistance to the couple during this time and when her father died, she also received a substantial inheritance. The collection also includes the couple's financial and tax records, pocket calendars. She died in 1973 and Lindley in 1974.
Smith, Lindley Dawson (1895-1974). A native of Sanford, NC, he married Lena Dey "Lee" Humber, of Greenville, NC in 1926. Smith was then a chief steward on a series of passenger ships, including the SS TULSA, SS MAGUIRE, and other vessels, which sailed between several American and European ports. He was at sea for many months during the early years of their marriage and they corresponded frequently. His correspondence with Lena, when they were separated, forms a large part of the papers.
After several years, Lindley took a training course on hotel management and held several hotel and railroad positions. In the early 1930s, the couple moved to San Francisco, CA, whereLindley worked for the Southern Pacific General Hospital. In the mid-1930s, Lindley also began work at the Coffee-Humber Malignancy Clinic. He worked there until World War II, when he began working in a shipyard building ships for the Navy. The collection also includes the couple's financial and tax records, pocket calendars. He died in 1974.
Humber, Lucie Julie Jeanne Berthier (Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Jr.) (1895-1982) married Robert Lee Humber, Jr.) in October 1929. When they met, in 1922, she was pursuing a doctorate in American History at the Sorbonne (University of Paris) while working as Executive Secretary of the American University Union, headquartered in Paris. She was a member of the illustrious Berthier family, which claimed descent from Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753-1815). Louis-Alexandre had served as Napoleon's leading marshal and chief of staff throughout the Napoleonic wars, and as Minister of War under the French Empire. Lucie's branch of the family was of the Protestant faith. Several years older than Robert, Lucie was a native Parisian, multi-lingual, and a graduate of the University of Paris. She had taught in both English and French schools and after an extended engagement the couple married in October 1929, a week before the great American stock market crash that shook the world during the 1930s.
After her marriage to Robert Lee Humber, in 1929, Lucie continued to work on her doctorate from the University of Paris and completed it in 1940, while raising three children, but was forced to abandon her research when the Germans invaded that year. Drafts and proofs of the dissertation are present in the collection.
Upon her arrival in the United States, Lucie quickly rose to prominence in her own right. Her papers show that she served as president of the Greenville Woman's Club, 1945-1947, and as president of the American Association of University Women of North Carolina, 1947-1951. She was vice president of the North Carolina Legislative Council, 1952-1954. Meanwhile, like her husband, she served on several state boards and commissions. She was active in Greenville's UN Week celebrations. Additionally, Lucie was an accomplished artist, winning the 1960 North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs James Wesley White Cup, for her landscape paintings.
Following Mrs. Humber's death, on 28 June 1982, the Humbers' heirs gave the family's Greenville home to the people of Greenville and Pitt County as a "living tribute" to the Humbers and their lifetime of public service.
Humber, Marcel Berthier (1930-2003) was the oldest son of Robert Lee Humber, Jr., and Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber. He was born in Paris, France and died in Bethesda, MD. A naval officer, Marcel served in the U. S. Navy during the Korean and Vietnam wars and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The papers consist primarily of his family correspondence, including with his daughter, Eileen Humber, for was named for his sister who died during the family's escape from France in 1940; and with his wife, Ann Wright Kimrey Humber (1930-2022).
Sources:
For more information on Robert Lee Humber, Jr., and the Humber Family, see: Robert Lee Humber, Jr., Papers - Collection Guides Fobert Lee Humber: A Collector Creates, edited by Wellington B. Gray Gallery (Greenville, NC; College of Arts and Sciences and School of Art, East Carolina University © 1996) 143 pages. ISBN 0-9636759-2-3. Call No. N5220.H86 H86 1996
The Humber Family, by John L. Humber, in: Chronicles of Pitt County, p. 767
Robert Lee Humber, by John L. Humber, in: Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, William S. Powell, ed. 6 vols. (University of North Carolina Press, © 1979-1996) https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/humber-robert-lee Robert Lee Humber Resume [1970] #1316.131.u.4
The Humber Family Papers, 1830-2014 [bulk: 1895-1970] consists of manuscript and printed materials, museum objects, and oversized materials documenting the lives of Robert Lee Humber, Jr.'s closest relatives. The collection primarily documents the period from the time of Humber's parent's marriage until his death. The Humber family was possibly Greenville, North Carolina's most prominent family during much of the 20th century and participated in many businesses, churches, schools, cultural and civic organizations, and activities in the city, county, eastern North Carolina region, and the state.
Parts of the collection relate to Humber's parents and grandparents, his siblings, and their families, including their in-laws. It also includes materials preserved by his widow, Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber (1875-1982) after his death relating to her French family, her life and career and following, her death, collected and arranged by her heirs. Humber's grandson, Brian Albert Swanson, inventoried the bulk of the collection prior to donation and the present arrangement is based on his wishes.
The collection contains significant materials relating to the Robert Lee Humber, Jr., but it focuses mainly on his family members, including their educations, business activities, marriages, and families, during the period 1895-1970, during which Humber was a child in Greenville, North Carolina; a college student at Wake Forest College; a graduate student at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA and at Oxford University, in the United Kingdom and at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), in Paris, France. It was also during the period, 1930-1940, which he made a large fortune as European manager and legal representative for the Gilcrease Oil Company, Tulsa, OK. It also contains less information on his career after his return to the United States in 1940, including his business career, his role in the creation of the Federation of the World, North Carolina Art Museum, Pitt Community College, and his State Senate Career, 1940-1970. Most of the material related directly to Robert Lee Humber, Jr., may be found in the Robert Lee Humber, Jr. Papers (#1316)
The Humber Family Papers contain 101 archival containers and 5 oversized folders holding 118 oversized items. By volume, the collection contains 50.04 cubic feet of archival, manuscript, photographic, printed, audio recordings, three-dimensional [museum objects] and oversized materials.
The collection is arranged in 15 series, each containing from 1 to 6 subseries. The series document the Humber family's wide range of personal, political, social, and business interests; professional and legal, intellectual, educational, religious, artistic, and cultural, and philanthropic activities; their membership in various organizations in North Carolina, the United States and internationally. The 15 series are arranged alphabetically by family name. The subseries and sub-subseries are also arranged by subject matter, but not in any uniform order, alphabetical, chronological, or other. Similarly, the files within subseries follow no strict, uniform, principle of arrangement. It is important to remember that the arrangement was created by multiple individuals, working independently, sometimes decades apart, and lacking professional archival experience.
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SERIES 02: LUCIE JEANNE BERTHIER HUMBER-ROBERT LEE HUMBER, Jr. FILES, 1918-1975, not dated Box 1.h-3.m Series 2 consists of 5 sub-series of correspondence between Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber (1895-1982) and Robert Lee Humber, Jr., before and after their marriage, and with other members of the Humber and Berthier families, 1918-1975, not dated, mostly concerning family news and information. Primarily in French language.
SERIES 03: ROBERT LEE HUMBER, Jr. FILES, 1921-1948. Box 3.n-3.q Series 3 consists of Robert Lee Humber, Jr. correspondence with the Berthier family, including Andre Berthier (1898-197) , Mme. Adolphe Louis Berthier, Madame Cameus, and Suzanne Berthier Rateau (1901-1956) (Mme. Charles), primarily containing family news. It contains a single sub-series. French language. Sub-Series 01: Robert Lee Humber, Jr. Family Correspondence, 1921-1948
SERIES 04: LUCIE JEANNE BERTHIER HUMBER [LBH and Mrs. RLH, Jr.] FILES, 1918-1983, not dated. Box 4.a-16.d Series 4 consists of 6 sub-series related primarily to Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber (1895-1982)'s professional and political Files, 1918-1983, not dated. English and French language.
SERIES 05: MARCEL BERTHIER HUMBER [MBH] (21 NOVEMBER 1930-30 DECEMBER 2003) FILES, 1885-1976, not dated [Bulk: 1920-1970] Box 17.a-21.e consists of papers related to Marcel Berthier Humber [MBH], the oldest son of Robert Lee Humber, Jr., and Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber. He was born in Paris, France on 21 November 1930 and died in Bethesda, MD on 30 December 2003. Marcel served in the U. S. Navy during the Korean and Vietnam wars and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The papers consist primarily of his family correspondence.
SERIES 06: MAUD DAVIS DAMERON [MRS. LORENZO LEE DAMERON] [13 APRIL 1877-27 JUNE 1947] CORRESPONDENCE and FILES, 1885-1976, not dated [Bulk: 1920-1970] Box 22.a-28.v consists of papers and photographs relating to Maud Davis Dameron (1877-1947), who was the sister of Lena Clyde Davis Humber (Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Sr.) (1870-1936) and pertains primarily to her family correspondence, genealogical and social interests and to her husband, Lorenzo Lee Dameron (1858-1919)'s dental practice in Kinston, NC.
SERIES 07: CHARLES WEBB DAVIS [2 AUGUST 1888-FILES, 1885-1976, not dated [Bulk: 1920-1970] Box 29.a-33.j
SERIES 08: MARION LESLIE DAVIS [9 AUGUST 1879-1 NOVEMBER 1952] FILES (1879-1952) and LUCIE MCLEAN DAVIS (1875-1946) FILES, 1885-1979, not dated. Box 34.a-34.j consists of correspondence and files relating to siblings, Marion Leslie Davis (1879-1952), who was the brother of Lena Clyde Davis Humber (1870-1936) including his education at Beaufort High School, Wake Forest College, and his service in the North Carolina State House of Representatives from Carteret County, 1907-1908, 1915-1916, and the North Carolina State Senate, 1911 -1914, and his sister, Lucy McLean Davis (1875-1946).
SERIES 09: JOHN DAVIS HUMBER (5 DECEMBER 1895-20 May 1991) FILES, 1885-1994, not dated [Bulk: 1920-1994] Box 35.a-37.c consists of a single sub-series of his papers. The papers consist of his family, medical, and travel correspondence, together with his photographic prints, and the awards and certificates he received for his medical services. Doctor Humber was the older brother of Robert Lee Humber, Jr.. He died in San Francisco, on 20 May 1991 at the age of 95.
A collection of his papers is currently held at the University of North Carolina Library. J John Davis Humber Papers | ZSR Library, John Davis Humber Papers (MS347), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
An oral history is also available through the East Carolina Manuscript Collection online finding aids. John Davis Humber Oral History Interview (#OH0078)
SERIES 10: JOHN LESLIE HUMBER (25 AUGUST 1933-25 FEBRUARY 2017) FILES, 1916-2014, not dated [Bulk: 1920-1970] Box 38.a-42.y consists of a single sub-series of his correspondence and ephemera. John Leslie Humber was the second son of Robert Lee and Lucie Jeanne Berthier Humber. He was born in Neuilly, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France and lived with his parents in Paris for the first 7 years of his life. In 1940, when the Germans invaded France, he moved with his family to the family home in Greenville, NC. The collection includes extensive information about his Parisian childhood, and education at Mars Hill College (1952); he later received a BA in Music from University of North Carolina (1954) and an MA in History from University of North Carolina (1961). He did research, writing and cartography while working on a doctorate in North Carolina History at UNC. In 1955, he married Jean Rachel Luffman (1933-2019). The collection includes his correspondence with and references to his three children: Ninette Humber of Greensboro, NC; Michael Humber, married to Robin Poole of Charlotte, NC; and Lucie Humber Swanson (Mrs. David Swanson) of Belleville, MI. They had 2 grandchildren-Jeremy Swanson (married to Jennifer) and Brian Swanson; and 3 great-grandchildren: Elizebeth, Lucas and Emily Swanson. John served in the US Naval Air Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain. He died in Chapel Hill, NC on 25 February 2017.
SERIES 11: LENA CLYDE DAVIS HUMBER (MRS. ROBERT LEE HUMBER, SR.) (21 NOVEMBER 1870-10 SEPTEMBER 1936) FILES, 1871-1950, not dated Box 43.a-51.a consists of 4 sub-series of correspondence, clippings, autograph books and scrapbooks, memorabilia, art, and published materials relating to Lena Clyde Davis Humber (Mrs. Robert Lee Humber, Sr.) (1877-1936) and to her family, social, educational, and church activities. A large part of her papers documents her service to Memorial Baptist Church of Greenville which she served during most of her life as a parishioner, Sunday School teacher, and as an officer of the Building and Centennial Funds, and of the Woman's Missionary Society, and as a donor and fundraiser. The collection contains extensive files on her final illness, medical care, death, and funeral in 1936.
SERIES 12: LESLIE MUMFORD HUMBER (7 OCTOBER 1907-19 OCTOBER 1925) FILES, 1910-1934, not dated [Bulk: 1913-1925] Box 52.a-56.r consists of papers relating to Leslie Mumford Humber, the youngest of three sons born to Robert Lee Humber, Sr., and Lena Clyde Davis Humber. Like his brothers, he grew up in Greenville, NC and attended local schools, including Greenville High School and Wake Forest College. The bulk of the papers relate to his school years, including school notebooks, yearbooks, essays, exams, grade reports, scrapbooks, and memorabilia. He was active in athletic and social organizations. The collection also includes a significant amount of material relating to his sudden illness and death from a misdiagnosed appendicitis attack in October 1925, including correspondence, medical reports, newspaper clippings, church services and funeral. The summer before his death, he served as a crewman aboard the SS AGWISUN that sailed between the West and East coasts. Although only 18 at the time of his death, many of his friends continued to remember the anniversary of his death as late as the mid-1930s.
SERIES 13: ROBERT LEE HUMBER, SR. (1 AUGUST 1864-21 JULY 1952) FILES, 1866-1965, not dated [Bulk: 1894-1952] consists of 6 sub-series containing files and personal correspondence with his wife, Lena Clyde Davis Humber, and with family members; his business records related to the Robert Lee Humber Machine Works; and records related to church, fraternal and political organizations with which he was affiliated, including the Masonic and Ku Klux Klan chapters in Greenville, NC.
SERIES 14: LENA DEY "LEE" HUMBER SMITH (1902-DECEMBER 1973)-LINDLEY DAWSON SMITH (5 APRIL 1895-4 DECEMBER 1974) FILES, 1876-1982, not dated The Lena Dey Humber Smith-Lindley Dawson Smith Series consists of 2 sub-series and primarily of files and correspondence related to Lena Dey Humber's childhood and social life Greenville, NC; her education; and her married life with Lindley Dawson Smith. Lena attended Meredith College for women, in Raleigh, NC, during 1921-1923, but did not graduate. After leaving Meredith, she attended Boyd's School for Secretaries, in Washington, DC. From time to time, shorthand notes appear in her correspondence but she does not appear to ever have worked as a secretary. This series contains considerable correspondence with male friends and suitors from a wide geographical area, from Ohio to Florida, besides various locations in North Carolina.
In 1926 she married Lindley Dawson Smith, of Sanford, NC, who served as chief steward on a series of passenger ships. In the early 1930s, the couple moved to San Francisco, CA, where Lindley worked for the Southern Pacific General Hospital. At the same time, Lena began to work in the medical testing lab at the Coffee-Humber Malignancy Clinic, co-owned by her brother John Davis Humber, MD.
Lena continued to work at the lab until she was injured in an accident at work in 1951. She received benefits from the California Insurance Commission but complained that it was insufficient and won increased benefits after several years of legal proceedings. She never returned to work. It seems that her brothers both provided financial assistance to the couple during this time and when her father died, she also received a substantial inheritance when her father died in 1952. The collection also includes the couple's financial and tax records, pocket calendars.
SERIES 15: OVERSIZED MATERIALS, 1888-1972, not dated This series consists of 118 oversized items removed from smaller folders for conservation purposes. The folder description notes both the present location and the folder of origin for each item. Each item is also cross-referenced in the folder of origin, indicating the present location of the item. Each item is individually described and includes the dimensions of the items.
The items are generally arranged in original container order. However, due to rearrangement of the collection, some items will appear out of order.