Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Papers of the Dillard Family, Accession #9498, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was deposited on 13 July 1971, by Hardy C. Dillard, youngest son of Dr. and Mrs. James H. Dillard. The collection was made gift by Valgerdur Nielsen Dillard in Oct. 2003.

Processing Information

The Papers of the Dillard Family, when received, were in no order whatsoever. Evidently, after Mrs. Dillard's death, the materials were stored in boxes and trunks, where they stayed until delivered to the Library. Materials covering the whole date range and scope of subject matter were boxed together. The whole collection had to be sorted in order to establish a suitable manner of arrangement. The principal figure covered in this collection is Dr. James H. Dillard, but much material pertains to his second wife, Avarene Budd Dillard. Secondary figures include Mary Harmanson Dillard (first wife of James H. Dillard), George Dillard and Hardy C. Dillard. There are also miscellaneous materials pertaining to the various families involved.

Therefore, in order to avoid confusion as much as possible, the materials have been arranged in relation to the main figures included in this collection. The three main divisions cover James H. Dillard, Avarene Budd Dillard, and George and Hardy C. Dillard, with Miscellaneous family materials appropriately interspersed.

Biographical/Historical Information

James H. Dillard, son of James and Sarah Brownrigg (Cross) Dillard, was born in Nansemond County, Virginia, on October 24, 1856. His extensive education included: M.A., Washington and Lee University, 1876, B.L., 1877, D.L.H., 1889; L.L.D., Tulane University, 1908, Harvard, 1923, Southwestern, 1932, D.C.L., University of the South, 1910. Dr. Dillard was married twice, first to Mary Harmanson of Norfolk, Virginia, on July 5, 1882. They had six children. On November 18, 1899, he married his second wife, Avarene Lippincott Budd of Mt. Holly, New Jersey. They had four children, one of whom, Margaret, died in early childhood.

Dr. Dillard's active teaching career, which spanned the period of 1876-1907, took him to many parts of the country. While at Washington and Lee he served as Assistant Professor of mathematics in 1876-1877. From 1877-1882 he served as principal of the Rodman School in Norfolk, Virginia, and as principal of Norfolk Academy from 1882-1887. He then moved to St. Louis where he headed the Mary Institute of Washington of University until 1891. In 1891 he moved to New Orleans where he served as Professor of Latin at Tulane University until 1907. During his last three years at Tulane he also held the position of Dean of College Arts & Sciences (1892-1900, 1904-1907). Each summer during the 1890's Dr. Dillard was in various parts of the eastern United States as he participated in the Sauveur Summer College of Languages and other summer programs.

Dr. Dillard is best known for his endeavors in Southern Black education, which began while he was at Tulane and continued throughout his life. His longest and most widely known association was with the Negro Rural School Fund (the Jeanes Foundation), of which he was president from 1907-1931, and the John F. Slater Fund, of which he was director from 1910-1917 and president from 1917-1931. He was also a long time member of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, of which he was vice-president in 1925, the Southern Education Board (1908-1940), and the General Education Board (1917-1940). His endeavors in race relations were not limited solely to the educational aspects, but also encompassed the religious and social aspects. In 1912 he helped found the Southern University Race Commission and was a long time associate with this organization. In 1923-1924 he was an American representative on the Educational Commission on East Africa. A framed charge of rape against several Negro boys during the early 1930's caught his attention and he accepted the chairmanship of the American Scottsboro Committee in 1935-1936 to help clear the charges. Even after he retired from active service with the numerous educational funds, he gave his name and talents to other worthy organizations. During the late 1930's he served as a trustee of the American Church Institute for Negroes, was on the Executive Board of the National Urban League for Social Service Among Negroes (he was chairman of the Southern Advisory Board in 1937), and was on the Boy Scouts National Committee on Interracial Activities.

Twice Dr. Dillard was publicly recognized for his work in race relations. In 1928 the Harmon Foundation of New York awarded him the Harmon Award for "promotion of good race relations between the races and for activity in increasing educational facilities for Negroes in the South." Again in 1937 his work was acknowledged when he received the Roosevelt Medal. Perhaps no event was dearer to Dr. Dillard than in 1934 when the cornerstone was laid for Dillard University in New Orleans, a fine advancement for the field of higher education for Negroes.

Dr. Dillard's endeavors in education and social action were not limited to African Americans but included humanity in general. In 1894 he was appointed as a trustee of the Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana. HE served as president of the New Orleans Free Kindergarten Association from 1896-1905 and was president of the National Conference Church Clubs in 1901 and 1902. He worked with the Prison Reform Association in 1903. In 1904 he became a member of the Louisiana State Board of Education, on which he sat until 1908, and became president of the New Orleans Public Library, a position he held until 1913. He served as a trustee of the General Theological Seminary from 1916-1925. Perhaps of the greatest importance was his position as rector of the College of William and Mary, a post he held from 1917 until his death in 1940. Even in his later years he worked with a number of social action organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, of which he was a member of the Committee for Academic Freedom and in 1940, a member of the National Committee.

Writing was a very important part of James Dillard's private and professional life. His correspondence to his mother and wife, plus his journals and diaries show the inner man of James Dillard and reveal many of his most profound thoughts. He was a rather good poet and his finest work is his Verses to Varro, an unpublished collection which he wrote for the soon-to-be Mrs. Dillard, Avarene Budd. Dr. Dillard had a very long and fine career as a professional writer. He made many contributions in the fields of education and economics to numerous journals and newspapers across the country. Selections from him in the "Letters-to-the-Editor" section were not uncommon. Among the works authored by Dr. Dillard were: Arithmetic Exercises (1887), Selections from Wordsworth (1890), Fifty Letters of Cicero (edited-1902), Aus dem Deutschen Dichterwald (Favorite German Poems-1903) and From Newstand to Cyrano (essays for promotion of good reading-1935).

Scope and Content

The Papers of the Dillard Family, 1717-1964, consist of ca. 19,400 items (83 boxes), mostly concerning the endeavors of Dr. James H. Dillard in black education in the South, especially from 1905-1935. The primary figure of this collection, James H. Dillard, covers the period of 1863-1940, while the two main secondary figures, Avarene Budd (Mrs. James H.) Dillard and Hardy C. Dillard cover the periods 1874-1950 and 1915-1964 respectively.

The correspondence from James H. Dillard to his mother, Mrs. James Dillard; his first wife, Mary Harmanson Dillard; and his second wife, Avarene Budd Dillard, provide good insight into the younger years and private life of Dr. Dillard. The content of the correspondence to Dr. Dillard principally concerns his professional career, especially from 1905-1935. This material includes his involvement with the Negro Rural School Fund (Jeanes Foundation), Phelps-Stokes Fund, Slater Fund, the Southern and General Education Boards, Dillard University, and the College of William and Mary. The collection of diaries and journals for 1919-1926 is especially rich in information concerning his travels during this period, with special attention given to his trip to Africa in 1923-1924 for the Education Commission to East Africa (more can be found under George Dillard, who served as secretary for the Commission).

Other topics of interest covered in less detail, by way of miscellaneous clippings and correspondence, include the University Commission of Southern Race Relations (ca. 1912-1927), the Scottsboro Case (1935-1936), Dillard as recipient of the Harmon Award (1928), and the Roosevelt Medal (1937) and Dillard's 80th birthday dinner. Among the original handwritten materials by James H. Dillard are poems (mostly written for his wife, Avarene), speeches, articles and letters to the editor. His printed works include booklets, reprints of articles, and printed newspaper and journal articles.

Most important as secondary figures in the collections are Avarene Budd Dillard (second wife of James H. Dillard) and their youngest son, Hardy Cross Dillard. Correspondence to Mrs. Dillard, primarily from her husband, sons, and their families, sheds much light on the family affairs of the Dillards. Mrs. Dillard kept an especially fine collection of "love letters" written by Dr. Dillard during their period of engagement (1898-1899). She also kept a fairly extensive collections of ledgers for personal business accounts and house expenses from 1904-1940 and diaries for 1924-1929 and 1944-1949.

The collection of materials on Hardy C. Dillard is rather scarce and incomplete. For the most part it covers his military career, including materials for the Civil Affairs Exercise (1944), the Brookings Institution Seminar on Problems in United States Foreign Policy (1948), and the National War College (1951-1961). While materials on his involvement at the University of Virginia are almost non-existent, there is a good account of the activities of the steering committee of the University Senate Committee to select a President to succeed President Darden (1958-1959).

Among the correspondents are: Ray Stannard Baker, Stringfellow Barr, Mary McLeod Bethune, Benjamin Griffith Brawley, Wallace Buttrick, George Herbert Clarke, Philander Priestley Claxton, Virginius Dabney, Charles William Dabney, Jackson Davis, Westmoreland Davis, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Aloysius Farley, Francis Pendleton Gaines, Grace Elizabeth King, John La Farge, Arthur Selden Lloyd, Rayford W. Logan, Dumas Malone, Lucy Randolph Mason, Edwin Mims, Samuel Chiles Mitchell, Josiah Morse, Robert Russa Moton, Edgar Garner Murphy, Nelson Olsen Nelson, John Lloyd Newcomb, Albert Jay Nock, Edward Washington Odum, Robert Curtis Ogden, Rosewell Page, Walter Hines Page, Robert William Patton, George Foster Peabody, Paul Norton Pearson, John Garland Pollard, John Davison Rockefeller, Wickliffe Rose, Julius Rosenwald, Josiah Ryce, Albert Shaw, Anson Phelps Stokes, William Howard Taft, Booker T. Washington, James Southall Wilson, Carter G. Woodson, and P. B. Young (Plummer Bernard Young).

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in eight series.

I: Early Dillard family and relations, Box 1.

II: Mary Harmanson Dillard and Harmanson family, Box 2.

III: James H. Dillard, Boxes 3-29; A, Correspondence, mostly business, Boxes 3-13; B, Early miscellaneous materials, Box 14; C, Special subject matters, Boxes 15-19; D, Poems and notes, Box 20; E, Speeches, articles, and letters to the editor, Boxes 21-22; F, Speech outlines and addresses, Box 23; G, Diaries and journals, Box 24; H, Reprints of articles, Boxes 25-26; I, Newspaper articles by or about J.H. Dillard, Boxes 27-29.

IV: photographs and snapshots, Boxes 44-57.

V: Avarene Budd Dillard, Boxes 44-57; A, Early materials of Avarene Budd Dillard and Dillard family, Box 44; B, Correspondence, mostly personnal, Boxes 45-52; C, Scrapbooks, notebooks, composition books, Boxes 53-54; D, Diaries and memo pads, Box 55; E, Ledger accounts, Boxes 56-57.

VI: Miscellaneous Bibles, prayer books, etc., Boxes 58-59.

VII: George and Hardy C. Dillard, Boxes 60-71; A, Miscellaneous materials, re: George, Hardy C., and Hardy S. (Judge) Dillard, Boxes 60-62; B, Notebooks, books, "Judge" Dillard, Boxes 63-64; C, Military career of Hardy C. Dillard, Boxes 65-70; D, Materials re: University Senate Committee, Box 71.

VIII: Miscellaneous materials, Boxes 72-77; A, Yearbooks, Box 72; B, Postcards, Box 73; C, Greeting cards, Box 74; D, Odds and ends, Boxes 75-77.

Separated Material

Correspondence of Benjamin Griffith Brawley was removed and accessioned separately as 9498-b.

Printed material in Boxes 30-36 was removed and cataloged separately. There is a gap in numbering as boxes were not re-numbered.

Adjunct Descriptive Data