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Preferred Citation

Papers of the Weisiger Family, Accession #5398-c, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was given to the Library by Dr. & Mrs. Donald E. Timberlake, Ivy, Virginia, on December 14, 1992

Scope and Content Information

This collection chiefly consists of the professional, personal, financial, and personal papers of Cary N. Weisiger, Jr. (1882-1965) of "Pocahontas," Ivy, Virginia, an investment broker and official of the National Recovery Administration during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Weisiger was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 22, 1882, the son of Cary Nelson (1856- ?) and Elizabeth Hughes Humphreys Weisiger (1854-?). He attended Pantops Academy, Albemarle County, 1900-1901, the University of Virginia, 1901-1905, and graduated with a law degree from the Benton College of Law, St. Louis, Missouri.

Weisiger married Louise Little of St. Louis in 1906 and had four children, Dr. Cary Nelson Weisiger III (1910- ), Carter Byrd Weisiger (1917- ), Mary Randolph Weisiger (1920- ), Margaret Page Weisiger Proctor (1907- ). He had his own security investment business in St. Louis, 1905-1914; worked for the St. Louis Clearing House Association, 1914-1920, as Assistant Manager and Assistant to the Chief Examiner; was employed by Goldman Sachs & Company in Chicago and St. Louis, 1920-1932; and was associated with the National Recovery Administration, 1933-1935. He was also associated with the Miami Corporation and was a director of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad. An active alumnus of the University of Virginia, Weisiger established the annual Alumni Fund at the University in 1936, and served as director from 1945-1947.

The papers contain alphabetical correspondence files; financial and legal papers; papers concerning Weisiger's career with the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation, with headquarters in New York; papers and four large photographs concerning his association with the National Recovery Administration, especially the Banker's Code of Fair Competition and the Shipping Section regarding Inland Water Transportation; his work with the St. Louis Clearing House Association; and the War Credit Corporation.

The subject file on Goldman, Sachs and Company , a New York securities house, documents Weisiger's employment with the firm, 1920-1932, and includes announcements of the opening of an office in St. Louis under the management of Cary N. Weisiger, Jr. (1920 Jul 19), contracts for 1929-1931, and telegrams and correspondence between Weisiger and the firm.

There are several subject files concerning his employment and association with the National Recovery Administration in Washington, D.C., beginning on September 18, 1933, in A.D. Whiteside's Division, "chief [assistant] in charge of Financial Codes under Mr. Whiteside," working on codes of fair practices covering banks and other financial institutions and appointee as government representative on the Stock Exchange Code Authority (1933 Nov 25). The files chiefly contain Weisiger's correspondence with Myron F. Ratcliffe , Assistant Deputy Administrator, concerning the effects on the department of Weisiger's dismissal by General Hugh S. Johnson (1882-1942), internal news of the department and its work, and the efforts of Weisiger's friends to have him reinstated and exonerated.

Topics in the N.R.A. folders include a letter to Weisiger's wife about his dismissal by General Hugh S. Johnson for the Banker's Code misunderstandings (1933 Dec 29); a printed Kiplinger Washington Letter about the Banking Code blunder (attached to 1934 Jan 9); anti-Roosevelt sentiment (1934 Aug 29); the appointment of Weisiger as Deputy Administrator, Public Utilities Division, Shipping Section (1934 Nov 28, Dec 8); criticism of Hugh Johnson (1934 Sep 29, Oct 10); the banking code (1934 Dec 12); and the resignation of Weisiger from the N.R.A. (1935 Nov 26, Dec 17 & 30).

Another N.R.A. file contains documentation concerning the misunderstanding with Hugh S. Johnson about the Banker's Code of Fair Competition which caused Weisiger's original dismissal from the N.R.A.: the draft of its announcement o.k.'ed by Hugh S. Johnson (1933 Dec 28); changes approved in the press release concerning the Code approved by E.R. Black Governor of the Federal Reserve Banks (1933 Dec 28); the actual press release describing the new guidelines for the banking industry and other financial institutions (1933 Dec 29); transcripts of telegrams sent by Hugh S. Johnson to Frank W. Simmonds and Ronald Ransom claiming no knowledge of the new banking code rules initialed by him (1933 Dec 29); and a letter from Cary Weisiger to A.D. Whiteside, describing the events preceding the premature release of the Banking Code and his subsequent dismissal (1934 Jan 2).

Other files concerning the National Recovery Administration include: many personal letters of support for Weisiger following his dismissal; newsclippings; and a notebook with various divisions concerning his work with the Shipping Section on Inland Water Transportation.

Weisiger's early work with the Federal government is represented by the files on the St. Louis Clearing House Association (1917-1918) containing two revisions of the "Constitution, By-Laws, and Rules and Regulations of the St. Louis Clearing House Association" and the War Credit Corporation (1915-1917), containing correspondence between Weisiger and Sir Edward H. Holden, Henry P. Davison, and N. Dean Jay.

The alphabetical correspondence files contain letters discussing business and legal matters, personal news, social events, church work and religious events, with brief references to the effects of the Depression scattered throughout the correspondence. They also contain much correspondence with ministers, priests, and educators with references to Weisiger's many charitable and humanitarian gifts and activities, including educational donations and support, illustrating his deep commitment to religious and educational endeavors.

Correspondents Include

Correspondence A : Albright, C.H.; Alderman, Mrs. Edwin A.; Allen, William; Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity; Anderson, S.W.; Andrews, Alfred B.; Armistead, Charles M.; Armistead, William C.; Armistead, Rev. W. Humphreys; and Arundale, Samuel.

Correspondence B : Babcock, William Jackson; Barker, Frank P.; Barr, Rev. Norman B.; Beach, Frank L.; Beals, F.L.; Beer, Harry M.; Bell, William J.; Benet, Christie; Benge, Joseph B.; Blake Brothers & Company; Bolling, Albert S.; Botts, Minor E.; Bradley, F.F.; Braun, Louis; Briggs, Charles H.; Bronsky, Maurice; Bronstein, Rev. David; Brown, Dr. Henry Seymour; Bryant, Donald R.; Burke, John W.; Buschgen, Rev. O.W.; and Bush, John A...

Correspondence C : Calkins, R.R.; Campbell, Rev. John; Carpenter, Clarkson, Jr.; Carson, F.L.; Carson, John F.; Carton, Alfred T.; Charlottesville School For Boys; Chicago World's Fair Centennial Celebration; Chindblom, Rep. Carl R.; Clarke, A.S.C.; Clayson, George Phelps, Jr.; Clopton, Dr. Malvern B.; Clutton, Fred H.; Clyde, Rev. Walter; Cochran, Dana A.; Coffman, Dabney Davis; Coffman, Jo Randolph; Coffman, Mary Page; Compton, Arthur H. (Nobel laureate in physics); Cone, Julius Benedict; Cone, Murdoch; Crowell, Henry P.; and Curtis Vocational Service (description of a robbery of paperboy Carter Weisiger).

Correspondence Church Extension Board of the Presbytery of Chicago - Evangelism : Weisiger was a lay member of this board

Correspondence D : Dabney, Judge Archie D.; Daly, Lee L.; Davis, Abel; Davis, Arch B.; Davis, Claude W.; Deeds, Charles W.; Dinwiddie, Courtney; Dinwiddie, Harmon A.; Dinwiddie, J.M.; Dobie, Armistead M.; Donovan, Gerald E.; Dougherty, Rev. Charles Augustine; Downing, John R.; Duff, Ernest R. (request for Weisiger to run for Albemarle County Supervisor, Ivy District); Dunn, Charles R.; and Dysart, Thomas N..

Correspondence E - F : Elliott, Dr.R.H.; Emerich, Melvin L.; Emmerson, Louis L.; English Speaking Union of Chicago; Erminger, Howell B., Jr.; Ewing, William; Farmington Country Club membership; Federal Reserve Board; Ferguson, J.T.; Fetter, George G.; Filer, Leo; Fitts, George H.; Fitzhugh, Carter H.; Forbes, B.C.; Foulks, William C. and Francis, T.T.

Correspondence Family : education of Margaret Page at Sweet Briar (1926 Apr 23); mention of bootleggers in Albemarle County (1931 Jul 17); Weisiger's work on the National Recovery Administration Banking Code in New York and his dismissal by General Hugh Johnson (1933 Dec 26-1934 Mar 23); Weisiger's father's polemic against F.D. Roosevelt's programs (1934 Jan 12 & Mar 23); and the marriage of Margaret Page (Weisiger) Proctor (1935 Nov 26).

Correspondence G : Garesche, W.H.J.; Geoghegan, A.D.; Glass, Carter; Glass, Meta; Golee, Christian J.; Gordon, Albert H.; Gorham, Dr. F.D.; Gray, Harry F.; Graves, W.C.; Gregory, Raymond J.; Griffin, J. Webb; and Guaranty Trust Company of New York.

Correspondence H : Hagen, Oscar C.; Hamilton, F.M; Hammond, F.C.; Hamm, G. Stuart; Hancock, John M.; Hanna, Rev. C. Morton; Harahan, W.J.; Hartfield, David; Harfield, Col. Joseph M.; Hawkins, Eugene P.; Head, Walter W.; Higginbottom, Samuel (superintendent of the Naini Leper Home and principal of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute, American Presbyterian Mission, 1926-1934); Hoblitzelle, William E.; Hodgson, Matthew H.; Horton, Robert V.S.; Houston, Frank K.; Howard, H. Trumbull; Howe, Lawrence; Hoxton, William W.; Hudson, William M.; and Hume, John E.N.

Correspondence I - J : Illinois Presbyterian Education Fund; Institute of American Genealogy; Interstate Producing Company; Jackson, Henry E.; Jacobs, Benjamin F.; Jameson, John William; Johnson, Rev. Albert Sidney; and Johnson, Mary Elizabeth.

Correspondence K - N : Karker, Maurice H.; Kemp, George S.; Kemper, B.P.; "Kenmore" Association; King, Landreth H.; King, W.W.; Knock, W. Gregg; Kohler, Walter J.; Kollock, W. Gregg; Lake Forest College (1929-1931); Lambeth, W.A.; Langhorne, Charles M.; Lawrenceville School; Levins, F.R.; Lichtenstein, Walter; Liermann, A.J.; Little, Alden H.; Lopez, Neftali; The Louisville Presbyterian Seminary; Loveman, Ernest; Lowry, Robert B.; Lyle, Rev. Hubert S.; Mansfield, Lewis P.; Minute Men of the Constitution; and Frank W. Norris.

Correspondence P : Packer, L.E.; Page, Charles T.; Pampel, Alban, Jr.; Page, Dean James Morris (UVA); Peniel Community Center, Chicago, Illinois; Phillips, Dr. L.B.; Pilgrim Tercentenary Memorial Fund; Plunket, Paul; The Presbyterian Union of Chicago; Princeton University; and Public Works Administration.

Correspondence R : Randolph, Benjamin O'Fallon; Randolph, Robert Isham; Reconstruction Finance Corporation; Rexford, Ley P.; Reynolds, C. Amerel; Rice, Dr. & Mrs. O. Herbert (Ewing Christian College, Allahabad, India, politics in India); Ridgway, William H.; Royal Arch Masons; Roycemore School; and Russell, Dan P..

Correspondence S : Sachs, Howard J.; St. Paul's Church, Ivy, Virginia; Salerno, F.G.; Sawyer, Robert Lee; Schnadig, Edgar L.; Schreiber, John A.; Schweer, Mamie Booth; Scott, Wallace W., Jr.; Seator, S.M.; Sevier, Joseph R.; Sheldon, Stephen; Sihler, Alfred T.; Silsley, Rev. Frank Mitchell; Small, Alice G.; Smart & Golee; Smart, Jean; Smith, Walter W.; Sons of the American Revolution, Missouri Society; Speers, James M.; Sprouse, Lester; Steele, Lewis M.; Steinberg, Mark C.; Stevens, Charles N.; Stewart, Meacham; The Stony Brook School, Long Island; Stoutenburgh, Major A.S.; J.D. Streett & Company; Streett, Rolla Wells; and Strong, Walter A..

Correspondence T : Tabb, George Cary; Taylor, Curt N.; Terry, Dr. Schuyler; Thomas, Lorenzo James; Thralls, Jerome; Tilton, McLane; Tingle, H.M.; Titus, Randolph P.; Traylor, Melvin A.; and Tucker, Rev. Beverley D..

Correspondence University of Virginia : Alderman, Dr. Edwin A.; Alumni Association (McLane Tilton & J. Malcolm Luck); Alumni Fund Council; Miscellaneous; Virginia Quarterly Review (Lambert Davis).

Correspondence White, Thomas W. (St. Louis): personal and business letters

SUBJECTS IN CORRESPONDENCE FILES INCLUDE : missionary work in India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the celebration of the 36th Kumbh Mela Hindu ceremony, the tense political atmosphere in India, and arrangements for Cary Weisiger III to work in India at the Allahabad Agricultural Institute and news of the work (see Higgonbottom, Sam, miscellaneous letters); the Weisiger coat-of-arms (see Jameson, John William, 1932 Aug 4); the expulsion of 500 mountaineer families from the Shenandoah National Park land by the Federal government (see Phillips, L.B., 1934 Oct 30); Weisiger genealogy (see Randolph, Colonel Robert Isham); politics in India following the London Round Table Conference, meeting of Mahatma Gandhi and the Nehru family at Allahabad, the death of Pandit Motilal Nehru, summary of an interview with Gandhi, and description of the Magh Mela, greatest Indian Bathing Festival (see Rice, Rev. C. Herbert); Weisiger being the first subscriber to the Edwin Anderson Alderman Alumni Fund and the proposed restoration of the Woodrow Wilson room number 31, West Range (see UVA: Alumni Association, 1928 Oct 12 and 1929 Mar 29, Apr 3 & May 1).

OTHER CORRESPONDENTS INCLUDE :Harriman, W.A. (1935 Jun 19)
Johnson, Hugh S. (1934 Mar 24)
Loveman, Ernest (1934 Dec 10)
Martin, L.J. (1935 Aug 31, Dec 9)
Meyers, Henry P. (1934 Sep 29, Dec 10)
O'Neill, James L. (1934 Mar 21, 30; [May 28])
Ransom, Ronald (1934 Oct 24-25, Dec 27)
Richberg, Donald (1935 Jun 17, 27)
Simmonds, Frank W. (1934 Nov 1, 7)
Whiteside, Arthur D. (absolving Weisiger of all blame in the Banking Code affair, 1934 Mar 31; 1935 Dec 5)