MS035

MS035
JOHNSTON AVERY AND VIRGINIA HALL AVERY PRIVATE PAPERS
1916 - 1976

Johnston Avery, a North Carolina native, pursued several careers. He was a newspaperman, political campaign aide, government official and businessman. His papers reflect his involvement with several important issues of his time. He assisted Senator Robert R. Reynolds in his campaign for repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment (Liquor Prohibition Amendment). He served as Assistant Chief of the Decartelization Branch of the U.S. Office of Military Government (OMGUS) in Berlin following World War II. When he became convinced that OMGUS was blocking attempts by the Decartelization Branch to carry out its mission of breaking up the German cartels, he resigned and brought charges against OMGUS. A Congressional investigation ensued which substantiated these charges.

First in an official capacity and later as a private businessman, Mr. Avery became involved in the economic development and exploitation of natural resources of Africa, specifically in Liberia. With the State Department, he was assistant administrator of the Point Four Program, which was established to aid developing countries acquire technical expertise. He resigned this position to become President of the Liberian American Swedish Minerals Company (LAMCO) Joint Venture, a position he held until his death. LAMCO discovered and began mining one of the largest and purest iron ore deposits ever discovered, which is located in the Nimba Mountains of Liberia. The Republic of Liberia owns 50% of the LAMCO Joint Venture. The company also received capital investment from the International African-American Corporation (now Liberian Iron Ore Ltd), Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and the Syndicate of companies controlled by Swedish financier Marcus Wallenberg.

The majority of these papers consists of correspondence written or received by Johnston Avery, including Holograph, typewritten, and typewritten carbon copy letter. Important correspondents include William V.S. Tubman, President of Liberia from 1944 to 1971 and other Liberian government officials; Robert R. Reynolds, U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1933 to 1945; J.C.B. Ehringhaus, North Carolina Governor from 1933 to 1937; and various businessmen involved in the LAMCO Joint Venture. Correspondence with family members is especially interesting for the descriptions of Mr. Avery's surroundings and his opinions on various issues. A few items of correspondence are included that were not written by or addressed to Mr. Avery. These items include letters written by or addressed to his wife, Virginia Hall Avery, and copies of letters concerning his business interest sent by various parties for his information.

The Collection also includes two lengthy typewritten manuscripts authored by Mr. Avery. One deals with the decartelization of German industries. The other is a biography of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, one of Mr. Avery's most admired historical figures. Additional files contain LAMCO reports, speeches (only one delivered by Mr. Avery), photographs, souvenir programs, Liberian newspapers, and assorted newspaper clippings.

Arrangement of the Collection is alphabetical by record series. Within each series item are filed in chronological order.

Additional papers relating to the Decartelization Branch of the U.S. Office of Military Government were donated to the National Archives and Records Service, Washington, DC by Mr. Avery in 1954. Background papers on this Collection are available from the Special Collections Librarian.

The Collection was donated to the William Madison Randall Library by Mrs. Virginia Reich, the only child of Johnston and Virginia (Hall) Avery, on August 30, 1983.

This Collection has been designated Accession Number 35 of the Manuscripts Collection, Special Collections Department, William Madison Randall Library, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-3297.

Although the Collection is available to researchers without access restrictions, Mrs. Reich retains literary rights to the material. Use of the papers for proposed publication must be approved by Mrs. Reich.

Processed by Sue Cody Hiatt
Special Collections Librarian
Manuscripts Collection
William Madison Randall Library
The University of North Carolina Wilmington
May 23, 1984

JOHNSTON AVERY, 1901 - 1970 A CHRONOLOGY
1901 - May 12 Born in Morganton, NC to Alphonso C. Avery, Jr. and Mary Johnston Avery.
1913 - 1917 Attended Fleet School for Boys, Hendersonville, NC
1917 - 1918 Attended Fishburne Military Academy, Waynesboro, VA.
1918 - 1919 Attended New York University, New York, NY.
1919 - 1921 Attended University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
1922 - Reporter for Greensboro (NC) Daily News.
1923 - Attended Columbia University School of Journalism and took speech therapy for a stammer. Served as cub reporter for New York World.
1923 - 1924 Reporter for Greensboro (NC) Daily News.
1924 - 1928 Reporter, then Editor for Hickory (NC) Daily Record.
1925 - Jun 6 Married Virginia Davenport Hall of Hickory, NC.
1928 - 1932 Editor and Publisher of Lenoir (NC) News-Topic.
1928 - Recipient, Separk Award for editorial work.
1930 - Recipient, North Carolina Press Association Award.
1931 - Participated in the successful campaigns of J.C.B. Ehringhaus for Governor of North Carolina and Robert R. Reynolds for U.S. Senator from North Carolina.
1932 - Assistant to Senator Reynolds, Washington, DC
1933 - 1935 Assistant to the Director, U.S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
1935 - 1950 Special Assistant to the Attorney General, Anti-Trust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC and New York, NY.
1935 - 1947 Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve.
1946 - 1948 Assistant Director, Decartelization Branch, U.S. Office of Military Government, Berlin, Germany.
1948 - Transferred back to Anti-Trust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
1950 - 1952 Assistant Administrator, U.S. Technical Cooperation Administration (Point Four Program), Foreign Operations Administration, Department of State,
Washington, DC.
1952 - 1970 President of Liberian American Swedish Minerals Co. (LAMCO).
1952 - 1955 Director, International African-American Corporation.
1955 - Dec 23 LAMCO's chief geologist, Sandy Clark, discovered iron ore at Mount Nimba, Liberia.
1956 - Drilling began at Nimba Mountains, Liberia.
1958 - Feb Established a home at Cascais, Portugal to be mid-way between New York, Stockholm and Liberia.
1959 - May 7 Decorated Grand Commander of the Star of Africa, Monrovia, Liberia.
1961 - Began building home on Middle Sound, New Hanover Co., NC.
1963 - Decorated Knight Commander of the Order of Vassa, Stockholm, Sweden.
1969 - Sep 5 Entered leukemia unit, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.
1970 - Oct 1 Died, Baltimore, MD.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Big Deal in the Liberian Jungle." Forbes. December 1, 1961, pp. 31-32.
"Business Around the Globe: A Landscape of Ore." Fortune. December 1961, pp. 65-72.
"Johnston Avery, Mines Developer, Dies Thursday." Wilmington Star-News, October 2, 1970.
Moody's Industrial Manual, 1963. New York: Moody's Investor's Service, 1963.
Who Was Who in America: Volume V. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1973.

Inventory
Manuscript/Box/File

035/1/1
Jan 30, 1915 - ca 1916 Correspondence (13 items)

035/1/2
Jul 9, 1921-Nov 27, 1922 Correspondence (13 items)

035/1/3
Feb 28-(Mar), 1923 Correspondence (5 items)

035/1/4
May 3, 1929-Dec 20, 1930 Correspondence (9 items)

035/1/5
Jun 12-July 27, 1931 Correspondence (15 items)

035/1/6
Aug 1-28, 1931 & (ca Aug 1931) Correspondence (21 items)

035/1/7
Sep 3-28, 1931 Correspondence (14 items)

035/1/8
Oct 3-Dec 3, 1931 & (1931) Correspondence (14 items)

035/1/9
Jan 2-June 18, 1932 Correspondence (19 items)

035/1/10
Jul 9-Sep 26, 1932 Correspondence (22 items)

035/1/11
Oct 1-Dec 12, 1932 & (ca 1932) Correspondence (8 items)

035/1/12
Jan 24-Sep 19, 1933 Correspondence (3 items)

035/1/13
Oct 18-20, 1933 Correspondence (36 items)

035/1/14
Oct 21-31, 1933 Correspondence (74 items)

035/1/15
(ca Oct 1933) Correspondence (35 items)

035/1/16
Nov 2, 1933 & (ca 1933) Correspondence (4 items)

035/1/17
Mar 21, 1935-Jun 10, 1938 Correspondence (3 items)

035/2/1
Nov 15, 1943 Correspondence (1 item)

035/2/2
Oct 10-(Oct 31), 1946 Correspondence (25 items)

035/2/3
Nov 1-15, 1946 Correspondence (19 items)

035/2/4
Nov 16-30, 1946 Correspondence (9 items)

035/2/5
Feb 1, 1951-Dec 12, 1952 Correspondence (35 items)

035/2/6
Feb 19, 1953-Dec 30, 1954 & (ca 1954) Correspondence (16 items)

035/3/1
Jan 5-Apr 25, 1955 Correspondence (25 items)

035/3/2
May 11-June 30, 1955 Correspondence (30 items)

035/3/3
Jul 1-14, 1955 Correspondence (22 items)

035/3/4
Jul 17-31, 1955 Correspondence (25 items)

035/3/5
Aug 1-29, 1955 Correspondence (29 items)

035/3/6
Sep 8-Nov 30, 1955 Correspondence (28 items)

035/3/7
Dec 1-30, 1955 & (ca 1955) Correspondence (27 items)

035/3/8
Jan 13-Feb 28, 1956 Correspondence (24 items)

035/3/9
Mar 4-30, 1956 Correspondence (21 items)

035/3/10
Apr 3-30, 1956 Correspondence (27 items)

035/3/11
May 2-31, 1956 Correspondence (39 items)

035/3/12
Jun 5-30, 1956 Correspondence (43 items)

035/3/13
Jul 1-27, 1956 Correspondence (31 items)

035/3/14
Aug 1-17, 1956 Correspondence (47 items)

035/3/15
Aug 19-31, 1956 Correspondence (32 items)

035/3/16
Sep 1-10, 1956 Correspondence (30 items)

035/3/17
Sep 11-19, 1956 Correspondence (25 items)

035/3/18
Sep 20-30, 1956 Correspondence (39 items)

035/3/19
Oct 1-9, 1956 Correspondence (35 items)

035/3/20
Oct 10-31, 1956 Correspondence (54 items)

035/3/21
Nov 1-28, 1956 Correspondence (55 items)

035/3/22
Dec 3-31, 1956 & (ca 1956) Correspondence (45 items)

035/4/1
Jan 4-30, 1957 Correspondence (35 items)

035/4/2
Feb 1-14, 1957 Correspondence (37 items)

035/4/3
Feb 15-27, 1957 & (ca Feb 1957) Correspondence (36 items)

035/4/4
Mar 1-8, 1957 Correspondence (23 items)

035/4/5
Mar 11-19, 1957 Correspondence (28 items)

035/4/6
Mar 20-30, 1957 Correspondence (22 items)

035/4/7
Apr 1-29, 1957 Correspondence (38 items)

035/4/8
May 8-31, 1957 Correspondence (26 items)

035/4/9
Jun 1-9, 1957 Correspondence (32 items)

035/4/10
Jun 10-18, 1957 Correspondence (38 items)

035/4/11
June 20-28, 1957 Correspondence (17 items)

035/4/12
Jul 1-29, 1957 Correspondence (31 items)

035/4/13
Aug 2-Sep 26, 1957 Correspondence (42 items)

035/4/14
Oct 1-Nov 20, 1957 Correspondence (41 items)

035/4/15
Dec 2-31, 1957 Correspondence (39 items)

035/4/16
Jan 1-31, 1958 Correspondence (37 items)

035/4/17
Feb 3-Apr 28, 1958 Correspondence (48 items)

035/4/18
May 2-31, 1958 Correspondence (45 items)

035/4/19
Jun 5-Sep 26, 1958 Correspondence (47 items)

035/4/20
Oct 6-30, 1958 Correspondence (25 items)

035/4/21
Nov 1-Dec 31, 1958 Correspondence (40 items)

035/5/1
Jan 4-30, 1959 Correspondence (25 items)

035/5/2
Feb 4-25, 1959 Correspondence (25 items)

035/5/3
Mar 1-27, 1959 Correspondence (27 items)

035/5/4
Apr 15-30, 1959 Correspondence (13 items)

035/5/5
May 4-27, 1959 Correspondence (19 items)

035/5/6
Jun 2-29, 1959 Correspondence (16 items)

035/5/7
Jul 1-30, 1959 Correspondence (15 items)

035/5/8
Aug 1-31, 1959 & (ca Aug 1959) Correspondence (34 items)

035/5/9
Sep 3-29, 1959 Correspondence (14 items)

035/5/10
Oct 1-29, 1959 Correspondence (13 items)

035/5/11
Nov 2-29, 1959 Correspondence (8 items)

035/5/12
Dec 1-31, 1959 Correspondence (30 items)

035/5/13
Jan 3-Dec 14, 1960 Correspondence (15 items)

035/5/14
Jan 9-Mar 27, 1961Correspondence (28 items)

035/5/15
Apr 3-30, 1961 Correspondence (10 items)

035/5/16
May 2-13, 1961 Correspondence (10 items)

035/5/17
May 16-30, 1961 Correspondence (31 items)

035/5/18
Jun 1-30, 1961 Correspondence (27 items)

035/5/19
Jul 5-Aug 27, 1961 Correspondence (13 items)

035/5/20
Sep 1-29, 1961 Correspondence (20 items)

035/5/21
Oct 3-31, 1961 Correspondence (25 items)

035/5/22
Nov 3-28, 1961 Correspondence (10 items)

035/5/23
Dec 2-21, 1961 & (ca 1961) Correspondence (12 items)

035/6/1
Jan 3-30, 1962 Correspondence (20 items)

035/6/2
Feb 1-Mar 27, 1962 Correspondence (18 items)

035/6/3
Apr 3-28, 1962 Correspondence (16 items)

035/6/4
May 1-31, 1962 Correspondence (20 items)

035/6/5
Jun 1-15, 1962 Correspondence (26 items)

035/6/6
Jun 16-29, 1962 Correspondence (27 items)

035/6/7
Jul 2-31, 1962 Correspondence (33 items)

035/6/8
Aug 1-30, 1962 Correspondence (26 items)

035/6/9
Sep 5-27, 1962 Correspondence (22 items)

035/6/10
Oct 2-29, 1962 Correspondence (36 items)

035/6/11
Nov 2-30, 1962 Correspondence (35 items)

035/6/12
Dec 3-31, 1962 & (ca 1962) Correspondence (35 items)

035/6/13
Jan 2-15, 1963 Correspondence (20 items)

035/6/14
Jan 16-31, 1963 Correspondence (24 items)

035/6/15
Feb 4-15, 1963 Correspondence (20 items)

035/6/16
Feb 18-27, 1963 Correspondence (14 items)

035/6/17
Mar 1-31, 1963 Correspondence (18 items)

035/6/18
Apr 1-30, 1963 Correspondence (15 items)

035/6/19
May 2-29, 1963Correspondence (31 items)

035/6/20
Jun 3-26, 1963 Correspondence (23 items)

035/7/1
Jul 1-Aug 28, 1963 Correspondence (23 items)

035/7/2
Sep 11-30, 1963 Correspondence (17 items)

035/7/3
Oct 1-30, 1963 Correspondence (25 items)

035/7/4
Nov 4-26, 1963 Correspondence (7 items)

035/7/5
Dec 2-30, 1963 Correspondence (28 items)

035/7/6
Jan 5-31, 1964 Correspondence (27 items)

035/7/7
Feb 3-27, 1964 Correspondence (18 items)

035/7/8
Mar 13-Jun 30, 1964 Correspondence (22 items)

035/7/9
Jul 10-Sep 29, 1964 Correspondence (33 items)

035/7/10
Oct 7-Dec 14, 1964 Correspondence (18 items)

035/7/11
Jun 14, 1973-Apr 5, 1976 Correspondence (2 items)

035/7/12
No Date Correspondence (6 items)

035/8/1
1916-1963 & no date Envelopes

035/8/2
1958-Oct 10, 1962 Financial Documents (5 items)

035/8/3
Mar 20, 1956-Feb 14, 1962 Financial Documents- Miscellaneous Receipts (21 items)

035/8/4
Oct 31, 1958-Jan 10, 1962 Financial Documents- Stock Receipts (18 items)

035/8/5
1961-1963 LAMCO & Affiliated Company Reports (3 items)

035/8/6
(ca 1956)-Sep 1970 & no date LAMCO & Liberia- Miscellaneous (7 items)

035/8/7
1929-Sep 1961 Financial Documents (13 items)

035/9/1
no date Manuscript- Decartelization of German Industries (201 leaves)

035/10/1
no date Manuscript-Stonewall Jackson (331 leaves)

035/11/1
Nov 4-5, 1956-Feb 19, 1971 Newspapers

035/11/2
Aug 6, 1931-(ca Jan 1964 & no date) Newspaper & Magazine Clippings

035/12/1
Oct 1970 Obituaries & Tributes (13 items)

035/12/2
1957-1964 Oversized Items

035/12/3
(ca 1954-1968) Photographs moved to Box #13

035/12/4
Oct 24, 1933-Feb 24, 1968 Press Releases (4 items)

035/12/5
(ca 1956-1964) Resumes (not Avery) (3 items)

035/12/6
1931-1935 & no date Reynolds, Robert R.- Miscellaneous (6 items)

035/12/7
1958-(ca 1959) & no date Schedules, Guest Lists (5 items)

035/12/8
Jan 15, 1957-Apr 29, 1961 Society of the Cincinnati (3 items)

035/12/9
1946, Jan 1960-Jan 1964 & no date Souvenir Programs (12 items)

035/12/10
(ca 1931)-Nov 20, 1958 Speeches-JA and others (9 items)

035/12/11
(ca 1958) Travel Documents (2 items)

035/12/12
1948-1953 U.S. Government Employment Forms (8 items)

035/13/1
Photographs (ca 1954-1968)

035/14/1
Scrapbook (ca 1950's)

COPYRIGHT: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.