Collection Summary

Creator: Pearce, Clarence B.
Title: Law School Papers of Clarence B. Pearce, 1916-1920
Accession: MSS 86-2
Description: 80 items
Location: SC - Basement
Photograph Collection: View 1 digitized photographs
Digitized Content: 2 objects
Use Restrictions: There are no restrictions.

Collection Description & Arrangement

The Papers of Clarence B. Pearce consist primarily of letters written by Pearce to his mother as well as photographs of Pearce and the University of Virginia grounds while Pearce was a law student (1917 - 1921). His college activities included participation in the debating society and service on the editorial board of Virgina Law Review.

Biographical & Historical Information

Clarence B. Pearce of Kirkwood, Georgia, enrolled at the University of Virginia in 1917 when he was about 19 years old. His father, who apparently was a soldier in World War I, had died in 1916, and Pearce's education was interrupted by a brief stint in the Army just before the Armistice in 1918. Far away from home while at the University, Pearce wrote his mother frequently, at least for the periods represented by the letters in this gift. Early in his academic career he was active in the debating society and later was selected for the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review, at that time a publication in serious financial difficulty. In these letters Pearce does not mention any of his professors by name, but he does discuss the books he is using for some of his courses, the amount of studying he does, and the strain and tension surrounding the exam period. For most of the time he was at the University he lived on Dawson's Row. The collection contains snapshots of Pearce and his friends around the Grounds.

Acquisition Information

Date Received 1986
Donor Information The papers of Clarence B. Pearce were given to the Law Library in 1986 by his son-in-law and daughter, Judge and Mrs. James E. Lehan.

Content List

  • 1 TL (typed letter),____ to C. B. Pearce (CBP): notification of University of Virginia scholarship award 1916 June 9
  • 3 ALS (autographed letter signed), CBP to "Mother" [Mrs. James R. Pearce] 1917 October
  • 3 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1918 January
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1918 April 11
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1918 May 16
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1918 July 20
  • 2 ALS, CPB to "Mother" 1918 Sept. & Oct.
  • 6 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 January
  • 5 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 February
  • 9 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 March
  • 7 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 April
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 May 14
  • 2 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 Aug. & Sept.
  • 2 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 October
  • 1 TLS (typed letter signed), "Charlie" to "Hon" [CBP] 1919 November 5
  • 1 ALS, "Mother" to "My Darling Boy" 1919 November 30
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1919 December 14
  • 1 TLS, "Charlie" to "Hon" [CBP] 1920 January 31
  • 2 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1920 Feb. & Mar.
  • 1 ALS, CBP to "Mother" 1920 June 2
  • 1 ACS, CBP to Mrs. JRP: picture postcard of Dawson's Row n.d.
  • Miscellaneous military service documents 1916-18 [6 items]
  • Law School records and clipping re graduation 1918-20 [4 items]
  • Programs of events and activities at the University of Virginia, including a Phi Delta Phi libel show program 1918-[1920?] [4 items]
  • Program for "Sleeping Partners" performed at The Jefferson theater in Charlottesville 1920 March 26 [1 item]

Photographs [Ca. 1917-20]

  • 18 photographs taken while Pearce was a student at the University; includes a shot of him and his friends, Minor Hall, the Commons, Dawson's Row, and the Grounds covered in snow

Associated People

Use Policy

Access There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Unless otherwise stated, digital materials in our collections are available for use under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 License (CC-BY-4.0). For Use and Citation guidelines, see Special Collections Use Policy.