Papers of Edith Spurlock Sampson, 1927-1979

The bulk of the collection pertains to Sampson's activities as a judge, especially her election campaigns, and to her other professional and volunteer work, particularly her trips to Europe on behalf of the State Department and her work with the United Nations. There is very little about her personal life or her work as a lawyer. Most folder titles were created by the archivists; folder headings created by Sampson appear in quotation marks. Files were arranged by the archivists.

Series I, Personal and family, 1927, 1940-1979 (#1-7, 9, 12-15, 17-18, 20-53, 55-60, 62, 64-66, 280-300), includes some biographical and autobiographical materials, papers about awards, health, and finances, and materials she collected about African Americans and various organizations that she found of interest. The family papers consist mainly of correspondence and a few photographs.

Series II, General correspondence, 1934, 1947-1978 (#67-106, 301-333), is arranged to reflect what appears to have been Sampson's filing system: most letters are filed chronologically, with a few folders devoted to special events or topics at the end of the series.

Series III, Speeches and writings, 1950-1977 (#109, 111-130, 132-135, 334-335). Besides the texts of speeches and articles, this series includes correspondence arranging speaking engagements and clippings announcing or reviewing speeches or articles. As in Series II, Sampson's filing system was maintained: materials are arranged chronologically, with some folders pertaining to specific speaking engagements.

Series IV, Law, 1936-1978 (#136-163, 166-186) consists of materials documenting Sampson's career as a lawyer and judge, especially the latter: correspondence and printed matter from her election campaigns, drafts of her monthly reports, a few notes about specific cases, and clippings about Sampson or specific cases. There is very little evidence of her work as a lawyer, with briefs and other legal documents, as well as notes and correspondence, mainly about two specific cases: the Lutwak et al. conspiracy case (ca.1936) about violations of immigration and citizenship laws, and the Frederick P. Wall trial (ca.1953-1955) about abuses of political power. It is not clear whether Sampson was involved in these cases as an attorney; Joseph Clayton was an attorney in the Wall case.

Series V, Other professional and volunteer work, 1944-1977 (#188, 190-194, 197-216, 221-241, 249-250, 254, 257-267, 269-270, 272-273, 275, 336-340) consists of correspondence, photographs, and clippings from Sampson's many activities outside her legal work. Her work with the United Nations and as a representative of the State Department are particularly well documented. Sampson kept folders about each country she visited during her trips to Europe in 1951 and 1952; these have been maintained by the processor. Other organizations and agencies with which she was involved include the U.S. Citizens Commission on NATO, Roosevelt University, the National Council of Negro Women, and the American Negro Emancipation Centennial Committee. The organizations are arranged in chronological order (according to the initial dates that appear in the collection) as far as possible.

Series VI, Photographs, 1947-1974 (#8, 10-11f, 16, 19, 54-55, 61, 63, 107-108f+, 110, 131, 164-165, 187, 189, 195-196, 217-220, 242-248f, 252-253, 255-256f, 268, 271, 274, 276-279, 341, 348, 353, 377, 402, 409, 411, 424), contains portraits of Sampson, professional photographs of Sampson at events, and portraits of Sampson's family, friends, and colleagues. In cases in which letters were accompanied by photographs, the photographs were photocopied and the originals were removed to folder #279. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database.

Materials received by the Schlesinger Library in 2006 were added to the collection in July 2013 and are represented in #280-341. When the finding aid was updated, Series VI, Photographs, was added and all photographs were moved to that series. All other files remain in the same order. Cumulative headings were largely removed and the information that had been contained in them was incorporated into folder titles. Folders are listed in intellectual, not sequential order.

Series VII, 2015 Addenda, 1943-1970 (#342-424), contains correspondence, reports, legal documents, biographical information, clippings, photographs, and other materials received from Charles Thomas Spurlock in August 2015. Files document Sampson's legal work, speaking engagements, and participation in diplomacy tours including the Town Hall World Seminar (1949), the American Friends of the Middle East tour of the Middle East (1955), and the Inter-American Seminars (1958). Folders titled "memorandums from Mayor Daley" contain correspondence between Sampson and members of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's office, mostly concerning how the Mayor's Office should respond to requests from African-American organizations. Files documenting Sampson's participation in diplomacy tours include printed materials from countries she visited, reports on meetings, correspondence with tour participants and organizers, and a small number of photographs. Original folder headings were maintained; titles in brackets were created by the archivist. Files were arranged alphabetically by the archivist.