Charles Cecil Wyche Papers

The collection consists of four linear feet of papers, 1903-1969, arranged in six series: Judicial Papers, Topical Files, Personal, Speeches, Clippings, and Photographs.

The collection as a whole consists largely of correspondence – letters to and from Judge Wyche on a number of topics, both quotidian and unique. From letters he wrote to his mother while at The Citadel, to letters to and from other judges, to letters of condolence to his secretary, Mrs. Frances D. Staples, upon the Judge’s death in 1966, the scope and content of the collection are rich and varied. Correspondents of note include fellow judges George Bell Timmerman and Ashton Williams, as well as hundreds of prison inmates seeking to reduce or appeal their sentences.

The Judicial Papers series contains these letters from inmates which illustrate Judge Wyche’s compassionate nature, but also his firm sense of justice; his belief that the sentences imposed are for the good of those serving them, and can help reform them into law-abiding citizens. In one letter dated 18 December 1952, for example, Judge Wyche wrote to the mother of a man he sentenced to prison:

“In every case it is not the defendant who suffers, but his relatives – his mother, his father, his wife, his children – and I realize, of course, that you will suffer more than he while he is serving his sentence.

“In my opinion it is better for him to serve this sentence, and maybe this sentence will cause him to change his ways and bring him into the Church, as you have so devoutly prayed for.”

In response to many letters the Judge received from financially suffering family members of inmates, or from the inmates themselves detailing their family problems, he arranged for welfare assistance for the family while their primary bread winner was absent. He was particularly passionate about helping to reform juvenile offenders. In a letter dated 10 December 1951, to the Honorable William J. Barker of Tampa, Florida, regarding the possibility of Judge Wyche holding a term of court in Tampa, he expresses a heartfelt sentiment: “Frankly, I prefer to try civil cases rather than criminal cases. I get enough breaking people’s hearts in my own district.”

Also within the Judicial Papers series is information about Wyche’s judicial appointments. Included here are the letters of endorsement and congratulations regarding Wyche’s appointment as U.S. District Judge in 1936. Other papers in this section reveal his bid for an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1939 upon the retirement of the Honorable Elliott Northcutt. Judge Wyche did not receive this appointment; President Franklin D. Roosevelt instead appointed Judge Armistead Mason Dobie of Virginia.

Judicial Papers also documents the routine operation of a federal district court with information about employee salaries and periods of annual leave. Also included are papers tracing Wyche’s effort to create a montage of portraits of all the past and present federal judges from South Carolina to hang in his chambers. The portrait of one judge, Thomas Bee, proved forever elusive.

The Topical Files series includes papers on topics ranging from respected professionals in Wyche’s life to special events to the thorny issue of segregation during the 1950s and 1960s. The “Persons” section delves into Wyche’s personal life, and illustrates his loyalty to friends and colleagues such as Judge Robert A. Cooper, attorney Oscar H. Doyle, and his longtime Clerk of Court, Wilbur D. White.

Included in the correspondence relating to Wyche’s appointment as U.S. District Attorney is a letter to Abbeville mayor R.B. Cheatham, 12 June 1933, reflecting on his military experience in the First World War: “I too often recall how near you and I came to being buried at sea when we with thousands of others were attacked with influenza on the voyage overseas.” In a letter to Greenville attorney W.D. Workman, 16 June 1933, Wyche expressed his high opinion of law partner Donald Russell: “I want to assure you that Donald Russell is one man I am not going to appoint as my assistant....He is too valuable for our firm to release to be an assistant district attorney.” Wyche instead offered this position to J. Strom Thurmond, who did not accept it.

The Segregation section within the Topical Files provides reference material and tracts illustrating the viewpoints of contemporary Southerners on the desegregation movement. These viewpoints range from a perceived link between the NAACP and communism, an alleged biblical sanction of segregation, and the opinion that the Supreme Court overstepped its legal bounds in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision of 1954, and other similar school desegregation decisions.

Also regarding desegregation, the Clippings series provides important primary source information about the 1962-1963 trials regarding Harvey B. Gantt, a young African-American architectural student, and his admission to the all-white Clemson College. These trials, over which Judge Wyche presided, were among the first major ramifications of desegregation in South Carolina.

Several eulogies are present, including one delivered by C.T. Graydon for Coleman L. Blease, and one Wyche himself presented in 1947, on the passing of his predecessor on the District Court, the Honorable Henry Hitt Watkins.

Researchers may also reference the Donald Russell collection housed in South Carolina Political Collections for more information about Wyche. Among Donald Russell’s personal papers are correspondence with Wyche and a copy of his living will.