J. Spencer Love

Sara Elizabeth Love
​
​
(m. 1922; div. 1940)​
Martha Eskridge
​
​
(m. 1944)​
Children8

James Spencer Love, also known as J. Spencer Love (July 6, 1896 - January 20, 1962), was an American industrialist, textile manufacturer and president of chairman of Burlington Industries, the largest textile company worldwide with assets of nearly $607 million and over 62,000 employees in 1962.[1] The Martha & Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University bears his name.[2]

Early life and education

Love was born July 6, 1896, in Cambridge, Massachusetts to James Lee Love and June (née Spencer) Love.[3] His paternal grandfather Robert Galvin Grier Love was originally from Gastonia, North Carolina and was co-owner of the Gastonia Cotton Manufacturing Company founded in 1887.[4] His maternal family had strong ties to the University of North Carolina; his maternal grandfather being Professor James Munroe Spencer and his grandmother was Cornelia Phillips Spencer. Love attended the Cambridge Latin School, received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in three years and continued to attend Harvard Business School for another year.[5][6]

Career

Love founded Burlington Industries in 1923.

Personal life

Love married Sara Elizabeth Love on January 22, 1922, in Davie, North Carolina. They had four sons;

  • James Spencer Love, Jr. (born 1926)[7][8][9] (m.) Meredith Morgan; seven children
  • Robert Lee Love[10]
  • Richard Love[11]
  • Julian Love

They separated in 1939 and were officially divorced in 1940.[12] He remarried to Martha Eskridge on July 23, 1944, in Cleveland, North Carolina. He had four more children together;

  • Charles Eskridge Love (born 1945)[13]
  • Martin Eskridge Love (born 1947)[14]
  • Cornelia Spencer Love (1949-2020)[15]
  • Lela Porter Love (born 1955)[16]

Death

Love died on January 20, 1962, in Palm Beach, Florida aged 65. He previously was a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina.[17][18] He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro, North Carolina.[citation needed]

Literature

  • J. Spencer Love; The Spencer Love Story Burlington Industries, 1962

References

  1. ^ "Love, James Spencer | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  2. ^ "About the Loves". Elon University. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  3. ^ "Love, James Lee, 1860-1950 - Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  4. ^ James Spencer Love (1896-1962) https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/james-spencer-love-1896-1962/
  5. ^ "NC Business Hall of Fame -- James S. Spencer". www.historync.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  6. ^ disputes, Founder of Burlington Mills (now Burlington Industries) He dispatched Ed Zane to work full time at resolving the sit-in (2017-01-25). "J. Spencer Love". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  7. ^ "James Spencer Love, Jr. '47 – Davidson College – In Memoriam". 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  8. ^ "James S. Love, Jr. 1926-2014". jim.love.name. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  9. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths LOVE, JAMES SPENCER, JR". query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  10. ^ "Miss Jonsson Wed to Robert Love". The New York Times. 1970-08-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  11. ^ Writer, Jim Schlosser Staff (2008-02-03). "Death of tycoon's son a mystery, as was he". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  12. ^ "James Spencer Love, Divorce Sought". The Palm Beach Post. 1943-04-13. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  13. ^ Florida Public Voter Records
  14. ^ United States Public Records, North Carolina
  15. ^ "Cornelia Love Obituary (1949 - 2020) - Durham, NC - The Herald Sun". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  16. ^ "Lela Love". cardozo.yu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  17. ^ Arneke, David (2021-08-06). "$7.5 million and It's Yours: The 1937 J. Spencer Love House in Irving Park". Greensboro Historic Homes For Sale. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  18. ^ Briggs, Benjamin (2016-05-13). "House With Distinguished Past Rounds Off Tour". Preservation Greensboro Incorporated. Retrieved 2023-06-04.