John Barham Spilman

Image source: John Spilman

A native of Weldon in Halifax County, John Barham Spilman, in his capacity as ECTTS and then ECTC treasurer, served as an officer of East Carolina’s board of trustees from 1912 until his passing in 1935. While not strictly speaking an appointed member of the board, Spilman, through his long service to the school as treasurer and by extension, to the board as an officer of the board, was among the most distinguished financial administrators in East Carolina’s history. It is noteworthy that within a decade of his passing in 1935, financial mismanagement at the highest levels led to a crisis in ECTC leadership and the eventual imprisonment of the school’s president, Dr. Leon R. Meadows, for embezzlement. During Spilman’s tenure, however, utmost integrity and accuracy in financial accounting were hallmarks of East Carolina’s history.

Spilman was educated at Horner Military School in Oxford, N.C., before studying at Wake Forest College (then located in Wake Forest, just north of Raleigh). He graduated from Wake Forest in 1890 and then either taught or worked as an administrator at a variety of institutions in Texas and North Carolina. From 1904-1912, he served as business manager of Draughon’s Business College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Spilman moved to Greenville and ECTTS in 1912 to serve as the school’s treasurer, a position he held for the next 23 years until his death due to a car accident in late 1935. During his tenure, Spilman coordinated all of the growing school’s receipts and expenditures, including those related to additions to existing buildings and then in the 1920s, the explosive growth of the campus eastward including the buildings now known as Wright, Graham, Whichard, Spilman, and Cotten, surrounding Wright Circle. Spilman was honored posthumously, in 1966, for his administrative contributions to East Carolina when the Administrative Building facing Fifth Street west of Ragsdale, was named Spilman Hall. Also, a portrait of Spilman, painted by local artist Georgia Hearne (1885-1981), was presented to the college.

Spilman and his wife, Johnetta, were popular administrators on campus. The 1932 Tecoan was dedicated to the husband-wife team which by that point, served as treasurer and assistant treasurer for ECTC. The dedication stated, “The nature of their duties has brought them into contact with every one of the students; and their efficiency, good judgment, fairness, and helpfulness have won for them the respect, admiration, and gratitude of many successive student bodies.” Following Spilman’s passing on December 25, 1935, ECTC held a chapel service at which then President Leon R. Meadows offered a tribute to the fallen leader as a consummate “book balancer.” The Teco Echo also published several resolutions of respect honoring the work of Spilman as East Carolina’s treasurer.

Soruces

• Baines, Marianne. “Spilman Building and Beckwith Gateway.” 1975. University Archives # UA55.01.1086. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/23049.
• Batten, James W. “John B. Spilman.” in In Retrospect. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University, 1997.
• “College Bursar Taken By Death: J. B. Spilman Dies At Greenville; Funeral Services Set For Today.” News and Observer. December 26, 1935. P. 7.
• Georgia Pearsall Hearne Papers, 1865-2013, undated; 1919-1982. ECU Manuscript Collection # 430. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/0430
• Green, C. Sylvester. “Spilman, John Barham.” 1994. NCPedia.
• J.B. Spilman Collection, 1934. ECU Manuscript Collection # 1020. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/1020
• Johnetta Webb Spilman Papers, 1890-1977. ECU Manuscript Collection # 97. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/0097
• “Johnetta Webb Spilman oral history interview.” September 7, 1977, July 20, 1973, August 30, 1977. Donald R. Lennon, contributor. Manuscript Collection # OH0012. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/51297
• “Late Treasurer Is Paid Tribute By President: Mr. J. B. Spilman is Described as Man Who Balanced His Books in Business and in Life.” Teco Echo. January 14, 1936. Pp. 1, 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38034
• “Resolutions of Respect: Faculty Staff.” Teco Echo. January 14, 1936. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38034
• “Resolutions of Respect: Secretary.” Teco Echo. January 14, 1936. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38034
• “Resolutions of Respect: Student Body.” Teco Echo. January 14, 1936. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38034
• “Special Events Listed for ECC.” Rocky Mount Telegram. May 13, 1966. P. 16.
• “Spilman, John Barham.” Records of the Office of Human Resources: Employee Biographical Records, 1909-1980. University Archives # UA11-01. Box 71. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/UA11-01
• “Spilman, John Barham, and Johnetta Webb Spilman.” Tecoan. 1932. University Archives # UA50.01.01.12. East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15337

Additional Related Material

The Tecoan 1924

John Barham Spilman. Image Source: East Carolina Yearbooks, Tecoan, 1924. UA50-01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

John Barham Spilman. Image Source: The Teco Echo, January 14, 1936. East Carolina University Campus Newspapers. UA50-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.