Cape Girardeau Manuscript Collections

The Southeast Missouri Collection is a combination of small acquisitions to the State Historical Society related to Missouri places, individuals, organizations, and events.

The Counts Family Papers contain Bible records, tintypes, correspondence, and a family history book of the family that lived in Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri.

The Southeast Missouri Medical Society Records include a minute book ledger from 1877-1896, issues of the Cape County Journal, an anniversary booklet for the Southeast Missouri Hospital, advertising materials, publication n the history of medicine in Southeast Missouri, and various papers from 1877-1967.

The collection contains correspondence, photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, business-related trade journals, a Narcotic Register, and miscellaneous papers for Mary Jane "Miss Jane" Barnett and her life and business partner, Elaine "Tommie" Davis.

The Albert Aven Kinder Papers contains photographs, yearbook pages, and correspondence between members of the Kinder family. There are 29 photographs of the Kinder family from 1919 to 1967, yearbook pages from The Girardot (Central High School), The Sagamore (Southeast Missouri State University), The Savitar (University of Missouri-Columbia), and correspondence to Sherrill Kinder Wright from Marcia Kinder Geer and Edna Kinder Anderson.

The Marvin E. Proffer Scrapbooks contain two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, postcards, and other memorabilia related to Proffer.

The Reynolds Family Papers contain photographs, correspondence, reel to reel films, and other papers related to the Reynolds family of Morehouse, Missouri from 1875-1997.

The Weldon Stein Papers include World War II correspondence with his parents, military service records, a personal diary, high school and college graduation programs, and genealogical information.

The Warren G. Harber Photographs contain 124 photographs of Warren G. Harber in Texas, Oklahoma, and Italy during his service in World War II with the 42nd Infantry Division from 1942-1946. This collection also includes photographs of Harber and his wife, Jewel, from 1992 and 2011 to 2012.

The Oliver and Oliver Law Firm Papers contain case files and correspondence of the firm from the 1880s to 1980s. This collection also includes the genealogy of the Oliver and Watkins families, family correspondence, and civic involvements with the Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club, Sons of the American Revolution, and Presbyterian Church. In addition, this collection contains material related to the Little River Drainage District, Oliver Land and Development Company, and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

The collection contains genealogical research, including family group sheets, correspondence, clippings, and photographs of the Kennedy, Zook, Sheppard, Priest, Renfroe, Whitley, Gisler, Doughty, and affiliated families.

Photographs, papers, and letters from the Thomas Valentine Moulder, Wilbur J. Moulder, and Frances Valentine Moulder family from Scott County, Missouri.

The Patricia Shively Elmore Papers contain diaries, correspondence, genealogy, scrapbooks, and photographs related to the donor’s family. This collection also contains diplomas, commencement programs, military documents, photographs, souvenir postcards, films, and funeral memorabilia of the donor’s second husband, William “Bill” Elmore.

This collection contains letters, military documents, family genealogy information, and copied pages from published material.

This is a collection of six letters written by Private George W. Shinn, a Union soldier in the American Civil War, which also includes transcriptions and other information gathered by the donor about Shinn.

A seventh letter, written by Solomon Kittrell on May 19, 1861 in Butler County, Missouri, shares his current situation as a farmer, river levels, soldiers’ movements, and the transport of African Americans through the region.

The Fruitland Grange No. 611 record book contains detailed by-laws and minutes of the meetings held by members from 1873 to 1876. The fraternal organization focused on agriculture and local farmers. The group’s goal was to promote agriculture and provide a unifying voice to farmers against capitalism. Men and women were eligible for membership and officers were given ranks and titles to establish order and responsibilities.

Four volumes of quarterly conference records and one folder of papers generated by the Methodist church located in Leemon, Fruitland, and Millersville, Missouri.

The papers of W. Robert Cope contain notes, outlines and final examinations produced as a student at the University of Missouri School of Law from 1965 to 1968.

The Sikes Family Papers contain eight enslaved bills of sale to William Sikes of New Madrid County, Missouri. These documents reflect the name, age, and price of each enslaved person. Three additional documents show land transfers and a tax assessment of personal property.

Ruth K. Hammersmith taught school at Lutesville, Missouri, (Bollinger County) in the 1940s. There are four photographs of 7th and 8th grade classes at the Lutesville school from 1939-1941.

The 96 oral histories were produced by Bolduc House Museum in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri for the Smithsonian Institution's traveling exhibit "The Way We Worked". This is the local copy of the records.

The Eddleman Family Papers includes correspondence between Barbara and Christopher Eddleman and their four sons, William H., Harley, Riley Russell, Rodney J. during World War II. William H. Eddleman died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines in 1942. Included in this collection is correspondence from the War Department about his death benefits to his parents, William H. Breen, Jr. and his wife Enid Breen, and Abie Abraham, after the war. Abraham was with William when he died.

Photographs and awards relating to George R. Roussell during his time of service in the Navy during World War I, Korean, and Vietnam Wars.

Lorena Shell Eaker transcribed family Bible records provided to her by several families in southeast Missouri and North Carolina. These records were used to compile her two-volume work The Shoe Cobbler’s Kin, A Genealogy of the Peter (Ecker) Eaker, Sr. Family (1701-1976). These papers include both hand-written transcriptions and photocopies of the original Bible records. Also included is the marriage record and sermon notes for Presbyterian minister William G. Peyton of Piedmont, Missouri. Additionally, there are reprints of photographs of the Miller, Penzel and related families.

This collection contains correspondence from Arthur Clayton Vandivort from 1941-1945. Work related correspondence and membership cards for Leon Vandivort from 1910 and 1943-1944. Also includes genealogical information, graduation announcements, and high school basketball tournament brackets for members of the Vandivort family.

Correspondence and photographs of the Settle, O'Bannon, and Rhodes families of Wayne County, Missouri and Arkansas. Also includes genealogy records, Bible, and report cards for Virgil E. Settle.

The Thad Snow Papers include writings, correspondence, scrapbooks, memorabilia and photographs. Snow was a prolific writer during his life. He is best remembered for his column, “Letters from the People” for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch beginning in the 1930s. The topics covered in this collection include politics, foreign affairs, farming, Snow’s family, economics and human nature.

Photographs of 1922 Cape Girardeau flood and other photographs circa 1920s-1930s. Also includes certificate for Norma Etherton in 1913.

Three business ledgers from the farming and saw mill business of John Elmer McKinzie of Marquand, Missouri, from 1922-1940.

The Mary J. Briscoe-Reisberg Papers includes papers, maps, photographs, and audio cassettes related to the Missouri Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association from 1994 to 2015.

Genealogy family charts, correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to the Fulbright family of Cape Girardeau County.

This collection contains Anna Mae Armer Wallis's 1929 Charleston High School yearbook "The Blue-Jay" and scrapbook of her activities in high school.

527 sermon outline notes of Rev. Allen Britten Cooper from Charleston, Missouri, from 1934-1955. Also includes the published manuscript of the sermons by May Lawrence Cooper at an unknown time.

35 photographs taken by Quintin Papineau of agriculture, buildings, springs, riverboats, and machinery several counties in southeast Missouri, Oregon County, Marion County, and cities in Illinois along the river.

The Ashlar Lodge No. 306 Records contain photocopies of the minute book of the Masonic lodge from 1868 to 1882. Also included are two photocopies of the "History of the Ashlar Lodge No. 306" from 1928 and 1937.

The Regenhardt Family Papers include Civil War muster rolls of the 56th Enrolled Missouri Militia, McNeely family Bible records, Regenhardt Construction Company papers related to the building of Academic Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, and postcards of Academic Hall.

The Bruhl Family Photographs include individual and family portraits of this family and the related families of Ritzenthaler, Caldwell, and Anderson from 1902-1984.

The Four Seasons Audubon Society was a chapter of the National Audubon Society that encompased members of southeast Missouri. The records include meeting minutes, financials, correspondence, and newsletters from 1982-2003.

The Howard Ramon Morrow Papers includes World War I correspondence to and his parents in Bellevue, Pennsylvania, from 1918 to 1919. This collection also includes six issues of the 320th Infantry's newsletter "The Battalion" Review" from January to February 1919.

The Vandeven Family Papers include photographs, marriage and first communion certificates for members of the Vandeven family of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as well as ledgers and papers related to the Vandeven Mercantile store.

The Belchamber family papers contain photographs, correspondence and scrapbooks from the Belchamber family and its various branches. This collection also includes photographs and memorabilia relating to Will Mayfield College in Marble Hill, the Iron Mountain Railroad, and regional buildings and environs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Poplar Bluff Municipal Library Collection includes title records, court documents, and other papers primarily from Butler County, Missouri. This collection also contains register books from the Edgewood Home for Children in Poplar Bluff and personal items belonging to William B. Adams, such as farm workers’ time schedules and a divorce memorandum journal.

The Rotary International District 6060, Jerry W. McClanahan Records contains records from Rotary International District 6060 and the individual clubs within its jurisdiction. It includes meeting minutes, individual club newsletters, correspondence, directories, membership information, conference materials, and promotional resources.

The Holmes Family Papers contain correspondence, a business ledger, and photographs of tenant farming and farm land owned by Manfred James Holmes and his son, Parker Manfred Holmes from 1919 to 1936.

This collection contains digitized photographs of the Flader, Johnson, and McKinney families. Many of the photos are by or of Jessie Mae Johnson, who lived in Bollinger County and the St. Louis area in Missouri. The original photographs were taken between 1910-1980. The collection also includes some of the donor’s extensive genealogical research for the Bridger, Beal, Fadler, Johnson, McKinney, and Yamnitz families. Also contains 95 short audio recordings made by Jessie Mae (“Mae”) Johnson, Birdie E. Scott, and Norma Jean (“Jean”) Bridger in the late 1990s. 

The Betty Valle Gegg Papers contains original and photocopied newspaper clippings of articles written by her in the Ste. Genevieve Herald from 1966 to 2015.

Research materials, mainly reproductions of originals, accumulated by James E. McGhee, who was a preeminent historian and Civil War scholar from Missouri. Photocopied material includes journals, correspondence, maps, images, chapters from books, essays, newspaper articles, and so on. There are also 11 CDs, two microfiche rolls, two panoramic photos, a WWI-era journal, and one flash drive containing research materials.

The Weiss Family Papers contains ten postcards of the 1906 Cape Girardeau, Missouri, centennial and fourteen postcards of correspondence between Clara Weiss Masters and Wilson Masters from 1909 to 1919.

The Braggadocio General Store Ledgers contains two ledger books from Braggadocio, Missouri, operated by John S. Tisserand. The ledgers include patron names and account records from 1889 to 1898.

The Mildred Wallhausen Papers is a collection of various articles, correspondence, pictures, programs, and newsletters with a primary focus on local African American peoples of Southeast Missouri. There are many negatives and photographs of Black churches and church leaders, integrated youth sports leagues, integration protests and projects, Lincoln High School before it was demolished, and assorted individuals; programs from funerals and churches; and newspaper clippings from the 1950s-1990s from papers like The Enterprise-Courier, which Mildred helped run, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Standard Democrat, the Chicago Defender, the Southeast Missourian, the Charleston Spokesman, and others. The collection also contains scrapbooks with clippings from Millie's Soap Box column, with dates from 1970-2002.

The Lynn Morrow Publications Collection includes three cultural resource and soil reference books related to the southeast Missouri region from 1976 to 1978.

The Ste. Genevieve: An Interdisciplinary Community Study Papers includes sorted computer printouts to study the social and economic development of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, from 1720 to 1830. The span dates for this collection are 1981 to 1997.

This collection covers a range of items, including brochures for many of the points of interest and historical sites in and around Southeast Missouri.  There is also information on local history of Leeper, a small community in Wayne County, Missouri, including a written document on the history and the people from the point of view of Carol J. (Marler) Goggin. There is a notary book for Wayne County, 1915-1938. Various photos of trains, train workers and teachers.  Cecil Brown adds a personal account of the first post office and railroad in Leeper.  A list of residents and their nicknames as well as a list of Marriages in Ripley County and the book “Cemetery inscriptions of Wayne County Mo”

This collection consists of letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, negatives, schoolwork, and other materials from James Terrell and Hope Edwards Terrell, in addition to letters, drawings, and other materials from members of the Edwards family. The collection also contains playbills, programs, tickets, photographs, correspondence, articles, and newspaper clippings related to the Sikeston Little Theater, as well as its cast and crew. 

Collection of photographs found by landlord whose former tenant had obtained photos from a dumpster. Included is a letter addressed to Jerry Gene Lewis, congratulating him for finishing high school. Photos of a young man in a cap and gown (assumed to be Jerry) seen across several other photos provides continuity.

This collection is primarily made up of genealogical papers and cemetery research conducted by Wm. J. Gammon of various families as well as his own. Also included in this collection is transcripts from the operation of the Center Point school in Jackson County, Missouri, personal papers of the Gammon family, and correspondence from different societies and political organizations.

Collections of ledgers kept by Samuel Newcum for the purpose of running and managing the Thompson family farm. Newcum married Laura Thompson, and Laura’s older brother, Elbert, hired Samuel to take care of the farm.

This is an artificially created collection of materials pulled from the Katherine J. Hinchey-Cochran Family Papers (R1280) which were related to the southeast area of Missouri, especially Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Missouri. Materials include photographs, excerpts of legal documents, historical preservation efforts in Cape and Jackson, three-quarters of a printed article about Kaskaskia, Illinois, and a handwritten log-book detailing roofs, fencing, and other small construction efforts at an unnamed home.

Seven warranty deeds, two letters, and one legal description of a tract of land related to the sale of property encompassing the former mill at Old Appleton, Missouri

This collection contains mostly copied materials and excerpts from published materials, nearly all relating to the creator’s research on the Battle of Island No. 10 and New Madrid, Missouri, in 1862. It also includes two manuscript versions of his book, “Island No. 10: Struggle for the Mississippi Valley” (co-authored with Larry J. Daniel, published in 1996,) and materials related to his efforts to get that book published. There are also folders of correspondence, related to his research, several reissues of newspapers that dealt with the battle for Island No. 10, and some materials related to his research for the article “Constitutional Warfare in Missouri.”

A collection of records and personal papers regarding the organization and procedures for a rural school that covered the Texas Bend and Thompson Bend, MO townships. The records include student attendance for multiple years at this school. There are also record books that include the meeting notes and district information from the school board of District No. 1, Township No. 27 & 18, Range No. 16 &17, Mississippi County, MO. Additional documents include correspondence and county clerk records.

Record book of the 1860 Ste. Genevieve County Census; the census includes information on the age and sex of the individuals. The census also features the occupations of listed individuals as well as estate value. There is a listing for original birthplace, marriage status, and school attendance.

Financial, legal, and personal documents produced mainly by Henry C. Riley, Sr., H.C. Riley, Jr, and other Riley family members. Other materials, including a plat map book and business ledgers, were created by Charles C. Bock, Riley Bock’s paternal grandfather. There is also a printed photograph, a circuit judge commission, a large map of judicial circuit courts in Missouri, and microfilm rolls for the donor’s historical research.

A scrapbook created by Louis H. Renfrow with various documents related to the retirement of Renfrow from his position as the civilian Deputy Director of the Selective Service. The scrapbook contains correspondence from friends and colleagues discussing his retirement. Additionally, there are photographs from colleges and special events. There is additional documentation of Renfrow’s career in the form of newspaper and magazine articles.

The Sailer-Holmes Family Papers contains personal papers, correspondence, and photographs collected by three generations of the family mainly in the cities of Cape Girardeau and Rolla, Missouri.

This collection features a scrapbook that focuses on “Reilly’s Bucks”, the 149th regiment of the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division during World War I. Also included in the collection are an insurance policy booklet and a booklet about the 134th Infantry regiment.

This collection contains the 1910-1916 guest register for the Central Hotel, located in Oak Ridge, Missouri, and operated by Henry H. Wills and his wife, Mellie. Also included are hotel inspection certificates for the hotel during the years 1914 to 1917.

This collection contains 6 booklets relating to plans for the development of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.