Columbia Manuscript Collections

The papers of a resident of Rocheport, Missouri, consist of appointments, certificates, correspondence, invitations, programs, and dance cards.  Mitchell, a graduate of Stephens College, was involved in many civic and women’s organizations, including the Missouri Women Farmers’ Club.

Fannie Marie Tolson was the first African-American educator to teach in the desegregated schools of Fayette, Missouri. Her papers include family correspondence and photographs, memorabilia from Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, teaching aids, documents concerning St. Paul's Methodist Church in Fayette, and recordings of two interviews conducted with Tolson.

This collection contains Clarkson family correspondence primarily between Colonel Charles S. Clarkson, his wife, Charlotte, and their children, originating from Ohio, Kentucky, St. Louis, and other locations, concerning family news and business matters. Correspondence from friends and extended family members is also included.

Malvin Russell Goode, Sr. was the first African American broadcast journalist at ABC News. The collection consists of letters, speeches, photographs, audio cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes, awards, and other miscellaneous items documenting his life, career, and African-American culture.

Five letters written by Miss Birkhead from Paris, France, to Isabelle Stark of Neosho, MO. Miss Birkhead was involved with refugee work and providing clothing for children. Her letters describe devastated areas, evacuation and camps for refugees, expenses, rationing, and mail service. She also describes the volunteer groups, sponsored agencies, and military units assisting soldiers and civilians.

Three charts about the University of Missouri. One lists the number of men and women enrolled, 1843-1925; the second lists names, addresses, and degrees granted the first women graduates, 1870-1922; the third lists total number of students who received degrees, 1870-1924.

Three unsigned $100 bonds issued by the board of education.

To M.H. Lockwood, Columbia, MO, from Durham, N.C., Mar. 24, 1894.

Crowell, president of Trinity College, planned to nominate Lockwood for the chair of physics and biology. Crowell could not guarantee a position but Lockwood's selection was probable.

Resolutions adopted by the Capital Removal Convention, which met in St. Louis, MO, October 20-21, 1869, for the purpose of moving the national capital to the Mississippi Valley.

Reminiscences of life in St. Louis in the 1860s. Deatherage wrote about the families on Madison Street, children's pastimes during summer vacations, and the construction of the Eads Bridge.

Diary of a voyage on the WESER from Tundern, Germany, to New Orleans, 11 August-16 October 1833 or 1834. Translated by Helen Evers, Lindenwood College, St. Charles, MO. Meyer recorded accounts, a list of the passengers, the crew, appearance of the coasts of Santo Domingo and Cuba.

Announcement of Mahan's funeral, Baptist Church, Columbia, MO.

To Lizzie Mabry, Montgomery City, Missouri, from Jefferson City, Missouri, Oct. 3, 1939. Letter to recorder of deeds from commissioner of agriculture about the land titles of Isaac Van Bibber, "the adopted son of Daniel Boone," in Daniel Boone: Master of the Wilderness by John Bakeless.

Love's Bachelor of Arts diploma from the University of Missouri, signed by University faculty and administration.

Valedictory address delivered by E.C. White at the University of Missouri, 1856.

Resolutions to dissolve the Missouri Central Railroad Company, adopted by the stockholders. Company organized to build a railroad from Boonville to Arrow Rock. Cooper and Saline Counties and Arrow Rock failed to cooperate.

Articles of association of a railroad to run from Laclede to an intersection with the Brunswick and Chillicothe Railroad in Chariton County. Amount of capital, stock, list of directors, and stockholders.

The collection contains a Photostat of a plat of Township 38 North, Range 30 West by Milburn, the surveyor general, St. Louis, MO, 2 July 1839. Shows location of Harmony Mission.

The collection contains Photostats of the articles of association of a company that was organized to construct a bridge over the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO, to St. Clair or Madison County, IL. Capital, stock, and directors.

The collection contains Photostats of a public act declaring assent of the State of Missouri to the congressional conditions for statehood, 26 June 1821. Proclamation by President James Monroe completing the admission of Missouri into the Union, 10 August 1821.

The collection contains a Photostat of funding bond no. 1 for $1000 issued by Cass County, MO, February 22, 1872, to Francis Marion Cummings, Harrisonville mayor.

The papers of M.A. Gauldin contain a certificate of one share common stock in the Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago Railroad Company to M.A. Gauldin, July 17, 1879, and stock transfer to M.A. Gauldin, January 14, 1899.

Five letters and petitions to the governor of Missouri from T.J. Delaney, Judge W.D. Hubbard, members of the Springfield bar, and citizens of Christian County, MO, asking for commutation of the sentences of Amos Jones and William Stanley, convicted bald knobbers.

Bitter protest about the 1866 election of "Rebels" in New Madrid, MO. Violations of the registry law governing election procedures. List of reliable Union supporters to verify charges.

To [Francis] Rodman, Jefferson City, MO, from Texas County, MO, Nov. 8, 1866.

Finley charged violation of the registry law in Texas County, protested the election of Confederate rebels and requested a new election, criticized specific rebels, and praised radicals.

To Willard P[reble ]Hall, [House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.], from Carrollton, Missouri, March 30, 1852. Hall (1820-1882) was United States Representative from Missouri 1847-1853 and Governor of Missouri, 1864-1865. Austin requests information about admission to the U.S. Navy Medical Department. On April 16 Hall recommended Austin as a gentleman and skillful physician to be interviewed by the Navy's Board of Examiners.

To Squire H. Anderson, New York City, from France, Mar. 18, 1918. Thompson, A World War I pilot, wrote about mail censorship, sightseeing in Paris, Parisian street system and architecture, entertainment, and weather. Description of a bombing raid and a "Boche attack."

To Mary Ewers, Philemont, VA, from Columbia, MO, May 24, 1839.

Mellon brought his family from Virginia to Missouri. He wrote his mother about the trip, arrival in Columbia, health, rent, soil, land and commodity prices. He purchased a 160-acre farm with improvements. Inquiries about family and friends.

Photostat copies of annual reports sent to Secretary of War James Barbour from Nathaniel B. Dodge, superintendent, on the Native American School at Harmony Mission, Osage Nation. Reports on teachers and other personnel, number of students, amount of Missouri property, expenses, receipts, progress of students, health, and relations with the Osage Nation.

Deed to William Cashio, St. Charles County, Missouri Territory, May 6, 1815, for land in St. Charles County purchased from Daniel Boone.

Constitution, amendments, letters, petitions for incorporation, and court records for the National Liberal Orphans' Home, Liberal, MO. Institution organized in 1882 by the Freethinkers of America, who also established the Free Thought University in Liberal.

Transfer of title to Thomas A. Smith from Williams, 4 May 1820.

The records of the ACLU, Mid-Missouri Chapter, a civil rights organization, consist of case files, correspondence, and meeting minutes.

Missouri presidential election returns for Barry, Boone, Rives (now Henry), St. Charles, St. Louis, Warren, and Wayne Counties. Returns for state senator in Wayne County and circuit attorney in Rives and St. Louis Counties.

The papers of Thomas Reynolds contain a certification of Lewis F. Linn's election as U.S. Senator from Missouri, and recommendations of persons to complete the unexpired term after Linn's death in 1843.

The collection contains a letter to the General Assembly of Missouri from the City of Jefferson, MO, Nov. 19, 1846. Martin's letter was accompanied an abstract of votes on the 1846 constitution ratification, a list of the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, and the U.S. representatives from Missouri. The constitution was rejected.

The collection contains an agreement for the incorporation of the Masonic Home of Missouri, St. Louis, MO. The agreement established the membership, board of directors, and officers. The purpose of the corporation was to establish and maintain a home for indigent Masons and widows and orphans of Masons.

The papers of Bertha Bless consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, convention materials, and other miscellaneous materials related to her participation in various press organizations, including the Missouri Press Women and the National Federation of Press Women. Bless, along with her husband, B.J. Bless, Jr., published the Weston Chronicle, Weston, Missouri.

The collection contains field notes of an archaeological trip down the Gasconade River, describing caves in Pulaski County, MO, by a Missouri archaeologist.

The collection contains six envelopes and two letters commemorating National Air Mail Week, 15-21 May 1938. First day covers from Missouri towns: Chillicothe, Columbia, Grant City, Palmyra, and Ste. Genevieve. Letters from Paris and Ste. Genevieve.

The papers of George Grantham Bain contain letters about newspaperman Bain from Charles Ritch Johnson and the Saint Louis GLOBE-DEMOCRAT managing editor, May 8-9, 1891. The papers also include a biographical sketch of Bain with compliments from other journalists about his work.

The collection contains a letter to R.H. Jesse, Columbia, MO, from Mexico City, Dec. 28, 1896. Crittenden describes the Texas-Missouri football game in Mexico City and compares Mexican cadets with American students.

The papers of Avalon College contain histories of Avalon College, Cleiomathean Literary Society, and Philophronean Literary Society, and a list of donors to the Memorial Fund. The college was established at Avalon, Livingston County, MO, 1871-1872, and relocated at Trenton, Grundy County, MO, 1890.

The collection contains a telegram to Charles Dougherty, Independence, MO, from Jefferson City, MO, Dec. 24, 1869. Dougherty was sheriff of Jackson County, and the telegram gives instructions for organizing a militia to aid in the capture or killing of Frank and Jesse James.

The papers of T.B. Bond contain blank forms of the Confederate States Army; a certificate of disability for discharge; a report of the sick and wounded; a register of surgical cases; and a valentine.

Proclamation to the people of central and north Missouri. Price pleads for the enlistment of 50,000 men to defend the southern cause; also requests blankets, clothing, and guns.

To Charles Sterne, Carroll County, MO, from camp near Holly Springs, MS, No. 1, 1862. Six members of Lt. John Sterne's company relate the details of his death to his father. Lt. Sterne was mortally wounded in the Battle of Corinth, 4 October 1862, and died 17 October 1862.

True presentments of the grand jurors, November term, 1811, Court of Quarter Sessions, District of St. Charles, Territory of Louisiana. Resolutions concern giving the people of the district a voice in the making of laws and protection from Indians on the frontier.

Act by the general assembly to provide for the organization of Mississippi County. Signed by C[laiborne] F[ox] Jackson, speaker of the house; James Young, president of the senate; and John C[ummins] Edwards, governor, 14 February 1845.

To Pearl Mitchell, Rocheport, MO, from Liberty, MO, n.d. Letter refers to an address made by Miss Mitchell at a Stephens College commencement when she presented a picture of former President Rider to the college. Miss Mitchell was a student at Stephens College, 1877-1880.

Acts of the General Assembly during the administration of Governor Boggs, concerning organization and boundaries of Clark, Buchanan, Grundy, and Platte Counties; declaration of Ni-chi-ne-ba-to-na River as a navigable stream; and payment for services of grand jurors.

Deed conveying land located in Randolph County, MO, to Joseph C. Moore for purchase price of $55.

Two letters to C.B. Rollins, Columbia, MO, from Dr. McComas, Sturgeon, MO, concerning portraits of Henry S. Geyer and his wife painted by George Caleb Bingham, and given to the University of Missouri School of Law.

Invitation issued to Judge Dunnica and Lady, February 15, 1838, to attend a reception at the governor's mansion.

Notes signed by A.J. Jones, W. Phipps and Ann E. Gilbreath.

Certified copy of a patent for seminary lands, Cape Girardeau Land District, issued to James Hutson, Scott County, MO. Copy made in 1874.

Letters from Missouri to his brothers in Richmond, VA, and New York City.

To Matthew Pilson, Augusta, VA, from Point Pleasant, MO, June 22, 1831. Writes his nephew about colts and horses; asks Pilson to sell some land in Virginia for him; mentions the prospects of a good corn crop that year; and refers to Janie Thompson's school near Caledonia.

Third and fourth ballots of vote by counties for presidential electors-at-large; printed list of delegates to convention; rules for nominating speeches, representation, voting, and admittance; minutes of proceedings; reports of committees on credentials, permanent organization, and platform and resolution.

Petitions to pardon John Neff, sentenced for the kidnapping of Martin Light, and Bridget McShane, signed by members of the Constitutional Convention of 1845.

Petitions and correspondence requesting the release from prison of William Hildebrand, Jefferson County; the pardon of Mat, an enslaved man belonging to Thomas Latimer, St. Louis County; the pardon of Alfred Hawkins, Carroll County; and the pardon of Frances Dillon, St. Louis County. All were granted by Governor Boggs.

Correspondence, bills and papers of Judge William B. Henderson, Cooper County and Columbia, MO.

Arguments against women's suffrage.

Bills, receipts, and correspondence pertaining to fatal illness and burial of Sam Henderson.

The collection contains a bill of sale for Evaline, an enslaved 40 year old woman, who was sold by John and Phoebe Hopkins to Louisa Boggs for $300 in July, 1862.

The papers of John Cummins Edwards contain Photostats of petitions and letters requesting pardons for George Thompson, Alanson Work, and James E. Burr, convicted of kidnapping slaves.

The papers of Thomas Reynolds contain Photostats of petitions for prison pardons, including one letter from David Rice Atchison requesting a shorter sentence for two men and discussion of other matters.

The papers of John Cummins Edwards contain Photostats of petitions and letters requesting pardons for prisoners, including a letter from James S. Rollins, a petition to correct an error in a previous pardon, and woman's petition for pardon of an African American woman, Nelly.

The papers of Meredith Miles Marmaduke contain photostats of petitions to the governor requesting pardons of prisoners currently in the penitentiary. One item is from the Office of Inspectors of the Penitentiary and recommends a number of pardons.

The collection contains a petition to Governor Joseph W. McClurg from several citizens on behalf of Vincent A. Singleton, convicted of horse stealing.

The collection contains a photostat of an opinion from the secretary of state that an act requires the auditor of public accounts to draw money from certain land sales in favor of the treasurer of the state university.

The collection contains a photostat of a poster announcing a fifty-dollar reward for the capture of John Harbaugh and M. M'Ghee, escaped prisoners.

The collection contains a photostat of a letter from St. Louis, Mar. 28, 1844, discussing politics of the 1844 Democratic Convention.

The collection contains photostats of a petition to Governor Austin A. King requesting that William Rowland and several others indicted for kidnapping slaves be discharged from further prosecution.

Letters to his wife describing his overland journey to California in 1850, military land warrant in the name of Nancy Neill, and document explaining J.H.B. Neill's ownership of certain land, 1860.

The Friedrich Wilhelm Ritter Papers contain photocopies of the papers of a German immigrant and the Ritter family of Shelby County, Missouri. The papers include obituaries, poetry, recipes, accounts, correspondence, naturalization documents, Ritter's will, and other papers. The collection is in German and English and is part of the German Heritage Archives.

A letter, in German, to members of the Haslag family in Osage County, Missouri. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

To H. Clay, from Jefferson City, MO, May 12, 1827.

Concerns obtaining copies of laws, state papers and public documents.

Political issues; president and the Cuban crisis; Republicans and the Filley letters; post office and political appointments.

To A. Leeper, Chillicothe, MO, from Lexington, MO, Jul. 7, 1873.

Acknowledges payment of Lizzie Leeper's bill at Elizabeth Aull Seminary. Copy of bill enclosed.

Lists appointments of U.S. senators, 1820-1864; U.S. representatives, 1820-1864; governors, 1820-1865; secretaries of state, 1820-1864; treasurers, 1820-1864; attorneys general, 1820-1865; Boone County justices of the peace, 1825-1845; supreme court justices, 1822-1864; circuit court judges, 1824-1861; and circuit attorneys, 1844-1851.

Letters about the exchange of railroad land certificates for land; includes $650 in certificates, a blank bond bearing coupons, and samples for redesign of land certificates.

The collection contains a letter from Jackson, of Jefferson City, Missouri, April 9, 1861, to David Walker. Discusses Jackson's position on slavery and secession.

Diploma from the University of Missouri signed by John H. Lathrop, Chairman of Faculty.

To H.K. Craig, Washington, D.C., from Jefferson City, MO, Jan. 16, 1861. Encloses a requisition for Missouri's quota of guns for that year and a carriage without a gun as a model for mounting others.

Discusses railroad finances, especially in relation to the state, in letter to president of Pacific Railroad.

Reminiscences and anecdotes of a German American family from St. Louis. Includes information about immigration, business, family life, and other topics. Photocopies of family photographs included. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

Letters, poetry, Civil War documents, and other papers pertaining to the Hagen and Sasse families of Chariton County, Missouri. Part of the German Heritage Archives

Copies of testimony in the case of Hugh H. Wardlow vs. George Gaty heirs, regarding land in St. Charles, MO.

Missouri State Horticultural Society flyer and telegram regarding selection of a state flower.

Certificates granted by St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons for completion of instruction in "Principles and Practice of Surgery."

The collection contains Dunnica's commission as justice of the peace, Cote Sans Dessien township, Callaway County, signed by Alexander McNair.

The collection contains a bill of Doctor Millington against the estate of John Scott for the amount of $72.25 due for visits and medicines.

Photographs and awards regarding Kloeckner's career as a pharmacist. Also Civil War military service and pension records of his father, who had the same name. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

Photocopies and 35mm negatives of fifteen photographs of a Hermann, Missouri, family. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

The papers of Henry S. Geyer contain love letters between Henry S. Geyer and Joanna A. Quarles, and 1858 deed to Henry Geyer.

Photocopy of a receipt book used by Jacobus Reistorff and Christian Wingrath, German immigrants to Loose Creek, Missouri. Interspersed throughout the book are letters. Included is a partial transcription. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

A 1930 memoir of Confederate soldier Joel Monroe Bolton of Jefferson City, MO, who served as a sergeant in a cavalry regiment in the West throughout the Civil War.

The papers of the Bird Family contain data on the Bird family and their property in Hannibal, MO.