Columbia Manuscript Collections

Papers of a historian including coursework from his time as a student at Washington University in Saint Louis, manuscripts written about Moses Austin, and teaching and administrative materials from the social sciences department at Mineral Area College.

The records of the state council of a leadership, service sorority include the minutes, correspondence, and committee reports of the recording secretary and treasurers' reports and cash journals.

The records of the Smithton United Methodist Church contain church membership records and minutes for the Ladies Aid Society, the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and the Woman's Society of Christian Service, of the English and German churches which united in 1924 to form the Smithton United Methodist Church of Smithton, Pettis County, Missouri.

The records of a small poetry magazine, edited by Eleanor M. Bender, include correspondence, financial documents, grant information, issues 1-44, Poet Series 1-5, photographs, news-paper clippings, and a taped interview with Nan A. Talese, senior editor at Random House. See also collection 3068.

Papers of a prominent Missouri pediatrician, 1927-1940; administrator, U.S. Children's Bureau, 1940-1972; member of U.S. delegation to the executive board, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) , 1957-1973. Material on maternal and child health care in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, 1956-1970; and information on U.S. contribution to UNICEF.

The Committee For Free Choice records (CFFC) consist of policy statements, correspondence, program plans, political lobbying information, and newsletters. CFFC is an affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). Much of the collection is information from NARAL and affiliates and related organizations.

Consisting primarily of correspondence relating to Donald Chisholm's chairmanship of the board of trustees of Park College, these papers contain information relating to the administration of a small liberal arts college in the Kansas City area during a period of financial crisis.

This collection contains autograph albums, account books, diaries, and personal and business correspondence of the Viles and Hosmer families. Included are Jonas Viles' professional papers while professor of history at the University of Missouri from 1902 to 1942.

Correspondence, financial and legal documents, genealogy, poetry, prose, and miscellaneous volumes of the Patton and Scott families. Describes agriculture, economic conditions, overland travel, daily life, family activities, and tragedies. Firsthand accounts of the Civil War's influence on civilian life in Missouri, Mississippi, and Indiana.

The papers of a Washington, Missouri, family whose patriarch, Henry Tibbe, and his son, Anton, founded the Missouri Meerschaum Company, include family and business correspondence, genealogy, property deeds, an early history of the Missouri Meerschaum Company, material on a patent infringement dispute, pipe catalogs, clippings, and photographs.

The papers largely contain correspondence between members of an Ohio family that began settling in western Missouri in the early 1850s. The collection also includes property tax receipts and miscellaneous family papers.

Personal correspondence of Benjamin F. Hutchison, steamboat captain residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; his wife, Eliza J.; and their son, William B. The letters describe daily life, behavior at school, relatives, and friends, including illnesses and deaths. Also tax records, primarily from St. Louis County, Missouri, and legal documents, including land grants, deeds, and notes.

The records of an organization of editors, publishers, and employees of publishing establishments contain histories, correspondence, minutes, annual meeting programs, newsletters, clippings, and photographs. The records also include information on regional associations and the Missouri Press Association confidential bulletins from 1930 to 1982. The bulletins are on microfilm.

The collection contains field, commercial, and private label recordings, interviews, newsletters, brochures, broadsides, sheet music, audio and video cassettes, and correspondence of the association.

Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, news clippings, audio and video cassettes, and miscellaneous material of poet. Neihardt was most famous for his epic, A CYCLE OF THE WEST, and BLACK ELK SPEAKS. He was poet laureate of Nebraska, literary editor of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1926-1938, and instructor at the University of Missouri, 1949-1965.

Includes four Sunday school record books for a church near Windsor. The dates for these books are December 3, 1893-August 27, 1897, October 24, 1915-December 30, 1917, November 3, 1935-July 28, 1940, and May 3-September 20, 1942. Also includes photograph of Southwest Missouri Conference Methodist Episcopal Church South delegates, Warrensburg, Missouri, 1908, and brief church history written in 1968.

Church record book of the Crooked Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which began in Keysville and later moved to Steelville. The church was established in 1834 by John Dunlap, Reuben Vaughn, Mr. Keys, and several others.

Correspondence, diaries, photographs, and related materials of a career U.S. Navy officer. Includes items on family history.

The personal and professional papers of C. F. Marbut, a geology professor at the University of Missouri, 1895-1910, and soil scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1910-1935, includes correspondence, estate and financial records, photographs, publications, manuscripts, and maps.  The personal correspondence received by Louise Marbut Moomaw and a short series of Civil War letters are also included in the papers.

Personal papers, genealogy, and clippings of a Clinton County, Missouri family. The personal papers are mostly Quit-Claim Deeds, General Warranty Deeds, and Trust Deeds, to a Coleman D. Benton and papers from a Circuit Court case regarding an unpaid financial matter.  Genealogy includes a handwritten account of the Benton family history by Rita Benton, wife of Thomas Hart Benton (artist). Clippings are newspaper clippings and magazine articles written about Thomas Hart Benton, a famous Missouri artist.

The papers of a St. Louis physician and entomologist include personal correspondence with amateur and professional entomologists concerning entomology and the exchange of specimens for Meiners's insect collection and collections of correspondence of nineteenth and twentieth century entomologists, naturalists, and natural history organizations.

Statewide documentation of local churches by county. Includes cultural arts reports, church histories, floor plans, architectural details, clippings, slides, photographs, and miscellany.

The personal papers and collected materials of Lilburn A. Kingsbury of Howard County, Missouri. Kingsbury was an insurance agent, farmer, orchardist, bank clerk, local historian, writer, genealogist, musician, and antique collector.

Autobiographical and biographical correspondence and documents relating to Missouri congressmen collected by Charles Lanman for publication in his Dictionary of the United States Congress. Lanman's biographical dictionary was first printed in 1859 and periodically revised through 1869.

The records of an organization dedicated to the improvement of rural life and the support of its counterpart, the Missouri Farmers Association, consist of correspondence, meeting minutes membership lists, newsletters, and account books. The association was affiliated with Associated Country Women of the World.

Records of conference, districts, and individual churches. Includes annual reports, minutes, financial and historical information, information on church-related institutions and organizations, ministerial candidate information, and histories of individual churches. Also includes some materials from antecedent conferences and other Missouri conferences.

The papers of an Alabama-born poet and writer, professor of English at the University of Missouri-Columbia, 1953-1982, and associate editor of the Missouri Review, includes correspondence, photographs, diaries, manuscripts, books, newspaper clippings, poetry, sketches, audio cassettes, and student work.

The papers primarily contain correspondence between Fry and people, or relatives of people, who came to Missouri from New York on “orphan trains” sponsored by the Children’s Aid Society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Fry wrote an article on the orphans, which appeared in the December 1974 issue of American Heritage.

Papers of Missouri 6th District congressman from 1973 to 1976 and candidate in the 1976 Democratic primary for U.S. senator. The papers include correspondence, congressional office files, campaign files, and miscellaneous material pertaining to the television show "Dialogue With Litton;" the Litton Charolais Ranch; and the Jerry Litton Memorial.

The papers of a prominent Cape Girardeau, Missouri, family include family and professional correspondence, patriotic organization materials, legal firm records, family financial and legal records, speeches and writings, genealogical materials, information on Missouri State Normal School and First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau, photographs, and miscellany.

Contains the correspondence, diaries, writings, Civil War papers, and medical practice records of a doctor from Bedford, Indiana, who later lived in Foristell and Wellsville, Missouri. Also included are family letters, Woman’s Christian Temperance Union records, and a history of the Clover family.

Correspondence between members of a Missouri family, including three sons in the service, during World War II. The letters deal largely with family matters, but also include descriptions of military bases, a soldier's daily routine and training, and people, cities, and countries in Africa and Europe. Also included are letters from an uncle who was in the service during World War I and in the 1920s.

The collection contains a typed copy of a speech given by Anderson before the Democratic State Convention in Jefferson City on 19 July 1904, nominating Harry B. Hawes for governor of Missouri.

The collection contains letters from a Brookfield, Missouri, man who served in the 6th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Company A, during the Spanish-American War. The letters describe army camps in Florida, Georgia, and Cuba; military training; the weather; widespread illnesses; friends with him in the service; and trips taken to Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia.

The collection contains a copy of a diary of a West Virginia man who came to Missouri with his family in the 1870s and settled in Webster and then Pettis Counties. The diary is primarily an account of Culp's travels from West Virginia to Missouri and Kansas, with some record of daily events over a span of five years. Also included are financial accounts, prices for food and supplies, family history, some home remedies, and three hand-drawn maps of a small section of Webster County.

The collection contains clippings of the proceedings of the Democratic County Committee, official returns of the Democratic primary elections, Democratic party tickets, correspondence, and miscellany.

The collection contains a booklet containing Conrad Gan's application to operate a dram shop in Hermann, MO. Includes names of petitioners.The collection contains a booklet containing Conrad Gans’ application to operate a dram shop in Hermann, Missouri. Includes names of petitioners.

The collection contains photocopies of minutes, membership and attendance lists, an account book, and miscellaneous items of a Pettis County, Missouri, post of the Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1889.

The papers contain a deed concerning the purchase of band instruments by A.J. Henley and eight associates, all of Boone County, Missouri, on a monthly installment plan, from James F. Hurt.

The papers contain pages from the family bible listing births and deaths of children of Philipp and Christina Lotz; obituary of Christian Lotz; miscellaneous receipts and clippings; and religious cards and literature. Most of the material is in German. The Lotz family lived in and near California and McGirk in Moniteau County, Missouri, and Kansas City.

The collection contains warranty, quitclaim, and trust deeds for properties in Randolph County, Missouri. Also includes a lease for land owned by J.E. Hubbard and a bond for deed.

Family history and genealogy of the Eversmann family in Germany. Biographical sketches of Alexander, Ludwig, and Julius Eversmann. Correspondence, financial and legal records of Ludwig Eversmann and Gottfried Duden of Warren County, MO. Also poems, home remedies, and other miscellaneous items. Mostly in German with some English translations.

The letters of a Hermann, Missouri, newspaperman to his wife as he traveled to St. Louis, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York selling subscriptions to his papers. Also included is a biographical sketch of Muhl and a translation of the letters from German to English, done by the donor.

The collection contains twenty-six photographs of the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, taken by A.B. Duncan of Springfield, Missouri. Views include architecture and livestock exhibitions. Photos were apparently taken in the early years of the fair.

The papers contain oversize mechanical drawings and literature for the Patrick Four-Wheel-Drive Roadster, the Auto Farm Wagon, and the Patrick Truck, as well as architectural drawings for church, domestic, and other architecture.

The papers of Warren Kimsey contain correspondence, stories, press releases, and histories of a Missouri-born short story writer.

The papers of John A. Jones contain a rental agreement for land in Indiana; a trust deed for land in Chariton County, Missouri, and an order of publication for the settlement of Jone's estate.

The papers of Ben F. Dixon contain press releases detailing the events which led to the Battle of Athens, Missouri, on 5 August 1861; the battle itself; and the aftermath. The papers also include biographical sketches of the leaders of the opposing forces. The articles were written in the 1940s on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the battle.

The papers of William R. Snelson contain a photocopy of an account of medical services rendered to William Ellis, his family, and servants.

Letter written from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Early’s niece, Alice Early, mentioning his health, a recent smallpox scare, and a marriage of mutual acquaintances.

The collection contains copies of proceedings and a resolution thanking Jay L. Torrey for creating the Torrey Gavel Fund. The fund was used to have a gavel made for the incoming Worshipful Master of the lodge.

The papers of Marion Kaylor Schofield contain a high school diploma from LaBelle, Missouri, and a commission as first lieutenant in the Home Guard.

The collection contains a biographical sketch of Moore (1771-1842), an early Catholic settler in what became Perry County, Missouri. Includes information on Moore's ancestors and descendants, as well as a typescript of his will.

The collection contains an extract from the diary of a Callaway County, MO, man who went to Alaska with a large party to prospect for gold. Entries mention travel, but nothing about the gold fields themselves.

The collection consists of late nineteenth century and post-World War II (1940s and 1950s) glass lantern and 35mm slides. The photographs include images of people and events connected with the University of Missouri, campus plans, and architectural drawings of university buildings.

Images include elevations, plans, perspective drawings, and photographs of the Capitol in Jefferson City, as well as murals, tapestries, and sculpture commissioned to decorate the building.

Maps, site survey sheets, and photographs of vernacular architecture in Benton, Henry, Hickory, and St. Clair Counties. The images include barns, bridges, cabins, chicken coops, churches, corncribs, garages, granaries, houses, outhouses, post offices, root cellars, schools, sheds, silos, stores, wells, and windmills.

The collection contains an undated illustrated booklet of patterns for making hooked rugs.

Letter from Eberhard Nestle in Ulm, Germany, to Paul A.A. Lejay dated February 5, 1895, thanking Lejay for sending Nestle an article on Virgil and other material. Notes on the reverse of the letter and on odd scraps were made by Lejay.

Letter from Rathenau, head of Allgemeine Elektricitats-Gesellschaft (General Electric Company) of Berlin, to James Taft Hatfield setting up an appointment with him in Rathenau's office at AEG on June 27, 1919.

The collection contains items from the Bezold family of Montgomery and Gasconade Counties in Missouri. There are many school-related items from 1879-1917. Also included are sermons in German by Reverend Niedhammer and a family history of John Jacob Meunzenmayer, who lived in Franklin County.

Miscellaneous printed material pertaining to the university. Includes an 1859 catalog of students, graduates, faculty, and courses; photograph of cadets, 1880s; and items from the Colleges of Arts and Science (1946) and Education (1916, 1962) and School of Journalism (1923, 1926).

Photographs and letter from Emma's sister Kate who was working in Oregon. Letter describes "jamming" strawberries in the sun. The Thompsons were living in Worth County, Missouri.

Printed tracts by an unidentified author describing corruption in the Republican Party in St. Louis in the early 1900s.

Blueprint sectional map of Taney County showing location of mines, schools, towns, post offices, stores, and roads. Undated but done prior to building of dams on the White River. Scale: 1 inch = 1 mile.

Quitclaim deed and warranty deed for land in Barry County, Missouri.

Undated biographical sketch, reprints of articles published in professional journals on economic theory and taxation, and typescripts of lectures on economic aspects of fashion and feminism. Davenport, a noted economist, was the first dean of the University of Missouri School of Commerce and, later, chair of the Cornell University Department of Economics.

Papers of Judge Roy D. Williams of Boonville, Missouri, containing speeches (primarily on local and regional history), historical notes, clippings, correspondence, photographs, and miscellany.

Correspondence, newspaper articles, book manuscript, and photographs of a realtor from Lee's Summit, Missouri, who was an authority on the history of Jackson County and the Civil War. The typescript deals with George's memories of life in Jackson County, while the correspondence concerns primarily his business and family.

Unpublished histories, newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, sketches, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks compiled by John Laurance Sullivan of Flat River, Missouri. The histories cover local events in Flat River and St. François County over the last 150 years and contain extensive information on mining in the “Lead Belt” region.

Papers of a Missouri poet and writer, trade magazine editor, book reviewer, and lecturer. Includes correspondence, books, newspaper clippings, poetry, sketches, and plays.

The collection contains papers of the Schrader and Holtschneider families of Rich Fountain, Osage County, Missouri. They were farmers, merchants, postmasters, and county judges. Papers include correspondence, business and legal papers, post office records, and school district records.

Original copy of the four volumes published by SHS, 1946-1950. Includes photographs used in the publication and a typescript of Chapter XIV, "Unprintable Songs," left out of the printed version. In addition there are two volumes entitled "Unprintable' Songs From the Ozarks" which were sold to the Society in 1956, but without publication rights.

The records of a rural Boone County women’s club consist of minutes and financial accounts of the club are presented in the records. Missing from the documents are record books for 1956 and 1960-1964. Also, there are no separate financial accounts for 1931-1942 and 1971-1973.

This collection of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century glass lantern slides depicts buildings, people, and street scenes in China and Palestine; the culture and manufacture of silk in Japan and the U.S. by the Corticelli Silk Mills in Massachusetts; and the history of education and elementary schools.

Clothing sample books of M. Born and Company, a men's clothing supplier located in Chicago, Illinois. Includes illustrations of the company's line of day and evening wear. The company was established in 1876 by Moses Born, a German immigrant.

Correspondence and miscellaneous material of poet John G. Neihardt. Neihardt was most famous for his epic, A Cycle of the West, and Black Elk Speaks. He was poet laureate of Nebraska, literary editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1929-1938, and an instructor at the University of Missouri, 1949-1965.

The papers of Harriet Newell Hutchinson and Lucius Salisbury, founder of Salisbury, Missouri, contain correspondence, typescripts, and miscel­laneous items.  Many of the letters center around Hutchinson’s and Salisbury’s courtship.

The collection contains miscellaneous letters between Rhodes family members and genealogical notes on the Rhodes family. A. Stacy Rhodes was a resident of St. Louis, Missouri.

The collection contains a photocopy of an oath of loyalty to the United States sworn by Carter, a resident of Glasgow in Howard County, Missouri.

The collection contains typescripts of two letters from Bishop in the Oregon Territory to his brother Thomas, Warsaw, Missouri. The letters discuss weather, prices for supplies, and a meeting of the territorial legislature. In connection with the latter, he mentions a disagreement between the legislature and the governor over the location of the capital.

The collection contains a military land grant for land in the Missouri Territory given to Maybray for his service in the War of 1812. Maybray served in Lane's Company, 39th Regiment, Infantry.

The papers of R.W. Freeman contain a letter to Freeman from Lafayette Moore of the Pershing Park Association in Laclede, Missouri, and a proposed budget for the Carroll County, Missouri, Baptist Association.

Records of the Mount Carmel Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Randolph County. The documents include information about baptisms, marriages, funerals, and dismissals. Also included are session minutes, church history, and pastoral information. Moreover, the records seem to include some documents from the Cumberland Chapel Church.

The collection contains a record of registered letters taken by the postmaster at Palmer, Washington County, Missouri, from 1903 to 1907. Includes such information as the date a letter was received for registration, the name of the sender, and the name and address of the recipient.

The collection contains account and record books kept by the postmaster at Blunt, Washington County, Missouri, from 1 January 1907 to 3 April 1913. The volumes contain quarterly stamp accounts, quarterly postal accounts, and inventories.

The collection contains a register of all money orders taken by the postmaster at Delbridge, Washington County, Missouri, between the post office's establishment, 2 October 1928, and its closure, 27 November 1934. Contains such information as the date of issue of the money order, the names of the remitter and payee, the post office drawn upon, and the amount of the order.

The collection contains single, family, and group portraits from the late 1800s and early 1900s taken primarily by photographers in Hamilton, Missouri.

Papers of Thomas McCutcheon Todd, a World War II soldier from Nevada, Missouri, comprised primarily of letters written to Todd’s family. Many of the letters were written while Todd was in military training and during his enlistment in the U.S. Army; they detail issues of work, family, war, and death during the 1940s.

Papers of the Walter and Agatha Cox of Osceola, Missouri, consisting of yearbooks and minutes of the Twentieth Century Club, Osceola, 1901-1941; minutes and accounts for the Works Progress Administration County Relief and Reemployment Committee for St. Clair County, 1933-1935; and miscellany. This is a companion collection to C0792, Daniel Family Papers. Genealogical information can be found in the information folder for that collection.

The papers of the Jackson and Lawrence families of Pennytown and Marshall, Missouri, include newspaper clippings and unpublished manuscripts on the history of Pennytown, a Black community near Marshall. There are also funeral cards, copies of legal documents, church and school records, and photo­graphs of Pennytown and its residents.

Letters of Jefferson Bridgford to his wife in Missouri while on the Oregon Trail and working in California during the gold rush.

Record book of the Salem Baptist Church founded in 1874, destroyed by fire in 1899, rebuilt in 1900, and renamed New Hope Baptist Church. Contains list of original members, charter, minutes of monthly meetings, and financial reports. Includes information on election of officers, formation of committees, financial affairs, and construction of a church building.

The papers of the director of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press and editor of Media Report to Women include professional correspondence and printed materials on sex and race discrimination cases, media stereotypes, public broadcasting, women's news, national and international women's conferences, and women in management.  The papers also document Allen’s involvement in labor, civil rights, and anti-war activism.

Collection of fifty-eight letters written between June 1850 and March 1857 by George W. Burke of Saline County, Missouri, to his parents William and Lurany Thornton Burke, brothers and sisters, and grandparents, all of Saline County, describing his journey west and life in the gold-producing area of northern California until his death there in 1857.

Records of an aircraft parts distribution firm. Includes correspondence, invoices, price lists, and other materials concerning the purchase and sale of aircraft parts. Also includes publicity material and contracts pertaining to the company's involvement in staging aerobatic demonstrations. Arranged chronologically.

A collection of letters, diary, service documents, short histories, anecdotes, maps, excerpts from books, and newspaper articles compiled by Guy M. Brown and entitled Bergun H. Brown’s Civil War Days. Material concerns Bergun Brown’s Civil War service as a private in the 29th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; some family history material is also included.  Includes photocopies of Brown's manuscript letters and diary, with typescript copies. The annotations, short histories, and anecdotes were written by Guy M. Brown, Bergun’s son.

Papers pertaining to the 8th Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia, which Catherwood commanded during the Civil War. Incorporation papers, deeds, and correspondence of the Lander Hill Tunnel and Silver Mining Company of New York and Nevada. Detailed report and drawing for a New York City rapid transit system, 1873.

Records of the Audubon Society of Missouri, an educational organization promoting ornithology and environmental awareness. Includes correspondence of society officers, minutes and programs of annual meetings, membership lists, and related material concerning activities of the society.

The records of the state organization and member clubs of an association to improve the status of Black women in the home and community include correspondence, financial records, conference files and programs, and information on the history of the organization and member clubs.