Columbia Manuscript Collections

The collection contains flyers and miscellaneous material of an annual chili festival held in Lupus, Missouri, from 1982 to 2016.

The collection contains documentary films on historical Missouri figures and topics created by students at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, for a class taught by Chase Thompson in 2013 and 2015.

This artificial collection combining several small acquisitions was created by the State Historical Society of Missouri to document the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

The collection contains an unpublished digital illustrated manuscript by Larry W. Waterfield featuring original artwork in celebration of Missouri’s Bicentennial in 2021. Also includes individual image files for some of the illustrations.

Correspondence, photographs, and books written or edited by Jens Christian Bay, a Danish-American writer and librarian. Most were sent as gifts to Kanardy L. Taylor.

The records of the Webster Review, an international literary journal that was published by Webster College (now Webster University) from 1974-1994, including promotional materials, financial documents, and manuscript submissions.

The papers of University of Missouri-Columbia agronomy professor and USDA research agronomist, including his research publications, professional correspondence, and materials related to his involvement with the Lutheran fraternity Beta Sigma Psi.

Genealogical information, correspondence, photocopied images, and other documents relating to the Greefs, a German family who immigrated to Tavern Creek, Missouri, in 1833.  Some of the documents are written in German.

The papers of a circuit court judge from Boone County, Missouri, contain receipts and legal papers. Includes material pertaining to the “case of Jim, a slave” vs. the State of Missouri. Jim, who was indicted for the murder of William B. Johnson, was enslaved by Todd.

Drafts of the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter--a publication of reports by maize geneticists started at Cornell University in 1929--plus correspondence and distribution information from 1923-1983.

Newspaper clippings, project reports, reference materials, and photographs from the Missouri arm of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.

The records of the University of Missouri-Columbia organization UPSTREAM-- University People Striving to Recover Excellence and Mirth--including materials surrounding governance, membership, and events.

The personal and political papers of a Republican U. S. Representative from Missouri’s seventh congressional district include education and personal papers; correspondence; campaign materials; speeches; press releases; audiovisual material; photographs; subject files; and committee records. Includes materials on Table Rock Dam and Reservoir and the U. S. Army during World War II and the Cold War.

Records of the Missouri arm of the Soil Conservation Society of America, formed as the Alfalfa-Brome Chapter in 1950 and then reorganized as the Show-Me Chapter in 1955.

This collection includes personal correspondence from Corporal John F. Riordan who served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. The letters from Riordan came from Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Fort Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne Wyoming, Camp Sutton North Carolina, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Okinawa, and Korea.

Photograph album created by Oscar and Juanita Campbell Strobel of Lexington and  Mexico, Missouri, documenting activities with family and friends, including school picnics, a graduation from Wentworth Military Academy, marriages, and travel in the Ozarks.

Unpublished and published manuscripts, consisting of mostly historical fiction with some non-fiction, by writer and civil engineer Charles E. Sexton.

World War II correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts of a soldier from Tarkio, Missouri, who was killed in action in 1944.

The papers of William L. Garver, an architect and leader in the Socialist movement in Missouri, contain his writings--including the original manuscript for Brother of the Third Degree, his 1902 work of esoteric philosophical fiction--as well as an unpublished biography, correspondence, and photographs.

Records of a 1970s fundraising campaign to purchase 112 George Caleb Bingham drawings from the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association.

Sales and repair records of a Jamestown jeweler, including customer names, watch manufacturer and model details, service provided, and payment from 1900-1940.

Records of a University of Missouri-Columbia sorority, consists of directories, newsletters, correspondence and miscellaneous records, and issues of the ALPHA GAMMA DELTA QUARTERLY.

Minutes of school board meetings and related materials.

Records of the Rainbow Diamond chapter of Optimist International--a service club organization focused on youth development--including governance and membership materials; event information and photographs; and newsletters.

Architectural drawings, blueprints, sketches, project files, and related material of Columbia (Mo.) firms Architects-Engineers-Planners; C. Wynn Brady; Mitzel & Associates; and Mitzel & Scroggs. Includes plans for businesses, residences, and public buildings in Missouri.

Yearbooks, record books, newsletters, and other records of the Brick Extension Club, Otterville, Missouri, a member of the Missouri Extension Homemakers Association.

One record book including meeting minutes of the church.

A collection of writings by Benjamin ‘Jeff’ H. Pearson and Harold Bell Wright.

Diaries kept by Lillian Bradford Dowler, a farm wife who grew up and lived in the Birch Tree community area in Shannon County, Missouri, her whole life. The diaries date from 1928 to 1995 and document family life and daily activities on the farm. Collection also includes transcriptions.

Papers and office files created and collected by John C. Danforth, Attorney General of Missouri, 1969-1976; U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1976-1995; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 2004-2005.  Includes legislative files, correspondence, reports, photographs and slides and audiovisual materials.

Scrapbook entitled "The Girl Graduate" compiled by Doris Ruth Petty, documenting the Tipton High School class of 1919. Includes photographs, autographs, a history of the class, and diary entries. The collection also includes biographical information on Doris Ruth Petty and a transcription of the scrapbook.

Letters, photographs, and papers from a Republican delegate regarding the revision of the Missouri Constitution in 1943.

Ledger of an Arrow Rock general store owner, Benjamin F. Townsend, which notes customer information and account balances from 1859-1882.

The church records include meeting minutes, calendars, and governance information from 1986-2001.

Record books of the church, including minutes of meetings and membership records, 1841-1953. Also index of surnames, volumes I-III.

The collection contains photographs taken by Sarah Messer Becking, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and includes prints, negatives, contact sheets, slides, and digital files. The majority of the images are of athletic events held at the University of Missouri, especially football and men’s basketball games. The collection also includes some freelance photography work, student work from her time at the university, and a small amount of personal and family material.

The records of the bank consist of a remittance ledger (1881-1902) and a loan book (1881-1913).

The collection contains certificates documenting Missouri baptisms, confirmations, and marriages, along with autograph albums. The materials were collected by Jon Charles Acker, an author and historian, for research purposes. Some of the items are in German.

Personal memorabilia of Grace Price Paxton, including programs from Christian College, school certificates, correspondence, diplomas, and legal documents concerning the Price and Holliday families; 1872 land deeds for and in Caldwell County, Missouri, sold by the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad; bill of sale for an enslaved woman, Silvy, and her child; and World War II ration books.

Interviews primarily with local government officials on the topic of “home rule,” conducted as part of a 1981 county government political science course at MU.

The collection was complied by William E. Preston and contains periodicals, newsletters and journals of organizations, newspaper clippings, articles, illustrations, postcards, photographs, and other materials concerning the history of mules in Missouri and the United States.

Papers of a historian from Macon, including a copy of his dissertation "The British Labor Party and British Foreign Policy, 1933-1939," other manuscript information, correspondence, and photographs.

Correspondence of the editor of the STEWART CLAN MAGAZINE, with Horace Dickerman and Dr. Francis Edward Stewart of Philadelphia concerning the genealogy of Missouri governor Robert Morris Stewart, 1921-1925. Also, metal printing plates of Robert Morris Stewart and his signature.

Genealogical research material on the Abney family--as well as the related families of Breckenridge, Davis, Geisinger, McClanahan, Shelton, and Van Lear--compiled in the writing of In Search of Kate (1978).

This collection contains the minutes of meetings, annual reports, financial records, manuals, programs and other convention materials for the Missouri Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.

Research papers for women’s history courses taught by John E. Lankford at the University of Missouri.

This collection contains photographs and genealogical material on the Ehrnman and Irvine families. The two families migrated to Missouri in the late 1800s. Most of the photographs were taken in Marshall, Jefferson City, and Glasgow.

Records concerning publishing activities of a reporting and public relations company in Jefferson City, Missouri, consisting of issues of the Simmons Political Report and Up The Flagpole-both of which focused on Missouri politics-and related correspondence.

Papers of a University of Missouri education professor including teaching resources, educational publications, information on professional activities and presentations, and family genealogy research material.

The papers contain notes and clippings kept by Stankowski regarding University of Missouri football and intramural sports, as well as correspondence and other materials concerning the 1966 reunion of the 1916 University of Missouri football team.

Record book of the Clarence, Missouri, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1878-1891.

The papers collected by John K. Hulston include correspondence, research materials, and drafts relating to the article, “John Trousdale Coffee: Lawyer, Politician, Confederate.” The article was published in the April 1983 issue of the Missouri Historical Review.

The records of an organization established to promote the passage of legislation to increase funding for education in Missouri include correspondence, publicity materials, financial documents, campaign materials, and miscellaneous material on Proposition B.

The papers of Carl R. Rieger contain military papers, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other material relating to his time spent as a prisoner of war during World War II.

The collection of genealogical information was compiled by Earl L. Popkes. The families resided in the Perry, Missouri, area.

Papers of Josiah Y. Powell, a carpenter-farmer-surveyor from Chillicothe, Missouri. Included are correspondence, speeches, poems, clippings, and an obituary for Powell.

The collection contains correspondence, account books and other financial records, ephemera, personal papers, photographs and tintypes of the Minnick family members, who lived in Chillicothe, Missouri.

Collection of letters sent from William S. Ehrlich to his parents, during his service in the military during the Korean War, 1952-1953. The letters were compiled and transcribed by Lois Ehrlich Phillips.

The records of an organization devoted to full-time or part-time farm management, rural appraisal, and other field activities related to farm management and appraisal include correspondence, meeting minutes, annual conference material, financial records, and membership directories.

Camp Rainbow for Exceptional Children was started in Chillicothe, Missouri, in 1963 by the parents of a mentally challenged daughter so that she and others like her could attend summer camp. Collection includes a camp history, camp buttons and a counselor's handbook, photographs, clippings, program schedules, official incorporation and camp business records, and newsletters. Also included are miscellaneous material on the Missouri Association for Retarded Children.

Portrait views of various members of the Poehlman family of Macon and Adair Counties and related members of the Grueger family from South Bend, Indiana. Also, a group photograph of the Oakwood Community Band.

Correspondence pertaining to the establishment of the Hawthorn Chapter (Columbia) of the Missouri Native Plant Society.  Also includes copies of the chapter's  newsletter, "The Hawthorn News,"  bylaws, minutes of board meetings, and membership lists.

Research papers of Opal B. McCollum, a genealogist, working in northeast and central Missouri. The records consist of correspondence; birth, marriage, death, and cemetery records; newspaper clippings; publications; and research forms and notes.

The papers of two related Mexico (Mo.) families, including travel journals, genealogical information, photographs, and the papers surrounding the construction of the A. P. and Josephine Green estate in Audrain County.

Photograph albums, family Bible pages, receipts, account books, and miscellaneous papers of a family from Warsaw, Missouri. Includes material on the related Graham and Reeder families.

The papers of a Columbia (Mo.) woman that outlines her participation in various community activities and women’s organizations, including the Banks Mothers Club.

Oral history interviews and transcripts of Missouri veterans conducted as part of the Library of Congress, Veterans History Project in Cass County, Missouri. Collection also includes transcriptions, miscellaneous photocopied military papers, and some photographs.

Papers from Shoemaker’s tenure as Secretary of the State Historical Society of Missouri from 1915-1960--such as copies of the “This Week in Missouri History” series, information on the 1950s historical markers program, speeches and articles, and details of his various activities and honors--as well as photographs, correspondence, and personal materials.

The papers of a Republican U.S. Representative and Senator from Southwest Missouri contain constituent mail, press material, press clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisual material, invitations and scheduling information, personal correspondence, briefing memos, and miscellaneous political materials. Blunt also served as Missouri Secretary of State, 1985-1993.

Records of the club include meeting attendance records, membership lists, correspondence, material on group field trips, material on photographic techniques, newsletters, and programs produced by the club. Also included are miscellaneous materials, which include the organization’s history, memos, forms, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and wildlife photographs. The series has been arranged by type of material.

Correspondence, receipts, financial documents, and miscellaneous material of the Hinde and Nelson families from Hannibal, Missouri, including Bessie Nelson Hinde and Mary Hinde, 1860s-1970s.

Records of a organization dedicated to fostering mental health in youth include meeting minutes and a proclamation for Kindness Week, 2016.

The Kupferer family papers contain correspondence between Edward and Henrietta Kupferer, Edward’s military papers, and an account of a trip to California made by Henrietta to visit Edward during his basic training in 1943.

This collection consists of event invitations, newsletters and posters from the ACLU of Eastern Missouri division, 1974, 1983-1984

Letters, from family members in Germany, to Schrader of Rich Fountain, Osage County, Missouri, 1883-1894. Includes summary translations.

Letters of a Marshall (Mo.) soldier who served in France during World War I.

World War II memoirs of a B-24 pilot who was shot down over France and captured by German soldiers in June 1944. He was held as a prisoner of war in Germany for about a year. The collection includes military orders and an introduction to the memoirs written by his son, Chris Bouchard.

Letters from Sarah “Sallie” Judy to her family describing her and her husband’s journey from Olney (Ill.) through Missouri to Belle Plaine (Kan.) in the summer of 1877 and adjusting to their new life there throughout 1878. Includes transcriptions.

The records of the Missouri chapter of the Daughters of Colonial Wars contain amendments to bylaws and budgets, newsletters, copies of newspaper clippings, photographs, programs, a society year book, and miscellaneous material produced by the Society.

Newsletters, programs and proceedings, and correspondence surrounding conferences held by the Prairie Grouse Technical Council from 1957-2001.

Transcriptions of World War II letters from brothers John Denzil and Dwight W. Sergent, soldiers from Halfway, Missouri, to family members. The letters are written while John served in India and Burma (now Myanmar) and Dwight in North Africa and Italy. Also includes an original letter from Dwight while in officer training at the U.S. Naval Reserves Midshipmen's School in Chicago.

Photographs and cabinet cards of a family from the Kansas City, Missouri, area. Includes a reunion photograph of Co. F, 16th Missouri Infantry CSA, Parson's Brigade.

The papers of a farmer and amateur archaeologist, including correspondence surrounding his publications, research materials on Upper Missouri River forts, information on his activities, personal papers, and general correspondence.

The papers contain correspondence between McMillan and Marvin Kay during the Vietnam War.

Scrapbook containing clippings, cards, correspondence, photographs, published short stories, and ephemera relating to the career of Moberly (Mo.) author Elizabeth Seifert. Also contains one folder of loose scrapbook material.

Photographs of members of the Ofenstein family from St. Louis County, Missouri. Also, a photocopy of Adam and Walhburga Ofenstein's golden anniversary announcement and an advertisement for Ofenstein's Grove.

Photographs of members of the Ofenstein family from St. Louis County, Missouri. Also, a photocopy of Adam and Walhburga Ofenstein's golden anniversary announcement and an advertisement for Ofenstein's Grove.

Surveys and results of a language study conducted by linguistic students at Brown University in 1967 and 1968 on the usage of slang.

Notes from the conception meeting of the Women's eNews Board. Also includes materials pertaining to the 21st Century Annual Gala, which include videos and a booklet.

Applications for membership in the Missouri Swanee and Charlotte Jones Smith chapters, Fayette, Missouri; convention programs, correspondence, and miscellaneous records; and a scrapbook from the Maud Robinson chapter, Waverly, Missouri, 1972-1975.

Recollections of a Confederate soldier, who served in the 1st Missouri Light Artillery from 1861 to 1865, consisting of a 1906 typescript and a 1976 transcription with notes from his great-grandson.

Records of the organization, 1915-1933, 1937, comprised of minutes of meetings, membership and officer lists, reports, and newspaper clippings. The records also contain proceedings of the annual meeting, membership lists, and other materials of the Missouri chapter of the organization.

The papers of a resident of Henry County, Missouri, include World War II letters from Eugene "Gene" Sickman and Korean War letters from her brother Clyde "Bud" Westhusing. Also included are family photographs and obituaries.

Genealogical information and photographs of the Todd and related families of northwest Missouri as well as unpublished manuscripts on Gentry and Worth Counties.

The collection contains historical material collected by Lucille Eslinger largely concerning Albany, St. Joseph, and Columbia, Missouri, including material on the Women’s Missionary Society of the First Presbyterian Church in Albany; photographs of buildings in St. Joseph; and programs from schools and organizations in Columbia.

Surveys and results of an abortion activism study conducted by a University of Missouri sociology professor in 1980.

Ephemeral items of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, photographs, student guides, and an autobiography, collected by a University of Missouri student, c. 1970s-1980s.

Photographs taken and collected by Wilkins during 1943 and 1944 while a Civil Air Patrol instructor. Includes photographs of students, aircraft, air fields, friends, and numerous communities: including Columbia, Missouri, and Pittsburg, Kansas.

Records of a non-profit, community oriented organization which operates a thrift shop providing clothing at low or no cost, consisting of Board of Directors meeting minutes, financial statements, price lists, volunteer sign-in books, and a recorded radio segment on the history of the organization.

Correspondence between and pertaining to Lewis D. Joy and Augusta D. [Kent] Joy, 1840s-1880s. Also includes genealogical notes on the family.