New Madrid

Phillips Family Papers, 1863-1935 (R0169)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Phillips Family Papers contain photocopies of miscellaneous personal papers of the Phillips family of New Madrid County, Missouri. Included are the inventory and sales records of the estate of Shapley R. Phillips and a letter from Robert E. Lee concerning the attendance of Murray Phillips at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia.

Ramsay Place Names File, 1928-1945 (C2366)
6 cubic feet (12 boxes), 4 rolls of microfilm

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Card file of origins of Missouri place names, compiled by students of Robert L. Ramsay, University of Missouri professor of English. Cards are in alphabetical order by place name.

Rebekah Assembly of Missouri Collection, 1932-1990 (R0616)
(8 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Rebekah Assembly of Missouri Collection contains microfilm copies of printed minutes of the annual meetings of the Rebekah Assembly of Missouri. The minutes include lists of state officials, delegates and alternates, financial information and committee reports, matters concerning the Odd Fellows Home in Liberty, Missouri, and a listing of the names and local addresses of all Rebekah lodges in Missouri.

Reynolds Family Papers, 1875-1997 (CG0007)
2.6 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

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.

S.P. Reynolds Collection, 1806-1810 (C0927)
2 oversize items

 Finding Aid

Plats of village of Little Prairie, New Madrid District, 1806, and of town of New Madrid, 1810.

Riley Family Papers, 1855-1967 (CG0065)
3.5 c.f.

 Finding Aid

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.

Francis Rodman Papers, 1866 (C1726)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

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.

Rotary Club International District 6060 Records, 1946-2021 (S0233)
11 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

This collection contains correspondence, memos, yearbooks, directories, anniversary programs, and conference materials documenting Rotary District 6060's mission to support local rotary clubs through club visits and organizing yearly district conferences. Organized in 1910 with the founding of the St. Louis Rotary Club, District 6060 is an administrative body that oversees Rotary Clubs in the Eastern part of Missouri, from Hannibal to the Missouri Bootheel.

Saint Francis Levee District Records, 1893-1980 (R0076)
(2 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Saint Francis Levee District of Missouri Records contains a microfilm copy of ledgers, minute books, and financial records of the Saint Francis Levee District.

Betty Kennedy Sewell Genealogical Collection, 1912-2016 (CG0011)
1.4 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

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.

Sikes Family Papers, 1845-1859 (CG0019)
0.02 cubic feet

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

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.

Fritz Smith Papers, 1892-1900 (R0373)
0.03 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Fritz Smith Papers contain photocopies of a daily record of water levels on the Mississippi River at New Madrid, Missouri, November 22, 1892 to August 31, 1900. There are also occasional notes on the weather, river conditions, and steamboats.

Thad Snow Papers, 1923-1955 (CG0027)
1.31 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

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.

The Southeast Missouri Collection, 1820-2016 (CG0001)
0.8 c.f.

 Finding Aid

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

Southeast Missouri, Photograph Collection, 1902-1975 (P1126)

An artificial collection of photographs depicting Southeast Missouri, including the Bootheel: Wayne, Dunklin, Pemiscot, New Madrid, Stoddard, Scott, and Mississippi counties.

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company Records, 1859-1980 (R0362)
(178 cubic feet)

 Finding Aid

These are corporate minutes and financial account books, and other records of the St. Louis-San Francisco ("Frisco") Railway Company (1916-1980) and predecessor, subsidiary, and constituent companies, most notably the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway (1876-1896) and the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad (1896-1916). The "Frisco" operated in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980. Also of note are four architectural drawing boxes that include the blueprints for structures along the St. Louis-San Francisco Line. A detailed inventory of the drawings is included in each of the four boxes.

Aquilla Standifird Papers, 1862-1865 (R0458)
0.04 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Aquilla Standifird Papers contain photocopies of the Civil War diary of a sergeant and, later, lieutenant of Company D, 23rd Iowa Infantry. The diary covers duty in Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, July 26, 1862 through circa April 15, 1865. Included are descriptions of service in the Army of Southeastern Missouri, the Vicksburg Campaign, including the battles of Port Gibson, Champion’s Hill, Big Black River Bridge, and Milliken’s Bend, and furlough and medical leave in Iowa.

James and Hope Edwards Terrell Papers, (CG0054)
2.0

 Finding Aid

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. 

U.S. Work Projects Administration, Historical Records Survey of Missouri, 1935-1942 (C3551)
302 cubic feet (24,282 folders); also available on 817 rolls of microfilm

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, records, and working files. Originally designed to survey and inventory all county government records, the survey finally included inventories of church records, manuscript collections, vital statistics, American imprints, and federal archives. Incorporates records of the Federal Writers Project for Missouri.

Charles Van Ravenswaay Papers, 1841-1990 (C3873)
21.8 cubic feet (1,359 folders), 1 audio cassette

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, research notes, photographs, and literary manuscripts of historian and author Charles van Ravenswaay, former director of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis; Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts; and the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum and Gardens, Wilmington, Delaware.

Mildred Wallhausen Papers, 1949-2002 (CG0050)
2.1 c.f.

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

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.

Robert S. Wiley Collection, 1869-1994 (R0521)
8.5 cubic feet (177 folders, 639 photographs, 25 slides, 2 audio discs, 13 oversize folders)

 Finding Aid

The Robert S. Wiley Collection consists of legal documents, publications, promotional material, and ephemera related to Missouri, specifically Stone County, and to travel, tourism and recreation in the White River region of Missouri and Arkansas. The collection also contains material largely focused on Missouri State Representative Dewey Short and the Republican Party.

James Wilkinson Proclamation, 1806 (C1810)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Proclamation altering the boundary between the New Madrid and the Cape Girardeau Districts of the Louisiana Territory.

R. T. Williamson Records, 1829 (R0860)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a receipt dated September 2, 1829 and signed by R. T. Williamson at New Madrid in New Madrid County, Missouri, for the tuition of Polly and Isabella Belson. The payment was made by Seavers & McFaddin for the account of Fanny Belson, guardian.