Law and Judiciary

P

Guy Brasfield Park Papers, 1894-1951 (C0008)
28.2 cubic feet (2,341 folders)

 Finding Aid

Official and personal correspondence and papers of Guy B. Park, Democratic governor of Missouri from 1933 to 1937. Also includes his work as an attorney for the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company, 1933-1946, as well as some personal papers of Eleanora Park.

Counties

John Patee Directive, 1865 (C1982)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Instructs John Curd, as his trustee, to collect money from a lottery at Patee House and use it towards payment of debts.

Counties

William Perry Summons, 1808 (C3679)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Summons dated August 22, 1808, for William Perry to testify in suit of John Smith T vs. Moses Austin in the General Court of Louisiana Territory.

Pipkin Family Papers, 1853-1877 (S0532)
0.25 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Pipkin Family Papers consist of correspondence sent to and from members of the Pipkin Family of Hillsboro, Missouri, including Philip Pipkin, a local attorney, his wife, Sophia Brickey Thomas Pipkin, and her brother, John Lilburn Thomas. Subjects of interest include the Civil War in Jefferson County, Missouri, land sales, and court cases handled by Philip Pipkin. 

Counties

Haysler F. Poague Books, 1913-1934 (C0866)
0.04 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains books kept by a Henry County, Missouri, lawyer and realtor, including cases, fees, and real estate with prices and commissions.

Counties

John Henry Pohlman Papers, 1938-1949 (S0282)
2.4 cubic feet (52 folders, 16 photographs, 1 photographic negative)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The John Henry Pohlman Papers contain correspondence, military orders, and case files pertaining to Pohlman's service in the United States Army during and after World War II. The papers include the case files Pohlman created while working as a legal officer prosecuting Nazi war crimes cases in 1947 as part of the 7708 War Crimes Group.

Poplar Bluff Municipal Library Collection, 1791-1959 (CG0042)
2.0 c. f.

 Finding Aid

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.

Counties

Benjamin Mathew Powers Papers, 1916-1965 (K0894)
1 c.f.

Powers was Assistant City Counselor and on several occasions served as acting City Manager of Kansas City, MO. Includes files relating to City legal actions. Also files from the Union Electric Land condemnations for Bagnall Dam and receivership files, including two circuit court cases for the Commercial Savings Co. & related entities.

Counties

"A Practical Treatise on Conveyancing", no date (C1205)
0.05 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

"A Practical Treatise on Conveyancing," with notes by Mr. Preston, copied by Ira Newburn and Darlingon Durham. The book is indexed for law students, and includes a list of recommended reading.

Stephen R. "Dick" Pratt Collection, 1998-1980 (K1206)
0.55 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Pratt served as Prosecuting Attorney for Clay County, MO, Kansas City Councilman, and Circuit Judge of Clay County. Includes scrapbooks: his political campaign Division II Circuit Court Judge, and cases he handled; and his appointment as an Honorary Missouri Colonel.

Counties

Newton Jasper Price Papers, 1866 (R0818)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a holograph letter dated February 27, 1866 from N. J. Price at Springfield in Greene County, Missouri, to "Bro. John." the letter concerns a legal matter and a forthcoming move.

Counties

Project Congregation + Offender Partnership Enterprise (COPE) Records, 1980-2022 (S0364)
3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The collection consists of meeting minutes, correspondence, applications, photographs, and newsletters chronicling Project Congregation + Offender Partnership Enterprise's (COPE) mission to assist prisoners with re-entry into society. Materials of interest include an autobiography written by Ted Schroeder, who helped Project COPE's founder, Hershel Walker, develop the organization.

Counties

Pulaski County, Missouri Tax Records, circa 1936-1944 (R1331)
(2 folders)

 Finding Aid

These undated books contain data pertaining to land owners in Pulaski County. They were created by William C. White, assessor of Pulaski County, Missouri, between the years 1936-1944.

Counties

Q

Bartholomew Quinn Papers, 1826 (C2304)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Three documents concerning the transfer of title to land in Saline County, MO, from Richard M. Cummins to Bartholomew Quinn.

Counties

R

Charles S. Rankin Letter, 1876 (C1629)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

To [Charles Henry Hardin, Hillsboro, MO], from [Herculaneum, MO], Jan. 12, 1876.

Letter to governor about disputed land claims and court case.

Counties

Ray County, Missouri, Justice of the Peace Docket, 1836-1851 (C1215)
0.05 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

Docket includes names of defendants and plaintiffs, nature of complaint, and synopsis of case. Some marriages recorded. Justices were P. Ewell, W. Berry, and W.L. Bransford.

Counties

James Alexander Reed Papers, 1903-1950 (K0443)
60 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personal and professional correspondence, speeches, case files, legal documents, scrapbooks, and subject files of Kansas City Mayor and United States Senator James A. Reed.

Counties

Lee Reeder Papers, 1931-1941 (C2536)
23.3 cubic feet (1849 folders)

 Finding Aid

Papers of a Kansas City attorney. Records of action relating to the trucking industry, labor disputes, bill collection and bankruptcy, damage suits, divorce cases, patent cases, and estates. Some papers pertaining to local Democratic politics, Boy Scouts, and Country Club Congregational Church.

Counties

Albert L. Reeves, Sr. Papers, 1900-1971 (K0640)
2 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personal and professional papers depicting U.S. District Court Judge Reeves' judicial career and family material. Includes manuscripts and family materials; photographs; speeches/addresses; cases; correspondence, clippings, and an oversize scrapbook. Also drafts of unpublished book by Reeves, Shame of a Great City.

Counties

John Keating Regan Papers, 1939-1960 (S0173)
0.02 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings documenting John Keating Regan’s career as the United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri (1962-1977).

Counties

Allen D. Richards Papers, 1875-1893 (C0156)
0.2 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of justice of the peace and postmaster of Dewitt, Carroll County, MO.

Counties

John Edward Richards Legal Papers, 1860-1936 (C2155)
0.08 cubic feet (4 folders)

 Finding Aid

Legal papers of J.E. Richards of Moscow Mills, MO, his immediate family, contemporaries, and descendants. Stock certificates, leases, deeds, insurance policy, and bills.

Counties

Issie J. Ringolsky Papers, 1894-1915 (K0993)
1 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Ringolsky was a partner with David I. White in the Ringolsky & White law firm. Includes case files for clients were business owners in Kansas City, several of whom were involved in the garment industry.

Counties

C.C. Roberts Railroad Collection, 1866-1922 (C4212)
1.5 cubic feet (65 folders)

 Finding Aid

Stock transfers; receipts; meeting minutes; vouchers; invoices; certificates; business proposals; court cases; agreements; construction specifications; articles of incorporation; accounts; reports; balance sheets, etc. of numerous railroad companies. Also material from the Missouri and Arkansas Lumber and Mining Company, and a Builder/General Contractor.

Benjamin Robinson Order, 1731 (C1523)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

To the sheriff of Carolina County, 5 April 1731, demanding Robert Dudley's presence in court in the case of William Kennan vs. Robert Dudley.

Rodney Family Papers, 1854-1874 (R1329)
0.1 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Rodney Family papers consist of legal documents related to the probate of various estates within the inter-related families of Rodney, Garrett, Ramsey, Walls and Whitelaw of Cape Girardeau and Mississippi Counties, Missouri.

James H. Rollins Papers, 1961-1981 (C3056)
3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

James Henry (Jimmy) Rollins was a black civil rights activist and University of Missouri law student who was convicted of dispensing marijuana in 1968, jumped bail to avoid prosecution and was subsequently caught and imprisoned in 1974 for that and other crimes. The papers consist primarily of letters from the imprisoned Rollins to one of his supporters, and of notes, newspaper clippings, case files, and other printed material related either to his case or to contemporary political and racial conditions in Columbia and at the University of Missouri.

Counties

James Edward Ruffin Papers, 1929-1965 (C2345)
0.4 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Correspondence and legal papers of a Democratic congressman-at-large, 1933-1935; lawyer; and special assistant to the attorney general, 1935-1953.

William N. Russell Law Notebook, 1864 (C0845)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Notes on law lectures of Professors Campbell, Cooley and Walker, taken by William N. Russell in 1864. Also gives date he began law practice (May 16, 1864) and a record of clients and fees.

S

Howard Frederic Sachs Papers, 1960-1981 (K0550)
4 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personal, family and professional papers of Federal Judge with the Western Missouri District Court. Also research and writings on the history of the Jewish community in Kansas City, MO.

Counties

Sappington Family Papers, 1819-1895 (C0159)
0.8 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of Dr. John Sappington of Arrow Rock, MO, and his family. Business letters about Sappington's pills and book for the treatment of malaria. Letters and papers from family and friends; supplies; notes. Legal case of Coffee & Blacke vs. Sappington & Sons. Miscellaneous personal record and account book.

Counties

John Sappington Papers, 1840-1841 (C1947)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Promissory note to Sappington by Joseph P. Taylor. Typed memo of four lawsuits of Sappington's in Red River County, TX.

Nathan Scarritt Family Papers, 1839-1962 (K0248)
1 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Newspaper clippings, articles, announcements, correspondence, and publication relating to the Scarritt and Chick families, two early families in Kansas City. Deeds and leases concerning the property owned by Scarritt and his estate. Also are family histories and a diary and autobiography of Nathan Scarritt, Methodist minister and missionary and early city builder.

Counties

Maurice Schechter Papers, 1919-1977 (S0687)
1 cubic foot, 68 folders

 Finding Aid

The Maurice Schechter Papers include law cases from 1919-1977 and various awards given to Schecter from 1929-1976. Together they chronicle Schecter's career as a lawyer, Missouri Representative, and Missouri Senator.

Counties

J. Peter Schmitz Papers, 1992-2004 (S1120)
13 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The J. Peter Schmitz Papers contain correspondence, legal research materials, and newspaper clippings relating to Schmitz's career as an environmental lawyer. Subjects of interest include the Open Space Council, the Missouri Pacific Railway, and White Haven, Missouri.

Counties

Clara Theresa Schweiger Trial Records, 1915-1917 (K0242)
0.2 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Trial transcripts and documents relating to a murder committed by Schweiger. She was defended by Mary Tiera Farrow, one of the first woman lawyers in Kansas City, MO.

Counties

John Seal Extradition Papers, 1887 (C1686)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Request from Governor Richard J. Oglesby of Illinois to Missouri Governor John S. Marmaduke for extradition of John Seal, a fugitive charged with murder.

Robert E. Seiler Papers, 1967-1982 (CA4393)
16 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The papers of a Missouri Supreme Court Judge contain notes and summaries on various cases before the Supreme Court of Missouri, conference materials, and miscellaneous material.

Thomas Shackelford Papers, 1820-1908 (C0163)
0.6 cubic feet

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Personal and business letters, documents and memoirs of a lawyer and politician of Glasgow, MO. He was a member of the Missouri Convention of 1861 and of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. Includes family letters and letters relating to his legal practice and politics, a few of them pertaining to the Constitutional Convention of 1875.

Counties

John Elliott Shamberg Papers, 1923-2001 (K0748)
9 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Correspondence between Shamberg, his family and friends, relating his college years, early career, World War II, and after the war. Shamberg was an attorney and personal counsel to Robert B. Docking, governor of Kansas,

Counties

R. Edgar Shook Papers, 1937-1946 (K1133)
1 c.f.

Shook was an attorney in Kansas City, MO active in politics. Includes scrapbooks of newspaper clippings chronicling Shook's tenure as a member of the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners and as president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners.

Counties

Thomas E. Sims Papers, 1952-2001 (K0639)
19 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Professional papers of a Kansas City, Missouri Municipal court judge, 16th Judicial Circuit. Includes correspondence, research materials, case studies, newsletters and publications of various state and national legal organizations.

Counties

Robert C. Smith Papers, 1967-2002 (C4178)
1.6 cubic feet (55 folders)

 Finding Aid

The papers of a Columbia, Missouri lawyer involved in many civic activities. The papers include speeches from dedication ceremonies, planning documents for the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, and records of the Hinkson Investment Club.

Counties

W. E. Smith Papers, 1890 (R0884)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a letter of February 20, 1890 from W. E. Smith, judge of probate court at Pineville in McDonald County, Missouri, to W. S. Sherley of Matinsville, Indiana. The letter deals with the affairs of Sarah Stockwell, deceased.

Counties

John Sorrell Land Warrant, 1853 (C1970)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains a warrant for land issued to John Sorrell and transferred to William Sorrell.

Robert Spencer and Pierre Pallardie Papers, 1840 (C1792)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

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

St. Charles, Missouri, Circuit Court Seal, 1840 (C1683)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Impression of the seal of the St. Charles circuit court.

St. Charles, Missouri, Citizens' Petition, 1820 (C1692)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Petition to the judge of the St. Charles circuit court from the inhabitants of St. Charles recommending the appointment of Daniel Howland as constable, March 1820.

St. Louis Desegregation Case Records, 1849-1986 (S0684)
3 cubic feet, 35 folders

 Finding Aid

This collection contains legal materials, reports, and analyses pertaining to Craton Liddell vs. the Board of Education, City of St. Louis. Minnie Liddell, the mother of Craton Liddell, organized a boycott against the Board of Education of the City of St. Louis in 1971 after the school board announced that they would bus her son from the overcrowded Yeatman School to a substandard school outside Liddell's neighborhood. The Board of Education relented to the boycott, and transferred her son to another school. Liddell continued her fight, filing a lawsuit against the Board of Education in 1972. The lawsuit was finally settled in 1999 and resulted in a city-wide busing plan that encompassed sixteen school districts in the St. Louis area, known as the Voluntary Interdistrict Transfer Program.

Counties

St. Louis Metropolitan Reference Collection, 1957-1984 (S0526)
1.0 cubic foot, 44 folders

 Finding Aid

The St. Louis Metropolitan Reference Collection is an artificial collection containing newsletters, reports, brochures, and maps regarding St. Louis City and County government agencies and organizations.

Counties