Social Customs and Daily Life
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African American Heritage in the Ozarks Collection, 2021-2023 (SP0078)
31 oral history interviews
The African American Heritage in the Ozarks Collection contains oral history interviews, transcriptions, and photographs related to the African American Heritage in the Ozarks project coordinated by the State Historical Society of Missouri from November 2021 to November 2022. The interviews cover a wide range of topics related to the African American experience in the Ozarks including family, community, education, religion, travel and leisure, labor, and military service.
Subjects
Mary Bullock Aker Papers, 1930-1984 (K0115)
29 f and 2 vol.
Photocopies of short stories and newspaper/magazine articles written by Aker, both rough and final drafts. They cover a variety of topics from the Revolutionary War to household hints. Also an autobiographical story which Mrs. Aker wrote in her 91st year of memories of her childhood in and around Parkville, Missouri
Counties
Albany Ledger, Gentry County, Missouri, Abstracts, 1884-1887 (K0160)
0.1 c.f.
Book of abstracts of the news stories including entries on the people and events of Gentry County. A surname index is included at the end of the volume.
Counties
Jamon Aldrich Letter, 1838 (C1446)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
A Mormon immigrant wrote his brother about Missouri. Geographical location of his homestead, fertility of land, crops, prices, wages, Indians, U.S. military forts and troops, anti-Mormon sentiment, Joseph Smith, and news of family and friends.
Counties
Martha Allen Letter, 1857 (C0507)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Letter to her aunt and uncle from Ray County, Missouri, March 15, 1857. Description of the weather, comments about crops, and family news. An added note by a sister, Lucinda.
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"At The Funeral of an Ozarks Farm Widow" Collection, 2017 (SP0025)
.1 c.f. (1 folder)
The “At the Funeral of an Ozark Farm Widow” Collection consists of a written account of a funeral of an elderly widow in a fictional Ozark town in 1980. The account, written by the widow’s son-in-law, portrays the interactions of the family during and after the funeral and the ensuing fighting that resulted over the widow’s will. The manuscript details actual events, but all names and locations have been changed for the sake of privacy
Subjects
B
Elizabeth Bailey Photograph Collection, 1987, no date (P0379)
1 folder
Postcard of Missouri United Methodist Church (Columbia), photographs of Mary K. Dains retirement reception (8-8-1991), Ronald Reagan visit to Columbia (1987), and the Missouri State Archives (1991).
Baird-Welsh-Chisholm Family Papers, 1894-1922 (K0655)
0.5 c.f.
The papers contain various scrapbooks such as photograph albums, baby books, and commemorative books of other events such as deaths and weddings. Also contained are personal papers such as letters and certificates pertaining to the family and family-friends as well as individual photographs of members of the family.
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Charles Merlin Barnes Papers, 1892-1965 (C2802)
8 cubic feet
The Barnes Papers consist of the diaries, correspondence, photographs, financial records, and miscellaneous material of a Marston, Missouri, businessman and University of Missouri graduate. The Barnes family owned and operated a series of successful business enterprises in southeastern Missouri during the early twentieth century.
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Barrows Family Letters, 1834-1887 (C3264)
0.04 cubic feet (2 folders)
Correspondence between Freeman Barrows, his brother John and his sister Sarah; between Elizabeth Vaill Waldo and her sister Asenath B. Vaill Barrows, wife of Freeman Barrows. Freeman Barrows tells of business, social and economic conditions in Batesville and Papinville, Missouri, and urges his family to join him there.
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Barth Family Papers, 1852-1907 (C0997)
0.1 cubic feet (5 folders)
Papers contain correspondence, deeds, and financial statements of the family of Moses Barth, a Rocheport, Boone County, MO, merchant. Bulk of the material is correspondence between family members concerning their general welfare and business matters. Several letters written during the Civil War describe economic conditions and confrontations with Confederate guerrillas in the Rocheport area.
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Bealmear Family Papers, 1844-1896 (C4493)
0.2 cubic feet (3 folders)
Correspondence between various members of the Bealmear family and one leather notebook with farming account information.
Russell O. Bealmear Papers, no date (CA6251)
0.2 cubic feet
Correspondence of the Bealmear Family, members of whom settled in Kentucky, Arkansas, and the Missouri counties of Boone, Howard, and Macon. The letters describe farming, illnesses, and other family matters during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. An account book, dictionary, and handbook are included.
Beauchamp Family Letters, 1832-1894 (C3128)
0.12 cubic feet (6 folders)
Letters received by the John A. Beauchamp family of Liberty, MO, from relatives in Tennessee, Louisiana, and southeastern Texas discussing family news, prices, business prospects and post-Civil War conditions.
Subjects
Counties
William Bedell Day Book, 1834-1844 (C1454)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Bedell was a Clark County, MO, farmer. Day book contains diary notes, articles of agreement, court summons, and farm and household accounts paid and received.
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Charlotte "Lottie" Bedford Papers, 1864-1919, bulk 1871-1897 (C4490)
0.31 cubic feet (2 volumes)
Commonplace book of Charlotte “Lottie” Bedford featuring short stories, poems, diary entries, and quotes by famous figures, as well as a scrapbook created for her grandson, William Willard Hall in 1897.
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Belwood-Ezell Family Papers, 1850-1935 (C0073)
0.6 cubic feet
Correspondence, diaries, and miscellaneous items of families living in Saline and Pettis Counties, MO. Much of the correspondence pertains to news of family members and friends. Most of the letters are to and from family members, including children, of Mary Belwood Ezell and Francisco Ezell.
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Bentley Family Collection, 1815-1981 (C3042)
5 rolls of microfilm, 0.4 cubic feet (11 folders), 1 oversize item, 1 oversize volume
The collection contains the correspondence of Nancy V. Bentley, Jordan R. Bentley, and J. Marshall Bentley. Also included are legal papers and bills of sales for enslaved people pertaining to the Bentley family and Thomas Fristoe; reminiscences of Jordan R. Bentley and material pertaining to Bentley and other allied families; material on the Civil War in Chariton, Howard, and Cooper Counties; material on family and social life in the 1880s and 1890s; and Chariton County history.
Subjects
Ula Sharon Robinson Bergfeldt Papers, 1861-1993 (K1223)
8 c.f.
Family, personal and professional materials of Bergfeldt, professional dancer, teacher, producer, and founder of the Kansas City Dance Theatre. Includes family papers: photographs and legal documents for the Sharon and Headlee families, Spring Hill, KS; personal papers: correspondence between Ula and William Harold Bergfeldt (1895-1971) during their courtship and early marriage, as well as Harold's correspondence to his parents and photographs from France following World War I; and professional papers: scripts for ballets and administrative records of the Kansas City Dance Theatre.
Subjects
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Bingham Family Papers, 1814-1930 (C0998)
0.35 cubic feet (27 folders)
Correspondence of members of the Bingham family of Virginia and then of Missouri and Texas. References to friends, deaths, marriages, travel prices, estates and personal affairs of the Bingham family.
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George Caleb Bingham Papers, 1873 (K0470)
0.01 c.f.
Last will and testament (November 28, 1873) for Bingham, noted Missouri artist. Also stereo view photograph of Bingham's studio over Shannon's store at Third and Main Streets, Kansas City, MO.
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John and Jacob Bingham Papers, 1822-1884 (C2715)
0.08 cubic feet (4 folders)
Mostly correspondence of Bingham family of Virginia and Missouri; scant mention of contemporary news. A few miscellaneous papers connected with estates, wills, and property.
W. Bishop Letters, 1896-1898 (C0526)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Two letters to his granddaughter, Laura Benton, telling of hard times in 1896, prices at the feed store, and members of the family.
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Robert Blackstone Letter, 1860 (C1463)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Description of a Christmas visit to Christian College, Columbia, MO. The students at Christian, except seniors, were permitted to have guests only during the holidays. Stationery letterhead has a photograph of the University of Missouri.
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John A. Blackwell Papers, 1852-1940 (C3732)
2.3 cubic feet (59 folders)
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.
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Fields Trammel Bledsoe Letter, 1851 (K0229)
0.01 c.f.
Letter from Bledsoe to his brother-in-law William C. Rhodes of Harrisonville, MO. Written on letterhead with a woodcut entitled "View of Coloma, the place where the first Gold was discovered", Bledsoe mentions his gold claim in California, his concerns for the welfare of his wife and children in Harrisonville, and acquaintances they have in common.
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Louis F. Bohm Letters, 1866-1868 (C3290)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
The collection contains copies of letters to Bohm regarding music, local news, and politics.
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Angelo Louis Bongino Collection, 1934-1997 (K0878)
1 c.f.
Research and personal papers of Bongino relating to the Italian community in the Northeast Kansas City, particularly Holy Rosary Church. Includes Bongino's published articles, photographs, and video.
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Booth-Lang Family Papers, 1895-1987 (K0658)
6 c.f.
Papers and photographs documenting the history of the Lang, Imboden, Fornefett, Booth and related families. Includes genealogical information, certificates of baptism, confirmation, naturalization papers, military records, obituaries, and correspondence. Also family activities and interests, residences, military, and travel.
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Botts-Lewis Family Letters, 1837-1877 (C0213)
0.06 cubic feet (3 folders)
Letters from the Botts and Lewis families in Virginia to the Peyton and James Botts families in Missouri. Farm crops, operations, land conditions, prayer meetings, collection of debts, slave prices, family matters, and other miscellaneous topics.
Bright Letter, [1850] (C0500)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Photostatic copy of a letter written by an unknown woman to her husband in Kentucky, from Glendale, Missouri, February 29, [1850]. Discussion of family affairs, land conditions, and the weather.
Subjects
Dorothy Bristow Memory Book, 1925 (S1179)
0.25 cubic foot
This collection contains a hardcover book titled "A Girl's Graduation Days," owned by Dorothy Bristow. Bristow filled in the information and attached various invitations and mementos in connection with her experiences at Grover Cleveland High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Dated June 1925, the book contains writings by classmates, descriptions, and mementos of school programs, activities, sports, and social events, photographs of classmates, and names of teachers and courses Bristow took while attending Grover Cleveland High School.
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Brock Family Papers, 1821-1823 (C2916)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Personal letters regarding the death and estate of Jefferson Brock and Margaret Estes; documents concerning Jefferson Brock estate.
Subjects
Bronaugh-Bushnell Family Papers, 1852-1930 (C0079)
1.2 cubic feet
Personal and business correspondence of the Bronaugh and Bushnell families, landowners and business operators near Clinton, Henry County, Missouri.
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Kenneth L. Browne Collection, no date (K0534)
0.01 c.f.
Humorous letter concerning events in Kansas City, including a dance.
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Richard W. Burt Papers, 1817-1911 (C0226)
0.12 cubic feet (6 folders)
Description of everyday life in Ohio during the 1840s. Letters on army life during the Mexican War and the Civil War. Letters include descriptions of battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg. Scrapbook contains clippings from Burt's Progressive Age, Coshocton, Ohio, clippings of his letters regarding the Mexican and Civil Wars, and other miscellaneous clippings.
Burwell-Tate Family Papers, 1850-1930 (K0233)
1 c.f.
Moses T. Burwell was a prominent Kansas City banker and real estate broker. Primarily photographs of the Burwell and Tate families, including studio portraits and exterior and interior shots of the Burwell's late-1800s home. Also included are a scrapbook, newspaper clippings, and other family papers.
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C
Caldwell-Steele Family Letters, 1823-1841 (C0243)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Three letters and one bill of sale for property. Letters concern the Caldwell family of Green County, Kentucky, and their relatives, the Steele family of Callaway County, Missouri. Letters discuss education, politics, religion, and local and personal news.
Alex Carey Collection, 1864-1933 (C0253)
0.15 cubic feet (7 folders)
Includes shares on Gold and Silver Tunnel Company; deed for land in Jackson County; accounts; 1864 constitution of Platte City, MO, I.O.O.F. lodge; notes; obituary of R.T. Carey; tintype; letters to Lucille Carey from friends; 1887 medical book; and letters from a book salesman, 1872.
Subjects
John C. Carpenter Letters, 1868-1870 (C0236)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Written from Lone Side, VA, concerning conditions in the south.
Sam Carpenter Letters, 1834-1842 (C0235)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Written from Alleghany County, VA, discussing politics and local and family affairs.
Lenore Bea French Carroll Papers, 1975-2005 (K0446)
21 c.f.
Drafts and completed manuscripts of published and unpublished articles and books written by Carroll, and correspondence, notes and extensive research related to the 19th century American Midwest and West.
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Cecil C. Carstenson and Blanche Williams Carstenson Papers, 1943-2001 (K0669)
5 c.f.
Cecil was talented wood sculptor, while his wife Blanche was best known for her textile artworks. Included are photographs and slides of both Cecil and Blanche's artwork. Also letters to various people, mostly family while Cecil was serving during World War II and scrapbooks covering most of their adult lives.
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George W. Carvill Letters, 1834-1868 (C2697)
0.17 cubic feet (8 folders)
Sixty-four letters written by Carvill, his wife and daughter to relatives in London from various places in the South, describing family and economic matters, Mexican War, Civil War, Oregon and Maine boundary disputes, and slavery.
George M. Chase Papers, 1862-1940 (K0536)
0.01 c.f.
Letter and document ["passport"] identifying Chase, a Kansas City merchant from Maine, interstate travel Maine to Kansas City during the Civil War.
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Children's Literature Scrapbook, 1870s (K0402)
0.1 c.f.
The Scrapbook of Children’s Literature consists of a single scrapbook containing newspaper clippings of children’s stories, poems, and pictures that appeared in The Youth’s Companion, an American Children’s magazine. The clippings are undated and were pasted over a business ledger from Cleveland, Ohio. The Youth’s Companion, later known as The Companion-For All the Family, was an American children’s magazine, which began publication in 1827 and ran until its merger with The American Boy in 1929. The magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, by the Perry Mason Company.
Adrienne Tinker Christopher Papers, 1965 (C2906)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Three short articles concerning incidents, activities and people in early Westport, MO.
Subjects
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Clay County, Missouri History Papers, 1850-1896 (K0445)
0.18 c.f.
Letters and oaths relating to disenfranchisement under the "Drake Constitution"; autobiographical statements on early Clay County settlers; miscellaneous items including obituaries, sale and other announcements, and letters to the editor. Presumably all of these holograph documents were in some form published in the Liberty Tribune.
Subjects
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Cleveland-Gillaspy Papers, 1849-1939 (C0105)
0.4 cubic feet (22 folders)
Correspondence, legal papers, tax receipts, photographs, and miscellany of James C. Gillaspy and James Longstreet Cleveland of Boone County, MO. Includes minute book and constitution of Providence Speas (Spiritual, Physical, Educational and Social) Club, Providence, MO, an organization active during the 1930s.
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Leslie D. Cohn Collection, 1985-2005 (K1053)
0.2 c.f.
Newspaper clippings, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle commemorative issues, and a Jewish Community Campus program