Research Ready: June 2013

Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. Here’s the scoop for June:

Sul Ross as a young man, undated daguerreotype
The Barnard-Lane Papers contain materials from many of Waco’s oldest and most influential families, including this daguerreotype of Lawrence Sullivan Ross, a former governor of Texas and brother-in-law of Barnard Lane (found in box 28, folder 7).
  • Gladys Allen papers, 1882-1893, 1913-1952, undated: Gladys Allen was a teacher, served on the Baylor University Board of Trustees, and was a member of Seventh and James Baptist Church. Includes correspondence, personal notes, genealogical research, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
  • Lyrics to “America” manuscript, 1895: This manuscript contains a handwritten copy of the song “America” or, alternatively, “My Country Tis of Thee,” by the composer Samuel Francis Smith.
  • Barnard-Lane papers, 1800-1983, undated: George Barnard was one of the early Waco pioneers. The collection contains personal materials as well as those related to his trading post.
  • Ava Storey and Dixie Anderson Butcher collection, 1903-1998, undated: Contains documents and photographs from the Storey and Butcher family, as well as photographs of the affluent Waco drug store chain, Pipkin Drug Store.
  • Newel Berryman Crain papers, 1858-1948, undated: The Crain papers chronicle the experiences of a young man from Texas during the beginning of the twentieth century, from his time at Baylor through his various jobs and military service. It also includes correspondence from Crain’s grandfather, Newton M. Berryman, about his studies at Baylor University at Independence in 1858.
  • BU Records: Dean of the Union Building (Lily Russell), 1936-1966: Administrative
    records related to Baylor’s Union Building, as well as some of Russell’s personal
    records and materials from when she was Director of Public Relations at Baylor.
  • [Edcouch] First Baptist Church records, 1941-1974, undated: [Edcouch] First Baptist Church, originally named Los Indios Baptist Church, was organized during the summer of 1924 in Los Indios, Texas. It has undergone a few name and location changes since then. Records consist of manuscripts pertaining to administrative operations of the church.
Telegram from Mary Jane Hannah to her husband, Robert Lee Hannah, following the loss of their son, Bob, 1927
Telegram from Mary Jane Hannah to her husband, Robert Lee Hannah, following the loss of their son, Bob. Bob Hannah was one of what Baylor calls the Immortal Ten who died in a train/bus collision en route to a basketball game in Austin. Hannah-Wiley papers, box 1, folder 5.
  • Hannah-Wiley Family papers, 1909-1930, undated: The Hannah-Wiley Family papers contain correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, and literary production relating to the family of Baylor student Robert “Bob” Lee Hannah Jr., who was one of the “Immortal Ten” who died in a tragic bus/train collision.
  • Independence Baptist Church records, 1873-1918: Independence Baptist Church was one of the first Baptist churches in Texas. Contains one bound minute book that describes church activities, finances, and disciplinary issues from 1873-1918 and also includes a condensed history of the church from 1839-1873.
  • Colonel Chris H.W. Rueter collection, 1927-2004, undated: Consists of correspondence, certificates, postcards, artworks, photographs, and biographical information collected by Baylor alum and WWII veteran Colonel Chris H.W. Rueter and his family.
  • BU Records: Rufus C. Burleson Society, 1900-1919: Documents the operations and activities of one of Baylor’s women’s literary societies that was most active in the early 1900s.
  • James Anderson Slover papers, circa 1907-1913, undated: Copies of a manuscript written by Slover, Minister to the Cherokees: A Civil War Autobiography, describing early family history on the frontier in the United States and Texas.
  • Thurmond-Tramwell Slave papers, 1857: These papers include a document originating from Gonzales, Texas, which gives an account of a legal dispute between Thurmond and Tramwell over an enslaved woman.
  • Frank L. Wilcox Papers, 1923-1966, undated: Contains the personal and professional materials of Frank Wilcox, a former mayor of Waco and the son-in-law of former Texas governor and Baylor University President Pat Neff.

A Day in the (Texas Collection) Life: Kathy Hinton, Administrative Coordinator

Hinton office
Kathy has worked at The Texas Collection longer than anyone else on our staff. Here she works on an invoice.

Meet Kathy Hinton, Baylor graduate (BA 2012), originally from Staunton, Illinois, and Administrative Coordinator, in our latest staff post giving you a peek into the day-to-day work of The Texas Collection:

“Good morning, The Texas Collection.” It is usually my voice that you hear when you call The Texas Collection. For the last 26 years, answering the phone has been just one of the tasks that I handle on a daily basis. My work in the administrative office at The Texas Collection (TC) brings me into contact with researchers, donors, and colleagues across the campus.

As administrative coordinator, I assist the director with his schedule and other office matters. Working with the budget is a big part of my job. I not only handle the budget for the TC, but also for Baylor at Independence and the Heart of Texas Regional History Fair. There are also several endowment and research fellowship funds that fall under the TC. There are usually two or three research fellowships that are awarded each year, and I arrange for campus guest housing and payments to these scholars.

A typical day for me includes such things as ordering supplies, preparing work orders, handling student budget and payroll for the department, approving invoices, preparing vouchers for payments to vendors, and meeting with visitors in our offices. I also spend some of my time proofing and editing items for reports and publications. Recently, I have assisted the director in locating and purchasing maps for our ever-growing collection.

One of my favorite jobs is meeting with donors of new collections. I find it very interesting to meet with a donor who has brought in a new collection to be deposited in our library. Many include family papers, diaries, journals, and photographs, and the stories behind the collections are sometimes as fascinating as the materials themselves. It is also wonderful to be able to reassure someone that their family’s items will be well preserved and cared for by our staff.

Archives control file
Kathy gets all of The Texas Collection’s archives control files started with deeds of gift or transfers and other accessioning paperwork.

Once an item or collection has been left in our care, I prepare a gift conveyance form and preliminary worksheets on the collection. These things make up what we refer to as our control file. Once we receive the signed gift form, our archivists can then begin the job of processing the new collection and releasing it for use by our researchers.

Over the years, I have also enjoyed using the TC’s vast resources in my own studies. Early in my career at Baylor, Kent Keeth (director of the TC from 1973 to 2003) and Ellen Kuniyuki Brown (a former TC archivist) encouraged me to return to school to work on my degree. In doing so, I developed a true passion for history, and found myself turning to the TC time and time again to work on assignments and special projects for classes. I earned my BA in History and Professional Writing this past year, after 19 years of study. (Editor’s note: See the piece the Baylor Alumni Association wrote on Kathy’s accomplishment last year.)

The Texas Collection has something for almost everyone. Whether you are a scholar, student, genealogist, or just interested in the history of Texas, we have plenty to offer, from books and periodicals, to manuscripts, maps, photographs, and great exhibits. Pay us a visit—we would love to meet you.

The Texas Collection turns 90 this year! But even though we’ve been at Baylor for so long, we realize people aren’t quite sure what goes on in a special collections library and archives. So over the course of 2013, we are featuring staff posts about our work at The Texas Collection. See other posts in the series here.

Dr. Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth's Love of History: His Passion, The Texas Collection's Gain

The year 2013 marks the 90th anniversary of The Texas Collection. To say that the landscape of human history has changed since 1923 would constitute a most severe understatement. During the twentieth century, humanity has witnessed the carnage of two World Wars, the space race, the creation of the television and Internet, civil rights movements, and the atomic age…just to name a few changes!

Brandes-Aynesworth correspondence, 1933
Acting Baylor librarian Gertrude Brandes to Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth, April 1933, regarding one of many gifts of books to what would become The Texas Collection

Repositories such as The Texas Collection have taken up the mantle of preserving this history and cultural heritage. We are one of the largest Texana collections in the nation, but this accomplishment would not have been possible without the generosity and vision of its first donor, Dr. Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth.

Aynesworth was born in Florence, Texas, on February 9, 1873. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1894 from Baylor University, where he was classmates with famous Texans Tom Connally and Pat Neff. Aynesworth went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Texas at Galveston in 1899.

Certificate granting Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth's protection as a citizen when studying in Berlin, Germany, circa 1901
Certificate granting Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth’s protection as a citizen when studying in Berlin, Germany, circa 1901

His work in the field of medicine opened up a wide variety of opportunities for Aynesworth. While earning his M.D., he interned at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. In 1901-1902, Aynesworth pursued postgraduate studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. Seven years later, Aynesworth traveled to Johns Hopkins University for continued research.

After marrying his sweetheart Maude Brian on December 31, 1902, Aynesworth began his own private practice of general surgery in Waco, Texas. For more than forty years, Dr. Aynesworth practiced medicine in the Waco area, primarily at Providence Hospital. Despite his busy work schedule, Aynesworth was involved in a number of medical and local organizations including the Waco Board of Health, the Waco School Board, the Waco Planning and Zoning Commission, and the American College of Surgeons.

"Greatest Battle of Modern Times at Manila," May 2, 1898
Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth was an avid collector of local, state, and national history. This periodical, one of a series of documents, details the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War of 1898.

But in addition to all of that, Dr. Aynesworth was a collector of history, especially that of Texas. In 1923, he donated hundreds of items to Baylor University in order to found The Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth Texas History Collection. To ensure the collection was properly funded, Aynesworth contributed to the institution on an annual basis. His gifts also supported the salary of an instructor to teach Texas history, which was not being taught anywhere else in Texas at the time.

His donations—of books and of finances—also inspired others to give. He wrote a moving solicitation on “The Needs of the Texas History Collection” for the April 1926 issue of Baylor Monthly, encouraging alumni to search their houses for valuable books, family papers, and other historical manuscripts to donate to Baylor. He mourns the documentation lost from Texas’ early days and exhorts readers that “some one must see that current history is properly filed away and kept for the future. Our descendants will not forgive us if we do not do this one thing.”

It only took a year or two of Aynesworth’s donations and that of others before the Dallas Morning News hailed the collection as a “Mecca of Historians.” After a time, the name of the repository was changed to the Texas Historical Collection, which later became The Texas Collection.

The Physician as Citizen, by Aynesworth
“The Physician as a Citizen,” address given by Dr. Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth to the graduating class of the Medical Department of the University of Texas, Galveston, May 31, 1929. This speech exemplifies Aynesworth’s philosophy of supporting one’s community and living a well-rounded life.

Aynesworth personified much of what it meant to be a well-rounded citizen during the early half of the twentieth century. In addition to working hard at his profession and maintaining his civic involvement, Aynesworth gave of his time and finances to preserve the history of his day. The Aynesworth papers serve as a testament to his emphases on the importance of family, the medical profession, and the preservation of history.

We at The Texas Collection are celebrating our 90th anniversary in large part because of the generosity of Dr. Aynesworth. As John K. Strecker wrote in 1926, “Baylor historians of the future will owe a deep debt of gratitude to Doctor Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth, eminent surgeon, bibliophile and founder of Baylor’s greater Texas history collection.”

Family tree showing the children of Isaiah Hezekiah Aynesworth
In addition to his interest in Texas and U.S. history, Kenneth Aynesworth also pursued family history, as demonstrated by this family tree on Isaiah Hezekiah Aynesworth, Kenneth’s grandfather.

By Thomas DeShong, Archival Assistant and Digital Input Specialist

New Buildings, New Technology: Growth at the Hankamer School of Business

By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator

The designs for the new Hankamer School of Business (HSB) building reflect a state-of-the-art facility that will provide the latest in technology to advance student learning and innovation. The school has outgrown its current facility across the street from us on 5th Street, but back when it was conceived and built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, that building, too, was a high-tech place.

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, early image after construction is completed, photo by Windy Drum Photo, 1961.
Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, Windy Drum Photo, 1961.

Yesterday Baylor announced the naming gift for the new campus. With hopes for construction to start in December 2013, soon business students will attend classes at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. And Paul Foster follows in the footsteps of other leaders who have helped to make innovation possible for the School of Business.

Earl Hankamer/Baylor business school
Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business Groundbreaking: Earl C. Hankamer breaks ground at the event on March 11, 1960.

Although Baylor’s School of Business was established in 1923, it didn’t really have a proper home until the late 1950s—classes were held all over campus, including in the Student Union Building. A gift of more than half a million dollars from Mr. and Mrs. Earl C. Hankamer on March 20, 1959, changed that. Their donation was added to an existing amount previously raised to build the new $1 million business school building. The first classes in the new building, with the school now named after Hankamer, were held on May 5, 1961.

Hankamer and Paul Foster have more than generosity in common—they share the oil business too. Earl C. Hankamer was one of 13 children and was from the town of Hankamer (named after his pioneering family), in Chambers County, Texas. After working his way through school at various jobs, he completed his bachelor of arts degree from Baylor in 1915. He then went on to be a prominent Texas oilman. As noted in his obituary, he was known as “an unpretentious businessman who gave millions to various educational and medical programs while insisting his efforts should go without praise.” Mr. Hankamer also gave of his time, serving on the Baylor Board of Trustees for 41 years, and 15 years as chairman of the board for the Baylor College of Medicine.

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, under construction, photo by Windy Drum Photo, 1960.
Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, under construction, Windy Drum Photo, c. 1960.

So the Hankamers laid the groundwork for the current facility, but in 1962, it got another boost in the form of a gift from Baylor trustee and businessman, Carl Casey. This would enable the purchase of a historic campus first: an IBM 1620 Data Processing System.

Baylor University, Hankamer School of Business, Casey Computer Lab, IBM 1620 Data Processing System, September 13, 1967
Baylor University, Hankamer School of Business, Casey Computer Center: IBM 1620 Data Processing System, the university’s first computer, acquired in 1962.

Not many universities had computers at this time or taught computing courses. This was the first computer at Baylor available for student use and would be housed at the HSB campus. The unit carried a price tag of nearly $100,000 but was discounted to $40,000 after an educational grant. To house the new computer as well as the existing punch card devices in the business school, Baylor added the Casey Computer Center to the business school building.

But how to use this new technology? Dr. Helen Ligon, who would later become a professor in the Information Systems department, received specialized training in Dallas to operate the new IBM 1620. Dr. Ligon had started teaching at the business school in 1958 as an instructor in shorthand, report writing, and letter writing, so this was quite a shift for her. However, it was not long before Dr. Ligon and others at Baylor would see the benefits that the computer could have to the department and the entire university.

Baylor University, Hankamer School of Business, Casey Computer Lab, IBM System 3, 1974
According to the press release accompanying this photo, Helen Ligon, Louis Pisaturo, and Loren Decker examine a printout from the new IBM System/3 computer installed in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business in 1974. This computer replaced the IBM 1620…and the computers have been getting smaller ever since!

The acquisition of this IBM computer would help lead to the development of the Management Information Systems courses taught at the HSB today. Dr. Ligon saw the potential of the computer for teaching, research, and business operations applications, and courses based around the use of the IBM 1620 began. The computer not only served the HSB, but also those doing research in education, math, science, psychology, or any department at Baylor University that needed this type of specialized equipment. As Dr. Ligon noted, the machine could perform in hours calculations that would take a human months or years to complete.

Of course, many others have continued to support the development of learning spaces for Baylor business students, from the Cashion Academic Center to specialized classrooms like the Southwest Securities Financial Markets Center. These contributions, and now that of Paul L. Foster, follow in the footsteps of the gifts from the Hankamers, the Caseys, and the faculty and staff like Dr. Ligon who helped to bring these spaces to life with learning opportunities for students. As the new building begins to take shape, we look forward to seeing how future Baylor business leaders will make the most of their new home.

View our Flickr slideshow below to explore the construction of the current business school building and the evolution of technology at Baylor, from typewriters and adding machines to personal computers.

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