Archives – The Texas Collection

Research Ready: March 2020

Posted on April 3, 2020

March’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Assistant Director and Processing Archivist

Michael Kaelin papers (#4043): Contains photographs of Behren’s Drug Store following the 1953 Waco tornado.
Peerless Wire & Fence Company (#4009): Publicity materials for the company based out of San Angelo, Texas, including letters and pamphlets.
Harry L. Woodyard papers (#394):Includes materials related to the activities of the 131st Field Artillery during World War I.
Staggs and Company records (#4008): Consists of materials promoting the sale of Staggs and Company’s branding table.
Midland County Abstract records (#4050): Four title abstracts to tracts of land in Midland County.
A.C. Bowles papers (#371): Contains a single transcribed letter from Bowles near the end of the American Civil War, describing conditions in camp, possible upcoming troop movements, and rumors of peace
BU Records: University Research Committee (#BU/302): Includes reports regarding funds distributed by the committee in 1975-1981.
BU Records: Museum Studies Department (#BU/355): Consists of a variety of materials from the museum studies department at Baylor University; primarily correspondence as well as administrative records.
BU Records: Emmy Parrish Lectures in American Studies Series (#BU/326): Contains materials relating to speakers at past lectures, including correspondence and programs.
BU Records: Recreational Sports Department (#BU/344): Includes the 1996-97 Year End Report produced by the department.
BU Records: Center for Community Research and Development (#BU/269): Consists of copies of community needs assessments for Corpus Christi, Burnet, Llano, and Abilene Baptist Associations.
BU Records: Aerospace Studies Department (#BU/5): Correspondence, scrapbooks, photographic material, and literary productions produced by the Baylor University Aerospace Studies Department, a University-sponsored military preparation program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
Zadock Woods Family papers (#4014): Contains two manuscripts about the Woods family in Texas, including details about frontier and family life, Texas history, and religion.
L. L. Sams and Sons Company Records (#2921): Records highlight the works of the church furniture company through project photographs, catalogs, advertisements, and business records.
L. L. Sams Stained Glass Studio records (#3223): Include project files, renderings, and slides that document the creation and installation of stained glass windows in Texas institutions such as churches, schools, and military installations. Correspondence, sketches, photographs, product samples, oversize drawings, and colored renderings are included.
Waco Chapter American Institute of Architects records (#240): Provides insight into the organization from its inception in 1962 until 1971. Materials include meeting minutes, membership applications, support documents issued by the national organization, correspondence, and financial documents.
BU Records: International Programs Office (#BU/341): Contains materials largely related to Baylor’s international partnerships and programs. Materials contain correspondence, pamphlets, research materials, photographs, and administrative materials.
Military Order of the World Wars (Central Texas Chapter) records (2923): A variety of records on servicemen from Central Texas who gave their lives in conflicts from 1917-1975.
Ronald W. Matthews papers (#4042): Consists of certificates of baptism, marriage, and confirmation from German-Americans in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
Howe Family papers (#2648): Transcribed letters from George Plummer Howe back home during his service in the World War I.
Alexander Gordon Walsh papers (#3694): Contains memoirs and photographs from the World War I.
George Green papers (#580): Diary and photographs from George Green’s time serving in World War I.
George C. Burch papers (#356): Includes letters written by Burch during the American Civil War. Burch was a member of the 1st Florida Infantry, captured at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, and imprisoned for the rest of the war at Fort Delaware.

What’s Your Story?

Posted on March 24, 2020

By Sylvia Hernandez, Archivist

As Baylor, Waco, and the Surrounding communities move to a shelter in place, The Texas Collection will continue serving our patrons via email at: txcoll@baylor.edu. Responses may take more time than usual, but we ask that you continue asking questions and learning the stories of our friends and neighbors of Texas past.

While our own lives are upended and we try to make some sense of the current situation, might I encourage you tell your own story. Whether that is digitally or manually, this documentation will help others understand they are not alone. Just as much as time changes, it also stands still.

Over 100 years ago the Spanish Flu impacted the world over as much as Covid-19. This epidemic is most readily documented at The Texas Collection in our Camp MacArthur Infirmary Ledger from 1918. Medical records are valuable resources, but they do not tell the entire story. They lack the depth of human experience.

At this time several members of The Texas Collection Staff have turned to documenting their own stories through journaling. Many others in the world have turned to social media for immediate impact. Historically letters, diaries, and photographs have also been kept as records of emotion and experience.

For some, there may be the question: What would I possibly record? Why would anyone care? Does it have to be spelled right or done professionally? Questions are the best place to start. Ask yourself as well as those around you.

Start with your feelings. Are you anxious? Tired? Scared? Are you close by your family or have you been separated? Is there someone you wish was with you? What about your pets or children? How has your regular schedule changed? Did you create a daily routine to follow?

Interview your family members. Ask how they feel. What do they think about not being in school? Do they miss their friends? Are they missing birthdays or vacation? What was the closest experience they have had to this before? Consider how a person’s age or stage of life might influence their answer. How have you been impacted? What are you learning now that you could implement later?

Many of these questions are just starting points for what is hiding within. We all have a story to tell, but there are many ways to tell them. Draw, paint, sew, take photographs, write a book, make a movie. One day someone will find it and want to know more, even you might want to revisit this time five years from now.

Whatever you do, create.

Texas Over Time: St. Francis on the Brazos Catholic Church, Waco, Texas

Posted on November 15, 2019

By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” blog series that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, street scenes, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

Research Ready: October 2019

Posted on November 1, 2019

September’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Assistant Director and Processing Archivist

Mary McCaulay Maxwell's Rooom at Baylor, 1908 — Mary McCaulay Maxwell was a student at Baylor University in 1908. In her scrapbook, preserved at The Texas Collection, she saved photographs, notes, clippings, and more about her time at Baylor. Pictured here is her room, probably in Georgia Burleson Hall. You’ll find this item in the Mary McCauley Maxwell papers, Accession #2080, box 1, folder 1, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

BU Records: Baylor Orators Toastmasters Club (#BU/387): Includes materials about the founding of the professional development society through its chartering as an official club and first decade of existence at Baylor University.
Cornelia Marschall Smith papers (#666): Resources include materials from Smith’s time at Baylor University, both as a student and professor, and from her time at Stetson University in Florida. Also included are personal materials that include programs, copies of a manuscript, invitations, photographs, negatives, slides, and postcards.
BU Records: Summer School (#BU/166): Contains a variety of materials relating to Baylor University’s Summer School program during the years of 1926-1949.
[Waco] Garden Clinic Garden Club records (#3638): Minutes, constitutions, booklets, awards, certificates, journals, and scrapbooks collected by the club.
McLennan County Office of Price Administration records (#4052): Includes various records from Waco area businesses, relating to business operations during World War II.
Samuel Newton Clabaugh Family papers (#426): Memoirs, newspaper clippings, and handwritten notes generated by Samuel Newton Clabaugh and his daughter, Ora Easter Clabaugh Wells.
Ollie Mae Moen papers (#4051): Contains handbooks and certificates from workshops attended by Ollie Mae Moen relating to the Waco Parent Teacher Association.
Dr. Stephen Corwin Cameron Park Zoo records (#4037): Documents the efforts of the Central Texas Zoological and Botanical Society to move the Central Texas Zoological Park to Cameron Park and the transitional period during this move, as well as the formative years of the Cameron Park Zoo and the Cameron Park Zoological Society. This collections shows the extensive efforts made to build a natural habitat zoo in an urban environment.
Madison Alexander Cooper, Jr. papers (#1342): Correspondence, galley proofs, clippings, book reviews, photographs, a scrapbook, and financial records related to Madison Alexander Cooper Jr., especially regarding the publication of his first novel, Sironia, Texas, in 1952.
[Calf Creek] Lone Star Baptist Church records (#3081): Includes financial and membership materials, plus revival baptisms, weddings, and death records.
[Blossom] First Baptist Church record (#593): Contains early records of the church, including newspaper clippings and a ledger.
Dorthy LaVern McCarthy papers (#558): Poems, awards, and other literary materials from Oklahoma-based poet LaVern Spencer McCarthy.
Wilford Wolfie Naman papers (#2128): Resources include a variety of materials having to do with the activities of Wilford Wolfie Naman as a soldier during World War I.
Mary McCauley Maxwell papers (#2080): Scrapbook of collected materials related to Mary McCauley Maxwell, who graduated Baylor University in 1908. She went on to lead the History Department at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor 1908-1913, and worked for decades to collect and preserve relics of Judge R.E.B. Baylor and other founders of Baylor University.
BU Records: Pi Gamma Mu (#BU/133): Includes materials documenting the founding of the Texas Beta Chapter on campus and its 40 years of activities.
Ladonia First Baptist Church records (#2673): One minute book documenting the church’s activities in the community.
BU Records: Sigma Xi (#BU/406): Contains materials relating to the founding of the chapter on campus as well as materials related to the activities of the organization, such as events and bylaws.

Mary McCaulay Maxwell and Friends, 1908 — Mary McCaulay Maxwell and several of her Baylor friends lost no time in exploring their new hometown of Waco, Texas, while in college. Here they look to be exploring a windmill near Waco. You’ll find this item in the Mary McCauley Maxwell papers, Accession #2080, box 1, folder 1, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

Research Ready: July 2019

Posted on August 1, 2019

Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!Continue Reading

Research Ready: June 2019

Posted on July 1, 2019

Research Ready: April 2019

Posted on May 2, 2019

Research Ready: March 2019

Posted on April 1, 2019

Young Texans During World War I

Posted on March 7, 2019

Drummond and an unidentified friend enjoy the outdoors during their junior college days. Drummond Webster Bartlett Papers #2877, Box 6, Folder 6.

by Amanda Neel, Graduate Assistant

Before Judge Drummond Webster Bartlett (1895-1963) began his illustrious law career and made national headlines for presiding over the world’s first televised trial in 1952, he was a social young man attending junior college.

This portion of his life is now a part of The Texas Collection through a donation of documents, known as the Drummond Webster Bartlett papers, 1911-1921. A sampling of letters drawn from the collection gives insight into the lives and minds of young adults in the early 20^th century, specifically the years between the start of World War I and the United States’ entrance into the war in 1917.

Drummond and Lois Kirby gaze at each other from under the shade of a tree. Drummond Webster Bartlett Papers #2877, Box 6, Folder 7.

The largest portion of letters span the years 1915-1917 and come from Lois Kirby, a sweetheart of Drummond’s. Her letters showcase how the concerns of young Texans evolved through the years of World War I. Even though World War I started in 1914, Lois’ letters concerned parties, social calls, her work as a teacher, and, of course, her love and concern for Drummond. Not until 1917 does Lois address the war; she writes, “Everyone here seems to be getting enthused over the war. A Red Cross auxiliary was organized here last night.”

Nelle Gentry poses for a professional photograph. This image also serves as her photo for the 1918 Decatur Baptist College Yearbook.

A year later, Drummond joined the war effort himself. Another sweetheart, Nelle Gentry, wrote to Drummond in support of his military effort. In a letter addressed to her “Darling Soldier,” Nelle writes, “I have been crazy with joy for you…because you answered your country’s call and have given all ties of home and loved ones to go and do you[r] bit.” Her following letters contain accounts of friends and acquaintances involved in the war effort, as well as lines about her enduring love for Drummond.

Sadly, we do not have Drummond’s responses to the letters from his sweethearts. Though the sentiments expressed through the letters speak of undying love, the relationships did end. Bartlett’s marriage took place outside the scope of this collection. In 1933, Drummond Bartlett married a woman named Bessie Opal Smith. They remained together until Bartlett’s death in 1963.

Along with letters from sweethearts, Drummond’s papers also contain materials from his life as a junior college student, including homework assignments, society publications, and yearbooks. Also in the collection are military records documenting Drummond’s answer to the draft and his discharge in 1919, as well as a plethora of photographs that visually document his early life.

Research Ready: February 2019

Posted on March 1, 2019