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 September:
- Audie Leon Murphy papers, 1920-1980 (#363): Includes materials related to the personal life, military experiences, and Hollywood career of Texas native, and decorated veteran of World War II, Audie Murphy.
- Cooksey-Robertson Family papers 1858-1981 (#3904): Contains letters from A.J. Cooksey to his family in Montgomery County, Texas, during the American Civil War.
- Browning W. Ware papers 1928-2002 (#3885): Materials of Texas pastor Browning W. Ware, who led First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, and wrote “Diary of a Modern Pilgrim” columns in the Austin-American Statesman.
- [Wharton County] Women’s Missionary Society of the Methodist Church records, 1933-1939 (#3882): Includes a minute book that documents the organization’s activities during the Great Depression.
In the summer of 1937, the Women’s Missionary Society hosted a show in which television star Shirley Temple performed. The earnings from this show provided the Society with funds to support their missionary work in Texas and abroad. The exact entry reads: “Mrs. Robert made a motion, and it was seconded, that we give the young people part of the proceeds from the Shirley Temple show.” [Wharton County] Women’s Missionary Society of the Methodist church records #3882, box [218], folder 1.