August’s finding aids By Paul Fisher, Assistant Director and Processing Archivist
BU Records: Immortal Ten #BU/109): Contains scrapbooks documenting the tragedy and aftermath of a fatal bus-train accident that occurred in Round Rock, Texas, on January 22, 1927, while the Baylor Men’s Basketball team was traveling to Austin for a game against the University of Texas. The scrapbooks contain clippings, photographs, letters, sympathy cards, and telegrams from the days surrounding the event.
BU Records: Sigma Nu (#BU/336): Clippings, event flyers, rosters, and leadership development curriculum related to the Sigma Nu fraternity at Baylor University.
One of many condolence telegrams that poured in to Baylor University after the Immortal Ten crash. This one is from the University of Texas at Austin, whom Baylor was supposed to play against the day of the crash. You’ll find this item in the BU Records: Immortal Ten, Accession #BU/109, box 1 OVZ, item 2, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The name Pat Neff is known by every Baylor Bear. Perhaps his influence is most markedly demonstrated by Pat Neff Hall. Built in 1939 and named in honor of Baylor’s eighth president, its tower can be seen for miles and is a ready landmark for Wacoans and Texas travelers. But before Neff came to the Baylor presidency, he served the state of Texas in several offices, including two terms as Governor.
Neff maintained his ramrod posture and dapper dress even when riding horseback. Photo undated.
The Texas Collection is proud to house his papers and has been hard at work on processing his voluminous records (about 643 archival boxes). After a couple of years, multiple archivists and students, and generous gifts from Terrell Blodgett, among others, we have a completed finding aid for the Pat Neff collection.
The importance of these records can’t be overstated. They span a century of this important Texas family’s activities. Neff’s records offer a comprehensive view into the life and work of a public servant and educator.
And we do mean comprehensive—the man appears to have kept everything. Researchers, even those who know a lot about Neff, are bound to learn something they didn’t know. Here’s some of what you can discover, just from reading the biographical history in the finding aid.
He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives just four years after graduating from Baylor with his bachelor’s degree.
When he ran for governor, he was thought to be the first Texas candidate to travel by airplane for his campaigning efforts.
He was a staunch supporter of Prohibition—that you might already know. The stories about his public expulsions of students for drinking (and other misdeeds) are legendary at Baylor. But he also stood for everything from women’s suffrage to prison reform to water conservation.
After oil was discovered in Mexia, chaos ensued. Neff declared martial law in 1922 and called in the Texas National Guard and Texas Rangers. Later that year he declared martial law again, this time in Denison due to violence following a strike by the Federated Railroad Shopmen’s Union.
In the 1920s, Neff considered the possibility of running for US president and serving as president of the University of Texas.
As Baylor president, he accepted livestock as tuition payment and was known to occasionally pay part of a student’s bill out of his own pocket.
The “how I spent my vacation” has long been a popular theme, as evidenced by this essay Neff wrote for his rhetoric class in his second semester at Baylor University in 1890.
Digging into the records themselves, you’re sure to learn much more about Pat Neff. We’ll highlight some of his records in upcoming blog posts and hope you’ll visit the reading room to explore Neff’s life and his impact on Texas and Baylor.
Contact us for more information about the collection—the front matter of the finding aid is online as a PDF, but the box listing is so intricate that it didn’t translate well into that format. An archivist can help point you in the right direction for your research on Neff and his contributions to Texas.
And check out a few of our favorite photos from the Pat Neff collection. There is much more where this came from!
Young Neff, 1890sNeff with Native Americans, undated
Neff (sixth from right, behind the roulette wheel) breaks up illegal drinking and gambling in Mexia, 1922Pat Neff at Mother Neff State Park dedication, May 14, 1938
Baylor President Pat Neff outside Pat Neff Hall, 1940s
Neff studying a portrait of Texas hero Sam Houston, undatedNeff tries out a saddle, 1930s
By Benna Vaughan, Manuscripts Archivist, and Amanda Norman, University Archivist
