Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
E. B. Cushing Research Material
Date(s)
Extent
2 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Edward Benjamin Cushing was born in Houston, Texas on November 22, 1862. He was an active member of the Eagle Fire Company No. 7 before attending TAMC.
Cushing married Florence Abbey Powers on February 18, 1888. He graduated with honors in civil engineering at Texas A&M College (TAMC) in 1889. After graduating TAMC, Cushing worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad at Houston as an axman and rodman, later becoming the assistant General Manager and Engineer in 1912. He fought in WWI as an officer inthe 17 thEngineers, American Expeditionary Force, and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre.
Cushing became President of the Texas A&M Board of Directors in 1912 and pushed to keep Texas A&M College open despite deficits and the destruction of Old Main, among other losses to the campus. He guaranteed Texas A&M notes with his personal funds, in order to keep the school open and prevent its merging with the University of Texas - Austin. Cushing became a Federal bank examiner in 1919 and died on February 17, 1924.
The first official free-standing library at Texas A&M, built in 1930, was dedicated to Cushing and named for him.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection was accumulated by university archivists Donald H. Dyal and David Chapman for the publication titled "Cushing Under Cover", part of the commemoration for the re-dedication of Cushing Memorial Library. The collection includes photocopies of the archivists' secondary and tertiary research on Edward Benjamin Cushing, along with primary resources on Cushing including, among other materials, correspondence, maps, World War I (WWI) reports, and distinction certificates.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged into two boxes by source type
Box 1: Photocopies of Secondary and Tertiary source Research Materials further arranged by subject and resource
Box 2: Primary Source Research Materials further arranged by material type/ subject
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
This material was gathered by Donald H. Dyal and David Chapman in part with research for the grand re-opening of Cushing Memorial Library in 1996 and for manuscript research material for their work “Cushing Under Cover.” The photocopies contain tertiary and secondary sources and the primary source material was gathered by what is assumed to be a multiple number of private donors and no records were kept on how, where, or who the material was donated from. The collection was created with no intention of original order or provenance due to the lacks acquisition regulations at the time in which it was originally organized. It appears that the photocopied material came from Cushing Memorial Library along with the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas in Austin.
Immediate source of acquisition
David and Donald Chapman compiled the material while working as Cushing Memorial Library University archivists during the late 1990's. They compiled research material on E. B. Cushing for an article and a publication titled "Cushing Under Cover." They left their research material at Cushing to form this compilation.
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Authors: Jenny Reibenspies.
Archivist's note
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