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Archival Descriptions
Texas A&M University, Libraries, Remote Storage
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Joe R. Lansdale Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000207
  • Collection

This collection contains manuscripts, correspondence, books, magazines, and other material related to Lansdale's writing career, circa 1989-2003.

Lansdale, Joe R., 1951

Isaac Asimov Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000272
  • Collection
  • 1957-1992

This collection includes an assortment of manuscripts and correspondence of Isaac Asimov, including short stories, novels, non-fiction, and correspondence with publishers. The segment on the submission of "Stay, Oh Fleeting Moment," a nonfiction piece on time and the subsequent correspondence, internal documentation of Playboy editors and readers, and the rejection of the article providing an informative look at the working of a major magazine.

Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992

William Schelly Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000182
  • Collection
  • 2003

This collection contains notes, checklists, copies of Otto Binder letters, and edited drafts of Bill Schelly’s Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder (2003).

Schelly, William

Andre Norton Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000276
  • Collection
  • 1950-2002

This collection consists of a small assemblage of Andre Norton's later manuscripts, her review compilations, her portrait, science fiction artworks, and related material.

Norton, Andre

Ide Peebles Trotter Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 216
  • Collection
  • 1922-1964

This collection consist of correspondence, telegrams, notes, reports, speeches, newspaper clippings, and publications which span most of Trotter's career in Agricultural Education.

Some periods are much better documented than are others. Materials for the period before 1936 include some leaflets, a few letters, circulars and clippings, and one pamphlet. Trotter's move from Missouri to Texas is well documented in letters, bills, and telegrams, but his transfer to Agricultural Extension and then to the Graduate School at Texas A&M College in College Station, Texas are poorly covered. Most of the available information is in the newspaper clippings. Both moves were made during periods of controversy. Hopefully additional documentation can be found elsewhere in the records of Texas A&M University.

Trotter's activities as Director of Extension and Dean of the Graduate School at Texas A&M College should be fairly well covered in the records of those two offices. Unfortunately his personal papers conatain very little information on them. The only documentation on Trotter's two periods of foreign service is in the reports he wrote on his cotton surveys in 1948. Some special activities such as service on the Postwar Planning Committee and participation in Rural Church Conference are fairly well documented.

Trotter, Ide Peebles

Dave Mellor Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 220
  • Collection
  • 1957-2004

This collection contains correspondence to Dave Mellor from the Lewis and Clark Heritage Foundation, an organization whose members are dedicated scholars of the Corps of Discovery's expedition to map the Louisiana Purchase. Other items also originating from that organization are copies of their member's only journal "We Proceeded On", foundation notes from meetings, and plans for the annual gathering of all the members (usually at a location pertinent to the Lewis and Clark expedition in some way), newsletters informing members of upcoming activities.

Aside from the material from the Heritage Foundation, there are also pamphlets from various tourist sites located on the trail; some are actual locations the Corps of Discovery passed by (Pompey's Pillar, the Lolo Trail, Fort Clatsop), whereas others are cities and towns located near these historic locations. Others are simply named for the explorers (Lewis and Clark Lake), and others relate to the Native Americans the Corps of Discovery encountered on their journey (Big Hole Battlefield, a site sacred to the Nez Perce). A number of magazine articles on the expedition are included, topics cover such as the environmental impact on some of the historic sites, Meriwether Lewis's death, Sacagawea's biography, and later, her gold dollar coin, Thomas Jefferson, both about his shrewdness in making the Louisiana Purchase and the controversy surrounding his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings, descendants of Lewis, Clark, and other members of the Corps of Discovery meeting together to travel the Expedition trail on the 200th Anniversary of the Expedition, and the plight of the Columbia River. Most of the remaining material is a re-hash of all of these topics, save for a couple of unique articles (including a biographical account of Sacagawea's son, Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau).

Mellor, Dave

Robert H. Kokernot Letters

  • TxAM-CRS C000347
  • Collection
  • 1943-1946

This collection consists of letters between Robert H. Kokernot and his first wife, Edith May Babcock (Edith Kokernot Grinnell) during and after World War II from 1943-1946.

The majority of letters collected by Edith are from Robert with the exception of one folder of correspondence from Edith to Robert in March and April 1944, one folder of letters written to Edith's parents from Robert, and two folders of letters written by friends addressed to Robert and Edith.

The corresponding postmarked envelopes were not with their accompanying letter when the collection was processed. These are held in separate folders at the end of the collection.

General Walter Krueger Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 160
  • Collection
  • 1943-1945

This collection includes copies of administrative orders, field orders, and weekly reports compiled by the staff of the Sixth Army and sent to General Krueger, as well as copies of operation reports sent from General Krueger to the Adjutant General in Washington, D. C. Also included are after-action operation reports concerning the 6th Army.

The administrative orders primarily contain data or amendments to accompany Field Orders and are concerned with supply, evacuation, traffic, service troops, personnel, prisoners of war, and miscellaneous items. Also included are instructions and annexes dealing with captured enemy equipment, individual clothing and equipment, supply, burials and cemeteries, native labor, sanitation, prisoners of war and enemy dead, captured material trophies, air supply circulars, and plans of operation. Maps and sketches are also found among the administrative orders.

The field orders contain data and instructions relating to hostile dispositions and support of operations, task forces, command posts, supplies, and communications. Also included are annexes concerned with staging, loading and embarkation plans, intelligence, artillery and antiaircraft artillery, communications, and engineering. Maps, sketches, and code names are also included in the field orders.

The weekly reports contain intelligence information on enemy activities, terrain, counterintelligence, material and equipment, captured documents and POW interrogations, reclassification of documents, enemy tactics, psychological warfare, and code names and numbers. Also included are photographic coverage reports, sketches, and maps.

The operation reports provide the history of the operation, including organization and operating instructions, plans and preparations, background and terrain, reconnaissance, communication, operations, enemy reaction, engineer activities, captured materials, relations with natives, the recapitulation of casualties, commendations, awards, and decorations, conclusions, credit for success, and lessons learned.

Krueger, Walter, 1881-1967

Tom Anderson Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 17
  • Collection
  • 1953-1972

These papers consist of newspaper clippings containing information on income tax reform bills, vocational agriculture, and the Grass Roots Tax Revolt, reprints of the "Straight Talk" editorials from Farm and Ranch magazine, the author's copy of the 1958 third edition of the book Straight Talk, pamphlets, and newspaper articles relating to Tom Anderson.

Anderson, Tom, 1910-2002

Francis C. Turner Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 38
  • Collection
  • 1929-1997

This collection represents 68 years of materials authored or collected by Turner. Series 1. through Series 4. include highway engineering reports written for the Bureau of Public Roads, Clay Committee papers dating from the 1950s hearings on the development of a national interstate highway program, and speeches, publications, correspondence, and research notes generated by his career as a federal highway official. The aforementioned inscribed copy of A More Beautiful America by Lyndon Baines Johnson is is included in this material.

Upon his retirement, Turner became a transportation consultant, advising local, national, and international agencies, associations, and companies on transportation issues. The bulk of these post-retirement and consulting materials are found in Series 5 through Series 9. These materials include maps, photographs, research notes and manuscript drafts for a three-year study he and Harmer E. Davis conducted for the International Road Federation. The study, published in 1977 and titled A Comparative Analysis of Urban Transportation Requirements, compares transportation needs in urban areas in fourteen countries, including the United States.

Another large portion of the papers found in Series 7. contains papers related to Turner's membership in various associations. Throughout his lifetime Turner remained devoted to groups such as the Highway Users Federation and the American Association of State Highway Officials. Correspondence, speeches, and conference notes related to these associations reflect his continued involvement in the transportation field almost until the year of his death.

The collection also includes correspondence, transcripts, and drafts of several reports recording the history of the interstate highway, a subject for which Turner was a popular informant. The most extensive project is a study by the Public Works Historical Society, commissioned by the American Public Works Association and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.

Turner, Francis, 1908-1999

Citizens' Fellowship Papers Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 85
  • Collection
  • 1951-1967; 1994; Undated

This collection predominantly dates from 1958 to 1961 and includes correspondence to and from members of the Citizens' Fellowship, notes, minutes from meetings, and newspaper clippings. There are items regarding the integration of public schools, including the A&M Consolidated Independent School District. The collection contains information regarding the issue of African American employment and community programs sponsored by the Citizens' Fellowship.

Fenner, James H.

Paul C. Aebersold Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 219
  • Collection
  • 1924-1970

This collection contains biographical materials, correspondence, programs of conferences attended and/or participated in, notes, photographs, memos, reports, proposals, itineraries, lists of contacts, minutes of committee meetings, news releases, newspaper clippings, articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, and notes, outlines, slide lists, abstracts, and texts of speeches given by Dr. Aebersold. The materials document Dr. Aebersold's career well from graduate student days to Atomic Energy Commission officials. A considerable amount of additional information should be available in the files of the Manhattan Project and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Among the most important items in the papers are the 294 speeches and 100 articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, the 37 speeches and 180 articles he collected, and the 1,200 newspaper clippings. The speeches and articles reflect the latest thinking and reveal the broadest picture of developments even though they represent only a minute historical significance of the early activities of the Isotopes Branch and the use of isotopes in the immediate post-war period, Dr. Aebersold began to collect clippings about isotopes in earnest in 1946. Unfortunately, this extensive collection lasted only until 1949. During these three years, however, there certainly are very few aspects of isotope production, distribution, and use that are not mentioned in the clippings.

Although most of the correspondence deals with commitments to speak before various groups or with attendance at numerous conferences, some of the early letters prior to 1940 do record some of the thoughts and activities of Dr. Aebersold’s early associates at the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. Many congratulatory letters in 1957, when Dr. Aebersold moved from Oak Ridge to Washing, serve as a measure of his stature in the atomic energy field throughout the United States as well as South America and parts of Europe.

From time-to-time aspects of Dr. Aebersold’s character and philosophy are revealed in rather unexpected areas. That he enjoyed a good story is shown in numerous handwritten notes and a few typed introductory remarks to speeches. Unfortunately, only in a few cases did he write out the whole story. Usually, he only jotted a brief note to remind himself of a particular story. In speaking before the Knife and Fork Clubs of McAllen and Dallas, Texas on March 23 and November 16, 1948, Dr. Aebersold recalled his experiences in and reactions to the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico. These are about the only personal references to his wartime activities.

Aebersold, Paul C. (Paul Clarence), 1910-1967

Dolores Richter Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000569
  • Collection

This collection was part of a gift given to the library by the Anthropology Department.  The collection documents the work and writings of Professor Dolores Richter. The collection includes photographs, negatives, writings, and news clippings related to Prof. Richter’s research in the Ivory Coast, West Africa, and Oceania and the publication of her book “Arts, Economics and Change: the Kulebele of Northern Ivory Coast” published in 1980.

Richter, Dolores

Crawford Family Letters

  • TxAM-CRS MSS00164
  • Collection
  • 1852-1900

This collection comprises twenty-seven autograph letters from various family members, three autograph documents written by Joel Crawford, additional unsigned correspondence, fout vintage photographs, five black and white photograph reprints, thirteen mailing envelopes, and a number of other address panels on the letters, some with quite scarce postal stamps from small towns in Georgia and Florida. Short excerpts of some letters are included in the description listing.

The collection also includes biographical information on the Crawford family, a photocopy of a marriage certificate for Charles P. Crawford's marriage to Anna Ripley Orme, and a page from the estate of Joel P. Crawford, signed by his executors James Buchanan and Charles P. Crawford admitting it into the record.

Postal history envelopes contained throughout the correspondence: cancellation stamps from La Grange, Fort Gaines (1855), Bainbridge (1855), Blakely (1855), and Macon (1858), Georgia, Orange Mills (1858), Florida, and Richmond (1862), Virginia. There are also five additional undated envelopes from members of the Crawford family.

Crawford, Charles P.

H. O. "Cowboy" Kelly Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 35
  • Collection
  • 1948-1979; undated

This collection contains 171 watercolor illustrated letters by H.O. Kelly, written to his close friend and biographer, William "Bill" Weber Johnson, his wife Elizabeth Ann (McMurray) Johnson, Mary Longwell (Lady), and their family between 1948 and 1955. These letters formed the basis for William Weber Johnson's research for Kelly Blue, a biography of Kelly, first published by Doubleday in 1960, with a foreword by Western writer Tom Lea.

A smaller group of fifteen letters by H.O. Kelly, and two in pencil by his wife Jessie (Bowers) Kelly, are addressed to another art collector and friend, Dallas lawyer, Rudolph Johnson. Seventeen additional letters by Rudolph Johnson, typewritten on yellow paper between 1955 and 1958 are included, addressed to Kelly, or, after the artist's death, to his wife, Jess.

Of interest too is a letter to Kelly by Otto Kallir of the Galerie St. Etienne in New York City, requesting some of Kelly's works to be displayed in an exhibition of American primitive artists to be mounted at the Galerie early in 1952. Included is Kelly's letter to Mrs. Daniel Longwell (Lady) asking permission to refer Kallir to her to view the painting she had just purchased from Elizabeth Ann McMurray. Also of note is a letter written by John L. Paxton of Fort Worth, Texas, in reply to Rudolph Johnson soon after Kelly's death in December 1955. Attached to Paxton's reply is a list of all the known owners of Kelly's artwork at that time, whom Paxton has written to in the interest of collecting funds to aid in supporting the then-destitute Jess Kelly.

In Series 2 copies of correspondence between Elizabeth Johnson, J. Wayne Stark, Irene Hoadley, and others relates to the bulk of the letters in this collection, an art exhibit at the Texas A&M University Memorial Student Center, a color slide of the painting "Penning Goats". and plans by Texas A&M University Press to publish an illustrated edition of Kelly Blue.

The tiny colored drawings found on Kelly's letters and cards to friends and family are a foreshadowing of the lovingly detailed scenes in his oil paintings. As a significant primitive artist, Kelly's paintings present a world of rolling, green pastures, tranquil blue skies, and solid farms and farming towns, also populated by a thick dusting of livestock, including wily goats, unpredictable donkeys, fine mules, and lively horses. The robust folk is reminiscent of Kelly's mother's German ancestors in Ohio, similar to those living in Fredericksburg, Texas, a town Kelly often visited for inspiration. As these letters so vividly attest, when Kelly sold a painting, it was the buyer's initiation into a warm friendship with the raconteur artist, not a mere business transaction.

Kelly, H.O., 1884-1955

Ardath Mayhar Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000262
  • Collection
  • 1970-2004

This collection includes manuscripts, papers, and publications from throughout Mayhar's career, but the bulk of the material dates from the late 1980s to the present.

Mayhar, Ardeth

Richard E. Geis Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000243
  • Collection
  • 1951-1953

This collection contains over 100 letters and postcards, most written by science fiction fan writers and editors regarding amateur writing and publishing, largely related to Psychotic (later Science Fiction Review), a fanzine published by Richard E. Geis from July 1953 to October/November 1955.

The correspondence includes letters from influential science fiction fans and fanzine editors of the period: Terry Carr (6 letters, 1 postcard), Harlan Ellison (2 letters, 1 postcard), Marion Zimmer Bradley (1 letter), Robert Silverberg (2 letters, 1 postcard), Ron Smith (editor of Inside, one of the more important fanzines of the 1950s) and others, as well as a letter from pro editor Samuel Mines (accompanied by drafts and carbon copies of fan letters from Geis to Mines critiquing material published in Startling Stories), and a typed letter on FBI letterhead from J. Edgar Hoover.

Office of the President Records, Gibb Gilchrist through Jack K. Williams

  • TxAM-CRS C000049
  • Collection
  • 1948-1972

This collection contains official documents from the Office of the President at Texas A&M University. A PDF finding aid is available upon request.

Presidents included are:

Gibb Gilchrist, C. E.

  • President May 27, 1944 - September 1, 1948
  • Chancellor of the Texas A&M System September 1, 1948 - August 31, 1953
  • Born: Wills Point, Texas; December 23, 1887
  • Died: College Station, Texas; May 12, 1972; buried in College Station
  • Appointed dean of the School of Engineering in 1937; elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas May 27, 1944; served until September 1, 1948, when the Texas A&M System was created and he became the first chancellor of the System, serving until his retirement on August 31, 1953.

Marion Thomas Harrington, Ph.D.

  • President June 3, 1950 - September 1, 1953, and September 1, 1957 - July 1, 1959
  • Chancellor September 1, 1953 - August 31, 1965
  • Born: Plano, Texas; September 8, 1901
  • Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on September 22, 1949, effective "at the end of the present school year." This was interpreted to be June 3, 1950, and on that date, he officially took over the reins of the presidency. He served until September 1, 1953; when he became the second chancellor of the System, succeeding Mr. Gilchrist. Dr. Harrington was elected president a second time on August 23, 1957, and in addition to his duties as chancellor served as president from September 1, 1957, until July 1, 1959. He retired as chancellor on August 31, 1965. He was the first graduate of Texas A&M University to serve as president and also as chancellor.

David Hitchens Morgan, Ph.D.

  • President September 1, 1953 - December 21, 1956
  • Born: Portsmouth, Virginia; January 2, 1909
  • Died: St. Petersburg, FL; April 21, 1974
  • Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on June 17, 1953, effective September 1, 1953; resigned December 21, 1956.

David Willard Williams, M.S.

  • Acting President December 22, 1956 - September 1, 1957
  • Born: Venedocia, Ohio; August 20, 1892
  • Died: Bryan, TX; October 30, 1985; buried in Bryan.
  • Vice President for agriculture when appointed acting President on December 22, 1956; served until September 1, 1957.

James Earl Rudder, LL.D.

  • President of Texas A&M University July 1, 1959 - March 23, 1970
  • President of the Texas A&M University system September 1, 1965 - March 23, 1970
  • Born: Eden, Texas; May 6, 1910
  • Died: Houston, Texas; March 23, 1970; buried at College Station.
  • Vice President when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas June 27, 1959, effective July 1, 1959. On September 1, 1965, when Dr. Harrington retired as chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, the title was changed to president, and Mr. Rudder, in addition to his duties as president of Texas A&M University, became president of the Texas A&M University System, which dual position he held until his death on March 23, 1970.

Alvin Roubal Luedecke, LL.D.

  • Acting President March 30, 1970 - November 1, 1970
  • Born: Eldorado, Texas; October 1, 1910
  • Died: San Antonio, Texas; August 9, 1998; buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
  • Associate dean of the College of Engineering when appointed acting president on March 30, 1970; served until November 1, 1970.

Jack Kenny Williams, Ph.D.

  • President of Texas A&M University November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
  • President of the Texas A&M University System November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
  • Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System August 1, 1977 - January 24, 1979
  • Born: Galax, Virginia; April 5, 1920
  • Died: Houston, Texas; September 28, 1981; buried in Clemson, South Carolina, on the campus of Clemson University.
  • Vice-President for academic affairs, University of Tennessee System, when elected President of Texas A&M University and president of the Texas A&M University System on September 11, 1970, effective November 1, 1970; Elevated to Chancellor of the System on May 24, 1977; Resigned as Chancellor on January 24, 1979, to return to teaching.

Las Moras Ranch Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000046
  • Collection
  • 1869-1913

This collection consists chiefly of correspondence regarding the Runge family of Galveston, Tex. and Menard, Tex., including Henry Runge, his sons Henry J. Runge and Louis Hermann Runge, their cousin Julius F. Runge, as well as family members in Hannover, Germany, including heirs Hans Eyl and his wife Meta Eyl; German immigrant and Texas businessman Walter Tips (1841-1911) who, after the death of Henry Runge, had formed the Las Moras Ranch Company (December 21, 1879) with his wife's aunt Julia Runge, wife of Henry Runge, and Runge's sons Henry J. Runge, and Louis H. Runge; German Emigration Company lands, lawyers and law firms in Austin, Tex. and San Antonio, Tex., including C. A. Goeth, the firm of Webb & Goeth, Adolph Goeth, the business partner of Walter Tips and brother of C. A. Goeth.

Also present are: legal documents, including deeds, wills, powers of attorney, some ranch operations records, including ranch inventories, accounting ledgers, and handwritten notes. These papers record the operations and transfers of ownership of over 130,000 acres of property, principally in the Texas counties of Comal, San Saba, Tom Green, Concho, and Menard, collectively known as the Las Moras Ranch.

Beyond the acquisition, operation, and ultimate liquidation of this ranch property, however, an interesting part of Texas history, that of the Adelsverien or German Emigration Company, and early German immigrant settlement are illuminated through the documents in the collection.

The collection series reflect the history of the ranch from its foundation until its sale in 1913.

  • Series 1 begins with an 1867 legal document showing a transfer of ownership of many thousands of acres of land from Hermann Arnold Henry (Heinrich) Runge (1821-1861) of Funchal, Madiera, Portugal to his brother and business partner, Henry Runge (1816-1873). Henry Runge paid for the land in American Gold. Other documents in the papers include a very large judgment against the Adelsverien or German Emigration Company, a copy of the lengthy handwritten "Last Will of Henry Runge," probated April 2, 1873, and that of his wife, Julia, dated March 23, 1896.
  • Subsequent documents in Series 2-Series 4 of the papers highlight the operation and eventual liquidation in 1913 of the Las Moras Ranch, including transcontinental communications between Germany and Texas among heirs to the Runge fortune. Several of these family letters scattered through the papers may be particularly difficult to translate since they are written in Kurrentschrift, a Gothic handwriting style.
  • Playing important roles in the later transactions concerning the ranch properties were the sons of Henry Runge (1816-1873): Henry J. Runge (1859-1922), Louis Hermann Runge (1861-1936), and his nephew Julius F. Runge (1851-1906). Henry J. Runge and Julius F. Runge were financial advisors, while Louis Runge served as the ranch manager and lived on the Las Moras Ranch property. Walter E. Tips (1841-1911), another German immigrant, Texas Senator, and successful hardware merchandiser, who married into the Runge family, along with C. A. Goeth (b. 1869), a San Antonio attorney, were involved in the ranch operations and legal issues concerning the eventual dispersal of Las Moras Ranch property.

Las Moras Ranch, 1869-1913

William A. Owens Papers, Part One

  • TxAM-CRS 23
  • Collection
  • 1922-1979

This collection contains papers documenting Owens' teaching and writing career from 1928 to 1979. Items of special interest in the collection include lyrics to many folksongs and recordings made by Owens in the 1930s and 1940s of folksingers as well as recorded readings of Robert Frost, interviews of early oil pioneers of Texas, legal papers for Owens vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc. and David Holland concerning True magazine's plagiarism of Slave Mutiny, and letters of Roy Bedichek, J. Frank Dobie, Walter Prescott Webb, and Mody C. Boatright.

The correspondence is further separated into three areas: personal correspondence; correspondence with Owens' literary agent, Maurice Crain; and correspondence regarding Owens' books. Some overlapping exists between these areas. In the personal correspondence section, letters discussing Owens' books are largely from friends and fans and are nontechnical in nature. The correspondence with Maurice Crain concerns the publication procedures and business aspect of his writings while the boxes of letters specifically concerning the books deal primarily with the writing and development of the books.

The personal correspondence is arranged chronologically from 1932 to 1975. The letters are concerned with associations and societies to which Owens belonged; speaking engagements by Owens; programs in which he was involved; awards presented to Owens; and Owens' teaching career which includes letters to Owens as Director of Folk Festivals at the University of Texas, as an instructor at Texas A&M University, and as Professor and Dean of Summer Sessions at Columbia University. Other letters concern Owens' service as an Intelligence Officer in World War II and his early work with folksongs. In addition to correspondence from Owens' family and friends, there are letters congratulating Owens on his publications and requesting his literary advice. Of special interest are letters from famous persons such as Grant Wood, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Nelson Rockefeller.

Correspondence with Maurice Crain contains letters from 1950 to 1959. The letters discuss publication and promotional plans for Owens' books and short stories. Other subject areas include foreign and domestic contracts for publication, royalty statements, and motion picture plans for several books.

The correspondence concerning books is arranged in chronological order based on the year of the book's publication. Included are letters regarding contracts with publishers, royalty statements, motion picture rights, and lectures on the books. Numerous letters discuss Owens' research and recordings of folksongs for Texas Folk Songs. Additional correspondence with Mrs. Walter B. Sharp, Dudley Sharp, and other oil pioneers refers to the Oral History of Texas Oil Pioneers.

Material concerning Owens' books includes background material, book reviews, typescripts, drafts, and in most cases galley proofs and page proofs. The boxes are arranged chronologically according to the publication date from the earliest to the last. However, the revised edition of Texas Folk Songs which was published in 1976 is included with the papers of the 1950 edition. Labels that Owens used on the papers, such as the numbers of a draft, have been retained, and where there was no designation of a draft number, the typescript is merely labeled typescript, early draft, or manuscript. The papers include both photocopies and ribbon copies and duplicates of typescripts. Typescript and manuscript are used interchangeably as labels.

The evolution of each of Owens' books can be seen through the background material and copies of drafts. In the first folders are Owens' research material and notes, book reviews, advertisements, and other information pertaining to the book in subject matter. Copies of typescripts, from the earliest to the final edited manuscript are next with the last folders containing galley proofs and page proofs. Through the revisions and changes made by Owens in each subsequent draft, the progressive development of notes and a rough outline into a complete and polished publication is revealed. Papers of major interest include a copy of Owens' doctoral dissertation on folksongs for the State University of Iowa (June 1941) with Texas Folk Songs material, the legal papers from the Owens vs. Fawcett Publications, Inc. and David Holland concerning Slave Mutiny, interviews of oil pioneers of Texas with material for Oral History of Texas Oil Pioneers and Walter B. Sharp biography, and the correspondence of Dobie, Bedichek, and Webb revealing their ideas about many varied subjects included with Three Friends material.

Other writings by Owens comprise the next section of the collection. Articles and short stories are filed alphabetically. Book reviews are grouped together in one folder. Speeches are filed last and are labeled with the title or meeting at which they were given and the date if known. Typescripts exist of most of the articles and short stories, and duplicate copies are retained. Some of these writings occur in their published version and are labeled with the title and date of the magazine in which they were printed. The dates of the other stories and articles are unknown. The subjects of Owens' stories and articles cover a wide range of subjects and span the entirety of his writing career. Published excerpts from his books such as This Stubborn Soil and Tales From the Derrick Floor are included in this group as well.

The personal data concerning Owens contains biographical information such as vitae, resumes, publications concerning programs and lectures in which he participated, and material relating to his teaching career. Additional material documents his years at Columbia University and awards presented to him. Newspaper articles and photographs from 1940 to 1974 concern Owens' many interests and involvement in programs as well as his books and teaching career.

The next boxes in the collection contain miscellaneous material kept by Owens. Many oil history photographs and newspapers articles relating to subjects in which Owens was interested are included. Articles by other authors, some signed by the author and some written by friends of Owens, along with magazines and publications collected by Owens are filed in this section. The miscellaneous publications are divided into three categories: literary publications, college publications, and remaining miscellaneous publications. These deal with a wide variety of subjects in which Owens was apparently interested.

The remaining three boxes contain aluminum discs of recordings made by Owens of various folksingers and country people of the South. Note cards listing titles numbered to correspond with the records are filed with the discs. Owens also made recordings of readings by Robert Frost in 1939, and these provide a valuable addition to the collection.

Copies of Owens' books are shelved with the boxed papers. Oversize items including an advertisement for Three Friends: Bedichek, Dobie, Webb, color prints of the Apollo 11 Lunar Mission, and maps and genealogies for A Fair and Happy Land are housed separately in oversize flat storage.

Owens, William A., 1905-1990

Dr. Gwendoline Y. Fortune Papers

  • TxAM-CRS C000552
  • Collection
  • 1983-2014

This collection consists of volumes of correspondence (bulk 2005-2014), video and audiotapes of Dr. Fortune's classical music performances, writings, business ventures, and research material for her published books.

Fortune, Gwendoline Y.

Department of Journalism Records

  • TxAM-CRS 286
  • Collection
  • 1978-2003

Materials include photographs dating from the 1980s to 2003, a 1997 self-survey, and self-accreditation from 1978.

College of Liberal Arts

John C. White Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 294
  • Collection

This collection is UNPROCESSED.

White, John C.

Mercurio Martinez Papers

  • TxAM-CRS C000563
  • Collection
  • 1767-1963

The Mercurio Martinez Papers (1797-1963 (bulk: 1910-1963)) include correspondence, copies of legal documents such as wills, deeds, affidavits and courtroom briefs, maps, a few photographs, field notes for land surveys, genealogical charts, accounts of family and regional history by Mercurio Martinez, and historical accounts from other sources, principally newspapers. There are also financial records of various kinds including tax records, bills and receipts, books of check stubs and account sheets.

The vast majority of the papers relate to families, places and events in Zapata County. Webb County is also well represented, as is the region surrounding the town of Guerrero, Tamaulipas located on the south bank of the Rio Grande opposite Zapata County, Texas. A few papers deal with families, places and events in Starr County and further south in the Rio Grande Valley and a few files deal with Mexican, United States and world affairs. Unless otherwise noted in the inventory, files deal with Zapata or Webb County matters.

The oldest original papers date from the latter part of the nineteenth century and include such documents as Mercurio Martinez's Texas Teachers Certificate, 1898 (Series 1-3/4); a General Land Office map of Zapata County, 1885, (Series 3-14/25); and a certificate appointing Proceso Martinez, Sr., Mercurio's father, to the Zapata County Board of Appeals, 1870, (Series 3-25/23). There are also copies and translations of nineteenth-century documents including partition deeds, deeds of sale, birth records, and maps. Accounts of family and local history written by Martinez in the 1950s and early 1960s deal with events dating back to the Spanish settlements along the lower Rio Grande in the 1750s. Genealogies are generally traced back to the first colonists to arrive in the region. Family records, therefore, cover a time span of more than 200 years, from the settlers who arrived on the banks of the Rio Grande in about 1750 to their descendants in the early 1960s. Each decade from 1900 onward is represented in the papers. There are more files from the 1950s than any other single decade.

Among the most important files in the collection are those on the relocation of the town of Zapata due to the construction of Falcon Dam on the Rio Grande in the early 1950s, the salvation of the community of San Ygnacio from destruction during this period, the accounts of family history and genealogy from Zapata County, and the papers related to the division of lands between descendants of original holders of Spanish grants and sales of family lands. Maps, genealogies, and legal documents provide a clear picture of the rapidity with which even extensive landholdings can be reduced to tracts hardly adequate to support the families of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original owners. Reconsolidation of holdings through the purchase of interest from siblings and through cousin marriage are also documented. It is also possible to trace shifts in settlement and land-use patterns. For example, the original grantees of porciones along the Rio Grande held land in long narrow blocks extending inland from the river. Over the generations, these blocks were subdivided among heirs and parts of them were sold outside the families. Through separate inheritance from parents, through marriage, and through purchase, individuals came to own small pieces of land located in widely separated tracts. This pattern of dispersed holdings, each of economically inefficient size and too far apart to be worked as units, has been noted for many peasant societies. These papers clearly reveal the processes whereby such a land-holding pattern developed out of the more economically efficient block holdings within a few generations. The most completely documented tract of land is the vast Jose Vasquez Borrego Grant made in 1750. It was later divided into the Dolores, Corralitos, and San Ygnacio Subdivisions. The first settlement was made at the Hacienda de Dolores on August 22, 1750. This settlement was abandoned, apparently during Indian troubles in the early 19th century. A settlement or Rancho of Dolores was founded nearby in the Dolores subdivision of the Borrego Grant by Cosme Martinez in 1859. Meanwhile, the town of San Ygnacio had been founded in the San Ygnacio subdivision in 1830. Until the early 20th century, an hacienda in the Corralitos subdivision was occupied by members of the Vidaurri family, who were descendants of the original grantee's daughter, Alejandra Vasquez Borrego de Vidaurri.

Also of interest are the Corridos, or ballads, composed by Mercurio Martinez and dealing with dramatic events in Zapata County history such as an escape from prison, a contested election and the destruction of Zapata by the rising waters of Falcon Reservoir.

Martinez, Mercurio, 1876-1965

E. M. "Buck" Schiwetz Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 312
  • Collection

This collection contains letters, magazine and newspaper articles, magazines, prints, and other materials documenting the work of artist Edward Muegge "Buck" Schiwetz, as both a commercial and fine artist.

His sketches and watercolors are featured in a vast majority of the print material in the collection, from Christmas cards to sketchbooks to fine prints.

Rather than focusing on Schiwetz's life and his time at Texas A&M, the collection pays most attention to his art career and people's opinion of Schiwetz as an artist in the traditional sense of the definition.

Sewell Hepburn Hopkins Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 154
  • Collection
  • 1913-1961

This collection contains biographical data, publications, and data on the Biology Department at Texas A&M in which Sewell was a faculty member, as well as reports and other papers relating to oyster mortality research carried out through the Texas A&M Research Foundation Research Project 9 (February 1, 1947 - May 31, 1950).

The research project 9 was funded by six major oil companies and led by two Texas A & M University Professors, Sewell H. Hopkins (Head) and John G. Mackin (Associate Head).

Prompted by several lawsuits filed by Louisiana oystermen against major oil companies claiming damages to oyster fields as a result of drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico region, Project 9 was conducted under the auspices of the Texas A & M Research Foundation. Project 9 allowed researchers to design and implement field and laboratory studies seeking to determine the effects of oil production activities on oyster production. Eventually, a then as-yet-unknown parasite was discovered which preyed upon the oyster crop after they had begun to reach maturity.

Two other large research groups investigating the same allegations against oil production in the Gulf headed by H. Malcome Owen (Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission) and Albert W. Collier (Gulf Oil Company) compared notes with the Heads of Project 9, coming to the same conclusion. As a result of this collaboration, a description of this newly discovered parasite called Dermocystidium marinum was published in 1950. The lawsuits were subsequently dropped or settled out of court.

More importantly for the history of the Texas A & M University System, however, is the fact that Research Project 9 led ultimately to the creation and expansion of a Marine Sciences program, represented by the newly established (1949) Department of Oceanography at Texas A & M University in College Station. On 1 June 1950, after the termination of Research Project 9, Research Project 23 was begun to continue studies on oyster disease and maintain a Marine Laboratory at Grand Isle, La. The Texas A & M Marine Laboratory was established (1952) at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Tex. In 1968 Texas A & M University was named a Sea Grant College. The Marine Laboratory and the Texas Maritime Academy were merged in 1971, which is now known as Texas A & M University at Galveston.

These papers, therefore, form a picture of the ground-breaking research in oyster mortality conducted by Sewell H. Hopkins as head of Project 9, which led to increased sensitivity of the interplay of industry and the ecosystem, and to the formalized study at the university level of marine biology in the Gulf area.

Other researchers whose work is represented in the papers include Jay Donald Andrews, A. D. Bajkov, Harry J. Bennet, James L. Boswell, Clair Brown, Sidney O. Brown, M.D. Burkenroad, Fred Caulthron, C. Ray Elsey, I. I. Gardescu, Gordon Gunter, C. K. Hancock, Harold W. Harry, Joel W. Hedgpeth, Willis G. Hewatt, A. A. Jakkula, Fred W. Jensen, P. Korringa, Louis Lambert, Hugh B. Lofland, Elmer J. Lund, G. Robert Lunz, Jr., John C. Aull, Alvin F. Dodds, Shirley Alfred Lynch, John G. Mackin, Wiley G. Lastrapes, H. A. Marmer, R. Winston Menzel, Thurlow C. Nelson, Joseph F. Prokop, W. C. Rasmussen, Sammy M. Ray, J. H. Roberts, Fred W. Sieling, John J. Sperry, Victor Sprague, and Claude E. ZoBell.

    * Bibliography

    * Ray, Sammy M. "Historical Perspective on Perkinsus Marinus Disease of Oysters in the Gulf of Mexico." Journal of Shellfish Research. Vol. 15, No. 1:9-11.

    * Ray, Sammy M. "Texas A & M University's Contributions to Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Research." [Viewed 2002-10-10 at: ]

Hopkins, Sewell Hepburn, 1906-1984

Kevin M. Bailey Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000068
  • Collection
  • 1976-1990

This collection covers A&M Gay Student Services (GSS), Gayline, GSS Roommate Locator Service, and campus attitudes toward homosexuality and the LGBT community at the university before and after A&M officially recognized GSS as a campus organization.

Some material dates back to 1976, while other documents go as late as 1990. The bulk of the contents are from 1983-1986, being the period when the GSS lawsuit for recognition was ongoing to when litigation ended in July 1985, giving GSS official recognition. Media coverage over the issue of gay and lesbian students at A&M heated up in the fall of 1984 as GSS awaited a new court ruling. Most of the collection is local, given its subject, but also included are regional LGBT news and national entertainment news regarding LGBT persons.

Bailey, Kevin

Lisa Tuttle Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000181
  • Collection
  • 1959-2013

The Lisa Tuttle Collection consists of books, manuscripts, galley proofs, and magazines tracing the storied career of science fiction, horror and fantasy writer Tuttle.  The collection is a work-in-progress, with additions from the author as they become available.

Tuttle, Lisa

Martha Wells Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000133
  • Collection
  • 1991-2021

This collection consists of manuscript drafts, copyedited manuscripts, and galley proofs of all of Martha Wells' novels, as well as a number of other materials that include program books from many science fiction and fantasy conventions.

The March 2017 Addendum contains mostly media-related materials, particularly from the television show _Hercules: The Legendary Journeys_and the _Star Wars_films.

Wells, Martha

Gustav Wehrs Collection

  • TxAM-CRS 7
  • Collection
  • 1943-2003

This collection contains correspondence from Gustav Wehrs to David Chapman and Dr. Robert H. Carpenter, regarding the donation of his life's memories as part of the Military collection to Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M. Included is a translated account of his experiences during the Battle of the Aegean in 1943, and an account of the early years of his life he had typed in his native German language.

Wehrs, Gustav, 1915

Matthew Arnold Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 186
  • Collection
  • 1848-1887; Undated

This collection contains 54 original handwritten letters by Arnold, one page of poetry, one page of prose, and two pieces of paper with his signature. Each letter includes a typed transcription within its folder.

Guadalupe Baptist Association Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000566
  • Collection

The collection documents the life of Reverend William M. Taylor and his pursuit of education in various cities in Texas. A biography provides details about his education, religious vocation, and family life in Texas that provide a glimpse into the trials and tribulations Blacks faced in attaining any type of progress. This small collection is also rich in the history of the Guadalupe Baptist Association, Guadalupe College, and the community life for African Americans in Texas.

Taylor, William

JeFF Stumpo - Javashock Collection

  • TxAM-CRS C000573
  • Collection
  • 1998-2008; Undated

The collection covers the personal, academic, and professional life of Jeff Stumpo and his founding of the Java Shock slam poetry event held initially in College Station, but now based in Bryan, TX.

Stumpo, Jeff

John Q. Anderson Papers

  • TxAM-CRS 19
  • Collection
  • 1953-1966

This collection consists of term papers, course handouts, folklore fieldnotes, news clippings, a report, a document, maps, photographs, materials about folksingers, pamphlets on wildlife, materials about vaudeville and North Carolina, the information given to Dr. Anderson on Texas, correspondence, and information on The Texas Folklore Society and The John A. Lomax Folklore Society.

The majority of the material is from Dr. John Q. Anderson's students at Texas A&M. Dr. Anderson assigned his students to write term papers on folklore from many locales, including Texas. Because Dr. Anderson felt that some of these student papers were so exceptional, he collected, edited, and had them published in a book he titled, Texas Lore: A Collection of Student Papers on Texas Folklore. As additional information on some of the term papers, some of the students gave Dr. Anderson information on North Carolina, and Billy Arlington and Co. Dr. Anderson also requested that his students collect information on folklore by interviewing people and recording this information in fieldnotes. The information was gathered and is represented in the collection on topics including folk medicine, games, children's lore, folk beliefs, folk sayings, proverbs, rhymes, riddles, tree and plant lore, and Aggie lore.

Along with interviews and fieldnotes contributed by the students, many news clippings were collected, mostly relating to Texas and pertaining to people, places, folk medicine, folk singers, folk games, folklore book reviews, anthropology, superstitions, magic, and etymology. Also present is one document on folk medicine, an article on folksinger Joan Baez, a few articles on certain Texas counties, and special editions of some Texas newspapers.

Other materials include correspondence between Dr. John Q. Anderson and the Texas Folklore Society or the John A. Lomax Society, and with people interested in folklore. There is also information about meetings and conferences to be held by the Texas Folklore Society, including a program that Dr. Anderson sponsored at Texas A&M for the John A. Lomax Society.

Anderson, John Q.

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