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Archival Descriptions
Texas A&M University Archives
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Jesse L. Easterwood Notebook

  • US TxAM-C 11
  • Collection
  • 1908-01-26-1909-02-06

This collection consists of one notebook (housed in a phase box), measuring approximately 10 x 8 inches, containing 49 leaves of machine ruled paper, in cloth over cardboard covers, which was manufactured with two-hole punched metal fasteners.

The front cover design shows: at the top "…A. & M. COLLEGE…, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS"; in the center, a black and white picture depicting the Old Main building on the Texas A & M College campus, measuring 4.5 x 4 inches; below picture, "Department of" with a ruled space filled in by hand with ink the word "Horticulture," and "Name" with a ruled space filled in by hand in ink with the name "Jess Easterwood."; at center bottom, "PUBLISHED BY, W. M. WELCH MFG. COMPANY, 100 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, WELCH'S PATENT AUTOMATIC FASTENER." The name "EASTERWOOD" and other initials, etc. are scrawled in ink or pencil on the front cover as well.

Most of the notebook's leaves are filled in on the recto page only with class notes written by hand in either pencil or ink, labeled as taken from lectures. A few pages are filled with scrawled names and phrases, repeated over and over, the phrases usually in some way related to the lecture notes, but often just variations on Easterwood's name or initials.

One exception found on leaf 19 is the beginnings of a draft letter, dated January 25, [19]08, to his father, noting that Easterwood has been recently ill for a "protracted" period of time. Lecture notes in roughly the first half of the notebook pertain to Animal Husbandry [l. 1-14; l. 15-18 & 20 are blank], especially causes, symptoms, and treatment of conditions such as colic, heaves, constipation, dysentery, catarrh of stomach and bowels in livestock, while the latter half are concerned with a class labeled "Horticulture 4" [l. 21-49; the top half of l. 45 is torn out], particularly the cultivating of fruit trees and the marketing of their produce.

Aside from presenting an interesting taste of curriculum offerings at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College in the early twentieth century, some of the notebook's scrawled asides give a quite colorful glimpse into the mind of a restless and enterprising cadet straying from the lecture in progress.

Easterwood, Jesse L., 1888-1919

James R. Couch Papers

  • US TxAM-C 1449
  • Collection
  • 1950-1974

This collection contains articles written by James Russell Couch from his duration at Texas A&M as professor of Poultry and Nutrition Science. The articles relate to Poultry and Nutrition science and range from 1950 to 1974.

Couch, James Russell

William Cruse McMurrey Collection

  • US TxAM-C 8
  • Collection
  • 1944; 2003-2006; Undated

This collection contains an assortment of articles of family history, correspondence between members of the McMurrey family, and Wen Jiang, a Chinese documentary film-maker, photographs of his funeral in 1944 in Tatangtzu, China and of modern-day China.

The collection is an assortment of letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, articles written by the McMurrey sisters, copies of programs, a war casualty list, a poem, photocopies from a book about Southwest China, and a pin.

Hyde, Barbara McMurrey

Wipprecht Family Papers

  • US TxAM-C 1251
  • Collection
  • 1803-1973

The Wipprecht Family Papers is a collection of photographs, correspondence, and other items pertaining to the family of Walter Wipprecht (Sr.). The photographic collection spans the Wipprecht personal family ranch life in Bryan Texas to Texas A&M College and Bryan, TX early buildings. The collection includes several local newspapers, commemorative Bryan, TX memorabilia along with photographs of historic Texas A&M College during the early 1900s.

The collection includes light-sensitive glass plate negatives.

Wipprecht, Walter

James G. Gibson '27 Scrapbook

  • US TxAM-C 2529876
  • Collection
  • circa 1924-1927

This scrapbook contains materials from Gibson's time as a student at A&M College.

Gibson, James G.

George B. Quillen '27 Scrapbook

  • US TxAM-C 260
  • Collection
  • 1924-1927

This scrapbook belonged to George B. Quillen and contains materials from his time at A&M college from 1924-1927.

Quillen, George B.

Bernard Sbisa Family Collection

  • US TxAM-C 1377
  • Collection
  • 1877-1919

The Bernard Sbisa Family Collection consists of photographic scrapbooks, personal correspondence, photographs of the Sbisa Family, and early Texas A&M College photographs along with other early college photographs of the campus of Perdue. The items included either have no date or are dated from between 1877 to 1919.

Bernard Sbisa was one of the first Texas A&M College professors who lived and taught the early Texas A&M College.

Sbisa, Bernard

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

Thomas Franklin Mayo Papers

  • US TxAM-C 159
  • Collection
  • 1914-1915; 1945-1953

This collection consists of a few letters, notes, drafts, and final copies of book reviews, articles, and chapters of books.

Book chapter topics include Gothic Culture, Medieval Architecture, Romanesque Art and Architecture, Baroque Art, and Renaissance Painting, particularly the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo Buonarroti. The bulk of the latter material probably pertains to a book on which Mayo was working at the time of his death in 1954. The book was to have been titled The Great Pendulum and would have recorded the cycles between romanticism and rationalism in art and literature.

Mayo, Thomas F., 1893-1954

Joseph Sayers Mogford Papers

  • US TxAM-C 1146
  • Collection
  • 1916-1980

This collection contains the personal letters of Dr. Joseph Sayers Mogford's (TAMU 1916) during his years as the Former Student Association's Class Agent in 1971-1980. Other documents in this collection include; a Bryan/College Station Eagle's special edition newspaper exploring the history of College Station, June 24, 1979, and Mogford's original 1916 graduation announcement.

Mogford, J. S. (Joseph Sayers), 1893-1989

Robert G. Cherry Collection

  • US TxAM-C 3
  • Collection
  • 1975-1983

This collection contains letters of correspondence from Cherry's years of working in the TAMU Chancellor's office, from 1975 to 1981, receipts, payroll information, copies of checks written out to various people, newspaper articles, letterhead samples, personal notes and lists, photographs, memorandums, thank you cards, gift cards, upcoming campus events and conferences, proof copies of articles, invitations, bank statements, state employee benefits paperwork, and job recommendations.

Cherry, Robert G., 1914 - 2005

Roland O. Cox Papers

  • US TxAM-C 1209
  • Collection
  • 1928-1956

The collection includes articles, books on gas measurement, and materials relating to the awards and achievements of Dr. Roland O. Cox.

Cox, Roland O.

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

Alva Mitchell Collection

  • US TxAM-C 6
  • Collection
  • 1892-1956

The collection is an assortment of newspaper clippings, photographs, a typed biography, commencement programs, an Army training certificate and receipt, and contact information for Ralph Howard Mitchell.

Mitchell, Ralph Howard

J. R. Cole Papers

  • US TxAM-C C000040
  • Collection
  • 1871-1971

This collection contains clippings, news articles, and photographs of J. R. Cole, Sr., as well as the resources that he used to write his autobiography (included). Also included is correspondence from J. R. Cole, Jr. and correspondence between the archives and donors.

Cole, James Reid, 1839-1917

Albert S. Brient Collection

  • US TxAM-C 282
  • Collection

This collection contains an assortment of newspaper clippings, photographs, letters, and a typed 'saga' of Albert S. Brient.

Included are photographs from the 1923 Texas A&M Varsity Basketball team, biographic information on Brient, correspondence concerning his efforts to be declared a member of the "T" Association 44 years after his college days, as well as newspaper articles both about Brient and about his finally being awarded a "T".

Brient, Albert S.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Kate Adele Hill Papers

  • TxAM-CRS C000025
  • Collection
  • 1930-1965

This collection contains the personal papers of Kate Adele Hill during her time as an employee of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Included are correspondence, speeches, clippings, articles, photos about extension work, pioneer women in Texas, demonstration work, and agriculture.

Hill, Kate Adele, 1900-1982

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

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.