From the Vault: April 2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

Arkansas History Commission's April 2016 Newsletter

Look inside the April 2016 Issue for these and other features!

AHC Receives $24,387 Grant from Arkansas Humanities Council

We are happy to announce that the Arkansas History Commission has received a generous grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities of $24,387 to support much of our public programming in 2016. The grant will provide funding in part for five events occurring between June and October.

AHC Applauds AHA Award Winners

The Arkansas Historical Association held its annual meeting recently in Little Rock, April 21-23. This was the 75th annual meeting of the AHA, which has close historical ties to establishment of the Arkansas History Commission. On Friday evening, April 22, the annual awards banquet was held in the grand dining room of the Albert Pike Masonic Temple. Several of the award recipients were individuals closely connected to our agency. We’d like to take a moment to recognize them and congratulate them on their accomplishments!

Black History Commission News

This month’s BHCA news spotlights a recent recipient of a Curtis H. Sykes grant. Elmer Beard wanted to raise awareness about the history of African American officeholders in Hot Springs. When looking at the history of African Americans in Hot Springs, Beard noted that although there were reports of some African American officeholders in the city, there was little information available to historians about who they were.

From the Director

On March 31, 2016, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed Executive Order 16-05, establishing a World War I Centennial Commemoration Committee. I’m honored to be appointed to serve on this committee, which will coordinate the state’s events, memorials and projects celebrating “the Great War” in 2017 and 2018.

Acquisitions and Accessions for April 2016

AHC Books

The Challengers: Untold Stories of African Americans Who Changed the System in One Small Southern Municipality, by Elmer Beard

Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1952
Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1954
Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1957
Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1960
Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1962
Dragon (Genoa Central High School, Texarkana) 1985

Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865, Vol. 1-16, by Janet B. Hewett

NEARA Periodicals

The Sharp County Independent, 1938 – 1942, 200 newspapers

SARA Printed Ephemera

Constitution of the State of Arkansas, 2012 edition

AHC

Yell County Civil and Criminal Court records, 0.50 cu ft
Cleburne County Digitized Real Estate Tax Ledgers
Lower White River State Park, maps
John S. Polk papers accretion, 4 cu ft
Auditor's Journal of Letters, 0.75 cu ft
Interdepartmental Relations Committee records, 6 cu ft

SARA

Hempstead County Court Records, 0.25 cu ft
Dingler Family Photograph
Black Tie White Tie DVD (documentary that chronicles Gibson family from Nevada County, Arkansas and Union Parish, Louisiana)

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Browne family papers, MS.000403

Lida Barret Ross was born on December 14, 1888 in Arkadelphia. She married Horace William Browne and they had two children, Esther and Josephine Sue. Lida began her family research of the Ligon family of Virginia in the 1940s. Much of her research includes the Person, Ross, Taylor, and Webb families of the 1700s and 1800s. Her two daughters also did extensive genealogical research, using their family lineage to join numerous hereditary societies. Lida died on February 9, 1971, in Little Rock.

Josephine was born about 1910 and died on January 23, 2000. She never married, and worked thirty years as Superintendent of Operations for Arkla. She served in multiple offices for the societies and clubs of which she was a member, including two terms as regent for the Little Rock chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, board member of the Little Rock Departmental Club, and vice-president of the Ligon Family and Kinsmen Association. She was a life member of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington, District of Columbia, and helped raise money for the publication of a book about Arkansas Post. She also established a scholarship for student nurses at the Baptist Medical System Foundation in Little Rock.

Esther was born August 7, 1912. She married Samuel Edwin Tyson on March 10, 1935, and they were divorced in 1938. They had one child, Terry, who died on July 23, 1977. Esther lived and worked in Little Rock the majority of her life, but spent several years in Memphis working as a secretary for John Deere Company. Following the death of her daughter Esther moved back to Little Rock and remained there with her sister until her death on December 9, 1991.

This collection contains material related to Lida Ross Browne, Josephine Sue Browne, and Esther Browne Tyson, including correspondence, hereditary societies, clubs and associations, family histories, memorabilia, photographs, and scrapbooks.

Diary
- 1973 (Box 1)
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1988 (Box 2)
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992 (Box 3)
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1996 (Box 4)
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- Undated
Correspondence
- Lida Ross Browne (Box 5)
  - 1945 January-June
  - 1945 July-December
  - 1946-1952
  - Undated
- Esther Browne Tyson
  - 1960-1963 (Box 6)
  - 1966-1967
  - 1968
  - 1969
  - circa 1969
  - 1970
  - circa 1970
  - 1971
  - circa 1971
  - 1972
  - circa 1972
  - 1973
  - circa 1973
  - 1974
  - 1975
  - 1979 January-June
  - 1976
  - 1977
  - 1978 (Box 7)
  - 1979 July- December
  - 1980 January-June
  - 1980 July-December
  - 1981 January-September
  - 1981 October-December
  - 1982 January-February
  - 1982 March-April
  - 1982 May
  - 1982 June-September
  - 1982 October-December
  - 1983 January-June
  - 1983 July
  - 1983 August-December
  - 1984 January-June (Box 8)
  - 1984 July-December
  - 1985-1989
  - 1990
  - Undated
- Josephine Sue Browne
  - 1950-1956 (Box 9)
  - 1957-1959
  - 1960-1962
  - 1963
  - 1964-1965
  - 1966-1970
  - 1971-1972
  - 1973
  - 1974 January
  - 1974 February
  - 1974 March-April
  - 1974 May-June
  - 1974 July
  - 1974 August
  - 1974 September
  - 1974 October
  - 1974 November
  - 1974 December
  - 1975 January
  - 1975 February
  - 1975 March
  - 1975 April
  - 1975 May-December
  - 1976 January-May
  - 1976 June
  - 1976 July-August
  - 1976 September-October
  - 1976 November-December
  - 1977 January-March
  - 1977 April-May
  - 1977 June-September
  - 1977 October-December
  - 1978 January-March (Box 10)
  - 1978 April-May
  - 1978 June
  - 1978 July-August
  - 1978 September-December
  - 1979 January-June
  - 1979 July-December
  - 1980 January-April
  - 1980 May-December
  - 1981 January-May
  - 1981 June-December
  - 1982
  - 1983
  - 1984
  - 1985 January-May
  - 1985 June-December
  - 1986 January-February
  - 1986 March-April
  - 1986 May-June
  - 1986 July
  - 1986 August-September
  - 1986 October-November
  - 1986 December
  - 1987 January-February
  - 1987 March-April
  - 1987 May-August
  - 1987 September-December
  - 1988 January-March (Box 11)
  - 1988 April-August
  - 1988 September-December
  - 1989 January-June
  - 1989 July-December
  - 1990 January-June
  - 1990 July-December
  - 1990 December 11: Condolences
  - 1990 December 12: Condolences
  - 1990 December 13: Condolences
  - 1990 December 14: Condolences
  - 1990 December 15-17: Condolences
  - 1990 December 18-19: Condolences
  - 1990 December 20-26: Condolences
  - 1991 January-February: Condolences (Box 12)
  - circa 1991
  - 1991 January-April
  - 1991 May-December
  - 1992 January-March
  - 1992 April-December
  - 1993
  - 1994
  - 1995
  - 1996 January-July (Box 13)
  - 1996 August-December
  - 1997
  - 1998
  - 1999
  - Undated
  - Undated
  - Undated
  - Undated
  - Undated
  - 1904-1984: Miscellaneous
Family history research
- Browne family (Box 14)
- Browne family
- Ligon [Lygon] family ancestors
- Ligon [Lygon] family
- 1856-1877: Ligon [Lygon] family
- Ligon [Lygon] family
- Ligon [Lygon] family
- Person family
- Person family
- Person family
- Person family
- Ross family
- Taylor family
- Taylor family
- Taylor family
- Taylor family
- Webb family
- Miscellaneous
- 1771: Will of William Person (Box 15)
- 1781: Will of Ann Person
- 1781: Will of Ann Person
- 1946: Correspondence, Kentucky Historical Society
- 1814-1905: Taylor family record
- 1813-1862: Taylor family record
- 1784 James Taylor will
- 1750: Martha Taylor will
- 1727: Edward Hoskins will
- 1798: Taxable property, Raleigh, North Carolina
- 1838: Foster will
Family history
- Scrapbook of Sue John Ligon (Box 16)
- Scrapbook [Lida Ross]
Hereditary societies
- Arkansas State Pioneers Association
- 1979-2000: Arkansas State Pioneers Association (Box 17)
- Colonial Dames of the XVII Century
- Colonial Dames of the XVII Century
- Colonial Dames of the XVII Century certificates
- 1983-1995: Colonial Dames of the XVII Century yearbooks
- 1995-1999: Colonial Dames of the XVII Century yearbooks
- 1986-1999: Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, National Society Review (Box 18)
- Dames of the Court of Honor, lineage
- Dames of the Court of Honor
- Daughters of American Colonists
- 1982-1994: Daughters of American Colonists yearbooks
- 1984-1986: Daughters of the American Revolution
  - Little Rock chapter
    - 1984-1986: Agendas (Box 19)
    - Regent
    - 1893: Minutes
    - 1967: Minutes
    - 1984: Minutes
    - 1985: Minutes
    - 1986: Minutes
    - Membership
    - Proclamations
    - 1980-1990: Proposed budget
    - 1974-1983: Yearbooks
    - 1984-1992: Yearbooks
    - 1995-2000: Yearbooks
  - Arkansas Society (Box 20)
    - Articles
    - Arkansas chapters
    - Arkansas conference
    - Arkansas Daughters of the American Revolution room
    - Chairman
    - Chaplain
    - Chaplain
    - Chaplain
    - Constitution week
    - Indian committee
    - Meetings
    - Memorials
    - Organizing secretary
    - Proclamations
    - Reports
    - Ribbons
  - News
    - 1970-1972 (Box 21)
    - 1973
    - 1974
    - 1975-1976
    - 1977
    - 1978-1979
    - 1983-1985
    - 1986-1989
    - 1990-1994
  - Arkansas Society yearbooks
    - 1974-1976 (Box 22)
    - 1984-1995
  - National Society
    - By-laws (Box 23)
    - Certificates
    - Memorial Continental Hall
    - Museum
    - Elections
    - Friends of the Museum
    - Lineage
    - Lineage
    - Museum committee
    - Museum exhibits
    - Museum insignia
    - "The Congress Herald" newsletter
    - Papers
    - Papers
    - Papers
    - Publications and products
    - Tours
    - 1974-1976: Yearbooks, handbooks, et cetera (Box 24)
    - Magazines
    - Memorabilia (eyeglass case)
    - Calendars
- Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede, National Society (Box 25)
- 1977-2001: Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede, National Society yearbooks
- First Families of Virginia
- First Families of Virginia
- 1990-2000: First Families of Virginia yearbooks
- Hereditary Register of the United States of America
- Jamestown Society
- 1980, 1989-1990, and 1996: Jamestown Society newsletter
- Jamestown Society certificate
- Ligon family
  - Application (Box 26)
  - Ligon family and connections
  - Insignia
  - Ligon family and Kinsmen Association
  - Madresfield Court
  - Reunions
  - Tours
  - Tours memorabilia, Kentucky and East Coast
  - Tours memorabilia, Nova Scotia
  - Living Desendants of the Blood Royal in America
  - Magna Carta
  - Plantegenet Society
  - United Daughters of the Confederacy certificate
Books
- "The Clan Ross" (Box 27)
- "DAR Patriot Index"
- "DAR Patriot Index"
- "A Roster of the Arkansas Society DAR, 1893-1968"
- "The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution"
- "Five Hundred First Families of America"
- "Living Descendants of Blood Royal"
- "Adventures of Purse and Person of Virginia, 1607-1625"
- "The Ligon Family and Connections" (Box 28)
- "The Ligon Family and Connections Volume II"
- "The Ligon Family and Connections Volume III"
Video, "The Ligon Family"
Second Presbyterian Church, Little Rock
- Friendship class (Box 29)
- 1981-1984: Membership directory
- 1985-1987: Membership directory
- 1990-1995: Membership directory
- New members
- Newsletters
- Notes on prayer
- 1987-1997: Women of the Church notices
- 1962-1997: Women of the Church history and yearbooks
- 1957: Church bulletins (Box 30)
- 1968-1969: Church bulletins
- 1980-1989: Church bulletins
- 1990-1995: Church bulletins
- 1996-1999: Church bulletins
- 1988-1997: Budget
- Newsletter
  - 75th Anniversary
- 1982 April 18: Centennial celebration
- 1954: "Centennial History of Presbyterianism in Arkansas," book
- Miscellaneous church bulletins
Clubs and associations
- American Association of Retired Persons, Pulaski Heights Chapter, Little Rock, Arkansas (Box 31)
- Arkansas County Agricultural Museum
- Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
- Arkansas Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
- Arkla News
- Newsletter of the Audubon Society
- Baptist Health Center Circle of Excellence
- Commemorative Commission
- Garden shows
- Departmental Club, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Museum of the Confederacy
- National Sojourners
- The News
- Old State House Museum Associates
- Quapaw Quarter Tour
- The Sesquicentennial
- Pulaski County Historical Quarterly (Box 32)
  - 1987 Spring
  - 1987 Summer
  - 1987 Winter
  - 1988 Spring
  - 1988 Fall
  - 1989 Spring
  - 1989 Summer
  - 1990 Spring
  - 1990 Fall
  - 1992 Spring
  - 1992 Fall
  - 1993 Winter
  - 1995 Winter
  - 1996 Spring
  - 1996 Fall
  - 1997 Spring
Browne family
- Financial records (Box 33)
- Financial records
- 1967: Arkansas General Assembly proposed litigation
- Insurance
- Esther Browne Tyson's death certificate and will
- Article, "Arkansas Indians: Tragedy of a Heritage Lost," "Arkansas Times"
- Memorabilia
- Calendars
- Children's paintings
- Flag day
- Magazine Americana
- Name tags
- Organizations
- Poetry and songs
- Travel
- Travel
- Stationery
- Funeral guest book for Esther Browne Tyson
- Miscellaneous (Box 34)
- Miscellaneous newsletters
- Newsclippings
  - 1896
  - 1962-1969
  - 1970-1975
  - 1976-1979
  - 1980-1982
  - 1983-1989
  - 1990-1995
  - 1996-1999
  - Undated
- 1979-1983: Newspapers
- Undated: Notes
- Photographs (Box 35)
Daughters of the American Revolution scrapbooks (Box 36)
- 1972-1986: Little Rock chapter
- 1984-1986: Little Rock chapter
- 1978: National Society Constitution Week
- 1979: National Society Constitution Week
- Certificate, Centennial Jubilee celebration
Photograph albums
- Ligon reunion album (Box 37)
- Ligon reunion album
- Ligon reunion album
- Ligon reunion album (Box 38)
- Ligon reunion album
- Ligon reunion album (Box 39)
- Ligon reunion album
- Ligon reunion album
- 1940s-1950s: Browne and Tyson families (Box 40)
- 1940s-1950s: Browne and Tyson families
- 1950s: Tyson family
- 1960s-1970s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson (Box 41)
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson (Box 42)
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson (Box 43)
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson
- 1970s-1980s: Josephine Sue Browne and Esther Browne Tyson

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Arkansas History Commission Receives Grant

The Arkansas History Commission and State Archives has been awarded a grant in the amount of $24,387 by the Arkansas Humanities Council.

The grant, given for the project, “The Essence of Arkansas: Using Archival Records to Document Arkansas’s Culture,” will support the funding of programs and events throughout 2016.

Each year, the History Commission hosts a variety of free programs and events for the public. This year’s events include “African American Arts in Arkansas,” “The Roots of German Foodways in Arkansas,” “Using Archival Records to Save Historic Structures,” “Arkansas’s Home Run: The History of Major League Training in Hot Springs,” and an Arkansas Folk Music Legends workshop.

Dr. Lisa K. Speer, Director of the Arkansas History Commission said of the grant award, “We are so grateful to the Arkansas Humanities Council for its continued support. This funding allows us to offer a wide variety of free, quality public programs that we otherwise would not have the funding to do on our modest state appropriation. I am particularly excited about the diversity of our 2016 public programs, which will explore a variety of aspects of Arkansas culture including food, music and sports. I think we’ll have something to offer everyone.”

The Arkansas History Commission and State Archives, located in Little Rock, is the official state archives of Arkansas and maintains the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

AHPP Hosts Two Cemetery Workshops

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is hosting two cemetery workshops this month. The first workshop is at Magnolia Cemetery on the 22nd and the second workshop is in Bold Pilgrim Cemetery in Morrilton.

Lunch will be provided by AHPP and will be served on the grounds. Parking for the workshop is at the cemetery. Tents will be provided in case of rain. Chairs are available, but if you need a stool you are encouraged to bring one. Gloves and comfortable clothing are encouraged.

To register, or for information, contact Holly Hope at holly@arkansasheritage.org, or call (501) 324-9148 prior to the day of the workshop. On the day of the workshop, call
(501) 681-2120.

Wednesday Wonderful Collection - Algernon Sidney Holderness papers, MS.000085

Algernon Sidney Holderness was born in Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1834. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and during the Civil War served in the Confederate Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant in Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Cabell's Brigade, First Arkansas Cavalry. He was honorably discharged on May 27, 1865. The husband of Catherine B. Dixon and father of nine children, A.S. Holderness died in Fordyce on April 28, 1904.

This collection contains orders, muster rolls, correspondence, invoices, and receipts illustrating activities of a Confederate unit operating in southern Arkansas during the latter years of the Civil War.

1. 1861 November 16: State of Arkansas War Bond Number 77536, twenty dollars, G.W. Glenn
2. 1863 February 17: County tax and county war tax receipts, T.B. Holderness and G.W. Holderness, Drew County, 1862
3. 1863 March 3: Transfer of James R. Read and A.A. Anderson to service in Little Rock as shoemakers, Quartermaster's Department (Richmond, Virginia)
4. 1863 July 20: Special Orders Number 90, Department of the Trans-Mississippi, Shreveport, Louisiana, transferring Private I.B. Lester of Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Arkansas Volunteers, to the general hospital in New Iberia
5. 1863 September 15: Physician's certificate of disability, R.A. Spears, Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, by C.B. Landers, M.D.
6. [1863]: Muster roll fragment, unidentified unit of men enlisted in southern Arkansas
7. [1864] March 14: Descriptive list and account, pay and clothing due Private Willis M. Jones, Company C, Fifth Regiment, Louisiana Cavalry
8. 1864 March 20: Special Orders Number 80 (Headquarters, District of Arkansas), granting A.S. Holderness a twenty-five day disability leave of absence from Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry
9. 1864 June 9: Letter fragment, [A.S. Holderness], Trans-Mississippi Department, from brother, Selma, Alabama
10. 1864 July: Muster roll fragment, Company B, First Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry
11. 1864 July 8: Application, J.R. Barnett, Gravel Ridge, to Enrolling Officer, Bradley County, for medical detail in Bradley County area
12. 1864 July 26: Special Orders Number 185, Headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department, Shreveport, Louisiana, detailing Private I.B. Lester, Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Cabell's Brigade, to Surgeon J.D. Collins for assignment to duty
13. 1864 December 8: Exchange certificates, R.C. Holderness and Mrs. M.W. Atkinson, Marshall, Texas
14. 1864 [December]: Muster roll, unidentified unit of men enlisted in southern Arkansas
15. 1865 January 17: Letter, Captain R.T. Banks, Camp Lee, Arkansas, Tenth Company, Third Regiment, McNair's Brigade, to Colonel E.P. Turner, stating two men serving in Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Cabell's Brigade, who belonged to one of Banks' companies, and were to be located and arrested
16. 1865 January 25: Special Orders Number 9, Headquarters of Cabell's Brigade in Champagnolle, Arkansas, directing Lieutenant A.S. Holderness and ten men to proceed to Marks Mills for the purpose of collecting guns and arresting military-aged men who are absent without leave
17. 1865 March 20: Special Orders, Headquarters of Monroe's Regiment, directing A.S. Holderness to take a squad to Warren to return sabres belonging to the regiment there
18. 1865 March 22: Invoice of account, A.S. Holderness, to Confederate States, subsistence for men and horses
19. 1865 March 27: Furlough approval, F.C. Welch, Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry
20. 1865 March 27: Furlough approval, T.J. Moseley, Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry
21. 1865 April 19: Descriptive list and account, pay and clothing, Corporal D.S. Godfrey, Company B, Monroe's Regiment
22. 1865 April 20: Application for a detachment of men from Companies B and L of Monroe's Regiment, First Arkansas Cavalry, to operate in Bradley, Ashley, and Drew counties, collecting absentees
23. 1865 April 27: Application of I.B. Lester, Egan Hospital, Louisiana, for an appearance before the Medical Examining Board to request transfer, confirmed by J.D. Collins, surgeon
24. 1865 April 28: Letter, E.H. McDaniel to A.S. Holderness, stating I.M. Brawner, A.A. Davis, R.E. Edington, G.W. Dickinson, and Richard Singleton should be retained in Company B
25. 1865 May 27: Discharge papers, A.S. Holderness, First Lieutenant, Company B, Monroe's Regiment, Cabell's Brigade
26. 1865 June 30: Receipt, C.H. King to Company B, Monroe's Regiment, signed by John Crawford, for a horse
27. 1866 April 19: Tax receipt issued in Camden to R.C. Holderness for "direct taxes in insurrectionary districts"
28. 1866 May 2: Tax receipt issued in Pine Bluff to Holderness and Bro., for "direct taxes in insurrectionary districts"
29. 1866 December 8: Indenture of apprenticeship by Agnes McLennon for Jordon McLennon, [African American] age nine, to A.S. Holderness
30. 1867 July 18: Voter registration certificate, A.S. Holderness, Calhoun County
31. 1867 August 15: Voter registration certificate, Thomas B. Holderness, Marion Precinct, Drew County
32. 1899 January 11: 1898 Tax receipt, A.L. McKay, White County
33. Undated: Recipe, "Stimulating Eye Water" for use in treating chronic eye diseases

Monday, April 11, 2016

AHC Begins Soft Launch of New Website April 18

For nearly two years, the Arkansas History Commission and State Archives has worked with Aristotle, a local web design agency, to give its website a new look with a more streamlined, user-friendly functionality. The newly redesigned website now has an integrated search function that makes locating records and information about collections simpler.

On April 18th, the History Commission will begin a "soft launch" of the new website in the AHC research room. We're inviting our patrons to stop in and test it out and let us know what you think! We want your feedback - your likes and dislikes, tips and suggestions, and any difficulties you might find.

The website will officially launch online to the public on June 15, which is Arkansas's Statehood Day.

We are excited to share our new, more user-friendly site with our patrons, and we look forward to your feedback.

This project is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Chapple family papers, SMC.3.2a

James Chapple was born January 20, 1840, to John and Harriet (Gosden) Chapple in Walton-on-Thames, England. James and his brothers William and Henry emigrated to the United States in 1855, and James settled in Little Rock, Arkansas. He served as a private in the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. On May 29, 1864, he married Jane "Jennie" Reed, daughter of J. Harris and Frederika A. Reed. Jennie was born March 4, 1841, in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and died July 30, 1917.

James was a businessman for forty years and opened Allsopp and Chapple, a books and stationery shop in Little Rock. James also served as treasurer for Retail Grocers' Ice Company and the Mercantile Building Association and as Director of Exchange National Bank and Gazette Publishing Company. He was also a 33rd Degree Mason. He died on August 10, 1910, at Huntington, Long Island, New York, where he was visiting his son Earl.

James and Jennie had five children. Alexis H. married Carrie J.R. Simpson on October 17, 1894. Mary F. married Fred Allsopp, the editor of the Arkansas Gazette and business partner of her father. Parma E. remained unmarried. James E. married the daughter of William J. Watson, a Scottish immigrant, and Isabelle Taylor. Earl W. worked as general manager of Electric Light and Power Company in Huntington, New York.

This collection contains correspondence, deeds, marriage licenses, citizenship applications, legal documents, newsclippings,and other miscellaneous documents that relate to the Chapple family of Little Rock.

Correspondence (Reel MG00200)
- 1858 August 13: S.H. Hempstead, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Fredericka A. Reed
- 1870 October 12: "Your ever affectionate Sister," Milton, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England, to "My ever dearest Brothers and Sisters"
- 1876 December 6: John Chapple, Aschott Bridgewater, England, to James and Edward [Chapple]
- 1887 March 20: Henry [Chapple], La Porte City, Iowa, to James [Chapple]
- 1919 May 31: Mrs. James B.B. Sterling, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Mrs. James Chappple, Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1949 January 18: Raymond E. Block, Little Rock, Arkansas, to H.M. Triber, Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1954 May 14: Agnes M. Loewer, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Earl W. Chapple, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Undated: John Chapple, Ashcott, England, to Emily [Chapple]
- Undated: "Your ever affectionate Sister," Milton Hall, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England, to "My dearest Brothers"
Deeds
- 1866 April 3: George C. Watkins, Little Rock, Arkansas, to James Chapple
- 1866 October 2: James C. Chapple, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Jennie Chapple
- 1877 August 22: Mount Holly Cemetery to James Chapple
- 1877 October 8: Board of Commissioners, Mount Holly Cemetery, to James Chapple
- 1903 June 15: James and Jennie Chapple to James E. Chapple
- 1904 December 29: Horace W. Johnson of Pulaski County, Arkansas
- 1912 September 12: Parma E. Chapple to Board of Directors, Fourche Drainage District
- 1914 April 6: E.L. McHaney to Parma E. Chapple
- 1949 May 2: Mount Holly Cemetery to Parma and Rhema Chapple
Marriage licenses
- 1864 June 1: James Chapple and Jane Reed
- 1879 September 27: William J. Watson and Isabelle Taylor
- 1894 October 17: Alexis H. Chapple and Carrie J.R. Simpson
Citizenship applications
- 1860 February 25: Declaration of Intention, William Watson
- 1886 January 22: Naturalization, William J. Watson
Legal documents
- 1882 March 30: Will, Fredricka A. Reed
- 1908 December 7: Will, Jennie Chapple
- 1912 February 12: Decree, Chancellor J.E. Martineau to Parma E. Chapple
- 1909 September 25: Lease, Southwestern Telegraph and Telephone Company to James E. Chapple, Jr.
Miscellaneous
- 1891 November 26: Death Notice, Fredericka A. Reed
- 1892 September 7: Marriage announcement, Frederick W. Allsopp to Mary Fredericka Chapple
- 1904 September 4-9: Invitation, Grand Commandery of Georgia, Palace Hotel, San Francisco
- June 14: Recital invitation, pupils of Miss Elview Cocke, Woman's Club House
- Undated: Pledge card, National Christian Temperance Union, Walter Chapple
Newsclippings
- 1968 April 21: "'Gingerbread' Chapple House Apparently is Nearing End"
- Undated: Obituary, William J. Watson
- Undated: Obituary, Isabel Waton
- Undated: "Mrs. B.B. Sterling Honored"

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