Records retention workshops for state agencies

The Arkansas State Archives is conducting a series of records retention and preservation workshops for state agencies. They will be conducted on the following dates:

February 8, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
March 8, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
April 5, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
May 3, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
June 7, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
August 2, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
September 6, 9:00 a.m. - 11 a.m.
October 4, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
November 1, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

For more information or to register, please contact Danyelle McNeill at danyelle.mcneill@arkansas.gov.

January 2017 Acquisitions and Accessions

ASA Books

Little Rock/North Little Rock Yellowbook, 2013-2014
Little Rock/North Little Rock Yellowbook, 2014-2015 (2)
Little Rock/North Little Rock Yellowbook, 2016-2017
Periodicals
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 20 No. 1, January-March 2001 - Vol. 20 No. 2, April – June 2001
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 20 No. 1, January-March 2001 - Vol. 23 No.4, October - December 2004
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 20 No. 1, January-March 2001 - Vol. 25 No.1, January-March 2006 - Vol. 25 No.4, October - December 2006
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 26 No. 2, April – June 2007
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 28 No. 3, July - September 2009
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 29 No. 2, April – June 2010
Meriwether Connections:  Vol. 31 No. 3, July - September 2012 - Vol. 35 No.1, January-March 2016
2001 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
2006 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
2013 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
2010 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
2014 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
2015 Membership Directory, The Meriwether Society, Inc.
Jamewtowne Society Newsletter, Vol. 34, No. 1 April 2010- Vol. 40, No. 1, Spring 2016
Cathedral of Saint Andrew September 27,2015 – November 27, 2016

NEARA Periodicals
GSCCA newsletter, January 2017

SARA Books

The Star, Henderson State University, 1979
The Star, Henderson State University, 1984
The Star, Henderson State University, 1986
The Star, Henderson State University, 1987
The Star, Henderson State University, 2002
The Star, Henderson State University, 2003
The Star, Henderson State University, 2004
The Star, Henderson State University, 2006
The Star, Henderson State University, 2013
The Bobcat, Hope High School, 1957
Trammel’s Trace the First Road to Texas from the North, Gary L. Pinkerton

SARA Periodicals

The Stater, Summer 2016
Printed Ephemera
Hope High School, Graduation Program, 1970
Memorial Bulletin, Mrs. Clara Jean Taylor
Memorial Bulletin, Mrs. Evelyn Ann Allison Pounds
DVDs
America Divided:  The Civil War

ASA Accessions

Peggy Lloyd collection
State of Arkansas versus Charles a slave and others, 0.02 cu ft
World War I postcards and photographs, 23 items

SARA Archival Manager to Speak at Ouachita-Calhoun Genealogical Society

Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives Manager Melissa Nesbitt will present "Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives: Guide to Historical and Genealogical Records," to the Ouachita-Calhoun Genealogical Society at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 26th in the Great Hall at the First United Methodist Church (141 Harrison Ave.) in Camden.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Arkansas post office murals records MS.000335

Post offices built in the 1930s during Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal were decorated with enduring images of America. Post office murals, while often mistaken for WPA art, were created by artists hired by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. "The Section" was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division. Artists were selected through regional competitions based on anonymous sketches. Scenes of local interest and events were most desirable, with genre themes of Americans at work or leisure as the most popular subject matter.

This collection contains research materials concerning thirteen post offices collected by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. These photocopied materials include the correspondence, contracts, and images proposed by the artists to the Fine Arts Section of the Public Buildings branch of the United States Treasury Department. Twenty-one post office murals were painted in Arkansas. Not all remain extant.

• 1. Berryville, relief sculpture created by Daniel Olney, 1940
• 2. Dardanelle, painted by Ludwig Mactarian, 1939
• 4. DeWitt, painted by William Traher, 1941
• 3. DeQueen, painted by Henry Simon, 1942
• 5. Lake Village, painted by Avery Johnson, 1940
• 6. Monticello, relief sculpture created by Berta Margoulies, 1940
• 7. Morrilton, painted by Richard Sargent, 1939
• 8. Nashville, painted by John T. Robertson, 1939
• 9. Paris, painted by Joseph Paul Vorst, 1940
• 10. Piggott, painted by Dan Rhodes, 1940
• 11. Siloam Springs, painted by Bertram R. Adams, 1940
• 12. Van Buren, painted by E. Martin Hennings, 1940
• 13. Wynne, painted by Ethel Magafan, 1940
• 14. "Arkansas Post Offices and the Treasury Department's Section Art Program, 1938-1942," by Sandra Taylor Smith and Mark Christ

Summer Internship at SARA

Summer Internship 2017
Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives
Washington, Arkansas
A branch of The Arkansas State Archives,
An agency of The Department of Arkansas Heritage

Work Period: May 30, 2017 – August 5, 2017.

Location: Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives | 201 Highway 195 South | Washington, Arkansas 71862.

Duties: Arrangement and description of archival collections and other duties as assigned. Work schedule is Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Work activities will be under the supervision of the Archival Manager.

Requirements: Ability to work with attention to detail and basic knowledge of archival processing. The applicant should have a college degree or a degree in progress in history or a related field and should be at least 18 years of age.

Compensation: $2,500 for the period of the internship paid by SARA Foundation, Inc. Housing and utilities are provided by Historic Washington State Park.

Send cover letter, résumé, and three references by February 18, 2017, to:
Melissa Nesbitt, Archival Manager, Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, PO Box 134, Washington, AR 71862 or e-mail melissa.nesbitt@arkansas.gov.  Phone: 870.983.2633; FAX: 870.983.2636.

The internship is funded by SARA Foundation, Inc. whose purpose is to promote the activities of the Arkansas State Archives by giving support to the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Willis Turner family papers, MS.000573

Willis James Turner was born September 8, 1913, to Emmett Dewitt and Arned Williams Turner, Sr., in Grady, Lincoln County, Arkansas. In 1934, he married his second wife, Mary Bluford, the daughter of James and Chester Lee Johnson Bluford. She was born August 26, 1916, in Tamo, Arkansas. The couple had one daughter, Gladys Tressia Turner; and a daughter from Willis James Turner's previous marriage, Jettie Mae Turner. They were tenant farmers in Lincoln County until moving to Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, in the early 1940s when both took jobs at the Pine Bluff Arsenal during World War II. Willis Turner’s time at the arsenal was brief; he soon gained employment with the Cotton Belt of the Southern Pacific Railroad, where he worked thirty years before retiring in 1972.

Turner was a member of Most Worshipful King Solomon Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Arkansas, Sunshine Lodge #5, and served as treasurer for several years (a separate affliation from the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas, Free and Accepted Masons). He was also a member of the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline, and Steamship Clerks. Turner was an avid hunter and sportsman until his death on March 31, 1989. Mary Bluford Turner died on January 10, 2002, in Pine Bluff.

Gladys T. Turner Finney graduated from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, 1957; and the Atlanta University School of Social Work with a Master of Science in Social Work, 1959. She is the widow of Frederick M. Finney, whose writings appeared in many major numismatic publications.

This collection contains family history information, correspondence, school material, photographs, and tax receipts.

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• Turner family (Box 1)
  • 1. Akers, Alice Turner Burr, Kansas City, Missouri
  • 2. Briggs, Frank
  • 3. Crawford, Evangeline, funeral program, 1977 August 18, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
  • 4. Drumgoole [Drumgould], George Turner, “Benefit Association of Railway Employees,” life insurance policy, 1956
  • 5. Eiland, Jettie Mae Turner, includes copy of St. Peter High School report card, 1949, and copies of photographs
  • 6. Finney, Gladys Tressia Turner, includes published articles, correspondence, documents, copies of photographs, school material
  • 7. Glanton, Emma Lee Turner
  • 8. Ringo, Arned Shelton
  • 9. Shelton, Aaron
  • 10. Turner, Abel
  • 11. Turner, Emmett Dewitt, Jr., Kansas City, Missouri
  • 12. Turner, Emmett Dewitt, Sr.
  • 13. Turner, Henry
  • 14. Turner, M.J. "Jerry"
  • 15. Turner, Mary Bluford
  • 16. Turner, Mary Bluford, “The Story of an Adult Family Member,” Gladys Turner Finney, 2002
  • 17. Turner, Willis, Sr.
  • 18. Turner, Willis James, documents, receipts, et cetera
  • 19. Turner, Willis James, railroad employment
  • 20. Turner, Willis James, masonic membership
  • 21. Turner, Willis James, Pine Bluff Arsenal employment
  • 22. Turner, Willis James, sports and hunting
  • 23. Turner, Willis and Mary Turner, fiftieth wedding anniversary (Box 2)
  • 24. West, Drucilla Turner Jones
  • 25. Correspondence: Gladys Turner Finney to Mary Turner, 1969-2001
  • 26. Correspondence: Eiland, Jettie Turner to Willis and Mary Turner, 1987 October 16 and undated
  • 27. Correspondence: Family, friends, and politicians, to Willis and Mary Turner, 1943-2000
  • 28. Life and burial insurance policies: Bluford and Turner families
  • 29. Confrontation/Change Review, “Agrarian Socialism in Arkansas,” Gladys T. Turner, Spring 1977
  • 30. Photographs: Turner family and friends (photocopies)
  • 31. Receipts: Personal, 1900s-1920s
  • 32. Receipts: Personal, 1940s
  • 33. Receipts: Personal, 1950s
  • 34. Receipts: Personal, 1960s-1970s
  • 35. Receipts: Personal, undated
  • 36. Receipts: Taxes, 1940-1963
  • 37. Schools: Robert Moten High School, Marianna, Arkansas, Gladys T. Turner’s class examinations, 1956
  • 38. Schools: St. Peter’s Catholic School, Pine Bluff, “St. Peter’s Echoes,” 1950
  • 39. Schools: St. Peter’s Catholic School, Pine Bluff, 1986 and 1989 reunions
  • 40. Schools: St. Peter’s Catholic School, Pine Bluff, brochure, 1988, and book list
• Bluford family (Box 3)
  • 41. Bluford, Chester Lee
  • 42. Bluford, George
  • 43. Bluford, James, Jr., Chicago, Illinois
  • 44. Bluford, Jerry
  • 45. Bluford, Savannah
  • 46. Bluford, Willie, Chicago, Illinois
  • 47. Johnson, Essix
  • 48. “In Memoriam,” Bluford and Turner families
  • 49. “The James Bluford Family And Descendants,” Gladys Turner Finney, 2004
  • 50. Marzell Missionary Baptist Church, Tamo, Arkansas, programs and history, 1965-1994

Black History Commission of Arkansas/Arkansas State Archives Event

The Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives will be hosting a symposium on Sat., Feb. 4, at its sister agency, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., Department of Arkansas Heritage Director Stacy Hurst announced today.  The symposium’s theme, “Black Political Engagement in Arkansas,” will feature speakers Dr. John Graves, Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, Elmer Beard, and Dr. R.J. Hampton.

Topics include African American Women and the Arkansas Republican Party, 1960s-1970;  John Gray Lucas:  Pioneer Champion of Civil Rights; The Challengers: Untold Stories of African American who Changed the System in One Small Southern Municipality, and Dr. R.J. Hampton’s career in Arkansas’s political arena.

“The seminars coordinated by the Black History Commission and State Archives play such an important role in fostering greater understanding of the important role that African Americans have played in all aspects of Arkansas history,” said Hurst.

State Historian and Arkansas State Archives director Dr. Lisa Speer remarked, “In this post-election year as we reflect on the accomplishments of outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama, it seems particularly fitting to take a closer look at the struggles and triumphs of African Americans in the political arena in Arkansas.”

The seminar is free to attend but registration is required. The deadline for registration will be Mon., Jan. 30. Registration is limited, so be sure to make reservations soon.  Check-in will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 4. Teachers can earn up to four professional development hours through attendance.  Lunch will be provided.

The mission of the Black History Commission of Arkansas is to collect materials pertaining to African American history for the Arkansas State Archives, to encourage research of the state's African American history, and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop materials that support the teaching of African American history in our public schools.

The Arkansas State Archives is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and is responsible for collecting and maintaining the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.  The State Archives has two branch locations; the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Washington. Other agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage include the Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

For more information about the symposium or to register, email events.archives@arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900.

SARA Archival Manager at Texarkana USA Genealogical Society

Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives Manager Melissa Nesbitt will present "Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives: Guide to Historical and Genealogical Records," at the monthly meeting of the Texarkana USA Genealogical Society at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23. The meeting will be held at the Texarkana Public Library, 600 W 3rd St, Texarkana, TX.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Francis Joseph Guy papers, MS.000108

Dr. Frank Shaw Guy was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Little Rock College in Little Rock, Arkansas, then earned his Master of Arts degree from Catholic University of America in 1932. He taught history, political science and sociology at Little Rock College from 1934 to 1941, before joining the faculty at Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey. He also lectured in United States history at the Rutgers University Off-Campus Center in Atlantic City, and took additional graduate work in education at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1951 he became the Director of Admissions at Admiral Farrgut Academy. Although his given name was Francis Joseph Guy, he chose to call himself Frank Shaw Guy. He died on December 31, 1965, at the age of 59, and was survived by his wife, Catherine H. Guy.

This collection contains newsclippings, brochures, books, file cards, magazine pages, a scrapbook, and Francis Joseph Guy's thesis regarding the history of Catholicism in Arkansas.

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·         1. 1966 January 19: Frank S. Guy obituary, "The Capstan," Admiral Farragut Academy (Box 1)

·         2. 1940 November 12: Letter, J. Olson Anders, Work Projects Administration of Arkansas, to Frank Shaw Guy, Saint John's Seminary, Little Rock

·         History of Catholicity in Arkansas

o    3. Undated: Chapter 1 draft, "The Planting of the Cross in Arkansas"

o    4. Undated: Chapters 1 and 2 drafts, "Planting of the Cross in Arkansas," "The Era of the Pioneer Missionaries"

o    5. Undated: Chapter 3 draft, "During the Interim"

o    6. Undated: Chapter 3 and 4 drafts,"During the Interim," "The Arkansas Missions in the Diocese of St. Louis"

o    7. Undated: Chapter 4 draft, "The Arkansas Missions in the Diocese of St. Louis"

o    8. Undated: Chapter 5 draft, "The Bishop Byrne Era"

o    9. Undated: Chapter 5 and partial chapter 6 drafts, "The Bishop Byrne Era," "The Bishop Fitzgerald Era"

o    10. Undated: Chapter 6 draft, "The Bishop Fitzgerald Era"

o    11. Undated: Chapter 8 draft, "Central Deanery"

o    12. Undated: Holy Ghost Fathers, chapter 8 information

o    13. Undated: Sacred Heart, Morrilton, chapter 8 information

o    14. Undated: Saint Joseph's, Conway, chapter 8 information

o    15. Undated: Saint Andrew's, Little Rock, chapter 8 information

o    16. Undated: Chapter 10 introduction, "West-Central Deanery"

o    17. Undated: Saint Scholastica's, New Blaine, chapter 10 information

o    18. Undated: Saints Peter and Paul, Morrison Bluff, chapter 10 information

o    19. Undated: Sacred Heart, Hartman, chapter 10 information

o    20. Undated: Chapter 12 draft, "North-eastern Deanery"

o    21. Undated: Saint John the Baptist, Engelberg, chapter 12 information

o    22. Undated: South-central deanery, unknown chapter

o    23. Undated: South-western deanery, unknown chapter

o    24. Undated: Saint John's Home Missions Seminary history

o    25. Undated: Notes for chapters 24-47 (Box 2)

o    26. Miscellaneous notes (Box 1)

·         27. 1934, 1947: Mississippi Valley Historical Review brochure, Bishops Byrne and Fitzgerald images, "The Guardian Silver Jubilee Edition" articles, Catholic Universty of America, Arkansas parish histories (Box 2)

·         28. 1869 August 19: Indenture, William W. Morrison to Mary E. Behus, signed Patrick May (attorney), George W. Clark (notary public), George W. McDiarmid (county clerk)

·         29. Bibliography cards

·         30. 1925: "The History of Catholicity in Arkansas"

·         31. 1932: The Catholic Church in Arkansas 1541-1843, dissertation by Frank Shaw Guy

·         32. 1934: Souvenir book, St. Edward's Church, Little Rock, golden jubilee

·         33. 1892 February 4: Arkansas Gazette, Bishop Fitzgerald's consecration (Box 3)

·         34. 1938 December 23: Pages from the Guardian, history of Morris Institute, Searcy

·         35. 1892: Articles, Bishop Fitzgerald's silver jubilee

·         36. Miscellaneous newsclippings