April Digitization Clinics

In commemoration of the 110^th anniversary of the Arkansas History Commission and State Archives, the agency will host digitization clinics each Friday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in its conference room.

For the April digitization clinics, AHC staff invites the general public to bring in material appropriate for scanning on flatbed scanners or for photographing, such as documents, maps or photographs. AHC archivists will scan and save to CDs copies of scanned material for the public.  Members of the general public who choose to take advantage of this free scanning service will be asked to share the digital copies with the History Commission for research, exhibits and publication.  

“The digitization clinic is a modern twist on the way the History Commission built its collections from the beginning,” said Commission Director Dr. Lisa Speer. “Through the years, our collections have grown thanks to the foresight of historically minded citizens across Arkansas and the U.S. We still like receiving donations of historical manuscripts and records, but we recognize that not everyone is ready to donate their family papers and memorabilia. This digitization clinic provides them with an option to share the content, while maintaining the originals during their lifetime.”

The Arkansas History Commission was created during the 1905 session of the Arkansas General Assembly for the purpose of collecting and preserving Arkansas’s significant wealth of historic material. 

For additional information on the Arkansas History Commission and these clinics, please phone 501-682-6900 or email state.archives@arkansas.gov.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Pfauser-Walker Papers, MS.000191

Olive Walker (1899 April 16-1984 July 19), daughter of Alexander W. and Sallie J. Walker of Osceola, Arkansas, married Joseph F. Pfauser (1896 March 1-1977 March 20) of Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 16, 1917. The couple had two children: Virginia E. (1918 July 20-1984 February 17) and Francis William "Billy" (born 1920 October 13). Through the years, Joseph Pfauser worked at a variety of jobs, including serving as a machinist with Missouri Pacific Railroad, as a Fuller Brush salesman, and as an insurance salesman for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He operated a grocery store at Sixteenth and Jones in Little Rock and held other positions in retail businesses.

This collection contains correspondence and other material pertaining to the life of Olive Walker Pfauser. The older items belonged to the Walker family of Osceola, Arkansas, while the more recent documents describe Olive Pfauser's life in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 Finding aid:

• Personal correspondence
  
  • 1. 1882-1899 (Box 1)
  • 2. 1900-1911
  • 3. 1915
  • 4. 1916 January
  • 5. 1916 February
  • 6. 1916 March
  • 7. 1916 April
  • 8. 1916 May
  • 9. 1916 June (Box 2)
  • 10. 1916 July
  • 11. 1916 August
  • 12. 1916 September
  • 13. 1916 October
  • 14. 1916 November
  • 15. 1916 December
  • 16. 1917 January (Box 3)
  • 17. 1917 February
  • 18. 1917 March
  • 19. 1917 April
  • 20. 1917 May
  • 21. 1917 June
  • 22. 1917 July
  • 23. 1917 August (Box 4)
  • 24. 1917 September
  • 25. 1917 October
  • 26. 1917 November
  • 27. 1917 December
  • 28. 1918 January (Box 5)
  • 29. 1918 February
  • 30. 1918 March
  • 31. 1918 April
  • 32. 1918 May
  • 33. 1918 June
  • 34. 1918 July
  • 35. 1918 September
  • 36. 1918 October-December
  • 37. 1919
  • 38. 1920
  • 39. 1921
  • 40. 1922
  • 41. 1923
  • 42. 1924 (Box 6)
  • 43. 1925
  • 44. 1926
  • 45. 1927
  • 46. 1928
  • 47. 1929
  • 48. 1930
  • 49. 1931
  • 50. 1932
  • 51. 1933 (Box 7)
  • 52. 1934
  • 53. 1935
  • 54. 1936
  • 55. 1938
  • 56. 1939
  • 57. 1940
  • 58. 1943
  • 59. 1944-1955
  • 60. 1956-1967
  • 61. Undated
• Personal, miscellaneous
  
  • 62. Joseph F. Pfauser military records, 1918
  • 63. Pfauser family death certificates and funeral records, 1977 and 1984
  • 64. Postcards (Box 8)
  • 65. Postcards
  • 66. Christmas cards
  • 67. Christmas cards
  • 68. Miscellaneous greeting cards
• Legal/Financial
  
  • 69. Deeds, bills of sale, other, 1873-1951 (Box 9)
  • 70. Poll tax receipts, 1901-1921
  • 71. Tax receipts, 1873-1890
  • 72. Tax receipts, 1891-1910
  • 73. Tax receipts, 1911-1920
  • 74. Tax receipts, 1921-1930
  • 75. Tax receipts, 1931-1937
  • 76. Tax receipts (Oklahoma property), 1912-1932
  • 77. Ledger, "Building Checks," 1907-1911
  • 78. Receipts, invoices, 1894-1937
  • 79. Receipts, purchase of Oklahoma property, 1910-1913
• Other
  
  • 80. Religious activities
  • 81. Education
  • 82. Poems and songs (Box 10)
  • 83. Poems and songs
  • 84. Poetry scrapbook, in "Maury's Physical Geography"
  • 85. R.A. Belcher, 1917-1921
  • 86. Miscellaneous
  • 87. Miscellaneous
  • 88. Certificates and diplomas, 1911-1931 (Box 11)
  • 89. Calendars, 1929 (from Blue Ribbon Shoe Shop, Little Rock)
  • 90. Newspapers and clippings (including fragments of "Osceola Times," 1926 January 8 and 1943 February 26; and "The Guardian," 1952 May 30)
  • 91. Book: "The Boy's Cubbook," Boy Scouts of America, 1930
• Scrapbooks
  
  • 92. 1900-1912 (Osceola) (Box 12)
  • 93. 1912-1913 (Osceola)

March Issue of the Arkansas Archivist Newsletter

The Arkansas Archivist newsletter for the month of March is out!  Below are a few examples of what you'll find in this month's issue.  To see the full issue, please click here:  March Issue of the Arkansas Archivist

AHC Unveils New Women’s History Guide

Most of us know that Arkansas has had a long and unique history. Many people don’t always realize that Arkansas women, in particular, have had an equally unique and compelling past. They have, in fact, been political ground breakers and leaders in breaking the glass ceiling in the fight for equal rights.

The AHC Celebrates the Legacy of a Female Arkansan

This month we celebrate the role that women have played in the history of Arkansas. Arkansas has had many examples of women who have been leaders in important social and political movements. In fact, Arkansas had one of the first female mayors, Maud Duncan, in the United States.

Treasures from the Attic

Each month, the AHC highlights an archival document, photograph or an artifact from the personal collection of an AHC staff member. This month we feature a butter press owned by Archival Technician John Freshour.

Black History Commission News

February was a very busy month for African American History Coordinator Tatyana Oyinloye and the Black History Commission of Arkansas as we were traveling the state promoting African American history. Since February was Black History Month, we were in great demand.

Wednesday's Wonderful Collection - Rex F. Wehrfritz Papers, MS.000173

E.C. (Emil Cornelius) Wehrfritz was born April 14, 1847, at Schwabhausen, Germany, near Bingen-on-the-Rhine. He came to the United States where he resided in St. Louis, Missouri. Following the death of his brother Charles Edward Wehrfritz, who was naturalized at St. Louis in 1858, E.C. married Charles’ wife Elizabeth Berloing on July 4, 1868. In the spring of 1876, Wehrfritz and his family moved to Little Rock.

In July 1885, E.C. opened the Union Machine Works located between Markham and Second Streets. He became a naturalized citizen at Little Rock on September 25, 1906. Wehrfritz served several terms on the city council and ran unsuccessfully for mayor. He was a member of Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He also was president of the Little Rock Turn-Verein and director of the Mechanics' Loan and Building Association. E.C. Wehrfritz died at Little Rock on April 7, 1910.

This collection contains correspondence, business and financial papers, printed ephemera, photographs, scrapbooks, and information related to the Wehrfritz family of Little Rock, Arkansas, and the E.C. Wehrfritz Machinery and Supply Company and a series of postcards from Little Rock citizens on a tour of Europe and the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Finding aid:

• I. Correspondence (Box 1)
  
  • A. Postcards from E.C. (Emil Cornelius) and Elizabeth Wehrfritz on their trip to Europe and the Paris Exposition to Alex and Ola Wehrfritz, 1900
    
    • 1. 1900 May 20: Hamburg, Germany
    • 2. 1900 June 13
    • 3. 1900 June 24
    • 4. 1900 June 27: Germany
    • 5. 1900 July 4: Stuttgart, Germany
    • 6. 1900 July 10: Switzerland
    • 7. 1900 August 5: Cologne, Germany
    • 8. 1900 August 12: Paris, France
    • 9. 1900 August 19: Southampton, England
    • 10. 1900 September 5: New York
    • 11. 1901 September 17
  • B. General
    
    • 12. 1920 May 12: Karl Wehrfritz, Durtsch Wagram, to [E. C. Wehrfritz], Little Rock, Arkansas
    • 13. 1920 July 12: Unidentified, to E. C. Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
    • 14. 1920 November 22: Anna [U] Boetticher, to E.C. Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
    • 15. 1920 December 13: Karl jun Wehrfritz, Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien Deutsch Oster, Austria, to “Cousin”
    • 16. 1921 February 21: Karl Wehrfritz, Deutsche Wagram, Wien D. O.” [Austria], to Rex Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
    • 17. 1921 December 14: Karl Wehrfritz, Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien, D. O. Bockfluntr. N. 294 Austria, to Rex Wehrfritz
    • 18. 1922 July 2: Karl Wehrfritz, Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien Bockfluisstr 294 [Austria], to Rex Wehrfritz
    • 19. 1922 November 9: Postcard, Karl Wehrfritz, Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien D. O. Bockfluisstr N. 4, to Rex F. Wehrfritz
    • 20. 1925 January 21: Rex F. Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Edith Cortrecht, Abiline, Texas
    • 21. 1927 December 7: Karl Wehrfritz, Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien Ost. Bockfuisstr N. 4., to Rex F. Wehrfritz
    • 22. 1929 December 1: Karl Wehrfritz , Cacilia Wehrfritz, Karl Wehrfritz [Lohn], Rudolfini Wehrfritz Tochter, Deutsch Wagram b. Wien D. O. Bockfluisstr 294 Austria, to Rex F. Wehrfritz
    • 23. 1940 August: Ray [Wehrfritz], Los Angeles, California, to “Bro”
    • 24. Undated: Rex F. Wehrfritz, to Carl Wehrfritz
    • 25. Undated: Postcard, Karl [Wehrfritz], Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien D. O. Bockfluisstr 294, [Austria], to Rex F. Wehrfritz
    • 26. Undated: Postcard, Karl Wehrfritz Deutsch Wagram, Austria, b. Wien D.O. Bockfliesstr 294, [Austria], to Rex F. Wehrfritz
    • 27. Undated: [Karl Wehrfritz] to Rex F. Wehrfritz
• II. Business and financial papers
  
  • A. 1917 February 6: Stock: International Gradolph Electric Company
    
    • 1. 15 shares common-Mrs. M.V. Kirkland
    • 2. 15 shares preferred-Mrs. M.V. Kirkland
  • B. 1922 August 26: Letter of recommendation of R.F. Wehrfritz by B.N. Perry, Chief Accountant, Arrowhead Lake Company
  • C. 1925 December 2: Surety note, Mattie V. Wehrfritz
  • D. 1926 July 26: Statement of account, Dr. S.B. Hinkle
  • E. 1926 September 18: Cancelled check
  • F. 1926 September 23: Cancelled check
  • G. 1926 September 23: Statement of account, St. Vincent’s Infirmary
  • H. 1926 September 26: Statement of account, Dr. S.B. Hinkle
  • I. 1927 March 9: L.J. Rienhardt, San Pedro, California, to R.F. Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • J. 1930 December 26: New York American Investors' Service, to Rex F. Wehrfritz
  • K. 1931 October 5: Articles of incorporation of Rex Clothing Company
  • L. 1931 October 5: First meeting of incorporation of Rex Clothing Company
  • M. 1931 October 5: Stock, one share, Rex Clothing Company; owner, Edith Wehrfritz
  • N. 1939 August 28: List, meat market prices
  • O. 1941 November 7: Invoice, Pencil Supply Company, Incorporated
  • P. 1941 November 19: Eugene W. Sloan, Treasury Department, Washington, District of Columbia, to Rex Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Q. 1942 September 15: M. Desenberg, Flint, Michigan, to Rex F. Wehrfritz, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • R. 1942 September 21: List, meat market prices
  • S. Undated: List, meat market prices
  • T. Undated: Telegram, L.J. Rienhardt, San Pablo, Colorado, to R.F. Wehrfritz
• III. Legal papers
  
  • A. 1910 April 30: Letters testamentary appointing Alexander F. Wehrfritz Executor in and by the said Last will and testament of Emil Cornelius Wehrfritz (includes a copy of last will and testament)
  • B. 1913 May 5: Letters testamentary appointing Mattie Viola Wehrfritz Executrix in and by the said last will and testament of Alexander Ferdinand Wehrfritz (includes a copy of last will and testament)
  • C. 1917 April 24: Last will and testament of Elisabeth Wehrfritz. Also included are proof of will, probate record, and clerk's certificate of transcript.
• IV. Miscellaneous
  
  • A. Bulletin, First Baptist Church, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1902 September 27
  • B. Announcement (Invitation), Little Rock High School commencement exercises, 1917 May 31
  • C. Diploma, Rex F. Wehrfritz, Little Rock High School, 1917 June 1
  • D. Certificate of appointment and commission as notary public of Rex F. Wehrfritz, 1920 April 1
  • E. Certificate of appointment and commission as notary public of Rex F. Wehrfritz, 1926 June 18
  • F. Room ticket, William Sloan House, Young Men's Christian Association of New York, 1931 February 9
  • G. E.C. Wehrfritz Machinery and Supply Company Little Rock, Arkansas, undated
  • H. Pamphlet, Pound, Ira C. ,“A very sick world--a very sure remedy” and “the sure remedy for the world's ills,” undated
  • I. Announcement, International Committee for the Conservation of Manpower In War Industries... Announcing defense, training courses in safety engineering, undated
  • J. Birthday card, Teacher to Rex, undated
  • K. Two miscellaneous papers, undated
  • L. Postcard, Weissenburg in 1850, undated
  • M. Clipping: Arkansas Democrat, “Around the city” birth notice of Evelyn Inez Wehrfritz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.F. Wehrfritz, 1926 September 20
  • N. Clipping, Brings law suit against her son--Mrs. E. C. Wehrfritz alleges husband's estate was larger than supposed-makes charges against son, undated
• V. Scrapbooks (Box 2)
  
  • A. Scrapbook containing photos, clippings, citizenship certificate, letters, death announcement, obituary of Harvey Shofner, poem, report card, broadside, postcards, ribbon, church bulletin, bonds, financial papers (voucher, statement of account), marriage licenses, temporary identification card for traveling across Mexico border, cards, receipts, incorporation papers for the Rex Clothing Company, church related material, blood donor certificate, Little Rock commencement programs, birth certificate, marriage announcement, checks, list of flowers from funeral of Mattie Viola Wehrfritz, scholarship to Draughon's Practical Business College.
  • B. Baby book, Evelyn Inez Wehrfritz
  • C. Baby book, Evelyn Inez Wehrfritz

New Online Digital Collection - Arkansas Women's History

In commemoration of National Women’s History Month in March, the Arkansas History Commission is releasing an Arkansas Women’s History resource guide and a corresponding online digital collection.

Although the resource guide won’t be fully comprehensive, it will contain a large selection of sources from the AHC’s special collections, including manuscript collections and microfilm collections , as well as sources from books, photographs, and printed ephemera.

The online digital collection will be joining a number of other already existing collections, including historic Arkansas maps, postcards, a World War I collection and lesson plans. The Arkansas Women’s History digital collection will initially feature unique photographs focusing on Arkansas women’s history with additional items to be added in the coming months. Photographs include images of Charlotte Stephens, the first African American teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas women’s suffrage, female workers at Arkansas ordnance plants during World War II, war posters and other miscellaneous images. There are currently nine available resource guides, all of which can be accessed through our online digital collections. 

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

To access the collection, visit: http://ahc.digital-ar.org/…/landing…/collection/p16790coll14

You can access the resource guide at http://ahc.digital-ar.org/…/landing…/collection/p16790coll13

February Acquisitions and Accessions

Books, Printed Ephemera, etc.

AHC

Hopping on the Border:  The Life Story of a Bellboy, by Matt Thomas

Second Presbyterian Church Directories, 1925-1930, 1968

The Razorback Yearbook, 1923

The Razorback Yearbook, 1924

The Razorback Yearbook, 1925

Fort Smith High School Yearbook, 1921

NEARA

North Carolina, McDowell County, Marriage Records 1797-1869 by Frances T. Ingmire

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. VIII Essex County - Wills & Deeds: 1711-1714     Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. IX Essex County - Wills & Deeds: 1711-1714  Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. XVI Richmond County Records: 1692-1704, Deed Book No.1 1692-1693, Deed Book No. 2 1693-1696, Deed Book No.3 Lost, Misc. Records 1699-1704  Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. XVII Richmond County Records: 1704-1724 Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. XXI Henrico County – Southside: 1736 Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. XXIII Westmoreland County: 1653-1657 Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

Virginia Colonial Abstracts Vol. XXIX Essex County Records: 1703-1706  Abstracted by Beverley Fleet

North Carolina, Burke County, Marriage Records 1781-1868 by Frances T. Ingmire

A Survey of American Church Records by E. Kay Kirkham, IV Edition

A Survey of American Church Records by E. Kay Kirkham, Revised IV Edition

Beginner’s Guide to Family History Research, Third Edition by Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley

The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America by Henry Putney Beers

Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills

The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 3^rd Edition by Val D. Greenwood

1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer) Volume One: Central Region abstracted by Roger G. Ward

Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States, Third Edition, edited by

Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited by Arlene Eakle and John Cerny

Cemeteries of Grenada County, Mississippi and Surrounding Areas Volume I by Frances G. Martin

Netting your Ancestors: Genealogical Research on the Internet by Cyndi Howells

The Handybook for Genealogists, 8^th Edition

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: Will Abstracts, 1791-1868 & Tax Lists 1797-1799, 1806, 1807 by

Herman W. Ferguson and Ralph B. Ferguson

Genealogical Deed Abstracts, Books 10-14, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina by Herman W. Ferguson

DAR Library Catalog, Volume One, Second Revised Edition: Family Histories and Genealogies

DAR Library Catalog, Volume Two: State and Local Histories and Records

SARA

Periodicals

America’s Civil War, May 1993

America’s Civil War, January 2007

America’s Civil War, September 2007

America’s Civil War, March 2008

Civil War Historian, September/October 2006, Vol. 2, Issue 4

Civil War Historian, November/December 2006, Vol. 2, Issue 5

Civil War Historian, January/February 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 1

Civil War Historian, March/April 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 2

Civil War Historian, May/June 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 3

Civil War Historian, July/August 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 4

Civil War Historian, November/December 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 6

Civil War Historian, January/February 2008, Vol. 4, Issue 1

Civil War Times, February 1984

Civil War Times, April 1984

Civil War Times, May 1984

Civil War Times, June 1984

Civil War Times, March 1985

Civil War Times, April 1985

Civil War Times, May 1985

Civil War Times, November 1985

Civil War Times, December 1985

Civil War Times, Gettysburg special ed., 1985

Civil War Times, January 1986

Civil War Times, February 1986

Civil War Times, March 1986

Civil War Times, April 1986

Civil War Times, June 1986

Civil War Times, December 1986

Civil War Times, January 1987

Civil War Times, May 1987

Civil War Times, Summer 1987

Civil War Times, October 1987

Civil War Times, December 1987

Civil War Times, January 1988

Civil War Times, March 1988

Civil War Times, September 1988

Civil War Times, October 1988

Civil War Times, November 1988

Civil War Times, January 1989

Civil War Times, April 1989

Hallowed Ground, Spring 2006, Vol.7, No. 1

Southern Partisan, Summer 1985, Vol. V, No. 3

Southern Partisan, Winter 1986, Vol. VI, No. 1

Virginia Country’s Civil War, 1986, Vol. V

Accessions

AHC

The Tour: Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, 1 VHS

Photograph of the University of Arkansas Auditorium

NEARA

Genealogical County Map of the United States of America

United Methodist Church Arkansas Conference, 1.5 cu. ft.

SARA

2000 Watermelon Festival Papers, 0.5 cu. ft.

McRae Papers, 0.5 cu. ft.

Hempstead County Marriage Licenses, 0.125 cu. ft.