This is a partial list of what can be found at Southwest Collection Museum, will add more as I find them.
Brummett, Craig and Gwen
Papers, 1927-1998
1 wallet (0.1 linear feet) Item is a manuscript of a long-standing regional law firm with origins in early Dickens, Texas. It was founded by H. A. C. Brummett. Craig Brummett is the grandson of H. A. C. Brummett, an early Dickens lawyer and judge. Gwen is the daughter-in-law of H. A. C. Brummett Dickens Cattle Corporation (Texas)
Records, 1951-1970
2 microfilm reels : negative Contains general correspondence, general office files, legal documents, stock certificates, financial files and contracts, and a copy of the Tri-County News for November 17, 1970; all of which relate to the Dickens Cattle Corporation.
Created out of Division 8 of the Matador Land and Cattle Company, Dickens Cattle operated in Motley, Cottle, Dickens, Crosby, and Floyd counties until 1953, when its outstanding securities and land were purchased by W. J. Collier, with whom Rex Robinson was a silent partner. At that time the corporation was dissolved. Espuela Land and Cattle Company, Ltd. Records, 1880-1979
31,711 leaves Consists of correspondence, legal documents, financial records and journals. The collection bulks (1885-1909) with financial records relating to the operation of the Spur Ranch. The correspondence includes several letters from leading ranchers, and the journals detail the daily routine of ranching. The Espuela Land and Cattle Company, Ltd., a British syndicate, founded the Spur Ranch in the early 1880s. The ranch was located in Dickens, Kent, Crosby, and Garza counties of West Texas and encompassed approximately 439,000 acres. Formby, Marshall Clinton Papers, 1883-1989 and undated 102 boxes (102 linear feet) Includes correspondence, printed material, legal and financial material, literary productions, photographs, and scrapbook material pertaining to the career of Marshall Formby and his interests and activities in law, politics, business, higher education, the military, and religious and civic organizations in Texas and throughout the United States. The collection bulks (1930-1980) with correspondence and printed material pertaining to his terms as county judge, state senator, and Texas Highway Commissioner. Of particular interest are materials concerning state and federal highway programs, Texas Tech University, and Texas politics. An attorney, politician, newspaper publisher, and radio executive, Formby was born in 1911 in Commo, Hopkins County, Texas. He received a B.A. from Texas Technological College (1932); an M.A. from the University of Texas (1937); and a J.D. from Baylor University (1951). He served as county judge of Dickens County, Texas (1937-1940); Texas State Senator, Lubbock District (1941-1945); Texas Highway Commission (1953-1959); Texas Turnpike Authority; and on the Board of Regents of Texas Tech University (1967-1971). Formby was also a newspaper publisher and owned or co-owned numerous radio stations in Texas including KPAN in Hereford; KFLD in Floydada; KTVE in Tulia; KSML in Seminole; KACT in Andrews and KLVT in Levelland. He died in 1984 in Plainview, Texas. Formby, Marshall Clinton Papers, 1998-1999
1 box (1 linear foot) Manuscript materials (rough drafts, proofs) dealing with the Marshall Formby book "These Were His People" which was typed by Frances Seales and edited by Preston Lewis and H. Allen Anderson. The book published Eakin Press contains typed samples of the written journals that Mr. Formby kept for so many years. Also includes floppy disks of the manuscripts, some correspondence between the publisher and the Texas Tech Library Development Office. Frances Seales is the daughter of Marshall and Sharleen Formby. Marshall Formby was a lawyer, land owner, and politician. He and his wife owned several radio stations in the West Texas region such as KFLD in Floydada. He was a member of the Texas Tech Board of Directors/Regents for several years. He passed away in 1984 in Plainview, Texas. Sharleen Formby remarried and lives in Midland, Texas with Harvey Rhoads. The original journals are housed at the Southwest Collection. Formby, Marshall and Sharleen Formby Rhoads Papers, 1860-1998 and undated 148 boxes and 4 oversized materials (170.2 linear feet) Is comprised of Marshall Formby and Sharleen Rhoads personal and professional materials of correspondence, speech files, radio station files, travel files, newsclipping files, scrapbook materials, and memorabilia. The files are in alphabetical order. Sharleen Wells Formby Rhoads was the wife of the late Marshall Formby who was a Texas politician, farmer, attorney, and former member of the Texas Tech Board of Directors. � Sharleen Wells was born in Barberton, Ohio in September 30, 1918. She married Marshall in Seale, Alabama on September 8, 1946. She graduated from Breward Junior College as an English major in 1940. She taught at the Army War College in Washington, D. C. She even attended the University of Texas graduated school where she took courses in radio communication. In August 1947, the Formby Family moved to Plainview, Texas. They owned several radio stations in the West Texas region such as KFLD in Floydada and KPAN in Hereford. Gardner, Dan
Papers, 1897 1 microfilm reel (20 ft.)negative Includes a diary concerned with life, events, and transactions on the Pitchfork Ranch for 1897, when Gardner was general manager. Gardner was the co-founder and first general manager of the Pitchfork Ranch in Dickens and King counties, Texas. Green, John DuffPapers, 1988 1 wallet (0.1 linear feet) A single manuscript titled "Recollections" edited by Joan Green Lawrence concerning her grandfather John Duff Green about his experiences and knowledge of the American West and Texas. John Duff Green was born in 1874 in Lampasas County, Texas. His family was originally from Virginia and they moved after the Civil War. The family finally moved to Dickens County, Texas in 1891. In 1891 he married Myra Kelly a school teacher and they settled in Motley County, Texas after purchasing some land. Mr. Green worked as a cowboy on a number of ranches and he compiled a seven volume manuscript on his life experiences using a typewriter. He died in 1960 and Myra died in 1973. Jones, Charles Adam Papers, 1933-1934
1 microfilm reel (30 ft.) negative Consists of an unpublished 380 page typescript of Jones´ memoirs of his life and career, plus a 26 page picture album of family photographs. Born April 21, 1861, at Rome, Georgia, Jones went to the frontier at age 17 and for six years owned and published the Delores News at Rico, Colorado. He joined his father in managing the National Water Works at Kansas City and later became general purchasing agent for the Armor Packing Company in Chicago. Jones married Virginia Bartlett in 1884 and the couple had two sons, Clifford B. and Hoyt Jones. He became the manager of the Swenson Company´s Spur Ranch in 1907, laid out the town of Spur, Texas, and became its bank´s first president. Jones founded Freeport, Texas, in 1913 and supervised the construction of the Freeport Sulfur Company. As vice-president of that firm, he resided in New York City from 1920 until his retirement in 1927. He relocated, briefly, to Los Angeles, California, where he wrote his memoirs, and then spent his last years in Spur. He died at Spur on November 25, 1934. Jones, Clifford Bartlett Papers, 1814-1972 247,747 leaves (51 boxes) Includes correspondence, legal material, financial material, photographs, genealogical material and newsclippings relating to the business, educational and personal activities of Clifford B. Jones. The collection bulks (1919-1972) with materials pertaining to Texas Technological College and the Spur Ranch. Of special interest are pamphlets of the White Citizens Council, a segregationist group. A businessman, ranch manager and college president, Jones was born in 1885 in Rico, Colorado. He was a manager of the Spur Ranch in Dickens County, Texas, from 1913-1939. Jones was also instrumental in the establishment of Texas Technological College, served on the original Board of Directors, and was the third president of the college from 1939-1944. He was a member of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce and the Good Roads Movement. Active in land sales and colonization, banking and politics, and numerous social, historical and fraternal organizations, Jones died in 1972 in Lubbock, Texas. Jones, Clifford Bartlett Papers, 1891-1965 and undated 1 wallet (0.2 linear feet) Collection contains mostly printed material collected by Clifford B. Jones. Dr. Clifford B. Jones was President of Texas Technological College from 1938-1944. He was also ranch manager of the Spur Ranch in Dickens County, Texas from 1913-1939. Jones died in 1972 in Lubbock, Texas. Reference#761. Matador Land and Cattle Company Records, 1880-1960 350,000 leaves Records are divided into five series that encompass the activities of the home office in Dundee, Scotland (1881-1952), the American offices in Denver (1880-1954), Trinidad, Colorado (1890-1926), the headquarters of the Matador (1880-1961), and Alamositas (1899-1953). The collection includes financial and legal material, land records, payrolls, herd books, range diaries, Board of Director&acs minutes, correspondence between the Dundee, Scotland office and American offices and ranches, and correspondence among the British investors. Correspondence between the managers and division superintendents include: Murdo Mackenzie, Alexander Mackay, Alfred Markham Britton, Henry Harrison Campbell, William Sommerville, Arthur B. Ligertwood, John MacBain, J.M. Jackson, John Mackenzie, Maurice J. Reilly, Lewis F. Robertson and John V. Stevens. Also included is Murdo Mackenzie´s correspondence from Brazil when he served as manager of the Brazil Land, Cattle, and Packing Company from 1912 to 1917. Established in 1879 by Alfred Markham Britton, Henry Harrison Campbell, and associates, the ranch covered one and a half million acres in Motley, Cottle, Floyd, and Dickens counties of Texas. In 1882 the founders sold their cattle and range rights to a syndicate based in Dundee, Scotland. Additional acreage was leased in south central Kansas, the Texas Panhandle, Canada, South Dakota, and Montana, and by 1933, the Matador´s Texas holdings totaled nearly 900,000 acres. With rare exceptions, during periods of drought, substantial dividends were paid annually. Company stocks increased from an original $ .70 to $23.70 per share in 1951, when the stockholders sold their shares to Lazard Brothers and Company. Principals in the ranches´ operations included manager Murdo Mackenzie, and the company secretary in Scotland, Alexander Mackay. Reference #908. Parr, Virgil V. Papers, 1921-1935 755 leaves Contains correspondence, financial material, legal material, minutes, literary productions, and printed and scrapbook material relating to Parr´s life and career as a ranch manager and school board official. Also includes a short autobiographical sketch on his early life and career. Parr served as manager of the Pitchfork Ranch and later as secretary of the Wichita Consolidated School Board of Trustees in Dickens County, Texas. Originally from Gonzales County, Texas, Parr graduated from Texas A&M University in 1914 with a degree in animal husbandry. Parr also served in France during World War I. Reference #934. Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company Records, 1837-1976 54,448 leaves 1 : microfilm reel (90 ft.) ; negative Contains correspondence (1877-1976), legal documents (1837-1964), financial material (1886-1979), maps and charts (1954 and undated), and diaries (1953-1964). Also includes scrapbook material, printed material, news releases, speeches, minutes and an agenda, a literary production, news clippings, photographs, and general files. Organized in 1881 by D.B. Gardner and Eugene F. Williams, the enterprise was incorporated in 1883 as the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company. Management of the company operations continues today by the same family under the same corporate structure, and is headquartered near Guthrie, Texas. The Ranch has also operated divisions near Laramie, Wyoming, and Eskridge, Kansas. Reference #955. Ratliff, O. B. Papers, 1946 25 leaves Contains newsclippings and a speech written, and given, by O.B. Ratliff to the Texas Technological College graduating class of 1946. Also includes a biographical sketch of Ratliff´s brother, Dennis Pace Ratliff. A Dickens County, Texas, lawyer and newspaper publisher, Ratliff attended Texas Technological College from 1929-1931. A graduate of the University of Texas, Ratliff was admitted to the Texas bar in 1936. He is the owner and publisher of the Texas Spur and Dickens County Times newspapers. Ratliff was appointed to the Texas Technological College Board of Directors by Governor Coke Stevenson in 1943--the youngest man ever to serve in this capacity. Reference #997. Rodgers, Irene VanLeer Papers, 1900-1970 126 leaves Includes correspondence, financial and legal material, photographs, newsclippings, and literary productions pertaining to ranch life, cattle, cowboys, the Rodgers family, school experiences, and political offices and events of Kent, Garza, and Dickens counties. The collection bulks (1902-1970) with related newsclippings. Of particular interest are photos of the Spur Inn, (ca. 1910), the school house and students of Dickens, Texas (ca. 1910), and other photos of early residents and structures of Garza, Kent, and Dickens counties of Texas. A homemaker, and County Treasurer of Garza County, Texas, Irene Rodgers was educated in a one-room school house in Dickens County, Texas. She married Norman Nonnie Rodgers, a rancher in Kent County, Texas, in 1906; the couple moved to Post, Texas, in 1922. Mr. Rodgers died in 1936. Irene Rodgers was appointed Deputy County Clerk of Garza County in 1939, and elected County Treasurer in 1941. Spur Inn Records, 1910-1911 190 leaves Contains the first hotel guest register, plus a few remarks by Dr. Clifford B. Jones. The register dates from the September 3, 1910, opening to August 27, 1911. The inn was built in Spur, Texas, in 1910 by the Swenson interests, and was originally designed by architects C.S. Oats and E.J. Holderness in the Spanish Revival style. The inn burned in 1924, was rebuilt by the Swensons, and burned again in 1964. The site is now occupied by a supermarket.
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