Selected Papers of Public Officials

Arkansas Congressional Delegation

The following list of collections provides an introduction to the holdings in Special Collections which may be related to this topic. OneSearch or contact Special Collections to obtain the latest information about additional holdings.

Papers of political figures are a significant part of the manuscript resources of Special Collections. These range from a single manuscript letter written by John C. Calhoun in 1819 to the extensive J. William Fulbright Papers, containing over 1,400 linear feet of material.

These collections provide research materials for many topics and are frequently used by faculty and students from the University campus as well as other institutions, by government agencies, journalists, students of local history and genealogy, and others. They provide information on topics of interest to Arkansans, such as flood control, transportation, and school desegregation, as well as insight into issues such as state and national political parties, political rhetoric, anti-Communism, and the Vietnam War.

A wide variety of formats is found in these collections, including photographs, audio and video recordings, and scrapbooks in addition to files of correspondence, speeches, and office documents of many kinds. Special Collections continues to acquire papers of public figures and inquiries about our holdings in this area are always welcome.

The information about papers of public officials is arranged in three lists.

NOTE that access to a few collections is restricted, and requires the permission of the donor.

Collections of Public Officials

Beryl Anthony
1979-1986 (approx. 40 linear feet) U.S. Representative 1979-1993. Unprocessed.
James H. Berry
(MC 100 and MC 744) 1905-1913 (121 items) State Representative 1866-1874 (Speaker 1874), Circuit Court Judge 1878-1882, Governor 1883-1885, U.S. Senator 1885-1907.
Ed Bethune
1978-1984 (approx. 350 linear feet) Prosecuting Attorney 1970-1971, Republican nominee for Arkansas Attorney General 1972, U.S. Representative 1979-1985, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate 1984. Unprocessed.
Maurice "Footsie" Britt
(MC 1238) 1920-1993 (3 linear feet) Lieutenant Governor 1967-1971.
Charles Hillman Brough
(Loc. 5+) 1895-1935 (9 linear feet & 6 microfilm reels) Governor 1917-1921. Brough also served as chair of the Virginia-District of Columbia Boundary Commission and was a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Dale Bumpers
1974-1999 (approx. 1,500 linear feet) Governor (1971-1975) and U.S. Senator (1979-1999). Unprocessed.
Hattie Wyatt Caraway
(Loc. 293-295) 1884-1950 (82 items) U.S. Senator 1931-1945. First woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
August Barnwell Clark
(MC 576 and MC 704) 1931-1940 (954 items) Mayor of Texarkana 1931-34.
Edward Cross
(Loc. 1456) 1838-1857 (one-half linear foot) U.S. Superior Court Judge for Arkansas Territory 1832-1836, U.S. Surveyor General for Arkansas 1836-1838, U.S. Representative 1839-1845, State Supreme Court Judge 1845-1855, Arkansas State Attorney General 1874. Also, in Periodicals Room at Mfilm F 411.C76
Jeff Davis
(MC 718) 1849-1986 (6 linear feet) Prosecuting Attorney 1888-1894, Attorney General 1898-1900, Governor 1901-1907, U.S. Senator 1907-1913.
George W. Donaghey
(Loc. 233+) 1870-1947 (356 items) Governor 1909-1913.
Benjamin T. DuVal
(MC 1212) 1816-1957 State Representative 1858-1861 and 1895-1896.
Fontaine Richard Earle
(MC 68 and MC 192) 1861-1908 (4 boxes and 1 interview) State Senate 1866-1867. Also, in Periodicals Room at Mfilm E 605 .E23.
Henry Clay East
(MC 189) 1934-1973 Marshall of Tyronza, Ark.
Clyde T. Ellis
(Loc. 804+) 1933-1976 (13 linear feet) State Representative 1933-1935, State Senator 1935-1939, U.S. Representative 1939-1943, Executive Manager of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 1943-1968, Special Consultant to the Secretary of Agriculture 1968-1969, Special Assistant to Senator John L. McClellan 1971-1974. Description in Onesearch
Orval Eugene Faubus
(Loc. C199+) 1910-1978 (504 linear feet) Madison County Circuit Clerk 1939-1942, State Highway Commissioner 1949-1951, Director of Highways 1952-1953, Governor 1955-1967.
J. William Fulbright
1932-1983 (1400 linear feet) U.S. Representative 1943-1945, U.S. Senator 1945-1974, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1959-1974.
Nathan Gordon
(MC 1004) 1852-1989 (3.2 linear feet) Lieutenant Governor 1947-1967.
John Wellington Grabiel
(Loc. 722) 1916-1928 (60 items) Republican candidate for Governor 1922 and 1924.
John Paul Hammerschmidt
ca. 1940-1992 (approx. 1300 linear feet) U. S. Representative 1967-1992.
James Millinder Hanks
(MC 1335) 1965-1909 First District Judge 1864-1868, U.S. Representative 1861-1873. Also, diaries in Periodicals Room at Mfilm F 411 .H2 1981. Finding aid online. Oren Harris (off site) 1926-1966 (165 linear feet) Prosecuting Attorney 1936-1940, U.S. Representative 1941- 1966, U.S. Western District Judge 1966-1997.
L. Brooks Hays
(Loc. C1+) 1844-1978 (52 linear feet) State Assistant Attorney General 1925-1929, Democratic National Committeeman 1932-1939, candidate for Governor 1928, 1930, 1966, candidate for Congress Arkansas 1933, U.S. Representative 1943-1959, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations 1961, Special Assistant and Counsel (1961-1966) to the President, candidate for Congress from North Carolina 1972.
Oren Harris
(off site) 1926-1966 (165 linear feet) Prosecuting Attorney 1936-1940, U.S. Representative 1941- 1966, U.S. Western District Judge 1966-1997.
George W. Hays
(Loc. 212+) 1881-1927 (296 items) Governor 1913-1917.
Morriss M. Henry
(MC 542) 1970-1985 (20 1/2 linear feet) State Representative 1967-1971, State Senator 1971-1985. Finding aid online.
Michael Pleasant Huddleston
(Loc. 1490) 1897-1917 (one-half linear foot) State Senator 1901-1904, Prosecuting Attorney 1912-1916.
Daniel W. Lewis
1874-1984 (86 items) State Representative 1880-1882, Crittenden County Judge 1882-1884.
Benjamin F. Little
(MC 1077) 1862-1918 (144 items) Sheriff of Washington County 1868-1872.
Sidney S. McMath
(MC 899) ca. 1880-1989 (12 linear feet) Governor 1948-1953.
Thomas Chipman McRae
(Loc. 89+) 1879-1929 (1,434 items) State Representative 1877, U.S. Representative 1885-1903, Governor 1921-1924.
John Elvis Miller
(MC 279 and MC 1358) 1917-1981 (2 linear feet) U.S. Representative 1931-1937, U.S. Senate 1937-1941, U.S. Western District Judge 1941-1967.
William F. and Catherine D. Norrell
(MC 1236) ca. 1938-1981 (approx. 15 linear feet) He served as a U.S. Representative 1939-1961. She served as a U.S. Representative 1961-1965.
Willie Oates
(MC 732) 1928-1985 (2 linear feet) State Representative 1959-1960.
William A. Oldfield
(MC 1007) ca. 1910 (law case book) U.S. Representative 1909-1928.
Harvey Parnell
(MC 80 and Loc. 96+) 1928-1932 (111 items) Lieutenant Governor 1928-1929, Governor 1928-1933.
David W. Peel
1918-1977 (134 items) Mayor of Bentonville 1932-1936.
David Pryor
ca. 1945-1978 (approx. 140 linear feet) State Representative 1961-1966. U.S. Representative 1966- 1972, Governor 1975-1979, U.S. Senator 1979-1997.
Hiram Heartsill Ragon, Sr.
1915-1962 (one-half linear foot) U.S. Representative 1923-1933. Also pertains to his son H. H. Ragon, Jr., who was Prosecuting Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Arkansas, 1942, and State Representative 1943-1948.
Harmon Liveright Remmel, Sr.
(Loc. B 526+) 1879-1927 (7 linear feet; 3 scrapbooks and 2 boxes) Leader of the state Republican party from the 1890s through the 1920s, and candidate for Governor.
Daniel Harris Reynolds
(Loc. 112) 1861-1892 (132 items) State Senator 1866-1867.
Joseph Taylor Robinson
(Loc. B 526+) 1900-1954 (216 linear feet) State Representative 1895-1896, U.S. Representative 1903-1913, Governor 1913, U.S. Senator 1913-1937, Senate Minority Leader 1923-1933, Senate Majority Leader 1933-1937, Chairman of the Democratic National Convention 1920, 1928, 1936, and candidate for Vice-President 1928.
Logan Holt Roots
(Loc. 1491+) 1842-1907 (3 linear feet) U.S. Representative 1868-1871.
Elsijane Trimble Roy
(MC 1394) 1944-1999 (11 linear feet) Sixth District judge 1966-1967, Arkansas Supreme Court 1975-1977, Judge Eastern District of the Eighth U.S. Judicial Court 1977-1988. Arkansas's first woman judge and first woman appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Andrew J. Russell
(MC 898) 1886-1956 (l microfilm reel) State Representative 1911-1913, also served as mayor of Green Forest and of Berryville.
Lee A. Seamster
(MC 637) 1880-1981 (2 linear feet) Chancery Judge 1924-1942, 1949-1950, State Representative 1919-1920, 1947-1948, Chief Justice State Supreme Court 1955- 1957.
Vada Webb Sheid
(MC 930) 1934-1987 (13 linear feet) State Representative 1967-1976, State Senator 1977-1985.
William Sulzer
(Loc. 133) 1863-1941 (1 scrapbook) Governor of New York, Jan. 1913-Oct. 1913 (impeached).
James W. Trimble
(MC 557) 1854-1984 (10 1/2 linear feet) U.S. House of Representatives 1944-1966.
David Walker
(MC 11 and MC 584). 1841-1879 (94 items) State Supreme Court 1848-1857, 1866-1868, 1874-1878, President of the Arkansas Secession Convention 1861. Finding aids online
Henry Woods
(MC 1386) ca. U.S. Eastern District Court, 1980- .

Collections of Political Organizations

Arkansas Archives of Public Communication
1890-1996 (MC 942) ca. 1970s-1980s (approx. 69 linear feet) Audio tapes, videotapes, political memorabilia, reports, and research files.
Broadside Collection
Of the 962 items currently in this collection, hundreds are indexed under Congressmen, Governors, Politics and Government, Senators, names of political parties, names of individuals, and more.
Clyde D. Dollar Political Convention Materials
(MC 216) 1952 (54 items) Pamphlets, clippings, campaign literature, and other materials collected at the 1952 Democratic and Republican national conventions.
Good Government League Papers
(Loc. 945) 1933-1936 (42 items) Correspondence, notes, and legal documents pertaining to this group's efforts to reform alleged political corruption in Fayetteville.
League of Women Voters
(MC 476, MC 934, MC 966 +) 1952-1987 (approx. 17 linear feet) Correspondence, minutes, annual reports, and other records from the state league and from local groups in Pine Bluff, Conway and Washington County (MC 606). Pulaski County Democratic Central Committee (MC 1126) 1882-1896 (1 volume) Record book contains minutes, clippings, and other reports.
Republican Party State Committee Records
(Loc. 969+) 1896-1933 (9 linear feet) Correspondence, reports, minutes, scrapbooks, and other material pertaining to the Republican party in Arkansas.

Public Officials by Office (in chronological order by first term of office)

Governors

James H. Berry (1883-1885), Jeff Davis (1901-1907), George W. Donaghey (1909-1913), Joseph T. Robinson (1913), George W. Hays (1913-1917), Charles Hillman Brough (1917-1921), Thomas Chipman McRae (1921-1925), Harvey Parnell (1928-1933), Sidney S. McMath (1949-1953), Orval Faubus (1955-1967), David Pryor (1975-1979).

Lieutenant Governors

Harvey Parnell (1927-1928), Nathan Gordon (1947-1967), Maurice "Footsie" Britt (1967-1971).

State Representatives

Benjamin T. Duval (1858-1861, 1895-1896), James H. Berry (1866-1867, 1873-1874), Thomas Chipman McRae (1877-1878), Daniel W. Lewis (1883-1884), Joseph T. Robinson (1895-1896), Andrew J. Russell (1911-1912), Lee A. Seamster (1919-1920), Hiram Heartsill Ragon, Sr. (1911-1914), Clyde T. Ellis (1933-1935), Hiram Heartsill Ragon, Jr. (1943-1948), Willie Oates (1959-1960), David Pryor (1961-1966), Vada Webb Sheid (1967-1976), Morriss M. Henry (1967-1970).

State Senators

David Walker (1840-1844), Fontaine Richard Earle (1866-1867), Daniel Harris Reynolds (1866-1867), Michael P. Huddleston (1901-1904), William F. Norrell (1931-1939), Clyde T. Ellis (1935-1939), David Pryor (1961-1966), Morriss M. Henry (1971-1984), Vada Webb Sheid (1977-1984).

Local Officials

August Barnwell Clark (Mayor, Texarkana), Benjamin F. Little (Sheriff, Washington County), David W. Peel (Mayor, Bentonville), Andrew J. Russell (Mayor, Green Forest and Berryville).

United States Representatives

Edward Cross (1839-1845), Logan Holt Roots (1868-1871), James Millinder Hanks (1871-1873), Thomas Chipman McRae (1885-1903), Joseph T. Robinson (1903-1913), William A. Oldfield (1909-1928), Hiram Heartsill Ragon, Sr. (1923-1933), John Elvis Miller (1931-1937), Clyde T. Ellis (1939-1943), William F. Norrell (1939-1961), Oren Harris (1941-1966), J. William Fulbright (1943-1945), L. Brooks Hays (1943-1959), James W. Trimble (1945-1967), Catherine D. Norrell (1961-1963), David Pryor (1966-1973), John Paul Hammerschmidt* (1967-1993), Ed Bethune* (1979-1985), Beryl Anthony* (1979-1993).

United States Senators

James H. Berry (1885-1907), Jeff Davis (1907-1913), John Elvis Miller (1937-1941), Joseph T. Robinson (1913-1937), Hattie Wyatt Caraway (1931-1945), J. William Fulbright (1945-1974), Dale Bumpers (1975-1999), David Pryor (1979-1997), Edward Cross (1830-1836, 1945-1855), James David Walker (1879-1885), James Millinder Hanks (1864-1868), Daniel W. Lewis (1882), James H. Berry (1878-1882), Lee A. Seamster (1924-1942, 1949-1950, 1955-1957), James W. Trimble (1938-1944), Oren Harris (1966-1997), Henry Woods, (1980- )

Original brochure prepared by Andrea E. Cantrell and Leon C. Miller. rev. 6/28/93, 5/1995, 1/1997, 3/16/00.