Lonette Bryant Cliburn Papers
Scope and Contents
The Lonette Cliburn Bryant papers include early correspondence between J. G. and Mattie (Rowell) Waldrup and her sister and brother, Bonnie and Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Rowell (Box 1; Folders 1-4). Residing in Jasper County, members of the Henry-Rowell-Waldrup families associated with Rev. William Thigpen and other members of the Thigpen family. Mattie asks about her two children, Cora and John A. Henry, who are residing with her mother, Barbara Rowell. Another child, Cammie Henry, lives with J. G. and Mattie Waldrup.
Materials relating to Cora Henry’s education and subsequent career as an elementary-school teacher are located in Box 1, Folders 5-22. Items include a horoscope from 1907, report cards from South Mississippi College in 1909, photographs of Cora and others likely taken on the campus of South Mississippi College, teaching licenses and contracts, and memorabilia from the State Teachers’ College, now the University of Southern Mississippi.
Levi Judson Bryant’s farming papers are located in Box 1, Folders 23-35, and they include land deeds, cotton sales receipts, poll tax receipts, a World War I registration card, World War II ration books for the L. J. Bryant family, and miscellaneous documents such as a 1910 letter from Parchman Prison.
Boxes 2 and 3 consist of the wartime correspondence between John Anthony Henry, Jr., and his sister, Cora E. Henry. The letters have been arranged chronologically, with undated letters in the back, and the locations from which Henry was writing have been labelled on each folder. Of particular interest are the postcards that Henry mailed to his sister. Copies were made of the letters in the collection, and the originals are sleeved in the back of each copy. Two oversized letters and a panoramic of Company F of the 1st Mississippi National Guard have been placed in a map case.
Dates
- Creation: 1887; 1901-1902; 1907-1909; 1913-1918; 1921; 1925-1944; 1946; 1948; 1955; undated
Creator
- Family of Levi Judson Bryant (Family)
- Family of Cora E. Henry (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
Noncirculating; available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).
Biographical / Historical
Cora E. Henry was born November 16, 1890 to John Anthony Henry, Sr., and Martha Rowell. When her father died in 1896, Martha remarried to J. G. Waldrup, and Cora and her brother, John Henry, Jr., went to live in the household of their maternal grandmother, Barbara Rowell in Jasper County, Mississippi. Around 1909, Cora attended South Mississippi College, later William Carey University, and she worked as an elementary teacher in Jones and Lamar Counties. Cora Henry married Levi Judson Bryant (1897-1988), a Lamar County farmer whose records are also in the collection. Cora Henry Bryant died March 3, 1974.
John Anthony Henry, Jr., was born February 8, 1896, and he served in Company F of the 1st Mississippi National Guard during World War I. Writing to his sister Cora from places like Camp Beauregard, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Camp Merritt, New Jersey; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; and France, Henry remarked on his life as a soldier during World War I. The colloquial letters discuss points of interest such as Henry’s daily activities at camp, his voyage to Europe, and his personal relationships. Of particular note are the war-era postcards Henry sent to his sister while in France. Following the war, Henry returned to Jasper County, Mississippi, and worked as a farmer. He died April 29, 1974.
Extent
1.50 Cubic Feet : MC2/D15
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Lonette Bryant Cliburn Papers consist of early twentieth-century documents, letters, and photographs that pertain to the Henry-Rowell-Waldrup and related families of Jasper County, Mississippi. This collection is of particular interest to researchers studying traditional farming in Mississippi, World War I correspondence, women’s roles in the early twentieth century, William Carey University, University of Southern Mississippi, and local Hattiesburg history.
Arrangement
The materials in the collection are organized into three subject areas: papers on Cora Henry Bryant, documents pertaining to Levi Judson Bryant and farming in Mississippi, and World War I letters between John Anthony Henry, Jr., and his sister, Cora Henry.
Provenance
Donated by Mrs. Lonette Bryant Cliburn, 2004.
Sources
“Dr. J. William Cliburn” Obituary. Hattiesburg American, September 4, 2015.
Lonette Bryant Cliburn Papers, M562, Historical Manuscripts, Special Collections, The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.
"Mississippi, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919," database, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZN-JHB1 : 24 August 2019), John A Henry, from 1917 to 1919; citing Military Service, Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.
"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9XV-Q2G : accessed 17 September 2019), Levi J Bryant in household of Joseph L Bryant Sr., Beat 5, Marion, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82, sheet 14B, family 234, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,819.
"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP8L-C9C : accessed 17 September 2019), John A Henry in household of Barbara A Rowel, Beat 5, Jasper, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 21, sheet 3A, family 22, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 744; FHL microfilm 1,374,757.
"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM1D-2XH : accessed 17 September 2019), Lebi J Bryant, Beat 3, Lamar, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 5, sheet 1A, line 10, family 2, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1152; FHL microfilm 2,340,887.
"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VYGT-P2C : 27 July 2019), B F Rowell, Beat 5, Jasper, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-15, sheet 4A, line 14, family 55, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2033.
"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBSS-3VS : 27 July 2019), L J Bryant, Baxterville, Beat 3, Lamar, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 37-5, sheet 61A, line 9, family 177, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2038.
"United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940," database, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QRXH-SBN2 : 14 January 2019), John Anthony Henry, 3 Jul 1919; citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers.
"United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3R7-P1K : 23 August 2019), Levi Judson Bryant, 1917-1918.
Photograph Log
M562-003 Group of women by building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-004 Two women embracing by building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-005 Two women posing at bench by building, probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-006 Two women gesturing in front of garden by building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-007 Two women by building, garden in background; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-008 Two women by building, garden in background; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-009 Four women in front of trees; probably at South Mississippi College 2 x 4 Negative undated
M562-010 Group of seven women outside building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-011 Group of four women outside building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-012 Group of five women standing by building, garden in background; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-013 Group of five women outside building; probably at South Mississippi College 2.5 x 3.5 Negative undated
M562-014 Cora E. Henry, probably at South Mississippi College; Reverse says: “I will remember you as long as I live and love you until I die, Cora E. Henry, Mississippi Normal College, Hattiesburg, Mississippi” 4.5 x 6.25 B & W ca. 1915
M562-015 Company F, 1st Infantry National Guard of Mississippi, July 22, 1916 (see Map Case MC2.D15) 10 x 12 B & W July 22, 1916
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Financial documents.
- Negatives.
- Teachers.
- Traditional farming.
- World War, 1914-1918.
- World War, 1939-1945.
Uniform Title
- Title
- Lonette Bryant Cliburn Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Collection processed and finding aid written by Jonathan Puckett
- Date
- 17 September 2019
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345
