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John Warren Smith Papers

 Collection
Identifier: THR/01/2013.s009

Scope and Contents

The John Warren Smith Collection (1836-2009; ten boxes) contains materials documenting the history of John Warren Smith and the Smith family of Walker County, Texas. The Walker County probate and deed records include information that was used in the writing of John Warren Smith’s novel No Holier Spot ofGround published by Sam Houston State University’s Texas Review Press in 2004. The originalmanuscript and author’s notes for No Holier Spot of Ground are part of the collection, which also includes materials pertaining to many early Walker County residents, businesses, and historically significant incidents. Included are articles on the Trinity River and steamboat travel, early Huntsville newspaper clippings, early Texas and Walker County maps, information on Polk County, and material on the ghosttown of Cincinnati, Texas. The majority of the materials concern the Smith family of Walker County(Cincinnati) and includes information regarding Hood’s Texas Brigade, the yellow fever epidemic, slaves, the mentally ill, lawsuits, family wills, as well as photographs of family gravestones. Also included in the collection are early Sam Houston Normal Institute and Sam Houston Teachers College certificates and diplomas for Boyce O. Smith and Mary Traylor.

Dates

  • Creation: 1836 - 2009

Conditions Governing Access

Some materials in this collection are restricted due to personal content. Restrictions are noted at the file level.

Conditions Governing Use

The materials represented in this finding aid have been made available for research, teaching and private use. For these purposes, you may reproduce (print, make photocopies, or download) these items without prior permission on the condition that you provide proper attribution of the source in all copies.

Please contact the Newton Gresham Library's Special Collections and University Archives department to request permissions to reproduce materials for any other purpose, or to obtain information regarding the copyright status of a particular digital image, text, audio or video recording.

Extent

13 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

The collection contains documents, probate records, maps, pictures, articles, correspondence and the manuscript for the novel No Holier Spot of Ground: A Texas Story. Many of the items in this collection are the research materials collected in preparation for this book. The materials are arranged in the order previously assigned to them.

Author
Trent Shotwell
Date
2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Thomason Special Collections & SHSU University Archives Repository

Contact:
1830 Bobby K. Marks Drive
Huntsville TX 77341 US
9362941619