Lockmiller, David A. (1906-2005), Papers, 1880-1964 (C405)

.2 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

The papers of the biographer of General Enoch H. Crowder, administrator of the Selective Service during World War I and ambassador to Cuba, primarily consist of correspondence from the 1940s and 1950s pertaining to the biography. The papers also include correspondence written to Crowder from prominent political and military figures, publicity materials, book reviews, and miscellaneous records. See also C1046, the Enoch H. Crowder Papers.

DONOR INFORMATION

David A. Lockmiller donated his papers to the University of Missouri on 19 August 1997 (Accession No. 5758).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

David A. Lockmiller was born in Athens, Tennessee, 30 August 1906. He earned degrees from Emory University (B.Ph., M.A., LL.D.), Cumberland University (LL.B., LL.D), and the University of North Carolina (Ph.D.). Lockmiller practiced law in Monett, Missouri, for five years before he entered the field of higher education. He rose through the ranks at North Carolina State College and became chairman of the Department of History and Political Science in 1941. One year later he accepted the presidency of the University of Chattanooga, a position he held until 1959, when he became president of Ohio Wesleyan University. He also served as an officer of several academic and civic organizations and was selected Chattanooga's Man of the Year for 1953.

Lockmiller spent approximately fifteen years researching and writing Enoch H. Crowder: Soldier, Lawyer and Statesman, which was published by the University of Missouri Studies in 1955. Lockmiller's other writings include Magoon in Cuba; A History of the Second Intervention, 1906-1909; and Sir William Blackstone.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The David A. Lockmiller Papers are arranged by material type. Correspondence is organized alphabetically by the writer, and then chronologically. The inclusive dates are 1880 to 1964, although significant gaps are present. Most items are circa 1940-1941 or 1955-1956. Some of the papers have been removed from scrapbooks and placed into folders.

Correspondence of Enoch Crowder comprises folder 1. These items span the years from 1916 to 1931 and the authors are noted political or military leaders. They include U.S. presidents Calvin Coolidge and William H. Taft; Cuban presidents Jose M. Gómez, Gerardo Machado and Mario García Menocal; and generals Peyton C. March and John J. Pershing. Most correspondence pertains to Crowder's role in developing the Selective Service, his work in Cuba, and his retirement from public service. Two letters by Pershing are significant because they reveal his personal thoughts on the U.S. Army's Punitive Expedition into Mexico and the role of the United States in World War I, respectively. Also included in folder 1 is a proclamation by George V, naming Crowder an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order.

Folders 2-9 contain correspondence that Lockmiller compiled during the writing and publishing of the biography. Letters dated 1940 or 1941 are typically responses elicited by Lockmiller for background information on Crowder. Letters dated 1955 or 1956 are typically notes of gratitude and congratulation. Most letters are brief, although several are quite lengthy. The authors most prominently featured are: Frank L. Anders, Roscoe S. Conkling, John D. Langston, Jesse I. Miller, Matthew F. Steele, and Ruth Rollins Westfall. Other notable writers are John Foster Dulles, Lewis B. Hershey, Charles Evans Hughes, Peyton C. March, George C. Marshall, Pershing, and Henry L. Stimson. Hershey's letter includes a copy of the forward to Lockmiller's book. Enclosures feature several photographs, including one of a Columbia, Missouri, tennis club organized by Crowder in the late 1880s.

Folder 10 contains publicity materials relating to the biography. Included is a script of a radio program based upon the book and a fourteen-page news release by the University of Missouri Office of Public Information.

Folder 11 comprises reviews of Lockmiller's book. Most clippings have been photocopied for preservation purposes. Publications represented include: the American Bar Association Journal, the Hispanic American Historical Review, the Los Angeles Times, the North Carolina Historical Review, and Selective Service. One unusual item is a three-page review in Spanish by a Cuban publication.

Clippings, a typed list of periodicals, two photos, a poem, and examples of Crowder's signature compose folder 12. One of the photos shows Hershey, Langston, and an unknown officer; the other photo is of Lockmiller.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1Crowder Correspondence, Baker-Taft
f. 2Lockmiller Correspondence, Adjutant General's Office-Clark
f. 3Lockmiller Correspondence, Conkling-Ellis
f. 4Lockmiller Correspondence, Folts-Horn
f. 5Lockmiller Correspondence, Hughes-Langston
f. 6Lockmiller Correspondence, Lockmiller-Middleton
f. 7Lockmiller Correspondence, Miller-Robins
f. 8Lockmiller Correspondence, Rollins-Steele
f. 9Lockmiller Correspondence, Stimson-Winship
f. 10Publicity Materials
f. 11Book Reviews
f. 12Miscellaneous Records

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • Anders, Frank L.
  • Baker, Newton Diehl (1871-1937)
  • Baruch, Bernard M. (1870-1965)
  • Beta Theta Pi, Zeta Phi Chapter
  • Blair, Frank P., Mrs.
  • Carranza, Venustiano (1859-1920)
  • Columbia Tennis Club, Columbia, Missouri, c. 1880s
  • Columbia Tennis Club, Columbia, Missouri, c. 1880s
  • Conkling, Roscoe S. ( -1956)
  • Coolidge, Calvin (1872-1933)
  • Crittenden, Thomas T., Jr.
  • Crowder College, Neosho, Missouri
  • Crowder, Enoch Herbert (1859-1932)
  • Crowder, Enoch Herbert (1859-1932)
  • Cuba--Politics and government, 1906-1927
  • Ellis, Elmer
  • George V
  • Gomez, Jose Miguel
  • Hershey, Lewis B.
  • Hughes, Charles Evans
  • Kellogg, Frank Billings
  • Langston, John D.
  • Lockmiller, David A. (1906-2005)
  • Lubbock, Nellie Winans
  • Machado, Gerardo
  • March, Peyton C.
  • Menocal, Mario G.
  • Mexico--Revolution, 1910-1920
  • Miller, Jesse I.
  • Morrow, Dwight W.
  • Pershing, John J.
  • Price, Mr. and Mrs. R.B
  • Rollins, C.B.
  • Sitting Bull, Sioux Chief
  • Steel, Matthew F.
  • Stimson, Henry L.
  • Taft, William Howard
  • Thilly, Jessie Matthews
  • U.S. Selective Service
  • U.S. Army--History--Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916
  • University of Missouri--Women's Drill Company, 1880s
  • University of Missouri--Women's Rifle Team, 1956
  • Villa, Francisco (Pancho)
  • Weldon, C.S.--Sitting Bull
  • Westfall, Ruth Rollins
  • World War, 1914-1918--Correspondence
  • World War, 1914-1918--United States