Keeley, Mary Paxton (1886-1986), Papers, 1830-1983 (C0848)

7.25 linear feet, 3 audio cassettes

INTRODUCTION Papers of the first woman graduate of the University of Missouri, School of Journalism, in 1910. She was active as a journalist, teacher, playwright, poet, fiction writer, and photographer. Material includes correspondence; diaries; manuscripts for Keeley’s articles, fiction, and poetry; clippings; audio cassettes; and photographs. DONOR INFORMATION The Keeley Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Mary Paxton Keeley on 11 November 1976 (Accession No. 4022). Contact reference staff for information on Subsequent additions. The papers are part of the National Women and Media Collection.

Mary Paxton Keeley and son. From collection C848 folder 420. For information about obtaining copies of images contact whmc@umsystem.edu.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mary Gentry Paxton Keeley was born on 2 June 1886 in Independence, Missouri, to John Gallatin Paxton and Mary Neil Gentry. She attended the University of Missouri and became the first female graduate of the University of Missouri, School of Journalism in 1910. From 1910 to 1911 she worked for the Kansas City Post. In 1918 and 1919, she served with the Y.M.C.A. Canteen Service in France. Upon her return she married Edmund Burke Keeley and they settled in Virginia. Their only child, John Gallatin Paxton Keeley, was born in 1921. Edmund Keeley died in 1928.

After her husband’s death, Keeley returned to Missouri to work as a home economics extension agent and attended graduate school at the University of Missouri, where she completed a master’s degree in journalism in 1928. The same year she published River Gold, a children’s book. In 1929 she became the journalism instructor at Christian College, now Columbia College, and the founder of The Microphone, the student newspaper. During her tenure she also taught creative writing and wrote and published several plays, many of which were performed locally. Although she retired from teaching in 1952, she continued to write articles for the Kansas City Star and to edit the Missouri Alumnus. She helped co-found the Columbia Art League in 1959 and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Theta Sigma Phi, and Kappa Tau Alpha. She was also the recipient of the Alumni Citation Award from the School of Journalism. Mary Paxton Keeley died on December 6, 1986, at 100 years of age.

In the fall of 2002 the Columbia Public Schools dedicated the Mary Paxton Keeley Elementary School on Park de Ville Drive.

During her lifetime Keeley befriended many celebrated Missourians, including Bess and Harry Truman, Orrick Johns, Homer Croy, Charles G. Ross, Tom McAfee, and Rose Wilder Lane.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

These papers chronicle Keeley’s life and career as a journalist, teacher, and writer. The papers are divided into five series:

• Correspondence
• Diary
• Literary
• Audio Recordings
• Graphic Arts.

The Correspondence series, the largest series of the collection, dates from 1830 to 1983 and contains information on family and friends, literary endeavors, World War I, current events, and miscellaneous subjects. The material is arranged chronologically with the undated correspondence at the end. Of particular importance is the sixteen-year correspondence with her nephew, William C. Paxton, 1966-1982, wherein Keeley not only addresses local and national news items from a journalist’s point of view, but also includes jingles and ditties related to current events and reminiscences about her family, friends, and careers. Noted correspondents include Bess Truman, Rose Wilder Lane, J.C. Penney, Tom McAfee, and Orrick Johns.

The Diary series is comprised of Keeley’s personal thoughts and writings from 1914 to 1977. The diaries, arranged chronologically, record her daily events, financial transactions, ambitions, and accomplishments for the year. Many of the volumes are incomplete and no diaries exist for the years 1947 to 1968. Keeley’s 1937 diary is unique and of particular interest, since it documents in great detail, the meticulous planning and subsequent building of her house at 1111 Porter Street, Columbia, Missouri.

The Literary series has been divided into seven sections: publications, miscellaneous, poetry, plays, fiction, non-fiction, and speeches. Included are articles, books, reprints, book reviews, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, certificates, publication reports, and illustrations.

The Audio Recording series is comprised of audio cassettes and transcripts for interviews done by Keeley in 1967, 1974, and 1977. The 1967 interview only consists of the transcript with no cassette available. The 30 October 1974 interview, conducted by Frank Mackaman, focuses on Keeley’s childhood in Independence, her family, interest in writing, the women’s liberation movement, and friendship with Bess and Harry Truman. The final interview, conducted on 7 April 1977 by Mary Clark, discusses Orrick Johns, poet, writer, and editor of the literary magazine, the Mirror.

The Graphic Arts series consists of photographs, postcards, book illustrations, and drawings. Many of the photographs are of Keeley, John Gallatin Paxton Keeley, and members of the Gentry and Paxton families. A collection postcards and photographs from Keeley’s World War I experience in the vicinity of Langres, France, 1918-1919, is also located in this series. Many of the miscellaneous photographs were taken by Keeley and are organized by topic: children, women, men, and miscellaneous.

FOLDER LIST

Correspondence Series

f. 1	Correspondence, 1830-1843
f. 2	Correspondence, 1844-1866
f. 3	Correspondence, 1866-1871
f. 4	Correspondence, 1875-1897
f. 5	Correspondence, 1898-1899
f. 6	Correspondence, 1900-1903
f. 7	Correspondence, 1904
f. 8-9	Correspondence, 1905
f. 10	Correspondence, 1906
f. 11	Correspondence, 1907-1908
f. 12	Correspondence, 1909
f. 13	Correspondence, 1910
f. 14-15	Correspondence, 1911
f. 16	Correspondence, 1912-1913
f. 17	Correspondence, 1914
f. 18	Correspondence, 1915
f. 19-21	Correspondence, 1916
f. 22-24	Correspondence, 1917
f. 25-27	Correspondence, 1918
f. 28-29	Correspondence, 1919
f. 30	Correspondence, 1920
f. 31	Correspondence, 1921-1926
f. 32	Correspondence, 1927-1929
f. 33	Correspondence, 1930
f. 34	Correspondence, 1931
f. 35	Correspondence, 1932
f. 36	Correspondence, 1933-1935
f. 37	Correspondence, 1936
f. 38	Correspondence, 1937
f. 39	Correspondence, 1938
f. 40	Correspondence, 1939
f. 41	Correspondence, 1940
f. 42	Correspondence, 1941
f. 43-44	Correspondence, 1942
f. 45-46	Correspondence, 1943
f. 47-49	Correspondence, 1944
f. 50-55	Correspondence, 1945
f. 56	Correspondence, 1946
f. 57-58	Correspondence, 1947
f. 59	Correspondence, 1948
f. 60	Correspondence, 1949
f. 61	Correspondence, 1950-1951
f. 62	Correspondence, 1952
f. 63	Correspondence, 1953-1954
f. 64	Correspondence, 1955
f. 65-66	Correspondence, 1956
f. 67-69	Correspondence, 1957
f. 70-71	Correspondence, 1958
f. 72	Correspondence, 1959
f. 73-74	Correspondence, 1960
f. 75-76	Correspondence, 1961
f. 77-78	Correspondence, 1962
f. 79	Correspondence, 1963
f. 80-82	Correspondence, 1964
f. 83-87	Correspondence, 1965
f. 88-91	Correspondence, 1966
f. 92-99	Correspondence, 1967
f. 100-106	Correspondence, 1968
f. 107-113	Correspondence, 1969
f. 114-119	Correspondence, 1970
f. 120-129	Correspondence, 1971
f. 130-139	Correspondence, 1972
f. 140-156	Correspondence, 1973
f. 157-170	Correspondence, 1974
f. 171-181	Correspondence, 1975
f. 182-193	Correspondence, 1976
f. 194-205	Correspondence, 1977
f. 206-216	Correspondence, 1978
f. 217-221	Correspondence, 1979
f. 222-223	Correspondence, 1980
f. 224-225	Correspondence, 1981
f. 226	Correspondence, 1982-1983
f. 227-233	Correspondence, undated

Diary Series

f. 234	Diary, 1914-1917
f. 235-240	Diary, 1918-1919
f. 241	Memoirs, 1922
f. 242	Diary, 1926
f. 243	Diary, 1934
f. 244	Diary, 1936
f. 245-246	Diary, 1937
f. 247	Diary, 1939
f. 248	Diary, 1940
f. 249	Diary, 1942
f. 250-251	Diary, 1943
f. 252	Diary, 1944
f. 253	Diary, 1945
f. 254	Diary, 1946
f. 255	Diary, 1969
f. 256	Diary, 1971
f. 257	Diary, 1972
f. 258	Diary, 1974
f. 259	Diary, 1977
f. 260	Memoirs, miscellaneous

Literary Series

f. 261-305	Publications
f. 261-262	The Missouri Club Woman, 1939-1940
f. 263	Publications, 1926-1933
f. 264	Publications, 1934-1935
f. 265	Publications, 1948-1949
f. 266	Publications, 1960-1979
f. 267-269	Newspaper articles, 1910
f. 270-271	Newspaper articles, 1911
f. 272	Newspaper articles, 1920s-1940s
f. 273-274	Newspaper articles, 1950s
f. 275	Newspaper articles, 1960s
f. 276	Newspaper articles, 1970s
f. 277-279	Newspaper articles, undated
f. 280	Typescripts, 1933, 1939
f. 281	Typescripts, 1939, 1949
f. 282	Typescripts, 1950-1952
f. 283	Typescripts, 1960s
f. 284	Typescripts, 1970s-1980s
f. 285-291	Typescripts, undated
f. 292	News clippings, 1918-1929
f. 293	News clippings, 1930s
f. 294	News clippings, 1940s
f. 295	News clippings, 1950-1957
f. 296	News clippings, 1958-1959
f. 297	News clippings, 1960s
f. 298	News clippings, 1970-1973
f. 299	News clippings, 1974-1979
f. 300	News clippings, 1980s
f. 301	News clippings, undated
f. 302	Family news clippings, 1930s
f. 303	Family news clippings, 1940s
f. 304	Family news clippings, 1950-1977
f. 305	Family news clippings, undated
f. 306-314	Miscellaneous
f. 306-307	Certificates
f. 308	Pamphlets
f. 309	Programs
f. 310	Record Book
f. 311	Royalty Reports, 1936-1945
f. 312	Royalty Reports, 1942-1950
f. 313	Royalty Reports, 1951-1954
f. 314	Royalty Reports, 1955-1961, and copyrights
f. 315-329	Poetry
f. 315-316	A Little Book of Hellish Verse, 1906
f. 317	A Little While in Purgatory, 1906
f. 318	The Book of My Heart, c. 1915
f. 319	Strings and Nails and Puppy Dog Tales, c. 1922
f. 320-322	To Step on All Toes and Jingles of an Octogenarian, c. 1966
f. 323	Poetry, 1906-1940
f. 324-326	Poetry, undated
f. 327	Poetry, published
f. 328	The University Review, 1935
f. 329	Poems by Missouri Students, 1935
f. 330-369	Plays
f. 330	The Man She Left Behind Her, c. 1920
f. 331	The River Rat, c. 1929
f. 332	The Kettle Singing, c. 1929
f. 333	246 Green, c. 1930
f. 334-349	Vinnie Reams, manuscript and research notes, 1940
f. 350-354	Bizarre, 1951
f. 355	The Professor and the Little Gump, undated
f. 356	Petticoat Minded, undated
f. 357	The Love Letters of an Englishman, undated
f. 358	Billy the Baby, undated
f. 359-361	River Gold, play adapted for radio, undated
f. 362-368	What I Love I Lose, undated
f. 369	The Cottinghams, authored by two of Keeley’s students, undated
f. 370-391	Fiction
f. 370-380	Mr. Jefferson in Paris, research notes and manuscript, undated.
f. 381	Our Garden, 1913
f. 382	"The Little Baby Who Hadn’t Any Teeth," 1945
f. 383	Where’s Wagem, 1957
f. 384	"How Grandpa Noah Put All Those Animals into his Ark," 1962
f. 385	"The Little Boy who Didn’t Like to Go Up Fast"
f. 386	My Name is Rose
f. 387	Your Doll: Her Story
f. 388	"The Whistle"
f. 389	Children’s Stories, Outlines
f. 390	"A Problem in Protoplasm," n.d.
f. 391	"Among Jane’s Fathers," n.d.
f. 392-408	Non-Fiction
f. 392-398	Why Don’t You Write a Play?, 1955, unpublished
f. 399	"A Profile: Ann Hawkins Gentry," c. 1961
f. 400	"Mary Neil Gentry Paxton," 1961
f. 401-405	Mary Gentry and John Gallatin Paxton: A Memoir, 1966
f. 406	Lyrics From a Linotype, 1934
f. 407	Christian College Prize Plays, 1934
f. 408	Boone County Cook Book, 1958
f. 409-414	Speeches
f. 409-410	John Gallatin Paxton Memorial Speech, December 1928
f. 411	Ann Hawkins Gentry Speech, 5 June 1960
f. 412-413	Mary Gentry Paxton Poetry
f. 414	Genealogical Material

Audio Recordings Series

f. 415	Interview transcription, 1967
f. 416	Oral interview, 1974
f. 417-419	Oral interview and transcription, 1977

Graphic Art Series

f. 420-421	Mary Paxton Keeley, 1887-1976
f. 422	Miscellaneous photographs, 1950-1951
f. 423-430	Miscellaneous photographs
f. 431-434	World War I, 1918-1919
f. 435	Postcards
f. 436	Photographs, John Gallatin Paxton Keeley, 1921-1944
f. 437	Family Photographs
f. 438-441	Miscellaneous photographs
f. 442	Pen and ink drawings of Mexico by Francis Lee Neel, c. 1950s
f. 443	Proofs of illustrations and book jacket from River Gold, 1928. Caricatures of Keeley and friends

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.

• Ankeny, Lucy Gentry Tindall (1864- )
• Campbell Brothers (Photographers)
• Cartoons and caricatures
• Carver, George Washington (1864-1943)
• Chase and Clew (Photographers)
• Children's clothing
• Children's clothing, 1920s
• Children's clothing, 1950s
• Children's literature
• Columbia Art League, Columbia, Missouri
• Costume, 1800s
• Courtney, Leonard (Photographer)
• Croy, Homer (1883-1965)
• Daniel, Margaret Truman (1924- )
• Deane (Photographer)
• Diaries--World War I
• Dole, W. T. (Photographer)
• Dolls
• Elliott, Analyza Gentry (1810-1889)
• Forsling, Elizabeth Neal Paxton (1889-1977)
• Fort Sill, OK, 1940s
• France, Langres, 1918-1919
• France--Description and travel--Views, 1910s
• Gentry family
• Gentry, Adeline (1811- )
• Gentry, Analyza (1810-1889)
• Gentry, Ann Hawkins (1791-1870)
• Gentry, Joshua
• Gentry, Mary Neil (1857-1903)
• Gentry, Oliver Perry (1814-1881)
• Gentry, Richard (1788-1837)
• Gentry, Richard Harrison (1812-1870)
• Germany--Description and travel--Views, 1910s
• Greeting cards--Birthday, 1900s
• Greeting cards--Christmas, 1944
• Greeting cards--St. Patrick's Day
• Grinter, P. H. (Photographer)
• Hale, Allean Lemmon (1914- )
• Hare, W. A. (Photographer)
• Hartley (Photographer)
• Historic buildings--Missouri, Lexington
• Hospitals, Michigan
• Hotel Baltimore, Kansas City, Missouri, 1930s
• Hotels, Alabama
• Hotels, Colorado
• Hotels, Mississippi
• Hotels, Missouri, Kansas City
• Hotels, North Dakota
• Indians, Choctaw
• Indians, Navajo
• Italy--Description and travel--Views, 1910
• Johns, Orrick (1887-1946)
• Keeley, Edmund Burke ( -1928)
• Keeley, John Gallatin Paxton (1921-1971)
• Keeley, Mary Paxton (1886-1986)
• Keeley, Mary Paxton (1886-1986), (Photographer)
• Lane, Rose Wilder (1887-1968)
• Larson, Sidney (1923- )
• Lewis, Sinclair (1884-1951)
• Maps--France, 1918
• Maugham, W. Somerset (1874-1965)
• McAfee, James Thomas (1928-1982)
• McLeod & Combs (Photographers)
• Mencken, H. L. (1880-1956)
• Men's clothing
• Meredith & Swap (Photographers)
• Mexico--Description & travel, Views
• Missouri, Columbia
• Missouri, Columbia, Broadway Street
• Missouri, St. Louis, Union Station, 1910s
• Monte Carlo--Description & travel, views, 1910s
• Moreno (Photographer)
• Müeller, Henry Lancaster
• National Women and Media Collection
• Neel, Francis Lee (Artist)
• Oral Interviews
• Paxton, Edward Clardy
• Paxton, John Gallatin (1859-1928)
• Paxton, Mary Neil Gentry (1857-1903)
• Paxton, Matthew White (1891-1968)
• Paxton, W. M. (1819-1882)
• Paxton, William C.
• Pen drawings
• Penney, J. C. (1875-1971)
• Photographers, Colorado
• Photographers, Illinois, Chicago
• Photographers, Kansas, Topeka
• Photographers, Missouri, Boonville
• Photographers, Missouri, Columbia
• Photographers, Missouri, Independence
• Photographers, Missouri, Kansas City
• Photographers, Missouri, St. Louis
• Photographers, New York, New York
• Photographers, Ohio
• Plays
• Poetry
• Postcards, 1900s
• Postcards, 1910s
• Postcards, 1920s
• Ream, Vinnie (1847-1914)
• Recipes
• Ross, Charles G. (1885-1950)
• St. Joseph News-Press, Building, St. Joseph, MO
• Theater
• Thomas, Frank (Photographer)
• Thomson, D. P. (Photographer)
• Toys
• Truman, Bess Wallace (1885-1982)
• Truman, Harry S (1884-1972)
• University of Missouri, Jesse Hall
• University of Missouri, Jesse Hall Auditorium
• University of Missouri, Memorial Union Building
• University of Missouri, Walter Williams Hall
• Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975
• W. Alban and Co. (Photographers)
• Williams and Thomson (Photographers)
• Women authors
• Women journalists
• Women photographers
• Women poets
• Women's clothing
• World War, 1914-1918, American Expeditionary Forces
• World War, 1914-1918, Diaries
• World War, 1914-1918, France