McReynolds, Allen (1877-1960), Papers, 1842-1970 (C3605)

5.8 linear feet, 3 audio tapes, 3 audio cassettes

INTRODUCTION

Papers of a Carthage, Missouri, lawyer, state senator, Democratic candidate for governor, president of the State Historical Society of Missouri, and member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. The correspondence concerns civic, legal, political and business interests, family, and friends. The papers include correspondence of the McReynolds family dating from the 1840s through the 1940s. See also Manuscript Collection # 23, Allen McReynolds Constitutional Convention Papers, 1941-1944.

DONOR INFORMATION

The McReynolds Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Allen McReynolds, Jr., on 30 August 1984 (SHS Accession No. 2536 processed as Collection 488; and SHS Accession No. 2537). Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier donated material on 9 June 1978 (SHS Accession No. 2161, processed as Collection 3605), and on 29 October 1981 (SHS Accession No. 2863). Collection 488 has been combined with collection 3605.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Allen McReynolds, Sr. was born in 1877 in Carthage, Missouri. He was the grandson of Allen and Martha Amanda Cooper McReynolds of Saline County, Missouri, and the son of Samuel D. and Helen Mar Halliburton McReynolds of Carthage, Missouri.

Allen and Martha McReynolds, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, were early settlers of Saline County, Missouri, who became wealthy land and slave owners. During the Civil War McReynolds, unable to maintain a neutral position, suffered losses from both sides. On Christmas Eve 1864, McReynolds was executed by Union troops. This and subsequent events are documented in the correspondence of his daughter, brother and wife. Martha McReynolds died in 1878. Martha and Allen were the parents of four boys and six girls.

Their son Samuel D. McReynolds, born in 1849, was raised on the home farm in Saline County and educated in Kirksville. He taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. In 1875 he opened a law office in Carthage, Missouri, and in 1876 formed a partnership with his brother-in-law John W. Halliburton. Their firm, McReynolds and Halliburton, dealt with commercial and real estate law. The firm dissolved when both men wished to include their sons in partnership. McReynolds and son Allen entered into partnership with John H. Flanigan. After the death of Samuel McReynolds the firm became McReynolds and Flanigan, later adding John H. Flanigan, Jr., to partnership.

In 1876 Samuel D. McReynolds married Helen Mar Halliburton, the daughter of Judge Westley Halliburton. Helen was educated at a private school in Brunswick, Missouri, and in Kirksville. For several years she taught at the Kirksville Normal School. Following her marriage, she retired from teaching. They had four children: Allen (1877-1960), John W. (1879-1898), Armilda, and Samuel, Jr. Helen Halliburton McReynolds died in 1924 and Samuel in 1931.

Westley Halliburton, Helen's father, was born in 1812, and was one of Missouri's first lawyers. He had little formal education but studied on his own and in 1840 began practicing law in Macon County, Missouri. Halliburton was elected judge of the county court that same year and elected circuit attorney in 1844. Halliburton was also a representative in the General Assembly, receiver of public moneys, state senator, and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. He advocated railroad construction and public schools and started the first newspaper in Milan, Missouri. The Civil War proved financially disastrous for Halliburton, but he maintained his influence in local affairs until his death in 1890.

Allen McReynolds, Sr., was born in 1877 in Carthage. After graduation from the Carthage Public Schools he attended the University of Missouri, receiving his B.A. in 1901, with a certificate to teach for two years in the normal schools of the state. McReynolds returned to Carthage to study law in his father's office then joined the firm. Prominent in local and state affairs, he participated on the State Survey Commission (1929), State Board of Eleemosynary Institutions (1930-1934), Committee on Social Security (1936), and Children's Code (1938).

McReynolds, a Democrat, served in the state senate from 1935 to 1943, ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1940, and was a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1943-1944. He was vice-president and president of the State Historical Society of Missouri and a member of the board of curators of both the University of Missouri and Stephens College. In 1958 McReynolds Hall at the University of Missouri was dedicated in his honor.

Allen McReynolds, Sr. married Maude Atwood Clarke in 1906. Maude, born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, moved at an early age to Carthage with her parents. They had two children: Allen Jr. and Helen Elizabeth. Allen McReynolds, Sr. died in 1960.

Armilda McReynolds, Allen McReynolds's sister, was housekeeper for her father after her mother's death in 1924. Upon the death of her father in 1931, Armilda found herself in the midst of the Great Depression with a fixed income from her inheritance and the necessity of earning a living. Armilda rented a house in St. Louis and ran it as a boarding house for several girls from the Carthage area. She tried to expand the operation to make ends meet. Her efforts were never successful and she frequently turned to her brother Allen for financial assistance. Allen eventually forced Armilda to give up her attempts at self support which were draining her finances and his. Armilda spent several years as housekeeper for her nephew Allen Jr. in El Paso, Texas.

Allen McReynolds, Jr. attended preparatory school at the New Mexico Military Academy, Roswell, New Mexico, and then attended the University of Missouri at Columbia. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanatorium near El Paso, Texas. His treatment and recuperation period was protracted. In 1941 Allen Jr. returned for an annual visit to Carthage and the wedding of his sister. Before returning to El Paso, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Allen Jr. went to work for the Missouri State Council for Defense in Jefferson City. Following the war Allen Jr. remained in Missouri and, with his father, started the Joplin Stockyards. He was also actively involved in several banking houses.

Elizabeth McReynolds, daughter of Allen McReynolds, Sr., attended Franks Business College at Carthage, the Montecello Seminary at Godfrey, Illinois, and received a B.A. from the University of Missouri. Elizabeth worked in Jefferson City as secretary and chief clerk for the State Eleemosynary Board until her marriage to George A. Rozier in 1941. The Roziers made Jefferson City their home and adopted two sons.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The McReynolds Papers have been arranged into five series: Legal, Business and Political Correspondence, Personal Business Correspondence, Family, and Clippings and Pamphlets. The files comprising this collection were held together with prongs. Some files were clearly labeled as "Political", "Personal", etc. Others were not marked. Due to the mix of political, business and personal topics within individual letters, many of the files could be placed within any of the established series. However, the original arrangement has been maintained as closely as possible. The papers include both incoming and outgoing correspondence.

The Legal series begins with court dockets from the 1920s through the 1940s and for the counties of Jasper, Lawrence, Douglas, and Newton counties. These annotated dockets indicate the disposition of cases, the geographical locations where McReynolds's firm practiced, and the names of clients.

Records and correspondence for only two clients are represented in this series. The first, the Matilda C. Weymann Estate, handled by McReynolds, contains correspondence, estate valuations, and settlement records. The estate included real estate and stocks and bonds in Carthage, Joplin, and other locations in Missouri. The effects of the stock market crash and the Depression upon an estate are amply demonstrated in the work of McReynolds to settle the estate.

The second client was the Vermont Baptist State Convention, headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. This client was handled by John H. Flanigan with assistance from his son John H. Flanigan, Jr. The Vermont Baptist State Convention was apparently caught by the Depression holding extensive interests in a Missouri investment and real estate company. The convention acquired the resources of the company and, through Flanigan and other agents, attempted to recoup their losses. This work, spanning much of the 1930s, gives a very detailed picture of economic conditions within the state. Flanigan handled clearance of land titles, taxes, insurance, collection of rents, general correspondence regarding the farms, corn-hog government subsidies, federal loans, insurance, maintenance, and property sales.

The Business and Political series contains correspondence, scrapbooks, and other material dealing with general topics of politics, legal affairs, and personal business. The series is in a rough chronological order. There is also information on McReynolds's campaigns, speaking engagements, and the Missouri Constitutional Convention. This information is general in nature with few details on McReynolds's career or his business ventures. The political correspondence primarily offers encouragement, support, and gossip about issues and personalities around the state.

Included here is correspondence with Floyd C. Shoemaker, Secretary of the State Historical Society of Missouri, during McReynolds's tenure as President of the Society. The society correspondence deals with the 1938 Platte Purchase celebration, budgets, speaking engagements, finances, events where SHS participation was requested, and policy matters. There are also occasional mentions of family and friends. Folders 320-418, containing primarily personal correspondence, should be used in conjunction with this series.

The Personal Business Correspondence series contains correspondence with friends, relatives, business, and political associates concerning graduations, weddings, deaths, new partnerships, etc., and is arranged in chronological order. There are interest notices on stocks, bank deposit information, loan renewals and payments and collections on property rentals. There is also correspondence with McReynolds's "Uncle Bob", Col. R.L. Richardson, in Los Angeles, California, and other relatives, including four letters to McReynolds's wife Maude. There were no files for 1930-1934, 1936 or 1939 and only two items for 1941.

The Family series contains genealogical information about the McReynolds and Halliburton families. The correspondence dates from 1851 into the twentieth century and is arranged by family member. A McReynolds Family promissory note ledger dates from 1842 to 1843. Located here are tributes written by McReynolds at the death of his parents and correspondence with his daughter Elizabeth and his son Allen, Jr. There is also correspondence with his sister Armilda McReynolds, and his brother-in-law, Arthur B. Clark.

The Civil War correspondence includes a description of the murder of Allen McReynolds by Union Troops on Christmas Eve, 1864, and the subsequent struggles of the family. The Halliburton family correspondence includes letters of Helen Mar Halliburton prior to her marriage in 1876 to Samuel McReynolds. These letters from her friends and suitors discuss flirting, husband hunting, social events, travel, teaching, and work for women. The correspondents are well educated and articulate. Missing from the collection is correspondence between Allen McReynolds and his wife Maude.

The correspondence between Armilda McReynolds and her brother Allen is at once humorous, pathetic, and revealing. Following the death of her father in 1931, Armilda was suddenly on her own. Their correspondence reveals the efforts of a lady, used to financial comfort, to cope with the multiple problems of independence and financial instability during the Great Depression.

In McReynolds's correspondence with his children, "Buddy" and "Dee", he covered the usual issues of classes, money, visits and health. He also wrote several letters and two booklets dealing with his own life philosophy on friendship, marriage, love and responsibility.

The Clippings and Pamphlets series contains clippings and pamphlets from the 1940 governor's race. It covers the relevant issues of the period and the campaign. There are also clippings about the McReynolds children and family history. At the end of this series are several small volumes of literary and philosophical writings.

FOLDER LIST

Legal Series

f. 1-99	Court dockets for Jasper, Lawrence, Douglas, and Newton counties
f. 1-24	Court dockets, 1926-1929
f. 25-64	Court dockets, 1930-1935
f. 65-92	Court dockets, 1936-1939
f. 93-99	Court dockets, 1940-1941
f. 100	Law firm, 1934-1935, n.d.
f. 101-133	Matilda C. Weymann estate, 1935-1940
f. 134-137	Weymann Estate/Henry Weymann Investment Company: St. Louis Joint Stock Land Bank suit, 1937-1939
f. 138-240	Vermont Baptist State Convention, 1932-1940, 1943. The folder headings were office designations and reflect the contents.
f. 138-140	Abstracts, correspondence, 1932
f. 141-152	Title to lands, 1932-1939
f. 153-163	Taxes, 1932-1938
f. 164-177	Operations, 1932-1938
f. 178-179	Rents, 1933-1934
f. 180	Power of attorney, 1934
f. 181-190	Federal loans, 1934-1935
f. 191-196	Corn/hog reduction contracts, 1934-1935
f. 197-208	Collections, 1934-1938
f. 209-223	Insurance files, 1935-1940
f. 224-228	Sale of Convention properties, 1938-1938
f. 229-240	General files, 1935-1940, 1943

Business and Political Series

f. 241	State Survey Commission, 1929
f. 242	Carthage Chamber of Commerce, 1936
f. 243-249	Political correspondence, 1937
f. 250-266	Political correspondence, 1938
f. 261-267	Political correspondence, 1939
f. 268	World's Fair scrapbook, 1939
f. 269-274	Political correspondence, 1942
f. 275	State Eleemosynary Board, 1942
f. 276	Political correspondence, 1943
f. 277-285	Political scrapbook, 1935-1939
f. 286-289	Speeches, 1914-1952
f. 290-296	Speeches, n.d.
f. 297	Story, "Didn't Get Much Sleep"
f. 298-319	State Historical Society of Missouri, correspondence, 1936-1938, 1942, 1950s, 1960

Personal Business Series

f. 320-326	Correspondence, 1927-1929
f. 327-336	Correspondence, 1935
f. 337-349	Correspondence, 1937
f. 350-360	Correspondence, 1938
f. 361-370	Correspondence, 1940
f. 371-383	Correspondence, 1941-1942
f. 384-394	Correspondence, 1943
f. 395-404	Correspondence, 1944
f. 395-418	Correspondence, 1945; 1952
f. 419	Farm ledger, 1932-1946

Family Series

f. 420-421	Family history and genealogy
f. 422	McReynolds promissory note record book, 1842-1843
f. 423	Correspondence, n.d.
f. 424-425	Correspondence, 1851, 1860-1869
f. 426-427	Correspondence, 1870-1878
f. 428	Correspondence, 1888, 1891, 1898
f. 429	Carthage High School, newspapers, 1893-1898
f. 430	Missouri State Militia, Co. A, 1906, 1919, n.d.
f. 431	University of Missouri, miscellaneous, 1900-1958
f. 432	Tributes and memorials to Helen McReynolds, 1924, and Samuel McReynolds, 1931
f. 433	Booklet for Elizabeth McReynolds, 1927
f. 434	Booklet for Allen McReynolds, Jr., 1930s
f. 435-451	Armilda McReynolds, correspondence, 1932-1937
f. 452-458	Art B. Clark, correspondence, 1931-1942
f. 459-461	Allen McReynolds, Jr., correspondence, 1927
f. 462-464	Allen McReynolds, Jr., correspondence, 1938-1939
f. 465-481	Allen McReynolds, Jr., correspondence, 1940-1945
f. 482	Allen McReynolds, Jr., correspondence, 1946, 1958, 1959, 1968, 1969, 1970
f. 483	Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, correspondence typescripts, 1922-1926
f. 484	Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, correspondence, 1927, 1929
f. 485-487	Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, correspondence, 1935, 1937-1939
f. 488-491	Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, correspondence, 1940-1946, 1956
f. 492	Allen McReynolds, Sr., honors and awards, 1950s, n.d.,
	a.c. 1-3, Allen, McReynolds, Sr., Testimonial Dinner, Connor Hotel, Joplin, Missouri, May 22, 1953
	a.t. 1-3
f. 493	Allen McReynolds, Sr., assets, 1951; book inventories, n.d.
f. 494	Allen McReynolds, Sr., memorial services, 1960
f. 495-497	Allen McReynolds, Sr., memorial fund, 1960-1963
f. 498	Miscellaneous, n.d., 1937, 1938

Clipping and Pamphlets Series

f. 499-500	Clipping files, family and personal, n.d.
f. 501-506	Governor's race pamphlets, 1940
f. 507	Cruise notes, E.Z. Wallower, 1935
f. 508-511	Miscellaneous publications, n.d.

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.

• Berry, Jas. M.
• Bird, Abraham
• Brown, James
• Brown, John
• Brown, Joseph C.
• Brown, Royal F.
• Brown, William
• Brown, William I.
• Burnsides, Archabald
• Burnsides, Jonathan
• Child welfare
• Civil War--Correspondence
• Civil War--Missouri
• Clark family
• Cleaver, Stephen
• Cole, Philip
• Colorado Territory
• Commercial law
• Corruption in politics
• Court Dockets--Missouri, 1920s
• Court Dockets--Missouri, 1930s
• Court Dockets--Missouri, 1940s
• Criminal codes
• Curry, Samuel
• Dating (Social customs), 1860s
• Dating (Social customs), 1870s
• Dearmont, Russell L.
• Deckan, John
• Decker, Perl D.--Eulogy
• Democratic Party--Missouri
• DeMoss, William
• Depressions, Economic
• Dickmann, Bernard F.
• Dobbins, Edward
• Donnell, Forrest C.
• Donnelly, Phil M.
• Droughts--Missouri, 1930s
• Duggins, Franklin A.
• Eagle Picher Mining and Smelting Company, Joplin, Missouri
• Economic assistance, Domestic
• Education
• Ervin, John
• Farm produce--Missouri
• Fences--Barbed wire, 1930s
• Flanigan, John H., Jr.
• Flanigan, John H., Sr.
• Foreclosures, 1930s
• Frizzel, John
• Fruit culture--Marketing
• Gault, John S.
• Gaunt, Spenser S.
• Grain production--Missouri
• Halliburton family
• Halliburton, John W. (1846- )
• Halliburton, Wesley (1812-1890)
• Halliburton, Wesley (Major)
• Hamilton, Hugh
• Harker, Edith
• Harvey, Thomas H.
• Hearing impaired
• Hinton, Andrew
• Holman, James
• Hoover, Herbert (1874-1964)--Attitudes toward
• Horner, Pleasant
• Hospitals, Missouri
• James, Frank (1844-1915)
• Jews--Attitudes toward
• Kiser, Daniel
• Labor unions--Candidate endorsement, 1938
• Land titles--Missouri, 1930s
• Landlord & tenant, 1930s
• Lawrey, John
• League of Women Voters
• Legislative reform
• Lewis, John M.
• Lewis, William H.
• Lipe, John
• Livestock, Missouri
• Malon, Richard
• Marriage rites & customs, 1860s
• Marriage rites & customs, 1870s
• Marshall, William I.
• McClintick, Alexander
• McClintick, Archibald
• McClintick, John
• McClintick, Robert
• McDaniel, Lawrence (1884-1948)
• McDowell, Hugh H.
• McDowell, Samuel M.
• McMillan, James H.
• McReynolds & Flanigan, Carthage, MO
• McReynolds family
• McReynolds Family Genealogy
• McReynolds, Adaline
• McReynolds, Allen (1807-1864)
• McReynolds, Allen, Jr. (1909- )
• McReynolds, Allen, Sr. (1877-1960)
• McReynolds, Armilda
• McReynolds, Bess
• McReynolds, Charles (1861-1890)
• McReynolds, Flanigan & Flanigan, Carthage, MO
• McReynolds, Helen Mar Halliburton ( -1924)
• McReynolds, James ( -1862)
• McReynolds, John W. (1879-1898)
• McReynolds, Joseph
• McReynolds, Martha Amanda ( -1878)
• McReynolds, Maude Clark
• McReynolds, McReynolds & Flanigan, Carthage, MO
• McReynolds, Samuel D. (1849-1931)
• McReynolds, Samuel W.
• McReynolds, William
• Meadows, Isaac
• Meadows, Samuel
• Meister family
• Missouri, Barton County
• Missouri, Bates County
• Missouri, Bates County--Historical Society
• Missouri, Benton County
• Missouri, Cedar County
• Missouri, Dade County
• Missouri, Jackson County, Road & Bridge Bonds, 1930s
• Missouri, Joplin, Churches
• Missouri, Kansas City. Police Commission
• Missouri, Lawrence County
• Missouri, Militia, 7th Regiment
• Missouri, Newton County
• Missouri, Phelps County
• Missouri, Politics & government
• Missouri, Polk County
• Missouri, Saline County, 1840s
• Missouri, Saline County, Civil War
• Missouri, St. Louis, Politics & Government
• Missouri, Vernon County
• Missouri. Board of Managers of Eleemosynary Institutions
• Missouri. Conservation Commission
• Missouri. Constitutional Convention, 1943-1944
• Missouri. Constitution--Amendments, 1938
• Missouri. Highway Department
• Missouri. Militia, 2nd Regiment, Infantry, Company A
• Missouri. National Guard
• Missouri. New York World's Fair & Golden Gate International Exposition Commission
• Missouri. Park Board
• Missouri--Court Dockets, 1920s-1940s
• National Farm Loan Association
• New Deal, Attitudes toward, 1930s
• New Deal, Relief programs
• New York World's Fair, 1939, Missouri Exhibit
• Newton, Joseph
• Old age pensions
• Owens, Samuel C.
• Ozark folklore
• Pardons & paroles
• Pendergast, Thomas J. (1872-1945)
• Prisoners of war
• Property ownership, Women
• Prosser, Joseph
• Race tracks
• Randolph, Vance (1892-1981)
• Red Cross
• Richardson, R.W.
• Roads, Bond issues, 1930s
• Rozier, Leo J. (1914-2008)
• San Francisco Golden Gate Exposition, 1939, Missouri Exhibit
• Snoddy, Daniel
• Throyer, Presley
• Trevillian, John
• Tucker, Joshua G.
• U.S. Army, Machine Gun Battalion, 129th, Company A, 1906-1919
• Wallower, Edgar Z.
• Wilkins, Elizabeth (Mrs. Simon)
• Wilkins, Simon
• Wilkins, Thomas
• Wilkins, William
• Wilson, Benjamin
• Wilson, Woodrow
• Yancey, John S.