Information Sheet

 

 

R         Cook, Warren.

43                    Collection, 1782-1978.

                                    Five folders.

 

 

 

These are photocopies of papers of the Smith, Havins, Roseberry, and Cook families of south­western Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.  The collection includes correspondence, es­tate pa­pers, and genealogical records.  There are also two farm diaries, 1875-1876.

The Warren Cook Collection consists of photocopies of letters, estate papers, and miscella­ne­ous documents, principally pertaining to Cook’s ancestors in southwestern Missouri.  Cook in­her­ited the manuscripts upon the death of his grandmother, and he has used some of the papers as sources for a series of articles in the Neosho Daily Times entitled “Out of the Attic.”  Photo­copies of several of these articles have been placed in Folder 5.

The Cook family has its antecedents in the Smith and Havins families of Kentucky and Ala­bama, and the earliest papers in the collection are indenture contracts and estate documents from those states.  The Smiths and the Havinses began moving westward in the 1830s, and while some settled in southwestern Missouri, others moved on to homestead in Texas and in northwestern Ar­kansas.

The period from 1850-1900 is well represented in the collection, primarily by corre­spon­dence among the various branches of the family.  In addition to family news, the letters contain com­ments on economic conditions in Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, as well as notes on cattle prices and markets.  The Civil War period is represented by letters and papers of Lt. J. W. Rose­berry of the 16th Regiment, Missouri Volunteers (Confederate).  Roseberry wrote to his family from army camps in Arkansas and Louisiana, and his letters contain interesting comments on the war and the army, including a religious revival in the camps in late 1864.  Roseberry surrendered with the army in 1865, and included are photocopies of his parole and oath of allegiance.  There is also a letter of recommendation from the elders of a church at Camp Allen, Louisiana, attest­ing to Roseberry’s good standing in the congregation there.

Two other items of interest in the correspondence are an eyewitness description of the San Francisco earthquake and fire, 1906, and a letter from Clara Smith Steichen, wife of the famed photographer Edward Steichen, in which she describes events in Europe at the be­ginning of World War II.

The correspondence has been arranged chronologically in folders 1 and 2.

The remainder of the collection includes photocopies of two pocket farm diaries for 1875-1876 that were kept by J. W. Roseberry of Kent, Missouri.  In addition to the weather and do­mes­tic events, the diaries mention trips to Neosho to buy supplies, sell farm produce, and to at­tend Grange meetings.  The diaries have been placed in Folder 3.  Folder 4 contains various re­ceipts and promissory notes, and Folder 5 includes genealogical notes, newspaper clippings, and copies of photographs of several of the individuals represented in the collection.

 

 

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