Information Sheet

 

 

R         Lynch, William Henry, 1839-1924.

202                  Papers, 1859-1905.

                                    Sixteen volumes and eight folders.

 

MICROFILM

 

 

 

These are diaries and miscellaneous papers of an educator in southern Missouri.  Lynch was a native of Houston in Texas County, Missouri.  He served in the 32nd Missouri Infantry during the Civil War, and was principal of schools in Steelville, St. James, Salem, West Plains, and Moun­tain Grove, Missouri, following the war.

William Henry Lynch was born in Houston, Texas County, Missouri.  He was the son of David and Pollie Ann Lynch, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Texas County.  William was sent to Boone County, Missouri, in 1856 for his education, first in the public schools, and then at Lathrop Academy.  He returned home to teach school in Houston until the outbreak of the Civil War.  He was appointed clerk of Texas County in 1862.  He served until August 1862, when he enlisted in the 32nd Missouri Infantry.  He was commissioned a field officer in 1863 and was ap­pointed regimental quartermaster.  He mustered out as a cap­tain in 1865.

Lynch returned to Columbia following the war to complete his education at the Uni­versity of Missouri.  He graduated in 1868 to resume a teaching career in southern Missouri which spanned nearly sixty years.  Lynch was a teacher and principal at the Steelville Academy, 1866-1872; a teacher at the St. James Academy, 1869; and principal of the Salem Academy, 1873-1884, the West Plains Academy, 1884-1887, and the Mountain Grove Academy, 1887-ca. 1894.  He also taught in Ozark, Missouri, and was a field representative of the Southwest Missouri State Teach­ers’ College from 1910 until his death in 1924.

The Lynch papers consist of diaries, clippings, and miscellaneous papers concerning his post-war career as an educator.  There is also a single folder of miscellaneous Civil War papers from his tenure as quartermaster of the 32nd Missouri Infantry.  This collection com­plements Lynch's war­time diaries, which were donated by his daughter to the Western Histori­cal Manu­script Col­lection-Columbia in 1938, and have been cataloged as collection #C1153.

Unfortunately, Lynch was fairly circumspect in his later diaries.  Many of the daily entries note only, “Taught school,” or “Stayed at home.”  He was more forthcoming on the par­ticulars of his vacation visits to his family home in Texas County and to his wife's homeplace at Cook’s Sta­tion in Crawford County.  Although the diary entries are generally sparse, there are many details of life in the various academies with which Lynch was con­nected.

There were many newspaper clippings and notes enclosed within Lynch’s diaries, most con­cerning the institutions where he was engaged.  The enclosures, which were not in any ap­par­ent order, were removed, categorized by school or subject, and arranged in chrono­logical order.  They include announcements of sessions and final examinations, notes on the acade­mies, and personal notes concerning Prof. Lynch.  From newspapers throughout southern Mis­souri, the clippings are indispensable in tracing Lynch’s career as an educator.  They show him to have been a resourceful teacher whose presence was a community asset.  His activities were followed by citizens in a wide area, and his services were sought after by many small towns eager to boost their municipal repu­tations.  The discussions following Lynch’s move from the West Plains Academy to the Mountain Grove Academy are a good ex­ample of the rivalry be­tween small towns and also show the high re­gard in which Lynch was held.

 

 

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