Finding Aid Round Up

We’ve been busy writing finding aids for recent acquisitions and revising finding aids for sets of papers already in our holdings. You can browse all of our collections on DigitalCommons. See something below that piques your interest or could be useful for your research? Get in touch and let us know what you’re thinking about; we’d love to help!


Carr Family Bible, MS#422 [Revised Finding Aid]
This collection includes one Bible from the Carr family. The cover and beginning pages of the Bible are missing and it begins in Genesis 18.

Burl Edward “B. E.” Davis Papers, 1936-1989, MS#450 [Revised Finding Aid]
Burl Edward “B. E.” Davis was a professor of Communication at Abilene Christian University from 1969. Burl Edward Davis married Frances Dawn Bartlett Davis on February 22, 1952. The couple had four children, Kathy, Kay, Phyllis, and Mike. Burl Edward Davis passed away on May 21, 1998. This collection includes term papers, research reports, journal articles, surveys, correspondence, pamphlets, and presentations.

Paul William “Bill” Hosse Papers, 1949-2015, MS#463 [Revised Finding Aid]
This collection includes Paul William “Bill” Hosse’s sermons, sermon charts, teaching materials, information related to his short-term mission trips in Russia and Eastern Europe, personal and academic papers, and cassettes.

Dale Victor Knowles II Papers, 1984-2008, MS#476 [Revised Finding Aid]
Dale Victor Knowles II is a preacher, editor, writer and publisher who was involved as a planner and promoter of the annual Restoration Forum meetings. These materials reflect his activity in that capacity; he created and collected these materials. These papers include materials relating to the Restoration Forum, held annually from 1984-2007. There is additional material reflecting on the history and impact of the Forums, which was assembled in 2007 or 2008. The materials were rehoused from boxes into acid-free folders, retaining the creator’s original order. Folders contain photographs, programs, ephemera, cassette or video recordings, CDs and clippings. Boxes 1-2 contain folders for each Forum. Boxes 3-4 contain video cassettes of Forum presentations.

Restoration Forum and Restoration Forum III — March and July 1985, Dale Victor Knowles II Papers, 1984-2008. Center for Restoration Studies MS #476. Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.

A. M. and John McCormick Papers, 1934-1973, MS#498 [New Finding Aid]
This collection likely pertains to the Non-Sunday School Churches of Christ. One file folder consisting of a letter from W. Carl Ketcherside to John [McCormick?] dated 12 August 1973; three photographs (two possibly of A. M. McCormick; one of Wesley Jones, Dewey Shaw and Arlin Miller); a broadside written by A. M. McCormick; and several bulletins from the Main Street Church of Christ, Lockney, Texas, ca. 1934.


Stay tuned for more installments of Finding Aid Round Ups!

Finding Aid Roundup: 2021 Year in Review

2021 saw growth across the board in ACU Special Collections and Archives, and new archival accessions and finding aids for these materials were no exception. We added 71 accessions to the collection and added or updated 125 PDF finding aids to our DigitalCommons@ACU repository. Many of these finding aids were featured in our regular blogpost series, Finding Aid Round Up.  These new accessions contain material of almost every type and kind: from sermon manuscripts and teaching notes to correspondence, from photographs to magnetic audio reels, and from church records to university records.

71 accessions into University Archives and Center for Restoration Studies

These accessions include new acquisitions, accruals to existing collections, and maintaining records for existing record groups. The total materials accessioned this year totaled over 600 linear feet. 

Center for Restoration Studies new finding aids, 252 linear feet

  1. Charles H. Marler Papers, 1825-2013, CRS MS#123
  2. Howard Samuel and Mary Alice Hartsfield Swann Papers, 1950-2010, CRS MS#492
  3. Fowler Family Papers, 1943-1992, CRS MS#495
  4. Central Church of Christ (Birmingham, AL) Records, 1961-1969, CRS MS#508
  5. Alice Sorrells Bush Papers, 1976-2013, CRS MS#509
  6. J. Hermon Taylor Papers, circa 1915-1930, CRS MS#512
  7. Flaleah Byrd Cotter Papers, 1953-2002, CRS MS#513
  8. Everett Oscar Coffman Papers, 1928-1934, CRS MS#514
  9. William Wesley Grasham Papers, 1955-2016, CRS MS#515
  10. Harold Thomas and Nellie Jeannette Scruggs Lipford Papers, 1932-2010, CRS MS#517
  11. Westover Hills Church of Christ (Austin, TX) Records, 1970s-2000s, CRS MS#518
  12. David Henry Bobo Papers, 1960s, CRS MS#519
  13. Marion Frances Bush Papers, 1948-2019, CRS MS#522
  14. Family Encampment at Red River Records, 1974-2015, CRS MS#523
  15. Week of Compassion Records, 1996-2000, CRS MS#524
  16. Herbert Ray Patterson Papers, circa 1900-1950, CRS MS#526
  17. Paul Layton Watson Papers, 1960-2021, CRS MS#528
  18. Onis “Dick” Floy and Catherine LaRue Gibson Case Papers, 1945-2019, CRS MS#529
  19. West End Church of Christ (Nashville, TN) Records, 1929-2019, CRS MS#530
  20. Luther Doniphan Burrus Papers, 1945-1975, CRS MS#531
  21. Harold Kent Straughn Papers, 1945-2021, CRS MS#533
  22. Brady Kal Cox, 2015-2019, CRS MS#535
  23. Eileen Rose Emch Papers, 1952-2021, CRS MS#536
  24. Clarence Elbert King and Nancy Cloe Barnett King Cash Papers, 1952-2021, CRS MS#537
  25. William Edward McDaniel Papers, 1940-1955, CRS MS#539
  26. Tom Tune Papers, 1960s-1970s, CRS MS#542
  27. George Wilmeth Ewing Papers, 1977, CRS MS#543
  28. Joe Carl Nix Papers, 1955-2014, CRS MS#544

Center for Restoration Studies revised finding aids, 541.5 linear feet

  1. George Dallas Smith Papers, 1895-1921, CRS MS#28
  2. Wilson Clark Orr Papers, 1971-2003, CRS MS#32
  3. Paul C. Witt Papers, 1908-1970, CRS MS#34
  4. Theodore Orosco Norton Papers, 1937-1982, CRS MS#35
  5. Dwayne Dale VanRheenen Papers, 1962-2015, CRS MS#36
  6. Myrta Blanche Garrett Perry Papers, 1895-1990, CRS MS#42
  7. Homer Hailey Papers, 1892-1998, CRS MS#43
  8. Cecil Niel Wright Papers, 1930-1937, CRS MS#51
  9. Frank Lucius Cox Papers, 1937-1938, CRS MS#52
  10. Henry Earl Smith Papers, 1922-1967, CRS MS#54
  11. Lloyd A. Boyll Papers, 1942-2017, CRS MS#59
  12. Jim Bevis Papers, 1966-2004, CRS MS#63
  13. William Frasier “Bill” Nash Papers, 1983-2003, CRS MS#100
  14. Charles H. Marler Papers, 1825-2013, CRS MS#123
  15. Robert Carl Spain Papers, 1920s-1990, CRS MS#306
  16. Sabinal Christian College (Sabinal, TX) Records, 1905-1922, CRS MS#358
  17. Edith Winifred Burgess Emett Papers, 1933-1934, CRS MS#395
  18. Bobby Joe Morrow Collection, 1956-1984, CRS MS#396
  19. Nelson Coates Collection, CRS MS#397
  20. Abigail Curlee Holbrook Papers, 1924-1999, CRS MS#398
  21. Ibaraki Christian College (Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan) Records, 1953-2016, CRS MS#400
  22. Louie Welch Papers, 1984, CRS MS#401
  23. Austin Hallett Emery, Jr. Papers, 1963-2016, CRS MS#402
  24. Jack Pearl Lewis Papers, 1943-1995, CRS MS#403
  25. Milton Vaden Showalter Papers, 1953-1961, CRS MS#404
  26. John Archibald Wheeler Papers, 1930s-1999, CRS MS#405
  27. Ancel Edward Nunn Collection, 2002, CRS MS#406
  28. Callie Faye Milliken Papers, 1934-1990, CRS MS#407
  29. Phil Boone Collection, 2010-2012, CRS MS#408
  30. Gaylan Jane Collier Papers, 1947-1991, CRS MS#409
  31. Mima Ann Williams Papers, 1916-1957, CRS MS#412
  32. Royce Lynn Money Papers, 1973-1974, CRS MS#413
  33. Albert Frederick William Schoenrock II Collection, 1997, CRS MS#414
  34. Great Songs of the Church Artifacts, 1960s-1970s, CRS MS#416
  35. John Gresham Hardin Papers, 1933-1956, CRS MS#418
  36. Lee Len Clardy Collection, 1992, CRS MS#419
  37. John Wright Papers, 1844-1847, CRS MS#420
  38. Leon Henthorn Collection, 1906-1922, CRS MS#421
  39. Carr Family Bible, CRS MS#422
  40. D’Esta Love Papers, 1985-2014, CRS MS#424
  41. Carl Paul Matheny Papers, 1987-2003, CRS MS#425
  42. John Early Arceneaux Papers, 1904-1967, CRS MS#426
  43. Morris Solon May Papers, 1956-1995, CRS MS#429
  44. University Avenue Church of Christ (Austin, TX), Records, 1847-2005, CRS MS#430
  45. Sammie Guild Papers, 1978-2005, CRS MS#432
  46. Archie Harold Kennamer Papers, 1979-1989, CRS MS#433
  47. Sermon Charts Collection, circa 1930-1940, CRS MS#434
  48. David Ross Mickey Papers, 1959-2001, CRS MS#436
  49. Kenith Soule and Lillian Eva Hodges O’Neil Papers, 1941-1945, CRS MS#437
  50. Freddy Carl Brecheen Papers, 1955-2009, CRS MS#439
  51. Timothy W. Bench Papers, 2012-2018, CRS MS#440
  52. Sidney Vaughn Papers, 1978-1995, CRS MS#441
  53. Henry C. Farrar, Jr. Papers, 1973-1993, CRS MS#442
  54. Edwin Harold “Ed” Enzor, Jr. Papers, 1950-2015, CRS MS#443
  55. Wendel Lavern Moore Papers, 1951-1986, CRS MS#444
  56. William Roy “W. R.” Smith Papers, 1951-1969, CRS MS#446
  57. John Henry Austin Varner Papers, 1939-1985, CRS MS#447
  58. James Marion, Jr. and Kathryn Adelaide Kerby Tolle Collection, 1559-1952, CRS MS#448
  59. Barton Warren Stone, 1833, CRS MS#449
  60. Burl Edward “B. E.” Davis Papers, 1936-1989, CRS MS#450
  61. James Orville Wilburn Papers, 1927-1970, CRS MS#451
  62. Mirror Lake Christian Church (St. Petersburg, FL) Records, 1920-1991, CRS MS#453
  63. Gailyn Van Rheenen Papers, 1972-2016, CRS MS#455
  64. Don L. Hicks Papers, 1950-2016, CRS MS#456
  65. Edwin Randall “Randy” Becton Papers, 1970-2012, CRS MS#458
  66. Dawn Leslie Callaway Papers, 1991-2016, CRS MS#459
  67. Ghana Bible College Collection, 1967-2013, CRS MS#460
  68. Morris Dupree Norman Papers, 1948-2012, CRS MS#461
  69. Steve Holt, Sr. Papers, 1973-2018, CRS MS#462
  70. Paul William “Bill” Hosse Papers, 1949-2015, CRS MS#463
  71. Noble Festus Patterson, Jr. Papers, 1938-2013, CRS MS#465
  72. Robert D., Sr. and Lula Arrington Smith Papers, 1898-1993, CRS MS#466
  73. James Durward Willeford Papers, 1928-1967, CRS MS#468 
  74. Ray and Nancy Hansen Papers, 1943-1944, CRS MS#469
  75. Eddie Leon Sharp, Sr. Papers, 1949-1997, CRS MS#470
  76. 11th and Willis Church of Christ Tape Collection, CRS MS#472
  77. Gary Joe Sorrells Papers, 1965-2017, CRS MS#473
  78. Dale Victor Knowles II Papers, 1984-2008, CRS MS#476
  79. Christian Tape Library Collection, circa 1978, CRS MS#477
  80. Ewell Prather Papers, 1767-1976, CRS MS#478
  81. Carol Gafford Papers, 1974, CRS MS#479
  82. Hubert Connor “Con” Sweet, Jr. Collection, 1927-1928, CRS MS#480
  83. Lloyd Theodore ‘Ted’ Poe Papers, 2005-2018, CRS MS#483
  84. Alice Carlson Papers, 1946-1989, CRS MS#489
  85. Fifth and Grape Church of Christ (Abilene, TX) Records, 2006-2015, CRS MS#493
  86. Commerce Church of Christ (Commerce, TX) Records, 1963-2011, CRS MS#496
  87. Churches of Christ Audio Collection, 1955-2007, CRS MS#497
  88. A. M. and John McCormick Papers, 1934-1973, CRS MS#498
  89. Hermitage Church of Christ (Nashville, TN) Records, 1967-2017, CRS MS#499
  90. Joe Allen Wilson Papers, 1960-1981, CRS MS#510
  91. James David “J. D.” Thomas Papers, 1930-2004, CRS MS#520

Stay tuned to see where 2022 takes us! As always, if you see something above that piques your interest or could be useful for your research please get in touch and let us know what you’re thinking about; we’d love to help!

On the Shelf: 2021 Year in Review

Each month I check in here to provide updates about the growth and development of our print collections.  We steward several print collections of books, periodicals (both bound and loose issues), tracts, and pamphlets.  We also catalog audio, video, and digital materials in several formats which were/are published or otherwise widely distributed; nearly all of them are either produced by the University or are Stone-Campbell-related.  These are discoverable through the online library catalog.  As an aside, we have tens of thousands of A/V items (reels and cassettes, mostly) in our archival collections.  These items are usually not published or mass-produced, such as sermons delivered at congregations.  These are discoverable, in varying degrees, through the finding aids we create for each collection.

‘New Library Quarters’ from The Optimist, February 25, 1937. Available at: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101341/m1/3/

In nearly every case, when we add items to print collections, the new catalog records are also pushed over to Worldcat so they are globally discoverable.  Many of the Stone-Campbell items we preserve have never been cataloged before, so each month in my blog posts I call attention to how original cataloging is a tremendous contribution to knowledge about information resources from and about the Stone-Campbell Movement.  Additionally, I am always looking out for variant editions and printings of Stone-Campbell items so our collection represents the full breadth of our publishing activities.  These variations are also noted in the catalog records.

As we begin 2022, with great thanks to our colleagues and student workers in Technical Services, we can reflect on the addition of 5061 items* to our print collections. Thank you to Gary Oliver for his work with original cataloging and to Shan Martinez who creates multiple hundreds of records and supervises several students.  Shan’s work in 2021 is especially significant in that she cataloged box upon box of unbound periodicals this past year, and led a team of student workers to get everything processed, labelled, verified, and ready for our shelves.

*Some of these ‘items’ in my monthly lists are in reality only the titles of items which in the case of loose periodical issues represent many, many (many) more ‘items’ than might be readily apparent.  Some ‘items’ are multi-part video sets or multi-volume sets of books, but to keep the already-long monthly lists a bit more manageable, I edit out the duplicative titles. However, each physical item gets a barcode and call number, so there is considerably more wok going on than meets the eye, even with such a large quantity of items as is listed.  For example, unbound periodical issues present a storage and cataloging challenge.  We store them in boxes (often multiple titles in a single box when we only have a few issues of a title), number the boxes, and when the box contents are cataloged, these box numbers function like a call number.  The boxes vary in size from custom archival boxes (about 10 x 13 x 4 in thick) to standard-sized bankers boxes with a few larger boxes here and there.  The cataloging work involves collation, arrangement, storage, and description, so there is quite a bit more work to cataloging these than you might realize.  Mac and student workers accomplished some of this, but Shan’s work at the point of cataloging is an added layer of verification of arrangement and description.  In 2021 we began at box 790 and now are filling box 824 for the cataloged titles.  By the way. some bulletins (single issues especially) are not cataloged but are filed in the Congregational Vertical File.  Of course, we hope to acquire more and are perfectly content knowing the work will never truly be ‘finished.’

Here are the breakdowns of the number of items added by month in 2021.  If you’d like to see the titles and authors, browse these lists.

January: 119

February: 107

March: 32

April: 766

May: 892

June: 493

July: 130

August: 440

September: 586

October: 577

November: 707

December: 212

In order to prepare new items for our colleagues in Technical Services, I determine whether the item is within our collecting scope.  If not it goes to our colleagues for evaluation for possible addition to the circulating collection.  But if it is in scope, a student worker (I do this often, too) verifies whether we have the item already cataloged.  If not, we add it to the workflow to be cataloged.  If we already have a copy I compare its condition against the one on the shelf.  I also look for variant editions, printings, bindings, or other features (such as an author’s signature or gift inscription) that merit inclusion or a special note.   If the new book is in better condition that the shelved copy, I replace the worn copy.  If it is in comparable condition, it might go in the queue for scanning or digitization, or I offer it for the circulating collection, or trade to another library.  We then take the items upstairs to Technical Services along with instructions for catalogers: where it should be cataloged (into the CRS collection or another sub-collection within rare books), who the donor is, and whether cataloging should make special note of any edition or printing or provenance.  When the catalogers finish, our student workers lead the way in making sure items are shelved, and I or Amanda assist when needed.

Not only do these new (and new-to-us) titles represent the fine cataloging work of our colleagues and their staff, they represent dozens of donors who wanted to see the collection grow in scope, utility, breadth, and depth.  They believe in the power of library collections and have chipped in to make this collection a much better one.  We do not yet know how students and researchers will utilize these materials, but we look forward to the contribution they will make to our history.  And we look forward to what 2022 will bring to the shelves.