$50,000 Grant from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission
In January 2024, the Digital PV Panther Project (DPPP) worked with the John B. Coleman Library and the Waller County Historical Commission (WCHC) to submit a $50,000 TexTreasures grant to the Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC).
This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the State Library and Archives Commission (Grant# TXT-25009 – 2024 – Preventing the Erasure of Black History in Texas)
In 2021, DPPP received a $25,000 TexTreasures award from TSLAC to hire two archival consultants and create processing plans for over 30 manuscript collections in the archives. The 2024 TexTreasures grant will fund:
the hiring of 4 students majoring in Social Sciences for one year
the purchase of a 32 Terabyte server for digital storage
the purchase of archival supplies to process and digitize several manuscript collections in the archives.
The 2024 TexTreasures grant can be extended for three years and $150,000 total.
It’s the 6th external grant awarded to the DPPP since 2021.
Grant Abstract
To build upon the success of a previous TexTreasures grant, the Digital PV Panther Project (DPPP) will collaborate with the John B. Coleman Library and Waller County Historical Commission to hire four undergraduates at PVAMU to finish processing, digitizing, and creating finding aids for the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection. The team will submit the finding aids to TARO and publish digital finding aids on our websites. The team will also digitize the remaining manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators, which were processed for a previous 2021-22 TexTreasures grant. Moreover, the team will procure archival supplies, process, and create finding aids for the PV Educational Conference Collection, the TAMU System Board of Regents Collection, and the Woolfolk Collection—all of which have processing plans created during previous NEH grant projects.
The 2021 TexTreasures grant proved transformational at PVAMU. It allowed the DPPP to process, rehouse, and create findings aids for more than 30 collections of former professors and administrators at PVAMU. Until that time, the PVAMU archives had no processed collections or finding aids.
Today, the archives has processed and created finding aids for almost 100 collections as well as submitted the original 30+ collections from the TexTreasures grant to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). DPPP digitized 18 of the collections and created interactive finding aids with hyperlinks on the project website, which allow researchers to examine the manuscript collections from the comfort of their homes.
For example, the John Henley Williams Collection documents his activities as a Cooperative Extension agent in Texas from 1932 to 1947. While it contains mostly correspondence with other agents, the collection also features certificates, annual reports, and meeting minutes from the U.S. War and Food Administration.
Since 2021, DPPP has worked tirelessly to make archival collections available to researchers at PVAMU.
“Years have passed, yet the diploma hangs perfectly centered behind my chair and the graduation ring sits proudly atop my finger…constant reminders of the formative years I spent as an undergraduate.”
“For the record, I did not attend Prairie View A&M University, but I did attend an HBCU that provided me with a hefty dose of the Black experience and, more importantly, a better understanding of the giving-back concept. Ordinarily, one would consider these lessons to be indicative of an HBCU education, but my epiphany occurred during a freshman-week session called ‘students now, alumni forever.’
Alumni, as defined by Webster, are graduates, former students, or old pupils. My college said, “Anyone can matriculate through college, earn a degree, and become a graduate but our alumni do that and so much more. They are individuals who completely embrace the uniqueness and importance of an HBCU education by beginning their support now and continuing it forever. Which kind do you want to be?”
By Nelson Bowman, alumnus of Morehouse College
Andre Evans republished this article in a 2007 issue of the student newspaper, the Prairie View Panther, and he explained, “I am still an undergraduate and I cannot fully explain to you the invigorating experience received from giving back to your alma mater, so I gave you a testimony from someone who could. True, I am attempting to foster within the students an altruistic spirit, but I would never limit that to monetary donations. When you reach the point of self-actualization, you will realize that you have so much to offer other than money. Your support, love, and even presence can be a contribution.”
Evans closed by encouraging students to join the Pre-Alumni Association, but I will encourage students who are truly interested in giving back to the university to start by submitting an article, short story, or poem for consideration to be published on our website.
We have lost so much in the absence of the student newspaper, and the Digital PV Panther Project wants to amplify the voices and creative spirit of students at the oldest public HBCU in Texas. Our mission is to eliminate the silences and prevent the erasure of history at PVAMU, and we have made great strides when it comes to historic preservation in the archives. The students who work on the project have devoted their time and attention to processing and digitizing some of the most important documents that remain housed at this institution, and I am so proud of their monumental achievements since we hired the first group of eleven undergraduates in the summer of 2022. We have received external support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Texas State Library & Archives Commission, and the Summerlee Foundation, and we have received internal financial support from Dr. Krishnamoorthi through the RISE program and Dr. Musa Olaka, the esteemed director of John B. Coleman Library. My heart is truly full.
But the truth is that we simply cannot fulfill our mission without the support and contributions of the students. The students are the bone, the sinew, the very life’s blood of this great campus. So come see us in Room 111 of the library–past Dunkin Donuts on the right–or send us an email at [email protected].
I have worked on the Digital PV Panther Project for about two months as an archival assistant, and I have embraced the role of historic preservationist at my HBCU. Whether curating social media posts, taking inventory of the archives, processing manuscript collections, or digitizing photographs, my goal is to encourage research in the rich historical collections in the archives at PVAMU.
I spent a lot of time taking inventory on the manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators who worked in the Cooperative Extension Service.
The inventory sheets for most of the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection were outdated, having been completed originally by students in the early 2000s. Thus, I spent a lot of time revising inventory sheets in Microsoft Excel. In each instance, we checked the titles of each folder and made sure it was accounted for in each box. After making sure the folders were placed in the correct location and listed correctly, we went back through the boxes and noted the presence special media–maps, photographs, diagrams, etc. We made sure to check the accuracy of our work, because we had to have all the media in order prior to processing the collection.
I also compiled lists of source material in the Digital Commons, and I wrote summaries of each source in preparation for writing biographies of former professors for finding aids.wrote a biography on one of the many professors that attended this school. While I did not have much experience writing memoirs, I was assigned to write one on a professor who made a remarkable impact on Prairie View A&M, specifically Professor Henry Seward Estelle. He had an incredible effect on the Agricultural department from the early to mid-1900s. In addition, he partook in much more positions and events that occurred at Prairie View. If you want more information on Prof. Estelle, you can find his biography here Henry Seward Estelle – The Digital PV Panther Project.
I also assist in maintaining our social media pages. Being a part of our social media team, I help my coworkers develop ideas for posts. You can find me on a few of our Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts. In addition, we have made many posts that depict the rich history of PVAMU using photographs, blog posts, blueprints, and maps.
I have also contributed to meetings with out team leaders, Dr. Moore, Ms. Earles, Lindsay Boknight, and Noah Jackson. We discuss our progress, our strategies, our upcoming projects, and our plans for the future. Indeed, I am amazed at the way that Dr. Moore incorporates our ideas into the project. The Digital PV Panther Project does not have the usual sort of top-down administrative style. Rather, Dr. Moore relies heavily on the input from myself and the other archival assistants to light the way. Whether it’s the method of taking inventory or processing collections, Dr. Moore always listens to our ideas about the project, and he allows the team leaders to manage our workflow.
Thus far, my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has been eye-opening. To have the opportunity to work with such remarkable people and partake in such a significant project is astounding, to say the least. I hope to be able to continue to work on this project and share the incredible history of Prairie View with my peers, university staff and faculty, and with those across the nation. There are so many collections in the archives to discover and share with the public, and I am very appreciative of having the opportunity ro work on the Digital PV Panther Project.
My name is Kasedi Eason, and I started working as an archival assistant on the Digital PV Panther Project in late August 2022. I document my work on the project daily, and it allows me to share with the public my experience in the archives. On August 31st, for example, I started to examine the archival media in the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, specifically he photographs taken by Cooperative Extension agents to demonstrate their work in the rural African American communities in Texas. The county agents worked very hard to improve the quality of life in rural communities through scientific farming and homemaking. Considering that so many of these communities no longer exist, and that the number of Black landowners significantly declined in the 1950s, this collection is especially significant because it documents the Black experience in Texas Freedom Colonies.
A future aspect of the Digital PV Panther Project will be adding data to the WebAtlas of the Texas Freedom Colonies Project–an educational and social justice initiative dedicated to supporting the preservation of Black settlement landscapes, heritage, and grassroots preservation practices through research.
1940s Map of Texas Freedom Colonies in Grimes County
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
One family loading their luggage into a Cooperative Extension Service Vehicle
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
Meticulous data entry
The CE&HD Collection contains documents, maps, and photographs that date back to the 1920s, and the county agents wrote about all their activities–from growing crops, to raising farm animals, to constructing houses. The agents also maintained meticulous records that detailed how much money they spent on each project.
100 years of records
I found it very interesting how the cursive handwriting was readable, and my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has instilled a better appreciation for the manuscripts in the archives. Indeed, I am grateful that these collections were preserved and not thrown away, and I look forward to making this collection available to researchers. Some of the records are over one hundred years old!
Children at Morgan School (Guadalupe County) exercising in 1933 exercises, with agent supervising
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
I am also proud to work on the social media team for the Digital PV Panther Project. I have created multiple TikTok videos showcasing my work as an archival assistant, and I am glad to put my skillset to work promoting the archival collections at PVAMU. For example, the TikTok video to the left demonstrates the vast amount of archival media in the CE&HD Collection.
This project also gave the opportunity to work with some amazing scholars of African American History, specifically anthropologist Myeshia Babers–a professor of Africana Studies at Texas A&M University, who conducted interviews with several members of the team. Dr. Babers agreed to conduct interviews with archival assistants shortly after the project began, and she plans to edit the interviews for future publication online. In fact, we hope to expand the scope of our social media output by creating a Youtube channel, and we plan to publish the interviews with Dr. Babers to get us started. During my interview on September 2, I explained about my work thus far on the project, and I prognosticated about what I expect to get out of this job. It should be interesting to compare my initial interview with the interview we plan to conduct at the end of the project.
The following week, Dr. Moore organized a team meeting with University Archivist Ms. Phyllis Earles, who invited Dr. Musa Olaka, the library director, and Karl Henson, the assistant library director, to speak to us. Dr. Olaka told us about the benefits and opportunities we had working on this project, and he explained that Dr. Moore had written over $700,000 in grants to fund this project and hire students to do the work of historic preservation at PVAMU. None of our archival collections are processed, and the only real finding aids that we have are the ones that Dr. Moore wrote a grant to produce last year. Dr. Olaka told us that other students who worked for Ms. Earles and Dr. Moore had gone on to stellar careers, and his words have certainly inspired us to work harder and achieve the goals of the Digital PV Panther Project.
At the meeting, we also talked about our progress on the project, and Dr. Moore compiled a project guidebook, which contains rules, guidelines, and instructions for various aspects of the project–from social media curation, to blogging, and the addition of media to Wordpress. One of my fellow archival assistants, Malachi McMahon, also took a moment to stress the significance of the project. His research has provided some of the most insightful and engaging blog posts to date, and it shows in his drive and determination to make positive changes in the world.
On September 27, I created a Tiktok video about the Abner Davis Memorial, which is the focus of Malachi’s best blog post to date (Click HERE to read it). The memorial is located on campus in front of the George Ruble Woolfolk Building. Abner Davis was a member of the varsity football team in 1927, and he broke his neck while trying to make a tackle against Texas College on Thanksgiving Day. He passed away due to the severity of the injuries. Since he was recognized as a great example of student success at PVAMU, his classmates and teammates created several different memorials over the years to their fallen hero.
In the past couple of weeks, my work has focused on creating inventories spreadsheets for the numerous boxes in the CE&HD Collection, and I have also helped edit the finding aids of 31 former professors and administrators. We hope to complete the finding aids before October 31st. I have also developed a list of ideas for upcoming social media posts and TikTok videos.
Though I have only been an archival assistant for two months, I have gained a sincere appreciation for historic preservation during that time, and I have developed a much clearer understanding of the importance of the Digital PV Panther Project.
We plan to prevent the erasure of African American History by all means available to us, and I could not be more excited about the future!
My historical awareness about the history of HBCUs has seriously expanded since I began to work on the Digital PV Panther Project. When I showed up the first day, I did not know what I had gotten myself into this semester. I was eager to work on campus, as well as learn more about the project, but I remained unclear on the scope of work. To start, I helped the University Archivist Ms. Phyllis Earles with administrative tasks, such as creating labels for time sheets and creating a document detailing kitchen etiquette to be displayed in the staff kitchen area.
Being a Kinesiology major, I have only taken a course in Texas history at PVMAU. Thus, I had little awareness of institutional history. I knew that the university was founded in 1876, but I never knew about the depth of historical collections in the PVAMU archives.
Much of my archival processing work has focused on creating inventories for the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, which contains images, maps, and documents dating back to the 1920s. The collection also consists of travel sheets and personal letters written by people on the campus of PVAMU and surrounding counties. Seeing the substantial size of the archives has given me a clearer picture of the scope of PVAMU history, and I now realize how much more important it is to preserve it and have it accessible to the public.
Dr. Moore also assigned me to work on the social media team with Kasedi Eason, Noah Jackson, and Malachi McMahon, and I curated content for Instagram and TikTok. One of the first videos I created and edited for our page focused on the Wilhelmina Delco Exhibit on the 4th floor of the John B. Coleman Library. Since most students have likely never visited the 4th floor of the library, this TikTok video allows them to experience a taste of the exhibition.
Dr. Moore also introduced us to a social media manager called Loomly, which helps you curate content for multiple social media accounts at once as well as schedule to post them for weeks in advance. We use Loomly for all our social media posts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Dr. George Ruble Woolfolk delivering a much deserved reward in the 1950s
For a couple of weeks, I went through the archive boxes and created new inventory sheets as well as edited some that were done years ago. Writing a key of which boxes had pictures/maps included makes it easier in the future for finding certain documents in each one. In these boxes, many pictures are starting to deteriorate. That is why it is so important for us to be going through these documents to be able to scan them and make them digital.
Recently, I have learned how to scan Prints and Slides on the new Epson 12000XL flatbed scanner. We can now scan the historic photographs in the Tom Godwin Collection, and we have partnered with Getty Images to license them to their clients. Not only will we preserve the photographs and prevent their deterioration, but we will upload them to the Getty Images digital content management system and allow the larger PVAMU family to have access to them as well.
Overall, working on the Digital PV Panther Project has taught me so much in such little time. I cannot wait to see what comes in the future for this project and how far we can bring this information to the campus and the public. This project is exceedingly important to the university as well as the surrounding communities, and I am dedicated to ensuring that these collections are preserved for future generations.
Myrtle E. Garrett receiving an award for her outstanding service in the 1960s.
(Photo: The Myrtle Garrett Papers, The Special Collections & Archives Department, PVAMU)
In my first few weeks working on the Digital PV Panther Project, I had the opportunity to process the manuscript collections of several former professors in the PVAMU Archives. The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) awarded Ms. Earles and Dr. Moore almost $20,000 for their TexTreasures grant proposal, and it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the amazing careers of Myrtle E. Garrett and Oscar John Thomas. After working countless hours to build the reputation of PVAMU, the two former professors donated their research, lesson plans, and other artifacts to the university in the 1970s, but the archives never had a chance to fully process the collections, create finding aids, and make their papers available to researchers until the fall of 2022. This blog post examines the lives and legacies of two former professors and encourages researchers to visit the archives to examine the collections for themselves!
Myrtle Elwyn Garrett
Myrtle Elwyn Garrett, the fifth of thirteen children of Jack and Cora Teel Garrett, was born April 9, 1912 in Longview, Gregg County, Texas.
She received her early education at Rollins Elementary School and was valedictorian of her graduating class at Longview Colored High School. She earned the bachelor and master of science degrees in home economics at Prairie View A&M University and pursued further studies at George Washington and Texas Tech Universities.
She taught at Rollins Elementary School for approximately 13 years, She then joined the Extension Service as county home demonstration agent in Falls County with headquarters in Marlin, where she served for three years. She was then promoted to district agent with headquarters at Prairie View A&M University where she supervised the work of home demonstration agents in 21 counties. She later transferred to Texas A&M University, where she served as program specialist until her retirement. She provided training for working with low-income homemakers and served as the head the 4-H Club for all of Texas. She was most proud of the Leadership Laboratory, which promoted leadership among youth.
Myrtle Garrett created lesson plans for education and training programs in the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Service.
(Photo: The Myrtle Garrett Papers, The Special Collections & Archives Department, PVAMU)
Myrtle Garrett working as part of the Home Demonstration Service
(Photo: The Myrtle Garrett Papers, The Special Collections & Archives Department, PVAMU)
Garrett belonged to many community and professional organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and she received numerous awards, the most prestigious being the Distinguished Service Award. She gave to many charities and organizations, the most notable of which was an endowed scholarship to needy students attending Prairie View A&M in the amount of $50,000 in memory of her parents and aunt (Miss Hattie Garrett, second mother), who gave their support to further her education.
She attended St. Mark C.M.E. Church, and she donated pews in memory of her parents and aunt. Her services for First United Methodist, College Station, included chairman of the administrate board and fundraising.
Miss Garrett was also a world traveler. She visited Africa, Hawaii, Canada, South America, the Caribbean and six countries in Europe.
The majority of her work focused on the negative impact of racial segregation, and she published a host of research on the subject during her career. In 1974, she was gifted an honorary “Mug Book” from Texas A & M University, which recognized her tireless efforts and accomplishments.
In December 1995, she passed away, leaving 13 nieces and nephews (her children), Dr. David L. Garrett Jr., Clemogene Wilson, Carolyn Williams, Jacquelyn L. Tims, Hattie Marie Newhouse, Garrett O. Williams Sr., Rosalind D. Tims, the Rev. Reginald Garrett, Janice E. Garrett, Cedric T. Williams Sr., Frederic S. Tims, Sharon R. Garrett and Tracey Adkins, and 20 great-nieces and nephews.
In this photo, Myrtle Garret (far right) poses with the 4-H Club.
(Photo: The Myrtle Garrett Papers, The Special Collections & Archives Department, PVAMU)
Oscar John Thomas
Born July 10, 1896, the second son and the fourth child of nine children born to the late Isaac and Emma Thomas of Trawick, Nacogdoches County, Texas, He spent his childhood days in the rural community in which he was born. His early training was received in the neighborhood school which was located one mile from his residence. After completing the ninth grade he passed a state examination and at the age of 17, taught a one teacher school one year.
Realizing that his education had only begun he entered Prairie View State College the following year and enrolled in the sophomore normal class. He graduated from the normal department in the spring of 1920 and completed his college work in 1927, receiving the Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture. His first years of experience were in one teacher schools of Nacogdoches and Shelby Counties, where he taught alternate years while attending Prairie View State Normal. In August 1920, he began work at Texas College in Tyler, Texas as teacher of General Agriculture and the Farm Manager.
Oscar John Thomas circa 1940s
While at Texas College, he married Bessie Aleda Hardeway of Ponta, Texas. After working at Texas College for three years, he accepted the position of Principal and Teacher of Vocational Agriculture in Cameron, Texas, where he served in these two capacities and taught high school mathematics for eight years.
After completing his eighth year at Cameron he was relieved of his work in Vocational Agriculture by another teacher. He served as principal and teacher of mathematics seven additional years. During his fourteenth year, the school was renamed in his honor as Oscar John Thomas High School.
Oscar John Thomas High School
On July 13, 1938, Thomas accepted the position of State Itinerant Teacher Trainer in Vocational Agriculture at Prairie View State College. In addition to his regular duties as Teacher Trainer, he worked as the state adviser to the Texas Association of New Farmers of America. His professional activities included service as the President of the Teachers State Association, Regional Vice President of the American Teachers Association, and First Vice President of the American Teachers Association. He also served as President of the Prairie View Alumni Association for a period of six years and as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Texas Interscholastic League of Colored Schools.
In 1944, while studying at Prairie View State College, he conducted a study of successful practices and procedures used in the best cooperative teaching program, which evolved into his master’s thesis in Agricultural Education. His research was later published as a monograph titled Suggested Principles and Practices for Cooperative Teaching with Special Reference to Vocational Agriculture.
World War I Registration Card
World War I Registration Card
Like many other young scholars who attended PVAMU, Oscar John Thomas registered to fight in the First World War. One of the most popular collections in the archives, BLACKS IN THE MILITARY, focuses on the contributions of African-Americans to U.S. military history.
World War II Registration Card
At the age of 47, Oscar John Thomas registered to fight in the Second World War as well. The Double V Campaign, which sought victory against fascism abroad and victory against Jim Crow at home, was popular among African Americans who served in the 1940s.
World War II Registration Card
Oscar John Thomas passed away in 1977 at age 81.
He was buried in Prairie View Memorial Gardens Cemetery on the campus of PVAMU.
In July, my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has been fun and light. After the initial field research trips to Bellville and Brenham–as well as the delicious, chicken strip lunches at the Dairy Queen–we have been in the office getting busy! My fellow archival assistants and I have been processing the manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators who made amazing strides for the betterment and exposure of the university. Our efforts in this regard have helped archival consultants Miguell Caesar and Sheena Wilson–both from the Gregory School in Houston–complete their TexTreasures grant, which is funded through the Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC).
Since the early twentieth century, Black people have dedicated their lives to making sure that PVAMU produces productive panthers. Whether it’s productivity in historical research, setting up tours for the historically famous marching band and a cappella choir, the PV Singers, fighting for a better quality of life in the violent context of Jim Crow through the Cooperative Extension Service, or operating local bookstores for students, Black people have in some way, shape, or form helped to BUILD A LEGACY!
(Photo: Kalayah Jammer 2022)
In the archives–located on the fifth floor of John B. Coleman Library–we are making a lot of headway as far as re-foldering documents and re-labeling folders. We have also been examining the documents and relabeling them in the index to better explain what we have in the finding aids. Carrie B. Coss, who started teaching at PVAMU in the 1940s, donated her papers that span her career of over 25 years. TALK ABOUT DEDICATION!
(Photo: Kalayah Jammer 2022)
Have you ever heard of an A Cappella Choir Tour? PVAMU had one and it was instructed by none other than Dr. Edison Anderson, who added a lot of extra excitement and adventure to the A Cappella Choir scene. As former director of Vocal Choral Music and director of the renowned Prairie View A Cappella Concert Choir during the 1960s, Dr. Anderson was very enthusiastic about working with young people and groups of all sizes as well as with those who have been inspired toward a professional goal. He was invited to become a professor of music at his Alma Mater, and he had much personal pride and interest in counseling music students, many of whom gained prominence in the music world of today.
Over the course of my first few weeks of being an assistant in the archives and making my way through the various collections, I have learned a lot more about the history of my HBCU. My first job on campus in 2020 was in the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC), but it was not until last week while going through the manuscript collection of a female extension agent who worked at PVAMU and TAMU named Myrtle Garrett that I learned the history of the CARC. It began as the agriculture department and was segregated by gender, Home Economics for women and Farming/Agriculture for men. In the 1960s, Myrtle Garrett spent her time as a Home Demonstration Agent as well as serving as the Program Specialist for the Limited Income program of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at A&M. She helped over four thousand families in Texas during her time as the Program Specialist.
DeZhane Johnson in the archives (Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
Garrett spent her entire career being of service to the people around her while simultaneously spearheading a program that helped thousands more all across Texas. By the end of her archival collection, I learned how Myrtle had become an extremely well-respected and beloved figure in her community. Myrtle worked over 30 years as a federal employee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For 20 years, she was a charter member of the alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at PVAMU.
Her collection features a farewell binder filled with adoring letters from the women of all races whom she had taught or worked alongside throughout her career. Her collection not only inspired me to be a more involved member of my Prairie View community but to also learn more about the people that were crucial to the making of the Prairie View I have come to know and love.
Sincerely,
DeZhane Johnson
DeZhane Johnson (L), Malachi McMahon (C), and Miguell Caesar (R) in the archives (Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
Malachi McMahon (L) and Zynitra Durham (R) working in the archives on the fifth floor of John Coleman Library (Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
In my first month as an archival assistant on the Digital PV Panther Project, I have examined the contents of numerous boxes of archival media on the fifth floor of John B. Coleman Library. Beginning as a small, rural land grant college, Prairie View A&M University has inspired and shaped the careers of very productive people in the field of education, agriculture, and science, and the manuscripts of more than 30 former professors and administrators require processing before scholars can examine them for their research. Within these archives are decades of information documenting the lives of the many people who have played a role in creating the prestigious university that Prairie View is today.
Malachi McMahon in the archives (Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
One of the manuscript collections that I helped process was filled with papers about Dr. John B. Coleman, a supporter of the university who was partly responsible for the equalization of funding in the Texas A&M (TAMU) system through the Permanent University Fund. Prior to his work, the amount of funding was distributed evenly between PVAMU and TAMU at College Station. Coleman’s efforts provide an example of how one man can impact the future of academic achievement for all PVAMU students, and the university library is named for him.
Within just this first months work I have gained a great amount of insight into the rich history of PVAMU, and I look forward to processing and digitizing more collections so that we can open up the archives to the public.
List of Manuscript Collections Rehoused in Acid-Free Folders:
My experience working on the Digital PV Panther Project started off on a high note. In my first week, I uncovered some long-lost elements of university history that stretch back almost two centuries on a field trip to the Austin County Courthouse archives in the town of Bellville, TX. I also tried the chicken tenders at Dairy Queen for the first time! Most importantly, however, I sparked an intense curiosity within myself about the rich history and campus geography at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU).1
The Austin County Courthouse in Bellville, Texas (Photo: Kalayah Jammer, 2022)
I started the week conducting research on several professors who made marvelous strides in building the prestige of our university. I searched the Digital Commons using bepress, our digital content management system, for past issues of the student newspaper, The Prairie View Panther, and I compiled scores of article excerpts into a single document to help prepare biographies for the new finding aids being created with funding from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission.
One of the professors I researched was Raymond Carreathers, who served as a guidance counselor in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the 1970s, he also served as head of resident and student life in Alexander Hall, a male freshman dorm. He was also a member of the ETA GAMMA chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Moreover, he served as an advising officer to the Pan-Hellenic Council as well as the Vice-President of the Southwest Region of Alpha chapters.
The Old Jail Museum off the courthouse square in Bellville, Texas (Photo: Kalayah Jammer, 2022)
The second professor on my list was Carrie B. Coss, a professor of education who joined the faculty in 1946. Formerly at Langston University, she earned bachelor’s degrees from Howard University and Cincinnati University, and she received her master’s degree from Columbia University in New York. Coss also served as a committee chairperson for the Alpha Mu Gamma Honors Society. Not only was she a professor of education at PVAMU, but she was also local historian who uncovered hidden histories on campus. In 1989, Coss worked with the Waller County Historical Society to document African American cemeteries, and she also served on the historical marker committee for Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery, which sits RIGHT BEHIND campus, about a 3-minute walk from Phases 3 & 6. For more information on this committee, please see a previous blog post (Click HERE)
I also compiled lists of articles about Colquitt Dubois Yancy, Florida Yeldell, and Mrs. John C. Winfree–just to name a few, but you will have to wait until a later post or for us to finish the new finding aids in August 2022.
This cornerstone, bronze bell, and brick base are all that remain of the old Austin County Courthouse, which was built around 1886 and destroyed by fire in 1960. (Photo: Kalayah Jammer, 2022)
I also learned a great deal of new information about the history of PVAMU. Not only was the information new to me, but some of it is also a completely new discovery for everyone. The original name of the enslaved labor camp on which PVAMU now sits was called Alta Vista, and it was once owned by Colonel Jared Ellison Kirby. Born in Georgia in 1809, he moved to Texas and amassed a large estate, which he sought to protect through service to the Confederacy. He was shot and killed in October 1865 by a Union supporter in Galveston, Texas. His wife, Helen, acquired Alta Vista upon his death, and she sold it to the State of Texas in the mid-1870s to establish the Alta Vista Agricultural & Mechanical College for Colored Youths, which later became what we know today as PVAMU.
Everyone reading this blog post most likely knows that the state legislature decided to establish PVAMU in Waller county in 1876. You probably did not know, however, that the state legislature passed the act that established Waller County in 1873. Kirby’s enslaved labor camp at Alta Vista, therefore, was located in another county prior to 1873. If I wanted to know anything about Alta Vista prior to the Civil War, I had to visit the county seat of Austin County and find documents related to Kirby and his kin. I wanted to find out what happened on our campus before it was “our” campus. So my boss, Dr. DeWayne Moore, took me to the Bellville Texas Justice Center, which had records about Kirby and many other families.
I had never been to Bellville, but it was a very interesting little town, and I posted some pictures from our visit to the city.
A map from the probate record of Jared Ellison Kirby that shows Pond Creek (Photo: Kalayah Jammer, 2022)
Once we got to the justice center on North Chesley Street, we found our way to the records room–a massive archive full of deed, marriage, and probate records in heavy, leather-bound books that recorded the history of Austin County all the way back to the time of the Texas Revolution. In one of those books, we located the probate record of Jared Ellison Kirby, the planter who owned the enslaved labor camp, Alta Vista, at the time of the Civil War. As I mentioned earlier, Kirby died only a few months after emancipation in October 1865, and his probate contains information about all the property he owned at the time of his death. We hope his probate will contain information about his involvement in slavery, but it will take more time to transcribe its almost 200 pages.
Please do not step on the grass!
The central purpose of our trip to Bellville was to discover our lineage. What existed on campus before it was PVAMU? Who lived on this ground before students? And what is the story of our campus before it was sold to the state to become a university? One tradition at PVAMU, which many students know before they ever set foot on campus, is never stepping on the grass. To pay respects to our enslaved ancestors who lie buried in unmarked graves, we do not step on the grass. We keep off the grass to honor our ancestors who might be buried in any plot of this hallowed ground.
We do not know the exact location of their graves, and we do not know the names of our ancestors, because slave owners did not bother to record the names of the enslaved in the US Census–only their age and gender.
In Bellville, we made one of the most significant historical discoveries in the history of PVAMU. We discovered the names of 58 individuals who once were enslaved at Alta Visa.
The probate record of Indiana Kirby, the first wife of Jared Ellison Kirby (Photo: Kalayah Jammer, 2022)
Due to the fact that the probate is written in old 1800s English cursive handwriting, you may not be able to read this, but I can list a few names for you.
“Willis 17 years old worth 1000 dollars, Levi 15 years old worth 1000 dollars, Sarah 35 years old 800 dollars and Almedia 12 years old 600 dollars.”
While not in this picture, the youngest enslaved person that I’ve seen was a 2-year-old girl named Ellen, who was “worth” 300 dollars. This sight, honestly, was very surreal.
It is one thing to watch Hollywood movies about the Civil War, and it is one thing to learn about slavery in college history courses, but it is quite another to see the names of human property written down in a way that you would write a receipt or account balance sheet. It’s quite surreal to see the listed names of Black people–BLACK CHILDREN–and how old they were and their monetary value, like a material item, we might buy or sell today.
In 1860, 40-year old Jared Ellison Kirby owned 285,000 in real estate and $175,000 in his personal estate, and he lived at Alta Vista with his 23-year old wife, Helen, his two children, 12 year old Lucy and 7 year old Jared Jr. The 73-year-old mother of Jared Kirby was named Sarah, and she owned $32,000 in real estate and $32,000 in personal property. She also lived at Alta Vista.1
The 1860 Slaves Schedules reveal that Jared Kirby owned 30 slave cabins on his property. According to an article in the Prairie View Panther, the slave cabins at Alta Vista were located where the Hobart Taylor building now sits.2 His mother owned 10 slave cabins, in which lived the 19 slaves she owned in 1860.
Jared owned 5 forty-two year old male slaves, 30 thirty-year old male slaves, 21 fifteen year old male slaves, and 15 five year old male slaves. He also owned 4 forty two year old female slaves, 17 twenty five year old female slaves, 22 fifteen year old female slaves, and 25 six year old female slaves.3
71 men, and 68 women. Total of 139 listed under Jared’s name. If you add the 19 people listed under Sarah’s name, that means 158 enslaved men and women lived at Alta Vista in 1860.
In total, we managed to find almost 60 names of our enslaved ancestors in the probates of Jared Kirby’s family members. We were also able to find a map of the enslaved labor camp, Alta Vista, (see above image) which is only part of the campus we know today. We look forward to revealing more information from the probate records in future posts for the Digital PV Panther Project.’
Sincerely,
Kalayah Jammer
END NOTES
1860 USCensus, Hempstead, Austin, Texas; Roll: M653_1287; Page: 175; Family History Library Film: 805287
Gregory Bevels, “Gone but not Forgotten ~ Reflections on Wyatt Chapel Cemetery,” Prairie View (TX) Panther, October 21, 1994.
The National Archives in Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Eighth Census of the United States 1860; Series Number: M653; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29
