001 HENRY MILLER SHREVE (1785-1851) LETTERS, 1827-1841; 1863.

.5 linear ft.; Film 20: 1 reel microfilm.
(Originals in the National Archives)

Collection Inventory

Henry Miller Shreve was one of the founders of Shreveport and the Superintendent of Western Waterway Improvement for the Ohio, Mississippi and Red Rivers; he was also an inventor of two battering-ram steam vessels instrumental in removing the Great Raft of the Red River. Included are about 250 letters from Henry Shreve to the War Dept. relating to navigation on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Red Rivers, along with statements of accounts, estimates of funds, and reports of work accomplished. Also included are some photocopied letters from Shreve to Chief of Corps of Engineers, Washington, relating to the method, cost, and progress of removal of the Great Raft in the Red River, and a copy of article on improvement of machine to remove snags from river.

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002 MARSHALL-FURMAN FAMILY PAPERS, 1824-1903.

1 linear ft.; Film 6: 8 reels microfilm.

Collection Inventory

Henry Marshall (1805-1864) was a wealthy slave holder of Land’s End Plantation; member of Louisiana Senate and State Secession Convention; member of Provisional Congress and the First Regular Congress of the Confederate States of America. His daughter Martha married S. C. Furman. The papers are extensive and include correspondence, business and personal, family records, business and financial records, photographs, pamphlets, and newspapers.

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003 RED RIVER RAFT PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWS, 1873.

Photograph Collection

Collection Inventory

This collection includes photographic views of Red River made in April and May 1873, under the direction of C. W. Howell, U. S. Capt. Corps of Engineers, and E. A. Woodruff, 1st Lieut. U. S. Corps of Engineers, to accompany the annual report on operations for the removal of the Raft during the year ending June 30, 1873. The photographer was R. B. Talfor.

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004 ALLENDALE PLANTATION LEDGER, 1866-1900.

Film 15: 1 reel microfilm.
(Originals with donor.)

Collection Inventory

John James Marshall was a pioneer North Louisianian of Allendale Plantation in DeSoto Parish. Four ledgers include employee records and accounts, sick book, land sales, individual accounts, Trinity Mission account, rental and consignment accounts, fund for All Saints Church, and cattle and crop records.

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005 ELIJAH LOVING AND A. L. SAMUELS LETTERS, MAY 31, 1856; SEPTEMBER 13, 1861.

MmssBox #1

Collection Inventory

This collection contains a letter from Loving, a Methodist minister, and Samuels, a Civil War soldier. The Loving letter relates to Winnfield in Winn Parish, Louisiana. Samuels’ letter, written from Camp Jackson, Arkansas, relates news of deaths and departures of men in his company.

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006 J.D. ALFORD LAND RECORDS, 1895; 1903.

MmssBox #1

Collection Inventory

Two documents contain information regarding sale of land in Louisiana: the sale of 120 acres in Sabine Parish and a certificate of homestead for 160 acres.

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007 DON JUAN FILHIOL PAPERS, 1783-1876.

MmssBox #1; Film 30: 3 reels microfilm.

Collection Inventory

French-born Don Juan Filhiol was appointed Army Captain and Commandant of Militia by the King of Spain in the 1700’s and served in the garrison at the Post of Opelousas. Col. Estevan Miro assigned Filhiol the duty of establishing a post on the Ouachita River. As a reward for his service, he was given a large grant of this wilderness land. Filhiol located land for himself on either side of the river at the present site of Monroe, and he served there as Commandant for 15 years (until 1800). The collection contains correspondence, land claims, and instructions relating to Filhiol’s service as an Army Officer, the Ouachita post, and Florida, Louisiana. It also includes some correspondence with Miro and papers of Juan Filhiol with Papelas de Cub. Photocopied papers include letters from Baron de Carondelet, 1794-1796, and the Estate Sale of Jean and Mary Bres, 1836-1844.

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008 BENJAMIN CORNWELL DAWKINS (1881-1966) RECORDS, 1924-1953.

39 linear ft.

Collection Inventory

Appointed by President Coolidge May 17, 1924, Benjamin Cornwell Dawkins was a U. S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, and he retired in 1953. The collection includes routine correspondence and memoranda concerning cases, correspondence between Judge Dawkins and lawyers, papers on procedural court matters, and jury excuses, 1930-1952. It also includes substantive correspondence and reports, letters from prisoners, their families, leniency and clemency requests, and non-routine correspondence with attorneys, as well as a few briefs, opinions, and letters relating to political and judicial political matters.

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009 FRIERSON COMPANY RECORDS, 1878-1974.

42 linear ft.

Collection Inventory

The company was established by Frierson family in DeSoto Parish in 1878 and was incorporated in 1932. The collection contains more than 300 ledgers and cash books of plantation transactions including cotton gin records, payments to employees, plantation purchases, and commissary business, as well as the Frierson Company Corporation Record Book, 1932-1970, and a book by L. S. Frierson entitled, Magic Squares and Geometrical Exercises.

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010 WILLIAM I. GLEASON BLUEPRINTS, 1904-1930.

MmssBox #1

Collection Inventory

The collection includes cotton gin blueprints, pictures, and shipping lists regarding cotton gins built in Caddo Parish in the 1920’s.

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