Correspondence, family papers,
and photographs

Manuscript Collection 635

• About the Shreve Family
• About the Collection
• Contents of the Collection

The Shreve family papers pertain to three Washington County, Arkansas, pioneer families -- Shreve, Robertson,and Wilson. Wilson Shreve (1803-1891), his wife, Barbara Mock (1810-1891), and their son, William Franklin Shreve (1834-1911), migrated from Miller County, Missouri, to Farmington (Washington County), Arkansas, in 1850 where they engaged in general agricultural pursuits. William Franklin married Millie Brown (1849-1919) in 1867 and had three children -- Alfred Walter, H. Ben, and H. W. Shreve.

Alfred Walter Shreve (1868-1939) graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1892 with a degree in civil engineering, and for several years afterward was the Washington County surveyor. Shreve also devoted much of his time to the family orchards near Farmington. In 1894, he married Nancy Catharine Robertson, a daughter of James Monroe Robertson (1841-1921) and Sarah Elizabeth Williams (1848-1921). The Robertsons were Missouri natives who migrated from Kansas in 1884.

Alfred Walter and Nancy Catharine Shreve's son, Ralph (1895-1983) graduated from Lindlahr College of Nature Cure in Chicago. Like his father, Ralph actively engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits and also surveyed Washington County property between 1939 and 1973. In 1919 he married Janie Belle Wilson (1902-1972), the daughter of Claude Wilson (1872-1963) and Nancy Catharine Witt (1874-1957), natives of Farmington, Arkansas, and Stillwell, Oklahoma, respectively.

The papers consist of three series: correspondence, family papers, and photographs. Papers include genealogical records, Civil War military records, property records (including a tax valuation of Samuel Wilson's slaves), farm produce notebooks, Shreve family photographs, and photographs of Washington County subjects.

Mrs. Catharine Shreve Foster, of Farmington (Washington County), Arkansas, donated these papers to Special Collections on May 8, 1986 and January 27, 1989.

Processed by Anthony J. Wappel, Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in January 1989.

This series contains genealogical papers, property records, farm papers, and school papers. Genealogical papers contain charts prepared by Nancy Foster and original family records, including Wilson Shreve's military records from the Civil War. Property records include Robertson, Shreve, and Wilson property papers, including deeds and property tax receipts, and miscellaneous receipts. Property records also include Samuel Wilson's estate record which lists monetary values for his slaves. Farm papers include the farmer's encyclopedia the Shreve family used to manage their farming activities, a grocer's ledger, farm notebooks, a list of wildflowers cultivated on the Shreve farm, and various awards and certificates. School papers include papers and school memorabilia kept by Walter and Ralph Shreve.

Box 2

Subseries 1. Genealogical Papers

1. Genealogical charts prepared by Nancy Foster, n.d.
2. Brown family records, 1810-1919.
3. Shreve family records, 1865-1866 and 1909.
4. Williams family records, 1818-1932.
5. Wilson family records, 1815 and ca. 1900.

Subseries 2. Property Records and Receipts

Box 2 (cont'd)

6. Robertson property, 1859-1892.
7. Robertson property, 1907-1938.
8. Robertson property tax receipts, 1866-1899.
9. Robertson miscellaneous receipts, 1867-1900.
10. Shreve property, 1830 and 1842.
11. Shreve property, 1896-1909.
12. Shreve property, 1911-1957.
13. Shreve property tax receipts, 1900-1928.
14. Shreve receipts pertaining to the Alba Lime Company, 1901-1907.
15. Shreve miscellaneous receipts, 1868-1913.
16. Wilson property, 1854 and 1871.
17. Wilson miscellaneous receipts, 1835-1859.

Subseries 3. Farm Papers

Vol 1. Household and Farmers Cyclopedia, ca. 1890.
Vol 2. Grocer's ledger, 1908.

Box 3

1. Farm produce notebooks, 1928-1936.
2. Brochure entitled "Hardy Wildflowers of the Ozarks," published by the Shreve family, along with ten postcards of wildflowers, ca. 1920.
3. American Jersey Cattle Club and 4-H club certificates, 1924-1936.

Subseries 4. School Papers

Box 3 (cont'd)

4. Walter and Ralph Shreve school notes and essays, ca. 1880-1914.
5-7. Ralph Shreve school notebooks, ca. 1910-1916.
8. Ralph Shreve school records and other ephemera,
1907-1918.0

This series contains Brown, Buckner, Shreve, and Wilson family photographs, as well as class photographs of Farmington School, White Rock School (near Farmington), Fayetteville High School, and University of Arkansas cadets. This series also contains photographs of the Shreve farm, several farm houses, near Farmington and other locations in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, kilns near Farmington, and Lewis Brothers Hardware Store in Fayetteville.

Subseries 1.   Family Photographs

Box 4

1. Brown, Marsh family and house, ca. 1890-1910.
2. Brown, Travis family, ca. 1890-1910.
3. Buckner, Jim R., ca. 1890-1910.
4-5. Robertson, James and Sarah, ca. 1900.
6-7. Shreve, Alfred Walter, ca. 1910.
8. Shreve, Bill, ca. 1942.
9. Shreve, Harriet Nolen, ca. 1910.
10. Shreve, Joanne, ca. 1915.
11. Shreve, Millie, ca. 1900.
12-26. Shreve, Ralph, ca. 1913-1975.
27. Shreve, Ruby and Pauline, ca. 1920.
28-29. Shreve, Wilson, ca. 1900.
30-34. Shreve cousins, ca. 1920.
35-46. Shreve group photographs, ca. 1900-1920.
47-54. Wilson family, ca. 1900-1945.
55. Witt, Jane and Goforth children, ca. 1915.

Subseries 2. Class Photographs

Box 4 (cont'd)

56. Conway County Teachers, ca. 1900.
57-59. Farmington School, ca. 1900.
60-62. White Rock School, ca. 1903.
63-64. Fayetteville High School, ca. 1914.
65-73. Lindlahr College of Nature Cure (Chicago), 1916.
74-75. University of Arkansas cadets, 1915.

Subseries 3. Washington County Views

Box 4 (cont'd)

76-96. Shreve Farm, 1915.
97-107. Houses near Farmington, ca. 1915.
108-110. Kilns near Farmington, ca. 1914.
111. Lewis Brothers Hardware Store, ca. 1914.