Helen Mar Halliburton McReynolds (1844–1924) was born to Judge Charles Westley Halliburton (1812–1890) and Armilda Collins Halliburton (1824–1876) in Randolph County, Missouri. Judge Halliburton, Helen's father, was a renowned judge in Northeast Missouri, and records on his work can be found in History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam and Schuyler Counties, Missouri in Special Collections (F472.A2 H57). Helen's mother was her father's second wife, but his third wife, Juliet Owen Halliburton (1838–1914), was also influential on Helen's life as her stepmother. Helen first attended school as a child in Chariton County, Missouri, and eventually moved to Kirksville, Missouri. It was in Kirksville when Helen decided to attend Kirksville State Normal School (now Truman State University), where she initially met her husband Samuel McReynolds. Helen then became a teacher at the Normal School, until her husband moved them to Carthage so he could begin his law practice. Samuel became a prominent attorney in Carthage, Missouri, which is where Helen spent the rest of her married life with Samuel. The couple had four children, and it was her eldest son, Allen, who had Elizabeth McReynolds Rozier, one of the donors of this collection.