Ruth Warner Towne Papers
Scope and Contents
Ruth Towne's papers consist of both her home and campus office files and include family records dating from as early as the 1820s, her own personal and professional papers and correspondence, and some of the research for her dissertation on Congressman William Joel Stone, as well as books and articles she wrote over her long teaching career.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1800-1999
Creator
- Towne, Ruth Warner, 1917-1998 (Person)
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Biographical Note
Ruth Warner Towne (1917 June 19-1998 April 3), the daughter of Frank Warner and Mary Elizabeth (McCoy) Towne, was a native and life-long resident of Kirksville, Missouri. After graduating from Kirksville High School as Valedictorian of her class (1935), she earned a BS in Education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (NMSTC) in 1939 followed by an MA in History from the University of Missouri (MU) in 1940. She then returned home to teach history at Kirksville High School. In 1951, she took a year off to complete the class work for a PhD in History at MU before joining the faculty at Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in 1952. Her doctorate was awarded after she completed her dissertation in 1953.
Dr. Towne rose through the ranks to Professor of History at her alma mater and in 1983, was named Dean of Graduate Studies. She retired in 1988 as both Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus in 1988 from what is now Truman State University. In addition to her teaching, student advising and administrative duties, Dr. Towne served as faculty advisor to Delta Zeta sorority for over 30 years and was a member of Lyceum Committee for almost that long. She was also her church's historian/archivist.
Extent
6.6 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is organized into 27 series
- Series I: T1/0: Administrative Documents, 1998.
- Series II: T1/1: Deeds, Mortgages and other Documents Relating to Towne Family Properties, approximately 1803-1944.
- Series III: T1/2: Myron S. and Elizabeth Towne Financial Records, approximately 1870-1918.
- Series IV: T1/3: Myron S. Towne Military and Military Pension Records, approximately 1862-1964.
- Series V: T1/4: Monthly Return of Quartermaster's Stores, 45th United States Colored Troops, Lt. Myron S. Towne, Regimental Quartermaster (1865),1864-1867.
- Series VI: T1/5: Myron S. Towne Personal Records, 1848-1908.
- Series VII: T1/6: Towne Family Genealogy, approximately 1844-1982.
- Series VIII: T1/7: Warner Family Genealogy, 1817-1982.
- Series IX: T1/8: Frank Warner Towne Personal Records, 1896-1979.
- Series X: T1/9: Ruth Warner Towne Personal Records, approximately 1920s-1997.
- Series XI: T1/10: Mary Elizabeth (McCoy) Towne Personal Records, 1910-1983.
- Series XII: T1/11: Genealogy Miscellaneous, approximately 1877-1995.
- Series XIII: T1/12: First United Methodist Church, Kirksville, 1954-1998.
- Series XIV: T1/13: United Methodist Church History, Missouri and Denominational, 1924-1994.
- Series XV: T1/14: Kirksville and Adair County History, approximately 1898-1997.
- Series XVI: T1/15: Journal Printing Company, Kirksville, 1897-1994.
- Series XVII: T1/16: Unionville, Missouri History, approximately 1900-1974.
- Series XVIII: T1/17: Teaching Career - Kirksville High School and Northeast/Truman, 1944-1998.
- Series XIX: T1/18: Panhellenic Council / Delta Zeta Sorority, approximately 1960s-1996.
- Series XX: T1/19: Published and Unpublished Works, 1900-1999.
- Series XXI: T1/20: Social Sciences Division / History Department, 1955-1989.
- Series XXII: T1/21: Students, 1955-1994.
- Series XXIII: T1/22: University Events / History, 1938-1998.
- Series XXIV: T1/23: Family Bibles, approximately 1803-1940s.
- Series XXV: T1/24: Family Photographs, 1864-1990s
- Series XXVI: Appendix I: Books from the Ruth Warner Towne Papers, Catalogued to Pickler Memorial Library Collections, 1807-1998.
- Series XXVII: Appendix II: Towne Family Antique Furniture and Other Ephemera, approximately 1840s-1950s.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Ruth Towne's Papers were received from her Estate Administrator the summer following her death.
Processing Information
In most instances, preservation copies of newspaper clippings were made for the file and the originals discarded. This is not the case with documents, however. All photocopied documents in this collection were placed here by Towne.
Subject
- Towne, Ruth Warner, 1917-1998 (Person)
- Journal Printing Company (Kirksville, MO) (Organization)
- Towne family (Family)
- First United Methodist Church (Kirksville, Mo.) (Organization)
- Adair County Historical Society (Mo.) (Organization)
Cultural context
Function
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
Uniform Title
- Title
- Ruth Warner Towne papers, appoximately 1800-approximately 1999
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Elaine Doak.
- Date
- [1993-2010]
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Truman State University, Pickler Memorial Library, Special Collections Manuscripts Repository