Hubert Gordon Collett Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS C8

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, photographs, real estate records, financial records, sheet music, and event programs relating to Hubert Gordon Collett and the Collett Family of Adair County, Missouri.

Record Group 1 contains approximately 760 documents pertaining to the family history of the Collett family, and the personal life of Gordon Collett, in the Kirksville, Missouri area. The collection ranges in date from 1874-1973, and consists of a wide variety of document types, including photographs and negatives, sheet music, financial records, land deeds, correspondence, and event programs.

Record Group 2 (The Genealogical Collection) contains genealogical material compiled by Gordon Collett. There are approximately 1320 items pertaining to the personal lives of Hubert Gordon Collett, his wife Mary Kerr Collett, Gordon's immediate family members, and correspondence regarding genealogical research. The collection ranges in date from 1870 to 2001 and includes photographs and negatives, diplomas, birth and death records, correspondence, and event programs.

Dates

1773-2012

Creator

Collett, Hubert Gordon, 1928-2007 (Person)

Note on Use of Collections

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Copyright

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Board of Governors for Truman State University, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Researchers further agree to indemnify and hold harmless Truman State University, Pickler Memorial Library, and their officers, employees, and agents from and against all suits, claims, actions, and expenses arising out of use of collections held by the library.

Biographical Note

Hubert Gordon Collett (1928-2007), who went by the name Gordon Collett, graduated from Kirksville State Teachers College (now Truman State University) with a B.S. degree in 1950 and an M.A. in 1951. Gordon Collett married Mary Kerr (1926-2006) on July 31, 1959. Mary earned her B. S. at Kirksville State Teachers College in 1950 and her M.A. in 1952. Gordon worked in Kirksville at his father's cold locker service and later as a professional singer and private music teacher. Mary held various teaching and administrative positions around Kirksville. Gordon's grandparents, Ira Collett (1862-1944) and Emma (Grim) Collett (1863-1934), married in Kirksville in 1889. Ira was the only son of Asa K. Collett (1821-1898), who came to Adair County with his parents in 1837, served in the Mexican War, and cultivated the Collett family farm. Ira worked primarily on the farm, and Emma taught in the public schools of Adair County for several years. The Collett family belonged to a small group of original pioneers to the Adair County area, settling in an area near Novinger they called "The Cabins," now a site on the National Register of Historic Places.

Extent

3.9 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is organized into two records groups.

Record Group I: Miscellaneous, 1733-1981
Record Group II: Genealogical Collection, 1773-2012

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials were collected by Gordon Collett (1928-2007) and acquired by Pickler Memorial Library at the Gordon Collett estate sale in December 2011.

Processing Information

These documents were acquired in one lot as a genealogical collection organized by Hubert Gordon Collett, and most folders maintain their original order and folder names. Processed by Deanna Leiber (Record Group 1) and Carolynn Williston (Record Group 2).