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Frank E. Smith Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-94

Scope and Content

Collection of Frank Smith (1918-1997) includes the following: material pertaining to Mr. Smith's work with TVA; material accumulated as a result of his service on the Southern Regional Council; and materials for the five volume series he edited, Conservation in the U.S.: A Documentary History.

Dates

  • 1914 - 1973

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection's status is pending. Please contact sp_coll@library.msstate.edu for more information.

Rights Statement

Any requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce materials from this collection must be submitted in writing to the Division of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Mississippi State University as the owner of the physical item(s) and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical Note

Frank Ellis Smith was born on 21 February 1918 in Sidon, Mississippi. He was a 1941 graduate of the University of Mississippi and joined the US Army during World War II. After the war, Smith returned to Mississippi to serve as the editor of the GREENWOOD MORNING CALL from 1946 to 1947. Smith was also elected to the Mississippi Senate, serving from 1948 to 1950. He aslo served as a legislative assistant to US Senator John C. Stennis from 1947-1949. In 1950, Smith was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. He also served on the Tennessee Valley Authority board from 1962 to 1972 and advocated for conservationist policies.

Other career points include serving as the associate director of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education from 1973 to 1974, working as a visiting professor at Virginia Tech from 1977 to 1979, and acting as a special assistant to Governor William Winter of Mississippi from 1980 to 1983.

Smith retired from public service in 1983 when he opened a bookstore, Choctaw Books, with his son Fred in Jackson, Mississippi. Smith died in Jackson on 2 August 1997.

Extent

22 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

System of Arrangement

Series 1 has been arranged in ascending chronological order. Series 2 and 3 have maintained Smith's original filing convention and folder titles. Series 4 has been arranged by author last name.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was generously given by Frank E. Smith.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Preservation Note

Materials have been placed in archival, acid-free enclosures.

Processing Note

The collection was deposited at Mississippi State University in 1974. It is unknown who processed the collection. Notes in the original finding aid that the folders in series 2 and 3 were left in original order using Smith's folder titles and filing system.

Title
Frank E. Smith Collection
Status
In Progress
Author
Front matter completed by Carrie P. Mastley, Curator of Material Culture. Folder list completed by Aaron Waterson, Graduate Assistant for the Division of Archives and Special Collections.
Date
June 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts Repository

Contact: