Benjamin Turner Hobbs Family Papers
Scope and Contents
The Benjamin Turner Hobbs Family Papers, 1834-1936, contain correspondence, newspaper clippings, speeches, minutes of meetings, pamphlets, broadsides, statements of account, tax receipts, deeds, etc. The bulk of the collection concerns Mississippi politics, prohibition, anti-whitecap organizations, churches and schools (mostly Baptist), and the newspaper business. Most of the material was collected by Benjamin Turner Hobbs (1853-1910), newspaper editor from Brookhaven, Mississippi.
Items of interest include a list of persons enslaved by Howell Hobbs in Brookhaven, Mississippi; a dental bill for an enslaved person, 1859; tax receipts showing the number of enslaved persons owned; a small notebook of accounts, probably of freedmen, 1866-1867; freedman's contracts, 1869.
Dates
- 1834 - 1936
Conditions Governing Access
Some material in Series XII is restricted.
Rights Statement
Any requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce materials from this collection must be submitted in writing to the Coordinator of Manuscripts or Manuscripts Archivist for Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Mississippi State University as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biographical Note
Benjamin Turner Hobbs was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, on June 4, 1853. His father was Howell Hobbs of Virginia, who eventually settled in Hinds County, Mississippi. His mother was Elizabeth Ellis Hobbs of Kentucky. Hobbs would marry Len Menger Hobbs of Clinton, Mississippi. Together they had three children, Paul M., Mary, and Henry Ware.
Hobbs attended Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. He served as an apprintice of printer's trade under R. H. Henry of Jackson, Mississippi. In 1883, he founded the BROOKHAVEN LEADER, a local newspaper. He was active in the prohibition cause in Mississippi and served as secretary, chairman, and board member at various times from 1890-1910. Hobbs was also active in the Brookhaven Baptist Church, supported anti-whitecap movement in Lincoln County, and served as treasurer of the Citizen's Executive League.
Extent
17 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
System of Arrangement
The Hobbs Family Papers are divided into eleven series with the material in each series arranged chronologically where possible. A calendar has been made for each series except the Personal and Miscellaneous Statements of Account Series, the Henry Ware Hobbs Series, and the Newspaper Series. These are not calendared because of the type of material, but correspondence recognized as important in the three series is listed in the Name Index. The following list gives the title of each series and shows the order in which each series appears on microfilm.
I. Howell Hobbs'(Antebellum), 1834 – 1877
II. Personal and Miscellaneous (Correspondence and Other), 1878 – 1936
III. Personal and Miscellaneous Statements of Account Series, 1895 - 1912.
IV. Church Material Series. 1891 - 1934.
V. Lincoln County Series. 1894 - 1930.
VI. Mississippi Politics Series. 1887 - 1932.
VII. J. W. Bailey Series. 1907 - 1909.
VIII. Prohibition Series. 1886 - 1912.
IX. Whitecaps Series. 1902 - 1910.
X. Henry Ware Hobbs Law Practice Series. 1920 - 1935.
XI. Newspaper Series. 1883 - 1399.microfilmed. Originals extend to 1913.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Henry Ware Hobbs in 1969.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Preservation Note
Enclosed in archival folders and boxes.
Processing Information
Processed by Tammy White, 1991 and Donisha Smiley, 2012.
- Title
- Benjamin Turner Hobbs Family Papers
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Processed by Tammy White, 1991 and Donisha Smiley, 2012; Finding aid prepared remotely by Jennifer McGillan, May 2020. Finding aid transferred to ArchivesSpace July 2022 by Carrie P. Mastley.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts Repository