Mary Kennerly Cloud Papers

An Inventory of the Collection

Biographical Note

Mary Kennerly was born in 1887 in Austin, Texas. She married Frederick Grandin Cloud (1871-1930), a native of Pennsylvania, in 1903. Her husband's grandfather, John Wurts Cloud, Sr.(1797-1850) was one of the original members of the Austin Colony and the first known Episcopal minister in Texas. Mary and Frederick had three children, Frederick Grandin, Jr. (b. 1910), Mary Travis (b. 1916) and Frances Allen (b.1914). In her youth, daughter Frances was considered a popular entertainer, appearing frequently around town as a reader for theatrical and civic programs.

Kennerly Cloud served as curator of the Republic of Texas Museum located on the Texas Capitol grounds from 1926-1954. The museum is owned and operated by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). Prior to that appointment, she was the society editor for the Austin American newspaper during the early 1920s. She also served under president Clara Driscoll (1927-1931) as state secretary of the DRT for eight years as well as a member and past president of the William B. Travis Chapter of the DRT. Other memberships included the Altrusa Club, the John T. Allan Parent-Teacher Association, the Austin Kwill Club and the Austin League of Women Voters. In addition, Kennerly Cloud belonged to the First Methodist Church of Austin for over 50 years.

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, legal and printed material, creative works, scrapbooks, photographs negatives and artifacts document the life of Austinite Mary Kennerly Cloud, mother, newspaper editor, Republic of Texas Museum curator and volunteer. The collection is divided into three series: Personal, Organizational and Photographs. It should be noted that the line between Kennerly Cloud's personal activities versus those as the curator of the Texas Republic Museum are not always clearly defined. This lack of definition is reflected in correspondence contained in the first series, some of which appears to be of a personal nature (family genealogical research) despite the fact that it is addressed to her as a museum curator. This lack of definition is also apparent in the Manuscripts and Notes subseries. Highlights from the Personal series include a "Bill of Sale for a Negro Girl" dated 1840 and invitations contained in the Printed Materials subseries to the opening of the new Capitol building, May, 1888 and Miriam "Ma" Ferguson's inaugural ball, January, 1924. The Organizational and Photographs series give a little more insight into her long-standing interest in Texas history as well as her life as a career women. Her 28-year tenure as curator of the Texas Republic Museum, during which she belonged to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, William B. Travis Chapter, is relatively well-documented. Highlights from the third series, Photographs, include two photoscrapbook albums containing text as well as photographs on a variety of Texas heroes and historical political figures including Henry Smith, Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, Kenneth L. Anderson and A.W. Terrell.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use

None.

Related Material

Separated Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Mary Kennerly Cloud Papers (AR.H.006). Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Texas.

Acquisition Information

Donor #: DO/1969/044

Donation Date: 1969

Processing Information

Initial inventory and preliminary processing by Tim Wilder 1993/ December

Final processing and encoding by Susan Rittereiser/2010 August.

Detailed Description of the Collection