TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Description of Series
Series I: Correspondence,
1959-1959
Series II: Correspondence: 1961-1969
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Guide to the Cooper K. Ragan correspondence with Andrew F.
Muir, 1955-1962
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Creator: |
Ragan, Cooper K.,
1905-1986 |
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Title: |
Cooper K. Ragan
correspondence with Andrew F. Muir |
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Dates: |
1955-1962, bulk 1959-1962 |
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Abstract: |
Material consists of
correspondence between Cooper K. Ragan and Rice University historian Andrew F.
Muir. They relate primarily to Muir’s published works, historical information
and criticisms of others' works. |
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Identification: |
MS
36 |
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Quantity: |
25 letters (1
folder) |
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Language: |
Materials are in
English. |
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Repository: |
Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX
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Cooper Kirby Ragan was born on June 15, 1905, in Newton, Texas. He
received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree (1925) and an LL.B. (1928) from the
University of Texas. After admission to the Texas Bar in 1928, he began work as
an attorney with Huggins, Kayser, and Liddell in Houston, Texas. He then served
as general counsel and director of Kirby Petroleum Company in Houston, Texas
(1930-1956). Ragan married Susan Menefree Wilson in 1945. He became a partner
in the firm of Ragan, Russell, and Rorschach after 1964, was chairman of the
Texas Civil War Committee from 1959 to 1963 and secretary-treasurer of the
Jefferson Davis Association. Ragan became a member of the Texas State
Historical Association (1946) and served as president from 1970 to 1971. He was
also president of the Houston Civil War Round Table and a member of the
Philosophical Society of Texas, Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of
Confederate Veterans, and the American Law Institute. Ragan wrote numerous
articles for professional journals and authored two books,
Josephus Somerville Irvine, 1819-1876: The Worthy Citizen
(1963) and
Massachusetts Bay and the Lone Star State: Shall the Twain Never
Meet?(1971).
Cooper K. Ragan died on December 30, 1986.
Andrew Forest Muir was
born January 8, 1916 in Houston Heights, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree (1938) and a Master of Arts (1942) from Rice Institute, as well as a
Ph.D. from the University of Texas (1949). While in Austin he taught at St.
Luke’s school and tutored English at the University of Texas (1942-44), also
serving as acting director of the San Jacinto Museum of History (1943-44). Muir
next traveled to Hawaii where, from 1945 to 1949, he worked as a civilian
employee for the U.S. Engineers in Honolulu, Hawaii, taught history at the
Iolany School, and later was Educational Advisor to the Commanding General at
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He served as an Assistant Professor of History at
Daniel Baker College in Brownwood, Texas, from 1951-53, before moving on to
teach at the Polytechnic Institute, in San German, Puerto Rico for the 1953-54
academic year. Honored as a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial fellow for 1957-58,
he then joined the history department at Rice Institute in 1958.
As a
historian, Muir published numerous studies on religion and church leaders in
Hawaii during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as several
studies on free blacks in the Houston area. He also authored
Early Missionaries in Texas(1941),
Railroad Enterprise in Texas, 1936-1841(1944),
The Thirty-Second Parallel Pacific Railroad in Texas
1872(1949), and
Thomas Jefferson Ewing, Texas Ward: Politician (1952) as
well as
Texas in 1837, which he edited in 1958.
Known as an
authority on William Marsh Rice, his work
William Marsh Rice and His Institute: A Biographical Study
was edited by Sylvia Stallings Morris and posthumously published in 1972. In
addition, Muir contributed to
The Handbook of Texas,
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the
Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and
the
Tennessee Historical Quarterly, and served as associate
editor of the
Journal of Southern History.
Andrew Forest Muir died
on February 3, 1969.
Excerpted from The New Handbook of Texas , 1996
Return to the Table of Contents
Consists of correspondence (25 letters) between Cooper K. Ragan and Rice
University history professor Andrew F. Muir. The majority of the correspondence
deals with comments on Muir’s published articles and papers, historical
information, criticisms of others’ works, and mention of meetings and programs
of the Texas Historical Association and the Houston Civil War Roundtable. Two
letters, written by Muir, are handwritten, signed. The last two letters
(January 30 and 31, 1969) mention Muir’s ill health. Andrew Muir died on
February 3, 1969.
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Arrangement |
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This collection is arranged chronologically into the following two
series: |
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Series I: Correspondence, 1955-1959 |
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Series II: Correspondence, 1961-1969 |
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Restrictions on Access
This material is open for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from the Cooper K. Ragan correspondence with
Andrew F. Muir, 1959-1962 must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center,
Fondren Library, Rice University.
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Subjects (Persons) |
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Muir, Andrew Forest,
1916-1969 |
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Ragan, Cooper Kirby,
1905-1986 |
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Formats: |
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Correspondence |
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See Andrew Forest Muir papers,1763-1969, MS 17, Woodson Research Center.
See Kirby Petroleum Company/George Sawtelle Executive records,
1921-1967, MS 504, Woodson Research Center.
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Return to the Table of Contents
Cooper K. Ragan correspondence with Andrew F. Muir, 1955-1969, bulk
1959-1962, MS 36, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice
University.
This collection was a gift donated by Cooper K. Ragan, June 1976.
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TL - Typed letterTLS - Typed letter signed
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Series I: Correspondence,
1959-1959 |
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| 1 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan thanks Muir
for sending a reprint of his article, “The Free Negro in Harris County, Texas.”
May 16, 1955 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir informs
Ragan of an essay he published in Civil War History and in Southwest Review.
Also mentions an upcoming meeting of the Houston Civil War Round Table. January
5, 1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir expresses
appreciation for Ragan’s personal library. He also mentions an article he
published in the Texas Folklore Society. January 16, 1953 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Thanks for a note
about Mrs. Robertson, the daughter of Dick Dowling and congratulations on
honors for Muir. Also writes that Judge F. Robertson was the Uncle of former
governor Dan Moody. Ragan hopes to see Muir at a meeting of the Civil War Round
Table to hear Frank Vandiver speak. March 29, 1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir asks for the
names and addresses of two ladies who are descendants of Theodore Uglow
Lubbock, adopted son of Governor Lubbock. June 25, 1959 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan answers the
above letter by writing that the names of the descendants are Mrs. Cecil Haden
(Laura Breed) and Mrs. F.R. Findley (Augusta Breed) of Houston, Texas. July 16,
1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes about
his work on the Journal of Southern History and two papers he is preparing for
publication, Railroads Come to Houston, 1857-1861 and William Marsh Rice,
Resident of Houston, 1839-1863. Muir also writes about a trip to the Ozarks and
a visit to the grave of Rice’s brother, David. He writes of his talk with
David’s grandson and on U.S. Civil War involvement. July 18, 1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes that
he has read Edwin C. Bears’ Washburn Autumn Raid on the Mississippi and
Tennessee Railroad and finds the paper "impossible" and literary style
"monotonously bad." August 3, 1959 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan praises Muir
on his papers on Houston railroads and William Marsh Rice. He wants to discuss
E.B. Nichols and his part in the U.S. Civil War. Ragan writes that he agrees
with Muir’s critique of Washburn’s Autumn Raid. He mentions a new biography of
James Stephen Hogg and Senator Ralph Yarborough’s enthusiasm for the book.
August 5, 1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes that
he is an admirer of James Hogg and mentions that the longest biographical
sketch he knows of on Ebenezer B. Nichols appears in William Manning Morgan,
Trinity…Church, Galveston, Texas, 1841-1953, a Memorial History. August 10,
1959 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan writes that
he has read “your monograph on your great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Ewing."
Ragan expresses admiration for Muir’s knowledge of Harris County and Texas
history. August 11, 1959 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes that
Charles Ramsdell, Jr. is a descendent of "Em. Britten" and discusses his work
on the Journal of Southern History. October 27, 1959 |
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Series II: Correspondence: 1961-1969 |
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(TLS) Andrew Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes of
program news of the Texas State Historical Association and Ragan's role as a
presenter. March 13, 1961 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan writes about
the papers of a deceased friend, Edward V. Clark and a story related by a John
H. Kirby; mentions he did not see Muir at the latest Texas Historical
Association meeting. May 25, 1961 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir thanks Ragan
for the aforementioned papers (Mr. Clark's recollection of Mr. Kirby's
statement on William March Rice's cotton operations during the Rebellion). Muir
writes he believes most of the story is correct. May 29, 1961 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir mentions the
suggestion that Secretary of State Rusk is a descendent of Thomas Jefferson and
a need for detailed knowledge of the pre-Texan life of "many of our heroes."
June 17, 1961 |
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(ALS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir writes of
the Houston Post's "weekly Sunday school lesson." September 22,
1961 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan writes of
Muir’s article in the Post on “The Rice Case” and asks when the biography can
be expected. September 25, 1961 |
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(ALS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir thanks Ragan
for his hospitality and offers criticism on a paper presented at a recent
meeting. December 7, 1962 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan mentions a
reference to one of Muir’s articles in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly on
William P. Johnson and asks Muir for a reprint. December 14, 1967 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir answers
Ragan’s request from the above letter and with humor, writes, “I wish you
pettifoggers would learn to make historical citations.” December 15,
1967 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan thanks Muir
for sending the Johnson article and answers with humor, “I am glad you noted
the improved manner in which to give citations…” December 19, 1967 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan writes he
missed seeing Muir at a past Texas State Historical Association meeting. May
20, 1968 |
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(TL) Cooper K. Ragan to Andrew F. Muir. Ragan writes that
he had heard Muir was not feeling well and hopes he has improved. He mentions
Muir’s research on Stephen F. Austin and his family and writes of a court case
in 1877 regarding James Bryan (brother-in-law of Moses Austin). January 30,
1969 |
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(TLS) Andrew F. Muir to Cooper K. Ragan. Muir thanks Ragan
for his previous letter. Muir writes that he was in “Titus Harris’s hospital”
(reference to UTMB in Galveston) from mid-November through mid-January. He
states, “At last I got me out of the hospital, but I haven’t got hospital out
of me yet.” January 31, 1969 (Andrew F. Muir died on February 3,
1969) |
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