Ed Kilman Collection

Manuscript Collection: MC120

Creator Sketch

Newspaper editor and columnist Edward Wolf Kilman was born at Ennis, Texas in 1896. He was educated in Houston and attended Sam Houston Normal Institute in Huntsville, Texas. He joined the Houston Post-Dispatch in 1925 first as a correspondent and eventually rose to editor and editor emeritus of the editorial page in 1962. During this time period he wrote articles and books on the European theater of World War I, Britain's experiment in socialism and Texas history, folklore and politics including works on Hugh Roy Cullen, and the Karankawa Indians. With Louis Wiltz Kemp, he wrote Texas Musketeers, and The Battle of San Jacinto and the San Jacinto Campaign. Kilman and his wife Alice had one daughter and two grandchildren. Kilman died on June 8, 1969.

Scope and Content Note

The Ed Kilman Collection contains correspondence, a legal document, printed materials, creative works and a photograph which include information relevant to San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, the Brigham Monument unveiling in 1881, Washington-on-the-Brazos, and the No-tsu-oh Carnival. A letter from Alice Kilman to Dorothy Knepper, director of the San Jacinto Museum, discusses her research on Houston's No-tsu-oh (Houston spelled backwards) Carnival, which began in 1899 and was held annually every fall through 1915. The carnival began as a celebration of the harvest of the cotton crop in Texas. The celebration included a ball where King Nottoc (cotton) and his queen were to be crowned; it was the Houston social event of the year.

In the legal documents series is a document from the law suit of Michael McCormick vs. John Brashear, over the league of land located in Harris County on the San Jacinto River that was the location of the Battle of San Jacinto and is the present site of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. With the document is a sketched map of the property focusing on key geography. Printed materials include an ornate and colorful invitation to the annual No-tsu-oh Carnival Ball on November 16, 1910, in Houston, Texas.

Also included is an advertisement for Chas. Gossage ＆ Co., "leaders in novelties and high class", based in Chicago. Creative works include a typescript of a speech made by Temple Houston at the unveiling of the Brigham Monument in 1881 contributed by the citizens of Galveston, Texas to the men who fell at the Battle of San Jacinto. A typescript of background information regarding the No-tsu-oh Carnival by Mrs. Ed Kilman is also included. A single photograph is of the gun shop at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Terms Governing Use

Open for research by appointment.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jacinto Museum of History. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Jacinto Museum of History 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 by the researcher.

Administrative Information

Citation

[Identification of Item], Ed Kilman Collection, MC120, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.

Acquisition

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Kilman, Nov. 1953, Jan. 1957, Dec. 1963, Jan. 1970 and Oct. 1970.

Processing Information

Processed by Lisa M. Lomas, 2011.

Bibliography:

Inventory