Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Under the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended in 1998, unpublished manuscripts are protected at a minimum through December 31, 2002 or 70 years after the author's death. The term of copyright for published material varies. Researchers are responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the State Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
J.R. Hunnicutt was born on July 4, 1894, in Marlin, Texas. He graduated from Marlin High School in 1915 and distinguished himself in athletic competition as a member of its baseball, football, and track teams. He was a chainman on the Capitol Lands Resurvey project from 1915 to 1916. In 1917 he joined the Texas Rangers and was stationed for a time in Glenn Springs in west Texas. He was promoted to sergeant in 1919 and after strike duty in Aransas Pass, Texas, he resigned to become the purchasing agent for the France and Canada Oil Transport Company, also in Aransas Pass. He attended Texas A&M University from 1921 to 1923 before transferring to Baylor University for one year. He worked in various capacities, including night supervisor and purchasing agent at hospitals throughout Texas, and later he was a sales representative for medical and surgical supplies. During this time he was an active member of the Shriners.
In the early 1930s he joined the United States Treasury Department Customs Service and became one of its first pilots (the force consisting entirely of impounded aircraft refurbished by customs personnel). In 1937 he transferred to the Alcohol Tax Unit of the Internal Revenue Service and served as an agent and investigator, except for periods of leave for Army Reserve training and active duty, until his retirement from federal service in 1954. He began active duty on March 5, 1941 with the U.S. Army Medical Administrative Corps. He served in Texas, Illinois, and other stations in the U.S., and served with the 103rd General Hospital in England between 1944 and 1945. He was reassigned to Brook Army Hospital in San Antonio in April 1946. In May 1946 he resumed investigatory work for the Alcohol Tax Unit while maintaining reserve status in the Army, eventually attaining the rank of major.
After his retirement in 1954, he concerned himself with family and his ranch while maintaining life-long interests including Masonry and campaigning for a Texas Ranger Pension Act. He died on March 3, 1973 in Waco, Texas.
(Source: the collection itself.)
The J.R. Hunnicutt collection primarily documents Hunnicutt's education and career, especially his service as a Texas Ranger, U.S. Customs Service Agent, and in the U.S. Army Medical Administrative Corps. Records consist of personal papers and photographs including correspondence, financial and legal documents, literary productions, printed materials, scrapbook materials, photographs, postcards, greeting cards, and newspaper clippings dating 1882-1966 and undated, bulk 1913-1966. Correspondence and photographs make up the bulk of the collection. Hunnicutt's family is also represented, especially in photographic images and in the papers of his sister, Helen Mar Hunnicutt and materials relating to the administration of her estate. A few documents concerning his brothers, Walter Scott (W.S.) Hunnicutt and Robert Jasper (R.J.) Hunnicutt are also present.
Records include correspondence, financial and legal documents, and various printed materials from each stage of Hunnicutt's career, including his tenures with the Texas Rangers, Boyd-Hunnicutt Company, U.S. Customs Service, IRS Alcohol Tax Unit, and U.S. Army. Hunnicutt typed his letters and maintained file copies so two sides of many conversations are preserved in the records. Correspondents include political figures: U.S. Senator Tom Connally, Arthur C. Perry, Morris Sheppard, Maury Maverick, and Harry M. Wurzbach. A personal friend of Connally and his son, Ben, Hunnicutt frequently corresponded with Connally, seeking his aid and counsel. He also accumulated newspaper clippings and memorabilia documenting the senator's career.
A number of letters of recommendation for Hunnicutt are included. Other correspondence related to Hunnicutt's career and official duties reflects routine administrative matters, details of his duties and investigations, and departmental politics. Investigation diaries and memo books are also included, but these are fragmentary and the legibility is poor.
Snapshot images make up the bulk of the photograph collection, but there are also studio portraits, panoramic photographs, photographic postcards, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, printed material, copy prints, and other formats. Many of the photographs were originally pasted to scrapbook pages. Some of these have been unmounted and are filed separately, but a number remain adhered to black scrapbook paper. Copy prints were made of many photographs to increase their size and to preserve the images. Copy negatives exist for each of these images.
The photograph collection documents many events and individuals from Hunnicutt's life, including a number of his ancestors, friends, and family, his involvement in athletics at Marlin High School, the Capitol Lands Resurvey Project, his service with the Texas Rangers, his education at Texas A&M University, his participation in Shriner and Masonic activities, his aviation training with the Customs Service, and his service in England in World War II.
The collection is organized into three series and 13 sub-series:
(Identify the item and cite the series), J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
State Archives staff completed an appraisal of the J.R. Hunnicutt collection at accession. The papers and photographs were determined to be archival.
Collection processed and a draft finding aid created by John Anderson, 1985
EAD, DACS elements, and XML coding by student volunteer Russell Holley-Hurt, University of Texas School of Information, June 2012
Accession number: 1968/029
These papers and photographs were donated to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by Martha Jean Stevens on September 29, 1967.
Records consist of personal papers of J.R. Hunnicutt including correspondence, financial and legal documents, literary productions, printed materials, and scrapbook materials dating 1913-1966 and undated. Correspondence makes up the bulk of this series.
Records include correspondence, financial and legal documents, and various printed materials from each stage of Mr. Hunnicutt's career, including his tenures with the Texas Rangers, Boyd-Hunnicutt Company, Customs Service, Alcohol Tax Unit, and Army. Hunnicutt typed his letters and maintained file copies so two sides of many conversations are preserved in the records. Correspondents include political figures: U.S. Senator Tom Connally, Arthur C. Perry, Morris Sheppard, Maury Maverick, and Harry M. Wurzbach. A personal friend of Connally and his son Ben, Hunnicutt frequently corresponded with Connally, seeking his aid and counsel. He also accumulated newspaper clippings and memorabilia documenting the senator's career.
A number of letters of recommendation for Hunnicutt are included. Other correspondence related to Hunnicutt's career and official duties reflects routine administrative matters, details of his duties and investigations, and departmental politics. Investigation diaries and memo books are also included, but these are fragmentary and the legibility is poor.
Records are organized into ten subseries by type of material, and arranged within each subseries by topic and date:
(Identify the item and cite the subseries), Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include correspondence from J.R. Hunnicutt's personal life and career dating from 1917 to 1966 and undated. All periods of Hunnicutt's career are represented including his tenures with the Texas Rangers, Boyd-Hunnicutt Company, Customs Service, Alcohol Tax Unit, and Army. Correspondents include political figures: Tom Connally, Arthur C. Perry, Morris Sheppard, Maury Maverick, and Harry M. Wurzbach.
Records are arranged by topic and date.
(Identify the item), Correspondence, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include transcripts, certificates, applications and reports relating to Hunnicutt's education, career, and health, dating from 1923 to 1954 and undated.
Records are arranged by topic and date.
(Identify the item), Personal data, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records are literary items produced or collected by J.R. Hunnicutt, including handwritten memoirs, reports on Alcohol Tax Unit investigations, U.S. Army duty and leave notes, and other publications. Records date from 1936 to 1965 and undated.
Records are arranged by topic.
(Identify the item), Reports and publications, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include receipts, deposit slips, pay statements, and expense vouchers related to J.R. Hunnicutt's personal life, business with the Boyd-Hunnicutt Company, and service with the IRS Alcohol Tax Unit and U.S. Army dating from 1922 to 1954 and undated.
Records are arranged by topic and date.
(Identify the item), Financial documents, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include applications, contracts, and affidavits related to J.R. Hunnicutt's personal life, business with the Boyd-Hunnicutt Company, and service with the U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Army, dating from 1924 to 1946 and undated.
Records are arranged by topic and date.
(Identify the item), Legal documents, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include minutes and proceedings from meetings of the National Sojourners and the Federal Safety Council, dating 1941-1942, 1952.
Records are arranged by topic and date.
(Identify the item), Minutes and proceedings, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include rosters, reports, and investigational data in table and list form relating to J.R. Hunnicutt's service in the IRS Alcohol Tax Unit and U.S. Army and involvement with the National Sojourners and Federal Safety Council. Materials date from 1947 to 1954 and undated.
Materials are arranged by topic and by type.
(Identify the item), Lists and tables, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include publications, awards, and certificates collected by J.R. Hunnicutt relating to his high school, university, and Masonic activities in addition to his roles with the Texas Rangers, Customs Service, IRS Alcohol Tax Unit, and U.S. Army. Materials date from 1913 to 1965.
Records are arranged by topic, type, and date.
(Identify the item), Printed materials, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include clippings and memorabilia dating from 1922 to 1965, some loose, but mostly adhered to scrapbook pages pertaining to J.R. Hunnicutt and his family, Texas politicians, and legislation. One scrapbook is intact and contains clippings documenting Senator Tom Connally's career.
Materials are arranged in no particular order as received from the donor.
(Identify the item), Scrapbook and scrapbook materials, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include diaries and notebooks from J.R. Hunnicutt's service in the Texas Rangers, IRS Alcohol Tax Unit, and U.S. Army dating from 1918 to 1945 and undated.
Materials are arranged by topic.
(Identify the item), Diaries and notebooks, Personal papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include correspondence, notes, literary documents, diaries, and autograph books dating from 1882 to 1962 and undated, bulk 1954-1966, that were found with the papers of J.R. Hunnicutt but that relate to his family members. Much of the material deals with the administration of the estate of his sister, Helen Mar Hunnicutt, including correspondence and notes handwritten by J.R. Hunnicutt. Also included are Helen Mar Hunnicutt's master's thesis from 1925, notebooks from her college courses, handwritten memoir pages probably written by her brother Robert Jasper (R.J.) Hunnicutt, and her brother Walter Scott (W.S.) Hunnicutt's autograph books.
The records are organized into three subseries by type:
(Identify the item and subseries), Family papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include correspondence mostly relating to the administration of Helen Mar Hunnicutt's estate dating from 1954 to 1958. One item from 1915 is a letter from Alice Colquitt, wife of Oscar Branch Colquitt, governor of Texas from 1911 to 1915.
Records are arranged by recipient and topic.
(Identify the item), Correspondence, Family papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include Helen Mar Hunnicutt's 1925 master's thesis from the University of Texas at Austin, notes regarding the administration of Helen Mar Hunnicutt's estate handwritten by J.R. Hunnicutt dating from 1955 to 1962, and undated handwritten memoir pages probably written by R.J. Hunnicutt.
Records are arranged by topic.
(Identify the item), Literary productions, Family papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Records include undated diaries and notebooks containing college notes created by Helen Mar Hunnicutt and Mrs. Hicklin P. Hunnicutt and W.S. Hunnicutt's autograph books from 1882 and 1885 containing signatures and notes from classmates.
Records are arranged by creator.
(Identify the item), Diaries, notebooks, and autograph books, Family papers, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Snapshot images make up the bulk of the records, but there are also studio portraits, panoramic photographs, photographic postcards, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, printed material, copy prints, and other formats. Records date from 1895 to 1965 and undated. Many of the photographs were originally pasted to scrapbook pages. Some of these have been unmounted and are filed separately, but a number remain adhered to black scrapbook paper. Copy prints were made of many images to increase their size and to preserve them. Copy negatives exist for each of these images.
Photographs document many events and individuals from J.R. Hunnicutt's life, including a number of his ancestors, friends, and family, his involvement in athletics at Marlin High School, the Capitol Lands Resurvey Project, his service with the Texas Rangers, his education at Texas A&M University, his participation in Shriner and Masonic activities, his aviation training with the Customs Service, and his service in England in World War II.
Photographs 0001 through 0114 are of identified people, ordered alphabetically by name. Next, photos 0115 through 0287 are of identified places ordered alphabetically by name. Last, photos 0288 through 0549 are of unidentified people and places.
For a detailed listing of item descriptions, dates, and subjects see the Prints and Photographs Database, which will soon be available on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission website. Until the database is available, contact the Archives for further information about the photographs.
(Identify the item), Photographs, J.R. Hunnicutt collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the State Archives when reviewing photographic materials.