Descriptive Summary
Sumner H. Willis
Sumner H. Willis Papers,
1911-1984 and undated
The collection
consists of correspondence and some printed material concerning the wool
industry dating from 1911-1984 and undated.
S 1724.1
Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library,
Texas Tech University
2 boxes (1.25 linear feet)
Biographical Sketch
Sumner Holden Willis was born in Brighton, Massachusetts on July 31,
1896 and died in 1942 just short of his 45th birthday after undergoing surgery.
Sumner began working in the wool business in 1915 as an office boy for
Hallowell, Jones and Donnell in Boston. Sumner served in the Navy during World
War I and afterward became a wool buyer in South America for Hallowell, Jones and Donnell, as
well as buying wool in Texas and New Mexico for firms such as Eisemann Inc. in
Boston.
Scope and Content
The bulk of the collection consists of daily correspondence between
Sumner and his firm about prices and qualities of the wool they were buying and
the state of the wool market in general between 1938 and 1940. Additional
material includes records of business correspondence from 1919 to 1921 while
Sumner was operating in South America, several telegraph code ciphers and some
printed material.
Collection Topics
The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally
developed.
Subjects (persons)
Willis, Sumner H.
Marston, Walter M.
Subjects (Organizations)
Eisemann Inc.
Hallowell, Jones and Donnell
Subjects
Wool industry--Texas
Collection Accession #:
86-0001-B
Gift, 1985
Access Restrictions
Open for research
Processed by
John Perrin, December 2006
Preferred Citation
Sumner H. Willis Papers, 1911-1984 and undated, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library, see the following collections:
- Southwest Conference Records, 1914-1996
- Big Twelve Records, 1995-
Collection Inventory
Correspondence, 1911-1940 and undated
1
1
Telegraph Code Cipher,
1911
1
2
Sumner Willis to W. E. Jones Esq.,
March 27, 1915
1
3
Record Book of Correspondence (1 of 2),
1919-1921
1
4
Record Book of Correspondence (2 of 2),
1919-1921
1
5
Private Cable Code of Sumner H. Willis,
1930
1
6
S. H. W. South America Code,
1931-
1
7
Walter M. Marston, Esq.,
January 1, 1938-December 26,
1938
1
8
“Sumner H. Willis” (1 of 3),
January 3, 1938-December 31,
1938
1
9
“Sumner H. Willis” (2 of 3),
January 3, 1938-December 31,
1938
1
10
“Sumner H. Willis” (3 of 3),
January 3, 1938-December 31,
1938
1
11
“Walter M. Marston”,
January 2, 1938-December 30,
1938
1
12
“New Mexico” (1 of 2),
1939
1
13
“New Mexico” (2 of 2),
1939
1
14
“S. H. Willis to W. M. M.”,
1939
1
15
“W. M. Marston to S. H. W.”,
1939
1
16
Walter Marston to Sumner Willis,
January 11, 1939-August 23, 1939
1
17
Ralph Vandewart, Jr.,
January 4, 1939-July 14, 1939
1
18
Sumner Willis,
January 18, 1940-June 29, 1940
1
19
Telegraphs from Sumner,
January 17, 1940-September 12, 1940
1
20
Sumner H. Willis to Eisemann Inc.,
January 20, 1940-September 14, 1940
1
21
Sumner H. Willis,
July 1, 1940-September 11, 1940
2
1
Telegraphs,
January 18, 1940-September 9, 1940
2
2
1940 Texas Descriptions,
December 11, 1940
2
3
Code Cipher,
Undated
2
4
Code Cipher,
Undated
Printed Material, 1939-1984 and undated
2
5
Intercultural Development Research Association Newsletter,
February 1981-May 1982
2
6
Wool and Mohair in Texas,
1939 and Undated
2
7
Sumner Holden Willis Bio.,
1984