A Guide to the Rhone Family Papers, 1886-1971

Biographical Note

The family of Calvin Lindley Rhone (1867-1921) and Lucia J. Knotts Rhone (1866-1941) was a highly regarded African American family who resided in Fayette County, Texas for nearly one hundred years. Calvin and Lucia Rhone were married in 1887 and had twelve children - six males and six females - during the next twenty years. Eight children were born on a farm near Round Top, Texas and four were born near Plum, Texas. Eight of the children lived to adulthood.

The Rhones were educators and farmers, and were very involved in church activities and fraternal societies. Calvin Rhone, known as Professor Rhone, taught in Fayette County public schools for many years and served on the La Grange District Association of the Baptist Church. Lucia Knotts Rhone was also a teacher. Urissa Rhone Brown, one of the daughters, studied at Prairie View A & M College prior to a long and successful teaching career that included serving as principal of the "Colored" Round Top-Carmine High School. Other Rhone children who attended Prairie View A & M College and taught school include Lillian Rhone Jones (1888-1915), Benjamin L. Rhone (1890-1941), Charles C. Rhone (1892-1956), Calvin L. Rhone, Jr. (1896-1970) and Beulah Rhone Thompson (ca. 1902-1968). Like their father, many of the Rhone sons engaged in part-time farming. Some of the Rhone children moved to Houston, Texas. Several of the family members have been buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetary in Plum, Texas.

Scope and Contents

The inclusive dates of the papers span from 1886 to 1971, with the bulk of the material dating from around 1910 to 1971. The papers document many aspects of the family's lifestyle as well as their social and economic status. Included are personal and professional correspondence, financial records, farming records, education materials, church materials, teaching records, legal papers and photographs.

Most of the papers relate to two family units: Calvin and Lucia Knotts Rhone and Roscoe and Urissa Rhone Brown. Personal correspondence includes letters to and from Calvin Rhone and Lucia Knotts during their courtship, letters to Lucia Rhone from her children, and letters to Urissa Rhone Brown from her siblings, friends and students. Particularly noteworthy are the papers that document almost all of Urissa Rhone Brown's college education and teaching career. Financial records include mortgages and loans, tax material, and a sampling of cancelled checks, bank statements, and purchase receipts. Legal papers relate to oil and gas leases on property owned by the Rhones. Throughout the collection are documents relating to the Rhones' activities in fraternal societies such as the Knights of Pythias, Sisters of the Mysterious Ten, and the United Brotherhood of Friendship.

Very few of the 102 photographs have been identified, somewhat limiting the subject access to them. Included with the photos are cancelled checks that have prints of Fayette County banks or bank logos on them. The condition of the papers ranges from good to highly deteriorated.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Rhone Family Papers were donated to the Center for American History by George and Linda Colby of Round Top, Texas. The Colbys had purchased a farm that had belonged to the Rhones and found the papers in one of the outbuildings.

Detailed Description of the Collection