Historian, teacher, and library Llerena Beaufort Friend (1903-1995) graduated from
the University of Austin at Texas with a bachelor’s in 1924, a master’s in 1928, and
a doctorate in 1951. For twenty years, from 1924 to 1944, Friend taught high school,
first in Vernon, Texas, and then in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 1945, she began writing
for the Handbook of Texas as a research associate at the Texas State Historical
Association. Upon the founding of the Barker Texas History Center at the University
of Texas in 1950, Friend became its founding director, holding the position until
1969. Additionally, she taught courses in Texas history at the university. She wrote
numerous articles and reviews while at UT and published her book
After retiring in 1969, Friend served as the National Chairman of Academic Standards for Alpha Chi Omega for six years. She moved back to Wichita Falls in 1975, and in 1976 Governor Dolph Briscoe appointed her to Texas State Historical Records Advisory Board. She belonged to various organizations, such as the Ashbel Smith Literary Society, the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Texas Institute of Letters, the Wichita County Historical Commission, the Rolling Plains Civil War Roundtable, the Texas State Historical Association, and the Western History Association. She received numerous awards including the H. Bailey Carroll Award, Alpha Chi Omega achievement award, and the Texas Library Association Award. Furthermore, she was nominated to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1987.
Class notes, publications, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and speeches compose
the Llerena Beaufort Friend Papers, 1918-1986, and document her career as a
historian and teacher. The bulk of the papers concern her literary activities,
including materials used in the production of book reviews, articles, and books,
such as
The collection is open for research use.
A portion of these papers is stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.
Llerena Beaufort Friend, 1918-1986, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.