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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
A Guide to the Edith H. Parker Papers, 1922-1984
Biographical SketchEdith H. Parker (1905-1985) was a journalist, political aide to Senator Tom Connally, and professor. She attended Federicksburg, Virginia State Normal School and earned her teaching certificate in 1923. After teaching elementary school, she worked for the Washington Herald as a reporter, librarian, and assistant editor, 1931-1934. Parker then worked as an aide to Tom Connally, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Though Connally was supposed to write the declaration of war against Japan after the bombing, he could not be found, so Parker penned the document, basing it on the U.S. declaration of war document against Germany in World War I. Parker later taught English and history at Northwestern State College in Alva, Oklahoma, 1953-1954; East Texas State College, 1954-1958; and Del Mar College, 1958-1968. She remained active in Democratic Party politics, maintaining close ties with Lyndon B. Johnson and serving on an advisory committee of a special Senate committee chaired by John F. Kennedy, 1957. Parker retired from teaching in 1970 and died in 1985. Sources: Edith H. Parker Papers, 1922-1984, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. Los Angeles Times obituary, "Edith Parker, 79; Senate Aide Penned the Declaration of War Against Japan," March 28, 1985. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentsThe Edith H. Parker Papers, 1922-1984, contain personal, professional, and political correspondence, literary productions, education and employment records, photographs, other pictorial material, and a map. The correspondence is mainly between Parker and other members of Senator Connally’s staff, although a large portion of correspondence also documents her relationships with people such as Walter Prescott Webb, Joe B. Frantz, Llerena Friend, Walter Rundell, Jr., and Lyndon B. Johnson. Materials relating to Parker’s education can be found in the collection, including drafts of papers, grade reports, and bibliographies. The employment records contain newspaper clippings from the Washington Herald, federal government employment applications, recommendations, and research grant applications. Furthermore, the papers include copies of manuscripts written by historian Walter Rundell, Jr., a dissertation by Frank Smyrl on Tom Connally, and newspaper clippings relating to Dr. Parker's achievements and to Connally's death. A map of metropolitan Corpus Christi, 1961, can also be found in the collection. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsUse RestrictionsThe collection is open for research. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents Separated Material
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred CitationEdith H. Parker Papers, 1922-1984, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin. Processing InformationThis collection was processed by Lawrence A. Landis, November 1985. Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011. Return to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Papers
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