A Guide to the Grover Cleveland Ramsey Papers, 1837-1972

Biographical Note

Born in Bucklin, Minnesota, Grover Cleveland Ramsey (1892-1974) was the son of George Washington Ramsey (b. 1864) and Olive May Sights (b. 1870). Retiring from his position as a public school principal in Chicago, Illinois, Ramsey moved to Texas in 1958. Ramsey commenced researching and writing about Texas history, especially on the subjects of ghost towns, Texas Confederate post offices, and the settlement of Texas during the 19th century. A prolific writer and public speaker, Ramsey authored several articles for the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas Supplement (now Handbook of Texas Online) and spoke at historical societies and educational institutions throughout Texas.

Scope and Contents

Composed of correspondence, financial records, articles, speeches, indexes, research materials, genealogical materials, manuscripts, microfilm, and photographs, the Grover Cleveland Ramsey Papers, 1837-1972, document Ramsey’s research and writing on Texas history, ghost towns, and military history. Correspondence concerns social and familial affairs (1945-1971) and also includes typescripts of 19th century letters of early settlers in Texas, including Diane C. Fort, Charles Moores, and Henry C. Pratt. Financial records consist of receipts and other papers related to Ramsey’s business transactions (1957-1971). Drafts of speeches pertain to a variety of historical subjects, such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and ghost towns in Texas, and were delivered at many different venues, including the San Antonio Historical Society, the Genealogical Society of Austin, the University of Texas at Austin, and several high schools throughout Texas (1962-1967). The collection also contains drafts of articles Ramsey submitted for the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas Supplement (1965).

Indexes are of alphabetical listings of towns, counties, and post offices in South Texas, while research materials consist of journal articles; newspaper clippings; newsletters; obituaries; broadsides; pamphlets; genealogies; biographical accounts and reminiscences; rosters; notes; maps; folk songs; and other items culled from Ramsey’s research endeavors on the history of counties and ghost towns throughout Texas [ca. 1837-1972]. The collection includes several unpublished manuscripts of Texas Ghost Town Guide, written by Ramsey, and photographs of missions, cemeteries, the remains of Fort McKavett, among other historical subjects. Additionally, microfilm associated with the papers contain lists of appointments of postmasters within the U.S. Post Office (1846-1929), Confederate post offices and money returns (1860s-1865), and appointment bureau lists (1861-1865).

Archivist's Note:

An item level paper inventory is available in the reading room.

Microfilm is located in the Winkler Microfilm Room in SRH.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

The majoirty of these papers are stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.

Separated Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Grover Cleveland Ramsey Papers, 1837-1972, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

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.

Detailed Description of the Papers