xt77sq8qds97 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt77sq8qds97/data/mets.xml Louisiana Hogan, William Ransom, 1908-1971 1939 A paper read on October 13, 1939, at a session on "State and local archives" of the third annual meeting, Society of American Archivists, Annapolis, Maryland. Distributed at the request of Dr. Luther H. Evans, Director, Historical Records Survey, Division of Professional and Service Projects, Work Projects Administration. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call number   FW 4.14:H 62. books  English [Baton Rouge] : Dept. of Archives, Louisiana State University This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Louisiana Works Progress Administration Publications The Historical Records Survey: An Outside View by William R. Hogan text The Historical Records Survey: An Outside View by William R. Hogan 1939 1939 2015 true xt77sq8qds97 section xt77sq8qds97 , é Q
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,.,.1 UNIVEFISITY OF KETTUDKY `   \
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It I "I ' ”I|`I‘l|I;"¤‘ li?-”*‘¤‘;’ —‘ *`     " `—`i' WY
_ ‘ ninwtas of the county cotsissionirs or :ujlrTis;rs. how for
this irscoiurc will l-1d us in ixii1ii;¤ il hisitrioil :L.tch·s

 7
we are not in a position at present to determine. lt is clear,
however, that most of the infonnation will relate to the ievel-
opment of the agencies and functions of county government, the
U
history of courthouse construction, and similar matters. We
V are not attempting to produce well—founied and complete county
V histories, but we are attempting to make a considerable con-
3 tribution to the available mimeographed &2d printed material
on county history by exploiting to some degree the resources
{ contained in the archives. l believe that even this contribu-
A 2 tion will result in a significant correction of ani addition to
_i the present published materials on county history, The contri-
bution will be of added significance because of tho fact that
· each statement will be well documented, To Sato most of our
p documentation has boon inserted parenthetically in the text of
L the sketches. We are moving in the direction, however, of
é placing this material in footnotes so as to ronior the text
j loss difficult to road."
Q Despite tho determined efforts that hav; boon mai; to in-
? prove the historical essays, it is clear that usually they Lr;
‘V not equal in quality to th; invortoriss to which thwy strvt as
t introductions. Furthermore, many of th;n contain iiv:r::xc¢s
into such tett.rs as rgligion, oducatio , the press, i Eustry,
l agriculture, racial backirounds of settlers, Jnirretic , trfrs-
pcrtatior, mail rout s, min rel resources, tarsrr priies, at-
prontioe contracts, military movements, Sheet towns, torn; ;¤:,
V 2 recent floci, ani otkir ??ts of Yci. Both sw5ft-ts triwtel
Y A end sources vorf ·.·,· iiol", ani the latter are ;f uxev 3 qwvlity.
Sore cite {cli rcccris, mor: C: n;t. G1, V ry # ii r` ,
32 ;

 8
tho probato records, is raroly used, psrhaps bocausc thc ro-
soarch abilities of courthouso workers arc limited. It is true
that transcriptions of ono basic sourcc--tho minutos of county
it commissionors courts--arc bcing rapidly filsd in tho stat; of-
' ficcs, whoro much of tho actual writing is donc. Ccrtainly tho
i writing of historical studios that ars partly basod on orimary
E sourco materials and divorgs into tho subjscts msntionsi above
A is a more intriguing task than oditorial work which is boino
I roducad to assombly—lino sfficioncy. Doubtloss tho county
i` histories, though nons oxcosd thirty pages in lsngth, oro in
r t many instances tho bsst yot writton and will bs of vcluo to
g local school toachors. But tho task of tho Survoy is manifest
i in its nemo. Tha prassnt spoakcr is convinooi that tho his-
  -4- ` n . 4 4. l _ in- . ||.».n ‘- - .L iv,
{ corical ossays should not vsnturs lrom to; osvalopmont of cho -
§
E agonciss and functions of county govsrnmcnt” into a miscol-
g lanoous assortmont of topics that cannot bs oompactly into ~*»· rvt;5
t 2 and complotod. Tho adoption of such a policy woulf r;sult in a
X much highcr stanoaro of footnots citations, and might focilitzto
§ tho issucnco of more inventories.
tg A socond common criticism, rclatod to th; first, is that
i ontrios are in nant instsnccs unnccossarily lit;il;i and that
é
5 pzrfectly obvious ortrics are rrncztzi in suc; ssivé invcntorixs.
Tho director of ono important univorsity library ani r 2 arch
ccntor writccz "Ev rybcif Lxpicts to fini 2 Yagistzr of D¢ is
4 of sous sort in tho rcccris ¢?»:?;tf corn j, ari it sects to
me quits min czssary to Five tf? ti Fiwr psig; to 2i;f4R 1 · w __ ~_ __,__
. crowned. inns librarian tay 1lHQ nimselx ouriec inter 1 less
!
Q of mimoogrephed compilations if the Survey continues its recently
Q
inaugurated policy of using courthouse workers, who hive fin-
ished inventory forms, in making transcriptions of the tinutes
· of commissioners courts and similar bodies The oolice jury
minutes of one Louisiana perish are being published in thirteen
V volumes.
lt hes been indicated that title line entries ere under
consideration. Another obvious possibility is condensation
of entries, subject, howcvor, to the force of the opinion
1 hold by some Survey officials that comoetent condensation will
require higher celiber editorial labor than is not eveilsble
i in most state offices. Also, if the existence or the Survoj
is orolonged, the compression of the materiel in e comolste
set of the count? inventories of e single state into e publi-
cation of two to five volunes wei oe expected.
Although condcrsation of thi entries of csuntr igrcntoricc
should r c;iv; s»rious consideration, no reesoneblx i»rson
would concs; the trerscrioticn of such ixhsronilf valuable
bistoric;l tutorials as the sinutes of couztf ooiilssiirers
courts end oolioe juries. Cn *Le contrer ‘‘,· , it is sia ;ste‘
that the thousands of perscnsl letters not intzrxiiiled V*tX
' official C7UM+l records, itriicvlerly those C? irioete Jotrii.
S?   ‘
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lO
might cvontually bs transcribsd in tho samc mannor. This wculi
amount to tho rcscus of a largs numbcr of "lost manuscripts.
Ths porishsbls naturs of thc paper and btnlinis cf cost
_`° of the publications is 2 matter of frsqusnt unfavorable iis-
 
.? cussionc Soms of thc bindings ars torn as they ars unwrsposd.
V Ons critic bslisvcs that "cortainly a fsu copics ought tc bs
rin off on rag paper of a pormancnt chcractsr," Adnttting
thc validity of ths criticism in gsncral, several comwsnts
, arc appropriate, (l) Ths Survoy has hasn lar blk iegcndsnt on
L sponsors for publication funds, and will os svcn more sr unisr
I
A _ rcccnt legislation. (2) Suogort hal to bo gsinvl by skc"in¤
‘ what could bc dono, though in impsrmansnt publication form was
; uscd. (3) Most of thc early publications hav; bcen rsqnrdcd
1, as subject to revision. (4) Libraries can proviis permanent
` bindings for volumes most often uzsd.
’ A fourth gsnsral criticism is obvious: that l cal iorssnnol
‘ isnt; often incompotsnt. lhs iiroctor of orc s¤w*L rn archives
‘ ooncludcd: "I think tho historical Hscoris Survev is 2 vcrr
· imoortant project ani has boon fruitful in the counties rh¤rs
i it has boon undartakon, in spits of tho fact that the Wort rs
3 have boon incxp-ricnc@d fni untrainsi and an; scunif cfficlcls
t with whom they havc to Qcal mrs in g Worse nay," Bwwb i ;*si;»
§ mort is froquzntly linkci with the czor;ssion of a Esli f init
i the Surv~i`s sunirviscri tsrsonn l h;s not be t.f· _ ¤r»;* 5 sry-
4
] ficixnt travel funds. All of is tovbtl S: gavc Iii xr rf ncgs
E
Q ’.‘ sith Survey vcrksrr Wi; c®nl” nroriF¢ anti- sw Deal :¢r*c;;’ai:
. i
t With materials for fcsciritinf, j§r&nctQc ccygfsitiifz. 7 L<"¤
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seen and heard three Survey courthouse workers eslsep in the
J
same room, but my only emotion wes gretificstior because I
knew that these particular persons were doing less horn in
somnolence then they would in trelr wekinv moments. I have
`
L.
— telked with others who were apparently psychopathic, =,* rhich
5* does not necessarily teen that they were incapable of oerform-
f, ing competent archival work. I have seen three courthouse
{ workers——two men end o women--patiently gszinr et o sinvle
' v* manuscript volume dey efter dey, Since the women was focirg
' .
L? the beck of the volume, from an zryle thzt 3 ··.‘ se hgr or ooslfe
 \
»; down Vqsy Of +»s wT:¢4~, AW; ¤ we .+.W , u-, h¤~;,»,-l.
 _ .... _ ,.» one .. l ulzlg., com Ol ..._j o .,,..Og35T‘2Lp;;] o ooo.-; . .— tml; :.¤
H commented in all earnostnose tbct th; feral; worker most be
. the wife of one of the mor ond wes onfiiei ir ck:;klx" ur on
f bor husband in his Working hours. l have telke* Wit? iozens _
M of workers who hed only e vary sketchy iles of the value ori
Z ultimate uses of their labors. out aenerel con emnatlon or
I
. 5 the basis of such observations is dengorous. Results count,
. ord the Survey has oevelopeé a rethod of fectori-li%e use rrd
" re~ok;oklnr of the results of clerical labor tizt leo iroiuoei
J proqrossivoli improve? cownti inventories.
_ 
5
i This question of the coioetomoy of oar ornel natwrxllf
1
g bes bgen the creates; obstoolg fe;;` br Dr. ivrd; ·*r, ii ii: rx-
' g societes. lt was r sionribll for Loot of ti» i;j-ttlc;: ti
§ the Survot rele;} at ti; ;wts.t o? tie ir rrr . A Fir tlirhtlr
l E 1113 L"; tl·:a~,=: Err? *   f ri ro   r E· rtl <” ¤ F .·- -— r~, { ¢ .»   V.:   · .  
g · ·* ·’· L***-’~ *»·~ r` ~*r··r= —~— ‘·;~r - ) V   ·*`~~·”
Q tioi of tl; Survéi :1¢t L, ·lv,x full xr ;*i Q_r ?Lr~[~ ap?
S
·i . ,- . .
. ; “.TSLCl-LTL" zmxro *—.* tri t.ri?ttol Qt f* ~`#*~ ·‘ *<** ~rr»·
3
E ‘i?=?tori and oersogr for ici it it it T M r Vr2~“ r~ h~` »
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 l2
situation has been created in many states wherein tne Snrvsi
has been given preferential treatment by dork Projects Aiminis—
tration personnel éirectorsp Finally, a system éesi ned tc
assign laborers to work consistent with their talents has been
 it . ,- ,,` · ,. cm. .·..   A J- 4* i ...: ·~A W,-
·u» constantlj refined. ine increases amount ol soppozt oJ oro-
l
j· fessional bodies and scholars evidences tne conviction that
Q the system is in successful operation;
£  Recent Congressional legislation requiring all Work
‘ F Projects Administration oertifiea workers who had been oon-
' Q tinuously employed for eighteen months to take an enfsrcci
b furlough of one month before aoolying for recortification was
l i a severe blow, Key workers were replacoi by inexperirnoci
5 persons. Furthermore, recent reclassification of typists
3 that tends to place expert ttpists at the sam; pag rats level
2 as those loss yroficient has toni d to reduce efficiency and
3 is obviously unfair. Fortunately, nanj ,,*‘ eighteen—months white
 ~
  T collar workers are already regaining their jobs on Snrvet
it projects which have been grartel sponsors' contribwtions,
{ whereas unskilled day laborers may have to wait wany months
t for re-employment.
.i What of the accomplishments of the Snrve"? The Sorxor
i librarian of Columbia Wnivorsity went on recori as follo ’i‘.‘ or
‘ Q "Tbese {county] inventories xre ioin; to be as inportant to
g American scholars as Qelizvil Inventories are not to gtnients
l 3 of the jiille Ages in Zurop_." Six lar lialatorf stat nant;
i
3 are n;iri on all sijss. ?Te i;vsntori;t ‘ill .‘.‘ E2 v"lt·§lc to
1
r § tn; legrl irs? isitr, to T i1T,rs of lC;*l ini itite Hfitirf,
§ to histsriins atl other s‘oi¢l scientist:. lions "`1 c? 2r*1~
Q ; '· U

 l3
feet of mrnuscripts have b.on vrrcngoc, vnd local officiils
aroused to 1 rnalizcticn of tteir iwportoncc. Rare ncwsnaocrs,
mcnwscripts, enc books have been located in unlikely places.
g Ans the imorints survey, es it moves towerc the creation cf 0
My '
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{xiv 
* atc r·n1 sw lc P .¤¤; ,4M- ,+·¤V
· T-lllibii Cc¤`C;,...O&»-{G, [lc-»S c.I`OT-»¤-,.(, <1·.-..lI`·-4 .,1.--Ll.
‘i The State Librarian of Flcrids gives credit to thc Survey
` for stimuletinc an interest in state histczf on the part of
X u--   . ·v ¤ ·.`·.- ` ·~-·r;r·» ·.—
the msi in the street; Nembershit in tne rlcrioe niscoricsl
" Society and locsl historical societies tas accordingly incresseca
*1
; And there crc strong reasons for telicvinp that an ect estab-
`
s ’ lishing 2 state department of archives will be oesseo at the
· next session of the Florida legislature. Floridc‘s experience
;~ has been repeated witn variations in ctner statcsc
vi The Historical Records Survey has further succeeds? in
~' treining, in c practical, nerd-bitten school, e group of er-
/ chivists and archival cdmiristrators in t lend where oioortu-
I
·: nitics for theoretic l trzininr are all too rare. It has brought
*‘ different tires oF rinos to beer noon archival croblcms. `Miilc
z this "new blood" nas toc much to learn, it his contributed
_1 fructicrl answers to some of the pressing questions of crchivcl
(
i science. ln this connection, the socc*cr his r cantly race cn
§ cnclrsis of the oist work tri educational roccris of fi?tr
§ supervisors in five stitesg On: nolOs 2 doctor of rhil:s;trj
i degree; ter tr; mist r‘s 5»¢r e; nine tl; tcctilcr oi *r*s; Lic
f . 4 -
i three cr; toc; lcrs of ltw. Set ral kno E¢©; “ic* scicil tie ocl-
?
j logs instructors: a;i tk ir ;nit~r flsi Excl `~i 2Q? foci-r clerks;
. c
if ,—. - — `
é Liv: tvi;;;efers aio icc‘vn;;nts: tfc tiigst-rs; tfc 5 cj·l ‘ ’»’»·o rfcrc;
E
F . l H. .
§ ’ civntf YT ;sur r; J or *;t fiiffer {Li ecitor c" · r“s€`¤?:
5
5 · a   I H i
; jcurn J; V sozrts cfitir; in ;ssistdii ;ry»rirt i"1rt  I >"Tl=3‘.*' ORC: SiS.lZ··- ·f:lI"¤‘CJCCI` `.”.’}1O Ii`O1` `iJ`JT·L:I1i"
[ of his tlirty-odd yo;rs Nod teen ;tl» ts ouotn the hitting
_. 2`v¤;ra1gg’;,· of xtezzrly ·.;v:rj* l·;»a_<‘it;.g `tw;.s·,.`c2.ll g#·l€iw1· ir; the tnzjtior
y le;;ues¤ Tooef, after two yetrs ‘.*, itl the Survev, he does not
V
l ` oven know vso won the Borld Series. Fo ono ill o? Vis ns-
Q sociztes talk, sleeD¤ or; T, ¤ft——F¤i drink--tistqvical
. r¤oords» Th re has bpem gettin? to oorbfre with it in the
# annals o? Listoricrl birlioer try.
‘
  *.`3i·rJt of thm i‘1_:tx1rrn of t?i~ Yrisiiorical R%aoor‘s Gor? Q1? If
it
  T}!. *‘¤li<’:T` PT`~7l"Tl~>’I‘ is TF W i‘.’i‘C* L1?   or   TTC:"TYYf`QG‘l"_`;§lf`
g ride ~C¤r crest` ii` {Lis `TlS£l?Y1 s~ -2 fit tz 1;;i ji ill tF<· c0··.i€.t*—
g tion tf nyrroxixatili its @T¤S it st tus; we 1 *,‘·c ~z; ct~—it
§ adiiticw to 1*; briiriir aj to o’ti :5 t*¤ yr foci: `lr»l*i
§ “»;fi>;·E—-t*; c“rtl·tivx of ctn r s;FsL?i*r" ~ii ;f¤r&»
  `
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Unios List cf Hswsprpnrs; a n;ti©m—wide gui6~ tc twrscnsl
manuscrittsg ind sm invsrtcry O? tho rsccrds cf liter 0r§;iiz—
ations. Other pcssitilitiws {rc guides tc thm rucords of fra-
tsrncl Orgvmiz tions, business firms, ;n6 »dncCti©i;l institu-
I   _I_.
§ y tions.
f` It is =ls© nctsvcrthy that all %istcricIl rscsrss are not
€_ cn paper. T~¤ Irticnfl Park Swrvic©——0pwr*ting vitt trwifsd
I but limited Q©rs0smsl unssr thu cl: r m:nG:ts of Csnrrwss as
_ expr sscd in the Historic Sites Act mf IQZF--is zttnwptins to
, '=
.· imvsntsrf and clsssiff Fistsric sitcs. This survey is not
K ccnfir G tc sit l*s.· s ot urtisrrl irpcrtvncn, vnd both Civil
Q Swrvics ~m€ r~li0f ;&Ul0i¤us (rn ©ny·¤ G th .‘,: r r/,· cn. In lik¤
n mCuner/ tr; ~·,- loc tics ind clsssificitiin of cbj cts cf tistsric
[ int·rwst-—s0m~ ii nisuums but ucrq in thx h nds of priv;ts
* individuals-—v©wl¥ be srsrucusly helpfwl tc social ins culturil
* historirus. The »xptri ses Of cnc ixvsstigztor is Worth
I
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‘ "A numtsr of ymars cfs [hs stftcsl I prspfsyd ts iakw p
“ scientific and uxhwustive stud? of thw tistcrr vi fir iris
A mahufictrrinq in tiis csuntry, tsth tr privtt» r;iufrctur~rs
‘
·% and by qcvyrwmgnt fitricutsrs sf ©n» sqrt vii inst? r. Ai
i.
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¥ rsur s ocx; r uc» with tr= frcipr p rscis c®n#;ié;s i~ tn·i
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g tXI d·t1 I wish J, i’’, if it QTIST G at lll, YIZ sc tt r*i i1·
g t“C*s·iZ ittics ·id cell/rsI ‘‘,- it vgln gs r¤" r*r *·ia st YTlY{%n
g rt1¤T·strrersI tt? tvflis "r:~i·ls ’s fITl. I ¢Ir -2: r * tint
§
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I ; pic TF;. its ?*rs>. it rar ; ‘·‘I 1 ‘i enI;*r; ·&* ir;l·"1 ¢I
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i 2tticsI sc it 1 ’ ll Jfsr TIIIi;*Ti;I Y. ".I i;F I iii; it
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indeterminate quantities and with equally uncertain facilities
for examination, in a dozen arsenals all over the country. In
short, it was a task that called for a small army of finders
L_ and systematizers and indexers, tefore I could possibly hope
itg to scratch even the surface of this very important and timely
fil subject.”
lr Only one comment on this case should be added; the his~
U torien also needed to know the nature and location of dozens
U T of scattered firearms collections.
A il Finally, in the interest of the maintenance of a common
Q standard of compilation and scholarly quality, it is self-
D evident that federal guidance of any governmental project
I involving the surveying of historical records--whether paper
Q or physical sites and objects-~is essential. Yet Congress
T U has taken progressive steps toward the curtailment of n&tipn—
f Bids direction of projects of the Work Projects Administration,
P and complete abolition is a possibility. The time has come
I when this Society should go on record in favor of the contin-
“; uance of the Kistorical Records Survey under federal supervis-
5; ion. The Society’s individual members should actively and
i continuously prcpagandize to that ond.
g I am also convinced that the invtntoryin; of current
{
K E local and state records should Eocene n rccojnizéd, permanent
g function of the federal »_·, jovcr;;snt. Thy? Isc use that is the
d g only way that it can tx done in an orderly, uniform HLIQuT;
E and the production of Accurate and reliatlc guile: to factual
S
, lg ; data is iniispliseblc to undzrstanditg ir pvary fi ld of hunxn
g , Undo vcr. rho promotion and survey 3; evtry i;;lo oz st te
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and local   has bcccms a penn-;nc;;+; sctivitgr cf the
fcdcrul gcvcrzmmcmt, subjcci; to cxpa1isi012·.=:itE1 rclicf funds ix;
pcricds cf cccnczziic distress. It is mcrc imperative ihcfc in-
41 vc;1t01‘ying *5210 basic 1*·2cc1·ds cf is ccmpliczrbcd sccicty should
  rcccivc ccmpsrablc Crticnticm.
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