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Finding Aid

Cooley family papers

Overview

Scope and Contents

Biographical Note

Administrative Information

Scrapbook with the inscription "Merry Christmas 1936 from Gilbert and Sophie" to Esther Cooley

Scrapbook of Esther Cooley's trip to Canada in the summer

Scrapbook

A book of photographs

A notebook of bids, detailed structural drawings, and pricing and description of materials regarding the buildings of roads and bridges

Scrapbook

Oversize folder 1

Oversize folder 2

Cooley family papers, 1890-1966 | Louisiana Research Collection

By LAC Group

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Collection Overview

Title: Cooley family papers, 1890-1966

ID: LaRC/Manuscripts Collection 301

Primary Creator: Cooley family.

Extent: 4.0 Boxes

Arrangement: The collection is arranged by topic, as follows: correspondence, other papers, photographs, drafts, maps, bills and receipts, postcards, newspapers and articles, and scrapbooks. The collection consists of four boxes, two oversize folders, and six bound volumes.

Date Acquired: 05/22/1972. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Cooley, Esther., Cooley, Le Vere., Cooley, Stoughton., Steamboats -- History -- 20th century., United States. Federal Civil Works Administration.

Forms of Material: Clippings (information artifacts), Correspondence., Drafts (documents), Negatives (photographic), Photographs., Postcards., Scrapbooks.

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection consists of the correspondence of Captain Le Vere Cooley and his daughter Esther Cooley; photographs of steamboats, including those of Captain Cooley's boats the Oachita and America. There are also photographs by Stoughton Cooley of river people and the Teche country. There is also a bound volume of 1935 Civil Works Administration project photos and a scrapbook of Esther Cooley's travel photographs, primarily of Canada. The collection also includes copies of articles written by Esther and Captain Cooley in Waterways Journal and The Saturday Evening Post as well as Captain Cooley's articles and letters about flood control. Also included are pamphlets, certificates, newspaper clippings, transcripts, programs, invitations, and a genealogy.

Biographical Note

Captain Le Vere Cooley was a famous early 20th century Mississippi riverman--a "household word." He operated the steamer America from Greenville to New Orleans and also the Ouachita. In addition to the Mississippi, he sailed on the Ouachita and Black Rivers.

Esther Cooley, Le Vere's daughter, was a home economics teacher at the Natchitoches State Normal College. In 1948 she became head of the department at this school, which later became Northwestern State College.

Subject/Index Terms

Cooley, Esther.
Cooley, Le Vere.
Cooley, Stoughton.
Steamboats -- History -- 20th century.
United States. Federal Civil Works Administration.

Administrative Information

Repository: Louisiana Research Collection

Accruals: Additional material added to the collection in 1974.

Access Restrictions: Collection is open to the public. No known restrictions.

Use Restrictions: Physical rights are retained by the Louisiana Research Collection. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Acquisition Source: Esther Cooley.

Acquisition Method: Gift.

Preferred Citation: Cooley family papers, Manuscripts Collection 301, Louisiana Research Collection, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118.

Processing Information: Collection processed in 1974; revised in 1998.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid information entered in Archon by LAC Group in 2011.

Other Note: OCLC Number: 733294805

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: Correspondence],
[Box 2: Other papers],
[Box 3: Photographs],
[Box 4: Other papers],
[Volume 1: Scrapbook with the inscription "Merry Christmas 1936 from Gilbert and Sophie" to Esther Cooley, 1936],
[Volume 2: Scrapbook of Esther Cooley's trip to Canada in the summer, 1946],
[Volume 3: Scrapbook, 1927-1928],
[Volume 4: A book of photographs, circa 1935],
[Volume 5: A notebook of bids, detailed structural drawings, and pricing and description of materials regarding the buildings of roads and bridges, circa 1921],
[Volume 6: Scrapbook, 1910-1951],
[Oversize folder 1: 1925-1937],
[Oversize folder 2: 1929-1966],
[All]

Box 3: Photographs

Folder 1: Photographs by Stoughton Cooley: Bayou Teche, blacks, cotton bales, Oak Lawn plantation, and mules, 1895
Folder 2: Travel photographs Canada, British Columbia, unidentified
Folder 3: Photographs of steamer "Sprague"
Folder 4: Photographs of Cooley family, 1930 April: Captain La Vere Cooley (April 1930), Captain and Mrs. La Vere Cooley, Cooley home, Sophie Cooley Preison, Esther Cooley, E.W. Mealy, La Vere Cooley, Senior, and a picture of Donna, Le Vere III, David, Dorethy, Le Vere II on a boat. Also unidentified photos of people.
Folder 5: Photographs of "Tennessee Belle", "Bailey Gatzert of Portland", "American Company of Arkansas", "First Mile of Mississippi River" and "Looking South from Browen's"
Folder 6: Photograph of steamer "George Prince"
Folder 7: Photographs of orphans at Pecan Grove, Natchez river, Jonesville, and unidentified
Folder 8: Photographs of steamer "America" with cotton bales
Folder 9: Photographs and negatives of steamer "Ouachita" with and without cotton bales and barges
Folder 10: Photographs and negatives of river and dock scenes; cotton loading
Folder 11: Photographs and negatives of unidentifed steamers
Folder 12: Photographs and negatives of unidentified people
Folder 13: Other photographs

Tulane University Special Collections