Dr. William E. Sawyer Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection is organized into two series.
Series I, A Young Man Comes to Texas, 1852-1866 Files; consists of letters from the Tennessee State Archives in Nashville and transcribed by Dr. William E. Sawyer.
Alfred wrote regularly to his brother Morton prior to 1856. There are a few letters to his parents and other members of the family as well. The letters are full of interesting descriptions of Texas during the early period of settlement. The last letter, dated January 1866, is a summary of happenings during the Civil War.
Series II, History of East Texas State University Files; consists of drafts, newspaper clippings and essays related to and created for the book History of East Texas State University. The essays are written by Sawyer about ETSU. Some of the newspaper articles were written by Sawyer regarding the former President Arthur C. Ferguson.
The Collection does not include any biographical materials for Dr. William E. Sawyer.
Dates
- Creation: n.d., c. 1979
Creator
- Sawyer, William E., Dr. (Creator, Person)
- Howell, Alfred (Creator, Person)
- Howell, Morton Boyte (Creator, Person)
Restrictions on Use
Items in this collection are protected by applicable copyright laws.
Biographical / Historical
Dr. William Edwin Sawyer moved to Commerce, Texas in 1962. He was a Professor of History at East Texas State University from 1962-1980. Sawyer published History of East Texas State University (1979), Various Beginnings in Commerce, Texas (1980), A Young Man Comes to Texas, The Founding of East Texas State University, Martin Hart-Civil War Guerilla, Mercer Colony: a reappraisal as well as several articles.
Sawyer was born on February 6, 1913 to John Sawyer and Edith Morgan in Ludlow, Vermont. He married Sarah Adele Garfield in 1937. Sawyer was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and earned his BS, MA, and PhD. degrees from Boston University. He taught high school and college prior to moving to Commerce. After retirement, he was an active volunteer in the Commerce community especially with the Meals on Wheels organization.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
- Title
- Dr. William E. Sawyer Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Shanna Strunk; Andrea Weddle
- Date
- 6/18/2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, Waters Library, Texas A&M University-Commerce Repository
