This guide provides library and web-based information appropriate for students enrolled in Dr. Allison's Senior Seminar course focusing on Georgia Southern University's Special Collections.
Collections from Library Session
American Association of University Women Statesboro Branch recordsThis collection consists of materials documenting the activities of the Statesboro Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Materials include meeting minutes, scrapbooks, publicity, yearbooks, and other materials spanning 1939 to 1993.
Boy Scouts of America Troop 62 collectionThis collection consists of Boy Scouts of America materials dating from 1911 to 1990 collected by Kenneth Smith in service of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 62 of Statesboro, Georgia. Materials include handbooks, booklets, guidebooks, song books, and other materials published by the organization.
Bronislaw M. Bak papersPapers of Georgia Southern faculty member, Bronislaw Marion “Bruno” Bak. Materials span from 1973 to 1981 and include correspondence, teaching materials, student papers, and artworks. Of particular note are documents pertaining to Bak’s work on the window for St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota and the 1980 biography by son, Clements R. Bak.
Bo Ginn papersThis collection consists of various political papers to and from Ronald “Bo” Ginn from 1973 to 1983. The collection includes professional correspondence to and from various constituents and organizations, personal correspondence, and audiovisual tapes of Ginn’s life and work.
Bulloch County Board of Education recordsProperty deeds, financial records, school petitions, photographs, maps and meeting minutes of the Bulloch County Board of Education, 1888-1988.
Bulloch County Sociological Survey, 1949This collection includes interview transcripts and demographic records of Statesboro-Bulloch County residents and their views of social class divisions and current events in Bulloch County. Documents were compiled in 1949 by sociological researcher Bevode C. McCall.
Erk Russell Oral History Interview and Performance projectThis collection consists of the typed transcripts of interviews with the friends and acquaintances of Coach Erk Russell, whom they worked alongside during his time as the Georgia Southern Eagles football coach in the 1980s and into his retirement in the 1990s. All interviews were conducted by volunteer interviewers from the Communication Arts Department at Georgia Southern University between October 2007 and February 2008.
Francis Harper collectionThis collection consists of the professional and personal papers of Cornell-trained naturalist Dr. Francis Harper. Materials span 1904-1972 and include field notebooks, correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the plant and animal life as well as human ecology of the Okefenokee Swamp area of South Georgia.
Georgia Heritage Trust recordsThe collection consists of the Georgia Heritage Trust records from 1971 to 1982 the bulk of which cover the tenure of Dr. George A. Rogers’ tenure under Governor Jimmy Carter. Materials include correspondence, annual reports, financial information, and marketing materials.
Georgia B. Watson papersMaterials include correspondence, corrected typescripts of Watson's books on retirement and her World War II Army Service with the Women's Army Corps, materials relating to Watson's career at Georgia Southern, clippings by or about Watson, speeches, research notes, and ephemera.
Gretsch Company Records & Fred W. Gretsch papersThis collection contains materials relating to the Gretsch Company in all of its forms including the Fred Gretsch Manufacturing Company and the Gretsch brand.
Jack Hill papersThis collection consists of various political papers of Georgia State Senator Jack S. Hill from 1989 to 2020, and personal, military, and family documents from before his time in office from 1965 to 2019. The collection consists of various personal documents, legislative records, constituent correspondence, press and media activity, audio visual materials, and artifacts from Senator Hill’s life.
Johann Christoph Bornemann diary and translationsThis collection consists of the original diary of German-born surgeon Johann Christoph Bornemann from the early 1750s during his visit to Georgia. Also included are translations of diary excerpts, translations of letters sent from Bornemann to German officials, and a biography compiled by Gertha Reinert. Researcher annotations also appear in the translated diary and letters.
John Russell Bozeman papersThis collection consists of research materials belonging to Georgia Southern College instructor, John Russell Bozeman. Materials span 1948-1994 and include research files on beach erosion, the ecology of the Georgia barrier islands, and general information on Southeastern ecology and topography.
Joseph T. Lawless family papersThis collection includes personal and professional correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletter bulletins, and a photograph. Materials mostly pertain to Irish nationalism and Irish Americans affiliated with the Friends of Irish Freedom organization. Correspondence to and from Joseph T. Lawless span 1918-1924 and discuss the push for an Independent Irish Republic and support from within the United States.
Latin American & Caribbean collectionThis collection consists of items from Latin America and the Caribbean dating from 1692 to 1985. Materials include political pamphlets, newsletters, ephemera, sheet music, published books, and other materials. The subject matter includes U.S.-Latin American relations, popular culture, and revolutions.
Oral History CollectionThis collection consists of the transcripts, original cassette tape recordings of public speeches, lectures, and oral history interviews spanning from 1962-2007. Interviews were conducted and recorded by Georgia Southern University’s Department of History and Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections. Those interviewed are mostly locals to Bulloch County and neighboring counties. Interviewees discuss their personal and family lives, historical events they were a part of, and circumstances surrounding their successes.
Roger and Mary Jo Burgoon sheet music collectionThis collection was compiled by Roger S. Burgoon and consists of over 95,000 pieces of popular American sheet music published in the United States from the 1840s to 1990s. Most of the music is written for piano.
Spencer Wallace Cone family papersThis collection consists of materials related to the Spencer Wallace Cone family spanning 1810-1976 with the majority of materials dated between 1810 and 1892.. Materials include nineteenth and early twentieth century correspondence between members of the Cone family, including Spencer Houghton Cone and Spencer Wallace Cone. Also included are military documents related to the 61st New York Infantry regiment, legal documents, biographical information, sermons and notes by Spencer Houghton Cone, records of the Oliver Street Church (1825-1840), a household account book, photographs, and records relating to the settlement of Spencer Houghton Cone II’s estate.
Virginia and Kiah Jackson collection and student art collectionThe collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Calvin and Virginia Jackson Kiah. Materials span 1930s to 1980s and include correspondence, teaching materials, artist files, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other related documents. Of particular note are records pertaining to Virginina Jackson Kiah's founding and management of the Lillie Carroll Jackson Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and the Kiah House Museum in Savannah, Georgia. These are complemented by materials compiled to fulfill the museums' objectives, including research associated with regional Black artists. A substantial segment of the collection encompasses Calvin Kiah's career in higher education administration.
The Waddie Welcome collectionThis collection consists of approximately 668 photograph slides taken by Tom Kohler and Susan Earl from 2006 to 2009. The subjects of the slides include artwork by Waddie Welcome in the Savannah area. The images tell a great deal about hopes, dreams, desires, realities of life in this community between the 1970s and 1990's, while the fonts used suggest a practice of public writing that has its own particular style and community significance.
William M. Rigdon papersThis collection consists of correspondence, official military records, clippings, press releases, reports, memoranda, photographs, printed material, two unpublished manuscripts, and a diary (1941) recording William M. Rigdon’s naval service as the United States entered World War II. The materials pertain to Rigdon’s naval service, particularly as the Assistant Naval Aide (1942-1953) to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.
