Henderson, Orval L., Jr. (1930- ), Papers, 1904-2015, (C4130)
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C Henderson, Orval L., Jr. (1930- ), Papers, 1904-2015 4130 15.2 cubic feet, 1 DVD, 3 CDs, 1 audio cassette, 5 video cassettes RESTRICTED This collection is available at The State Historical Society of Missouri. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected]. INTRODUCTION The papers of Orval Henderson contain records of the Missouri Society for Military History, Missouri Militia/National Guard research files and articles, other materials relating to Missouri military history research and historical organizations, and personal papers. Henderson was a Missouri Department of Natural Resources employee who served in the Missouri National Guard from 1948-1990. Related materials on the history of the Missouri Militia and National Guard can be found in the collections of the Missouri History Museum, the Missouri State Archives, the Museum of Missouri Military History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, the National Archives, the Missouri State Museum, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and numerous libraries, museums, and historical societies throughout the state of Missouri. DONOR INFORMATION The papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Orval Henderson between 1982 and 2015 (Accession No. 6271). RESTRICTIONS The Donor retains copyrights held in the Papers, with the understanding that researchers are free to use and quote from any of the Papers consistent with the Fair Use Doctrine of the Copyright Law. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Orval L. Henderson, Jr. was born October 21, 1930, in Boonville, Missouri, to Orval and Rachel Henderson. He grew up in Boonville near the Kemper Military Academy. Henderson graduated from Central Methodist University (AB) in 1952 and the University of Missouri, Columbia, with an MA in History in 1969. He married Martha Lee Kusiak on December 28, 1990. He worked as a clerk at the United States Property and Fiscal Office of the Missouri National Guard from 1953-1962, and in the records office of the Missouri Adjutant General from February-November of 1962. He began working for the Missouri State Parks Board in December 1962. While working for the State Parks Board, Henderson helped establish the Office of Historic Preservation there, where he worked until he retired in 1989. Henderson served in the Missouri National Guard for 42 years, from 1948-1990; he retired as a lieutenant colonel from the 128th Field Artillery Battalion. While serving, he became interested in the history of the early Missouri Militia dating from 1752. He wrote a column on the history of the Missouri Militia and National Guard, “Henderson on C4130 Henderson, Orval L., Jr. (1930- ), Papers, 1904-2015 Page 2 History,” for the Missouri National Guard’s monthly newspaper, Bear Facts, from 1980 to 1990. This column covered a variety of topics relating to the history of the Missouri Militia and National Guard, and each column usually related in some way to other headlines in that issue of the paper. Also interested in the history of the 128th Artillery Battalion, Henderson collected a wide variety of research materials related to the 128th and was involved in the re- activation of the 128th Field Artillery Battalion as a historical unit in 1997. As honorary historian of that unit, he wrote for and helped publish their newsletter, playing a major role in keeping the organization active into the 2000s. After the Battalion was deactivated in 2005, the organization continued its historical activities as the 128th Field Artillery Association. Henderson was involved in numerous other military history organizations, including the Nathan Boone Rangers of the War of 1812, the Council on America’s Military Past, and the Center for French Colonial Studies. A founding member of the Missouri Society for Military History, he served as treasurer and secretary-treasurer of that organization from 1996-2008. He was instrumental in the society’s publication of the book Evolution of the Missouri Militia into the National Guard of Missouri, 1804-1919 by John G. Westover; he also collected funds to purchase a sword that once belonged to General Thomas Alexander Harris. Henderson’s research interests focus primarily on the early Militia (French colonial through the Mexican War), with an emphasis on St. Louis; and on 20th Century National Guard history. Interest in the Civil War is nominal. As such, he conducted extensive research at the Missouri State Archives, the State Historical Society of Missouri, the Missouri History Museum, and at other cultural heritage institutions throughout Missouri, amassing extensive bibliographies, indexes, research notes, genealogies, drafts, and articles relating to the history of the Missouri Militia and National Guard. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The papers have been arranged into the following eleven series with six subseries: Missouri Society for Military History General Historical Organizations and Activities History Correspondence Bear Facts Research Notecards Research Files Drafts and Planning Final articles General research 128th Field Artillery Battalion Association Organizational Materials Historical Research Interviews Personal Photographs C4130 Henderson, Orval L., Jr. (1930- ), Papers, 1904-2015 Page 3 Audiovisual Oversize The Missouri Society for Military History series documents the functions of the Society, including its initial organization as a nonprofit, its annual meetings, board of directors and other meetings, newsletters, membership, project planning, and two major projects: the publication of John G. Westover’s book, Evolution of the Missouri Militia into the National Guard of Missouri, 1804-1919, from his original doctoral dissertation, and the Ad Hoc Committee for the General Thomas Alexander Harris Sword. The Thomas Alexander Harris Sword committee raised funds to purchase Harris’s sword from a Georgia institution and bring it to Missouri. Thomas Alexander Harris was a politician and Confederate officer in Missouri during the Civil War. Henderson was a founding member of the Society in the mid-1990s and was heavily involved as treasurer until 2005. Also included in the series is correspondence from members sent in the course of dues renewal; these document the interests of members, as well as Henderson’s relationship with members of the historical community. The General Historical Organizations and Activities series documents Henderson’s activities in other historical organizations, including his involvement in historical reenactments, history workshops and conferences, including the Council on America’s Military Past (CAMP) meetings, and his involvement in various military history groups. Henderson’s interest in historic sites is also documented here in the form of brochures and pamphlets collected from throughout Missouri and the United States. This series is less complete than the Society for Military History series. Materials relating to historical organizations can also be found throughout the research files, most notably in the 128th Field Artillery Battalion series, which includes both historical research and 128th Field Artillery Association materials. Other research files containing materials from historical organizations include the French Militia in St. Louis files, which include materials from his membership in the Center for French Colonial Studies; as well as the War of 1812 research files, which include materials from his memberships in the Nathan Boone Rangers of the War of 1812. The History Correspondence series primarily consists of correspondence from the mid-1990s between Henderson and members of the Missouri Society for Military History, with some exceptions. The series contains substantial correspondence from Ken Coombs, Bill Hobbs, and Jo Ann Keller. The correspondence discusses personal matters as well as shared historical interests. The Bear Facts series is the most substantial and complete series in the collection. In addition to Henderson’s finished articles, researchers can find research, drafts, and bibliographies from every stage of Henderson’s work on this column. The series has been divided into four subseries, each of which represents a distinct stage in Henderson’s research process: Research Notecards, Research Files, Drafts and Planning, and Final articles. Preliminary research in the form of Research Notecards primarily documents Henderson’s interest in early St. Louis military history. These notecards include subject headings, notes, and bibliographic citations about people, places, and events. The notecards are color coded: white cards are bibliographic citations; yellow cards document the active military force; green cards document the regular militia; orange cards C4130 Henderson, Orval L., Jr. (1930- ), Papers, 1904-2015 Page 4 document the volunteer militia; blue cards document the Missouri National Guard; and red cards indicate historical articles researched, written, and published. Research Files also contain bibliographic notecards, though these reflect a further step in the research process; the notecards were placed in files, often with other notes, photocopies, and preliminary drafts, as Henderson organized his research and developed ideas for Bear Facts articles. These files are further subdivided into three categories: Regular Militia (also known as the Common, Ordinary, or Compulsory Militia); the Volunteer Militia; and the Missouri National Guard. Each category is arranged alphabetically. Regular Militia materials include extensive research into the French Militia in St. Louis,