Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers (C3390)
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Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers (C3390) Collection Number: C3390 Collection Title: Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers Dates: 1869-1978 Creator: Hyde, Laurance Mastick, 1892-1978 Abstract: The papers of the Missouri Supreme Court Justice, 1942-1966, relate to his activities in the American Bar Association, Conference of Chief Justices, and Missouri Bar Association, and in promulgating the Missouri Court plan, Missouri Constitution of 1945, and the Missouri Code. The collection also contains limited Hyde family papers and genealogical materials. Collection Size: 16.6 cubic feet (1131 folders) Language: Collection materials are in English. Repository: The State Historical Society of Missouri Restrictions on Access: Collection is open for research. This collection is available at The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Columbia. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected]. Collections may be viewed at any research center. Restrictions on Use: The donor has given and assigned to the University all rights of copyright, which the donor has in the Materials and in such of the Donor’s works as may be found among any collections of Materials received by the University from others. Preferred Citation: [Specific item; box number; folder number] Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers (C3390); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Columbia [after first mention may be abbreviated to SHSMO-Columbia]. Donor Information: The records were donated to the University of Missouri by Laurance Mastick Hyde on April 5, 1952 (Accession No. CA3117). Additions to the papers were made on May 7, 1958 (Accession No. CA3340), October 12, 1966 (Accession No. CA3684), and December 16, 1976 (Accession No. CA4036). A final addition was made by Florence Fuller Hyde on October 21, 1981 (Accession No. CA4372). Processed by: Processed by Joyceanne Vogel on August 1, 1977. Updated by Laura R. Jolley on November 3, 2020. (C3390) Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers Page 2 Historical Note: Laurance Mastick Hyde was born in Princeton, Missouri, on February 2, 1892, to Civil War veteran and former U.S. Congressman Ira Barnes Hyde and his third wife, Eliza Tomlinson Mastick. Two earlier wives, Sophia Clymer and Caroline Mastick died, leaving behind three small sons, Edward Clymer, Benjamin C. and Arthur Mastick Hyde (who would later become Governor of Missouri). Ira and Eliza had two additional children, Ira Barnes Hyde, Jr., and Frances Emily. Laurance Mastick Hyde was educated in the Princeton public schools, and the University of Missouri, graduating in 1914 with A.B. degree, and in 1916, with LL.B. degree. He was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1916 and served as the city attorney in Princeton until 1917, when he joined the army as second lieutenant in the 338th Infantry, 85th Division. He was also judge advocate in the special training camp at Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1917 to 1919. He returned to Princeton in 1919 to practice law until 1931, when he was appointed Missouri Supreme Court Commissioner. He was reappointed to the post in 1935 and 1939. In 1934, he was the Republican nominee for Judge of the Missouri Supreme Court, Division No. 2. He served on the Missouri Supreme Court from 1942 to 1966 and was named chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. He was elected Missouri delegate in the American Bar Association House of Delegates in 1938, and was also a member of the Council of Section on Judicial Administration, the American Academy of Political Science, and of the American Law Institute. He authored several articles on practice and procedure of the law. He was a member of the Princeton Board of Education, President of the Farmers State Bank of Princeton, Chairman of Mercer County Republican Committee, and Chairman of Third Congressional District Republican Committee. Hyde married Florence Fuller on June 15, 1922. The couple had two children, Florence Fuller Hyde, born in 1924, and Laurance Mastick Hyde, Jr., born in 1927. Hyde died in 1978. Arrangement: The collection has been arranged into the following five series: Personal Professional Associations Missouri Miscellaneous Publications and speeches Scope and Content Note: Personal The Personal series contains correspondence arranged chronologically. Included are congratulatory and letters of support following Hyde’s appointment as Missouri Supreme Court commissioner and to the Missouri Supreme Court, letters of endorsement and results of the 1944 election and other judicial positions, results of polls conducted by the Missouri Bar judicial elections committee, newspaper clippings, confirmation materials pertaining to Missouri Go to top (C3390) Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers Page 3 Supreme Court justices, correspondence regarding court cases and procedures, requests for opinions and inquiries, invitations and responses, speeches and articles, farm partnership papers between Hyde and Claude W. Stanley, additional farm and financial records, and travel schedules, costs, and itineraries for the Hyde family trip through Europe, the Soviet Union, and parts of Asia. Professional Associations The Professional Associations series comprises the majority of the collection and focuses primarily on the American Bar Association. The records document ABA conferences and meetings, and opinions on a variety of issues including the admission of women, discussions of Missouri and U.S. Supreme Court nominees, the impact of World War II on the ABA, and Harold Stassen’s United Nations plan. The series includes both general and association specific correspondence, membership lists and related materials; travel expenses, itineraries, and schedules; by-laws, minutes, agendas, fundraising and financial records, memoranda, resolutions, and reports, conference and meeting planning materials, questionnaires, information on regional and national issues; association specific committee and section correspondence and related materials; newsletters and other publications. Missouri The Missouri series contains materials pertaining to the Missouri Code including revisions and amendments, articles, speeches, statements by politicians, correspondence, comparisons with other states, newspaper clippings, reports, rules and procedures, memoranda, committee minutes and agendas. The series also contains proposed amendments to the 1943 Missouri State Constitution and Constitutional Convention, related correspondence, committee meetings, membership, and reports, newspaper clippings, and discussion of related matters. The series also includes materials pertaining to the Missouri Court Plan, Missouri Highway Patrol, Missouri Judicial Conference, Missouri Board of Law Examiners, state legislation, Missouri Magistrate Courts, municipal and traffic court rules, Missouri Traffic Safety Committee, and the University of Missouri. Miscellaneous The Miscellaneous series incorporates materials pertaining to other organizations of interest to Hyde including the National Conference of Judicial Councils, National Foreign Trade Council, National Probation and Parole Association, North Carolina Bar Association, President’s Highway Safety Conference, Probate Judges Association of Missouri, St. Louis Bar Association, and U.S. Civil Service Commission Hearing Examiners Board. The materials are comprised of correspondence, membership lists and questionnaires, meeting by-laws, minutes and agendas, committee reports and programs, resolutions and articles, travel expenses and vouchers, applicants for positions and supporting materials, and rules and procedures. Publications The Publications series includes Hyde’s published writings and various law journals and speeches given on the subjects of the law such as procedure, Uniform Act, the selection and tenure of judges, history of the judicial system in Missouri, The Missouri Experience, and the State Court Administrative Office, 1935-1970. Go to top (C3390) Laurance Mastick Hyde Papers Page 4 Container List: Personal Series Materials within the Personal series concentrate on Hyde’s career. The correspondence focuses on his appointment as the Missouri Supreme Court Commissioner in 1931; letters of support sent to Governor Donnell and the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission endorsing Hyde as a justice of the Missouri Supreme Court (f. 1-6); and congratulatory messages upon his appointment to Missouri’s highest court (f. 7-15) and Chief Justice (f. 21). Folders 16-20, 23-37 contain endorsements and letters of support from Missouri attorneys, officials, and businessmen, congratulatory messages upon successful election and re-election to the Court in 1944 and 1954, instructions for balloting, election results, and newspaper clippings. Throughout his term on the Missouri Supreme Court, Hyde corresponded with other judges on topics ranging from traffic courts and judicial procedure to cases before the Missouri Supreme Court, disbarment hearings, extradition cases, and inquiries concerning the Missouri Supreme Court Commissioner system. Also included are an explanation of Missouri Supreme Court operating procedures, letters concerning a proposed increase in Missouri Bar dues, and requests for opinions and discussion of cases (f. 39-54). From 1953-1955, Hyde made unsuccessful attempts to be appointed to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, headquartered in St. Louis. Folders 55-69 contain requests for support, subsequent letters of endorsement and the announcement of the appointment of Charles Evans Whittaker. Folders 70-90 contain articles and speeches written by Hyde for various