Briggs Family Papers (C4374) Collection Number: C4374 Collection Title: Briggs Family Papers Dates: 1896-1991 Creator: Frank P. Briggs, 1894-1992 Abstract: Scrapbooks, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings of members of the Briggs family, including U.S. Senator Frank P. Briggs and journalist Ruth Briggs Bratek, a graduate of the University of Missouri. Collection Size: 2.73 cubic feet (9 folders, 5 oversize volumes) 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 columbia@shsmo.org. Collections may be viewed at any research center. Restrictions on Use: The Donor has given, assigned, and transferred to the Society all copyrights, and associated rights the Donor may possess in the materials. Preferred Citation: [Specific item; box number; folder number] Briggs Family Papers (C4374); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Columbia [after first mention may be abbreviated to SHSMO-Columbia]. Donor Information: The papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Catherine Dvorak on July 23, 2013 (Accession No. CA6309) Processed by: Processed by John Konzal, November 8, 2018 Historical Note:
(C4374) Briggs Family Papers Page 2 Frank Parks Briggs was born in Armstrong, Howard County, Missouri, on February 25, 1894. He attended Armstrong and Fayette schools and Central College at Fayette, Missouri, from 1911 to 1914. Briggs graduated from the University of Missouri in 1915, and engaged in the newspaper business in 1915 and in the publishing business at Macon, Missouri, in 1925. He bought the Macon Chronicle-Herald in 1924 and was its editor and publisher until he sold it in 1973. He served as the mayor of Macon, Missouri, from 1930-1932, and served in the state Senate from 1933 to 1944. Briggs was appointed on January 18, 1945, as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Harry S. Truman, and served from January 18, 1945, to January 3, 1947. After serving in the U.S. Senate, Frank Briggs resumed working in the newspaper publishing business and became chairman of the Missouri State Conservation Commission, a position he held in 1955 and 1956, and later became assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife, 1961-1965. He was a resident of Macon, Missouri, until his death on September 23, 1992. He was married to Catherine Schull-Briggs, and had two daughters, Ruth Bratek and Betty Briggs. He also had a sister, Margaret Bullock. He is buried in Walnut Ridge Cemetery, Fayette, Missouri. Ruth Briggs Bratek was born on August 2, 1923, to Frank P. and Catherine Briggs in Shawnee, Oklahoma, but spent most of her childhood in Macon, Missouri, where her family owned and published the Macon Chronicle-Herald. She grew up with two brothers, Tom and Gene Briggs, and two younger sisters, Dorothy Ramon and Betty B. Briggs. Ruth Bratek earned a Bachelor s degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri in 1945 and later completed a Master s degree in Journalism in 1964. After college, she worked for newspapers all over the state of Missouri. She started as a display advertising representative at the St. Joseph News-Press and Gazette. Later Bratek worked as the advertising and business manager at the West Plains Daily and Semi-Weekly Quill, and as the assistant advertising manager at the Macon Chronicle-Herald. In 1956, she joined the faculty of the Missouri School of Journalism and was the first woman to serve as advertising director of the Columbia Missourian newspaper and as a faculty member in the advertising department. She developed an advertising sales manual and legal guide for students, similar to the desk books used by reporters and copyeditors. Ruth Briggs Bratek died on May 1, 2016, at the Meadowood Health Pavilion in Bloomington, Indiana.
(C4374) Briggs Family Papers Page 3 Arrangement: The collection has been arranged into the following four series: Newspaper Clippings Photographs Scrapbooks Oversize Scope and Content Note: Newspaper Clippings This series contains materials related to Frank P. Brigg s work as assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife, and the column he wrote in his newspaper, entitled, It Seems to B. Also articles on his 90 th birthday, his role as past Grand Master of the Masons, wife Catherine Briggs, Briggs Family obituaries, marriages, and other assorted articles on Frank Briggs. Photographs This series consists of photographs of Frank P. Briggs, and the Briggs and Shull family. Also included are some photographs of John F. Kennedy and Stuart Symington. The majority of the photographs were taken when Briggs was working as assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife. Also photos taken at the 150 th Anniversary of the founding of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, Masons, 1821-1971. Scrapbooks This series contains assorted newspaper clippings which focus largely on obituaries and marriages of Briggs and related families and clippings on various celebrities from the 1950s and 1960s. Also clippings covering Briggs term as assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and a regular column he wrote in the Macon Chronicle-Herald. Also an assortment of greeting cards and photographs of the Briggs and related families. Oversize This series contains volumes 3, 4 and 6-8 of the scrapbooks Container List: f. 1-2 Newspaper Clippings f. 1 1964-1991 f. 2 1965-1985 f. 3-6 Photographs f. 3 1896-1956 f. 4 1936-1962 f. 5 1957, 1961 f. 6 1957, 1971 f. 7-9 Scrapbooks
(C4374) Briggs Family Papers Page 4 f. 7 v. 1, 1918-1959 f. 8 v. 2, 1927-1957 f. 9 v. 5, 1936-1957 Vol. 3, 4, 6-8 Oversize Material v. 3 1927-1958 v. 4 1945-1947 v. 6 1946-1958 v. 7 1956, 1957 v. 8 1956-1961 Index: Index Term Folder Image Mediums Aircraft Yes v. 3, v. 8 Automobiles 3 Yes v. 3, v. 8 Beall, Marjorie Yes v. 3 Beall, Marjorie 9 Bicycles 9 Yes v. 8 Bratek, Catherine Joanne 2 Yes Bratek, Ruth Briggs, 1923-2016 1, 2 Bratek, Ruth Briggs, 1923-2016 7-9 Yes v. 3, v. 8 Briggs family 1-9 Yes v. 3, v. 4, v. 6-8 Briggs family 1-9 v. 8 Briggs, Anne 2 Briggs, Betty 1, 2, 7, 9 Briggs, Betty Barbara 4 Yes Briggs, Billy Ben 4 Yes Briggs, Catherine 1 Yes Briggs, Catherine S. 4, 5, 7-9 Briggs, Darlene Ruth 4 Yes Briggs, Dorothy 1, 2, 9 Briggs, Dorothy Catherine 4 Yes Briggs, Eleanor Sue 4 Yes Briggs, Eugene Allen 9 Yes v. 3 Briggs, Eugene Allen 4, 7, 8 Yes v. 3, v. 8 Briggs, Eugene S. 1, 2 Briggs, Eugene Stephen 4 Yes Briggs, Frank P., 1894-1992 1-9 Yes v. 3, v. 8 Briggs, Frank P., 1894-1992 1-9 v. 3-4, v. 6-8 Briggs, Jack 1, 2 Yes Briggs, Jeff 1 Yes
(C4374) Briggs Family Papers Page 5 Index Term Folder Image Mediums Briggs, Lori Anne 2 Briggs, Mary 2 Briggs, Mary G. 4 Yes Briggs, Susie 7 Briggs, Susie A. 4 Yes Briggs, Thomas F. 1, 2 Yes Briggs, Thomas Frank 4 Yes Briggs, Thomas Frank, 1918-7, 8 Briggs, Thomas H. 4 Yes Bullock, Helen Marie 4 Yes Bullock, Margaret B. 4 Yes Bullock, Menifee C. 4 Yes Cannon, Clarence, 1879-1964 1, 5 Yes v. 8 Dalton, John M., 1900-1972 4, 7, 9 Yes English, Earl Franklin, 1905-7 Yes Fitzpatrick, Daniel R., 1891-1969 7 Yes Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1917-1963 4 Yes Masonic orders Yes v. 3, v. 8 Naval ships 7 Yes Parades Yes v. 3, v. 8 Phil M. Donnelly, 1891-1961 1, 7 Yes Ramon, Michel Robert 9 Shull, Luna Darlene, 1896-3 Yes Symington, Stuart, 1901-1988 4, 5 Yes v. 8 Travel Yes v. 8 Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 3, 7, 9 Yes Truman, Margaret, 1924-2008 7 Yes