Z 1659.000 S
OWENS (GEORGE WASHINGTON) PAPERS


Biography/History:

George Washington Owens was born in Millport, Alabama, on October 10, 1901. His family moved to Itawamba County, Mississippi, in 1902. Owens graduated from Itawamba County Agricultural High School in 1927. He served as farm manager of Itawamba County Agricultural High School for a year. Owens then served as superintendent (principal) of various county schools.

Owens was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives from Itawamba County in 1936. He served on the Agriculture (secretary), Constitution, and Military Affairs committees, as well as on the committee responsible for investigating state agencies and departments. Owens married Mae Harris of Pontotoc, Mississippi, in December of 1937. He also attended the Mississippi State Teachers College, receiving a bachelor of science degree in 1940.

Re-elected to the House in 1939, Owens was appointed to the Education (chairman), Railroads, Registration and Elections, and Universities and Colleges committees. As chairman of the Education Committee, Owens worked on legislation to provide for free public-school textbooks and a nine-month school year. He attended graduate school at the University of Mississippi in 1941. Owens served as an inspector for the Selective Service in 1942, providing liaison with the Mississippi Department of Education. He served as chief of the Advertising and Industrial Division of the Mississippi Board of Development in 1943. Owens was defeated in his bid for re-election to the House in 1943, but he served as assistant clerk of the House for the 1944-1946 legislative term. He also taught at the Itawamba County Agricultural High School between legislative sessions. Owens began working in Pontotoc as a vocational agent with the Mississippi Department of Public Welfare Division for the Blind in 1946. He remained with the division until his retirement in 1966.

Owens was elected to the Mississippi Senate from the thirty-first district (Calhoun, Chickasaw, and Pontotoc counties) in 1951. He was an unsuccessful candidate for president pro tempore of the Senate in 1952. During his first term, Owens served as chairman of the Temperance Committee, vice-chairman of the Pensions Committee, and on the Agriculture, Drainage, Education, Juvenile Delinquency and Child Welfare, and Rules committees, among others. He served as vice-chairman of the Recess Educational Study Committee in 1953. Owens traveled the state opposing the constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to abolish public schools in 1954.

Elected to a second term in the Mississippi Senate in 1955, Owens served as chairman of the Public Health Committee, vice-chairman of the Education Committee, and on the Child Welfare, Eleemosynary Institutions, Finance, Oil and Gas, Pensions, Rules, and Temperance committees. While still employed by the Division for the Blind, Owens became a rehabilitation consultant in 1956. He served as chairman of the Hospital Study Committee in 1957. During this time, Owens promoted an eight-point plan to legalize liquor and eliminate the black-market tax in Mississippi. Because of the electoral-floater tradition, Owens did not seek re-election in 1959, but continued his legislative association by serving as an associate member of the Education Study Committee in 1961. Continuing his work with the Division for the Blind, he became an area supervisor in 1965 and retired in 1966. Owens received a masters degree from Mississippi State University in 1967.

In addition to his political and governmental service, Owens was a member of the Lions Club for more than thirty years. He was also an active supporter of Itawamba Junior College, serving as president of the alumni association. Owenss autobiography, I Was There, was published in 1973. He died in Pontotoc on March 3, 1975, and is buried in the Ware Cemetery in Pontotoc County.

Scope and Content:

The papers of George Washington Owens (1901-1975) document his thirty years of active political and governmental service in Mississippi. The majority of the papers reflect his tenure in the Mississippi legislature as a member of the House of Representatives from 1936 to 1944 and of the Senate from 1952 to 1960. Correspondence from this period covers at great length the interaction between a state legislator and his constituency, both in the expressions of constituency opinion and the requests for intercessory action by the legislator. Additionally, there is a significant amount of intra-legislative correspondence illuminating various parliamentary strategies, as well as correspondence with every Mississippi governor from 1940 to 1976. Other correspondence deals with his non-legislative employment, most notably his early years with the Mississippi Department of Public Welfare (1946-1952).

Other legislative papers cover the special committee assignments that Owens received. Chief among these is the investigation of Mississippi State College for Women in 1942. Other major investigations covered by these papers are those of the Recess Education Study Committee (1952), the Hospital Study Committee (1957), the Senate Prohibition Study Committee (1958), and the Education Study Committee (1961). A series of legislative subject files contains information acquired by Owens during his legislative service, including biennial reports of various state agencies, supporting material for several of Owens's legislative interests, and drafts of legislative bills. Scrapbooks of newsclippings provide a chronological record of Owens's legislative career.

Material contained in Owens's personal subject files document his non-governmental activities, including his interest in Itawamba Junior College and his Lions Club work. The writing and publication of his autobiography, I Was There, is documented with holographic and typed manuscripts, as well as several sets of proofs. A group of speeches, statements, and proclamations reflect not only Owens's views on political issues during the 1940s and 1950s, but also those of his political contemporaries. A number of broadsides reflect campaign issues.

Series Identification:

  1. Correspondence.

    2. This series consists of correspondence documenting Owenss legislative tenure; his legislative methodology; and his relationships with constituents from 1935 to 1974. The correspondence with the Vocational Rehabilitation Division of the Department of Public Welfare reflects his work with rehabilitation programs in northeast Mississippi. Correspondents include Thomas G. Abernethy, Theodore G. Bilbo, J. P. Coleman, Paul B. Johnson, Sr., John R. Rankin, Hugh White, and Fielding L. Wright.

  2. Legislative Committee Reports and Testimony.

    3. This series consists of investigating and special study committee reports, as well as standing committee reports. Some reports are the published versions.

  3. Legislative Subject Files.

    4. This series consists of reports of state agencies, statistical data, and other materials acquired by Owens in the course of his legislative duties.

  4. Speeches, Statements, and Proclamations.

    5. This series consists of speeches (manuscript and printed), political statements, and press releases of Owens and others, as well as gubernatorial proclamations.

  5. Scrapbooks.

    6. This series consists of scrapbooks of newsclippings documenting Owens's legislative career from 1936 to 1942 and from 1951 to 1956. Loose items are housed in a separate folder at the front of each scrapbook.

  6. Personal Subject Files.

    7. This series consists of materials relating to Owens's involvement in the Itawamba Junior College Alumni Association and the Lions Club. Also included are biographical sketches and death notices of Owens and posthumous tributes sent to Mrs. Owens after her husbands death. There are also personal copies of Selective Service travel authorizations and vouchers.

  7. Photographs and Broadsides.

    8. This series consists of photographs depicting legislative activities and broadsides concerning political campaigns.

  8. I Was There.

    9. This series consists of the original holographic manuscript, two edited typescripts, two sets of galley proofs, and six page proofs for Owens's autobiography entitled I Was There. Also included are notices appearing in newspapers and a copy of the publication.

Box and Folder List:

  • Series 1: Correspondence (Incoming and Outgoing). 1935-1974; n.d.
    • Box 1, folder 1: 1935.
      • folder 2: 1936.
      • folder 3: 1937.
      • folder 4: 1938.
      • folder 5: 1939.
      • folder 6: January 4-22, 1940.
      • folder 7: January 23-28, 1940.
      • folder 8: January 29-31, 1940.
      • folder 9: February 2-10, 1940.
      • folder 10: February 12-19, 1940.
      • folder 11: February 20-23, 1940.
      • folder 12: February 24-29, 1940.
      • folder 13: March 2-13, 1940.
      • folder 14: March 15-27, 1940.
      • folder 15: April 1-11, 1940.
      • folder 16: April 15-29, 1940.
      • folder 17: Mary 3-25, 1940.
      • folder 18: June 12-26, 1940.
      • folder 19: July 16-December 11, 1940.
      • folder 20: [1940].
    • Box 2, folder 1: 1941.
      • folder 2: January 6-31, 1942.
      • folder 3: February 1-25, 1942.
      • folder 4: March 5-November 24, 1942.
      • folder 5: January 13-February 27, 1943.
      • folder 6: March 2-April 22, 1943.
      • folder 7: May 1-July 30, 1943.
      • folder 8: August 27-October 15, 1943.
      • folder 9: October 18-December 21, 1943.
      • folder 10: January 5-April 24, 1944.
      • folder 11: 1945.
      • folder 12: April 23-August 30, 1946.
      • folder 13: September 9-December 20, 1946.
      • folder 14: January 31-June 28, 1947.
      • folder 15: July 7-December 31, 1947.
    • Box 3, folder 1: January 3-May 25, 1948.
      • folder 2: June 26-December 3, 1948.
      • folder 3: January-March 29, 1949.
      • folder 4: April 11-December 23, 1949.
      • folder 5: January 12-March 23, 1950.
      • folder 6: April 13-June 28, 1950.
      • folder 7: July 1-December 21, 1950.
      • folder 8: (1951)-February 7, 1951.
      • folder 9: March 1-June 30, 1951.
      • folder 10: July 2-September 15, 1951.
      • folder 11: September 18-December 6, 1951.
      • folder 12: January 9-March 31, 1952.
      • folder 13: April 3-November 3, 1952.
      • folder 14: January 26-July 20, 1953.
      • folder 15: January 13-July 29, 1954.
      • folder 16: August 2-December 30, 1954.
    • Box 4, folder 1: 1955.
      • folder 2: January 4-February 29, 1956.
      • folder 3: March 5-December 27, 1956.
      • folder 4: January 7-April 23, 1957.
      • folder 5: May 7-September 19, 1957.
      • folder 6: October 1, 1957.
      • folder 7: October 2-December 3, 1957.
    • Box 5: folder 1: (1958)-January 20, 1958.
      • folder 2: January 21-27, 1958.
      • folder 3: January 28-29, 1958.
      • folder 4: January 30-31, 1958.
      • folder 5: February 3-5, 1958.
      • folder 6: February 7-18, 1958.
      • folder 7: February 23-March 12, 1958.
      • folder 8: March 13-15, 1958.
      • folder 9: April 1-May 15, 1958.
      • folder 10: June 16-September 30, 1958.
      • folder 11: January 14-May 25, 1959.
      • folder 12: July 14-November 25, 1959.
      • folder 13: 1960.
      • folder 14: 1961.
      • folder 15: 1962.
      • folder 16: 1963.
      • folder 17: 1964.
      • folder 18: 1965.
      • folder 19: 1966.
      • folder 20: August 26, 1971-August 29, 1973.
      • folder 21: 1974.
      • folder 22: n.d.
  • Series 2: Legislative Committee Reports and Testimony
    • Box 6, folder 1: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: correspondence, March 3-November 16, 1942.
      • folder 2: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: undated and unidentified communications.
      • folder 3: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: lists of questions.
      • folder 4: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: testimony taken on February 23, 1942.
      • folder 5: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: evidence.
      • folder 6: Mississippi House of Representatives Committee on Universities and Colleges investigation of Mississippi State College for Women: drafts of committee reports.
      • folder 7: A resolution adopted by the board of trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning, July 25, 1942.
    • Box 7, folder 1: Committee to investigate the system by which tax-forfeited lands are sold to purchasers: report No. 3, July 30, 1937.
      • folder 2: Joint Senate and House committee to investigate state agencies and departments: testimony of Senator J. M. Cooper, February 4, 1938.
      • folder 3: Committee to make a survey of the public-school system of Mississippi: expenditure report, 1938.
      • folder 4: Fact-finding committee to investigate working conditions of female employees of the restaurant industries in cities above 15,000 population: report, 1940.
      • folder 5: Recess Education Study Committee: outline, 1953.
      • folder 6: Recess Education Study Committee: report, March 1953.
      • folder 7: Recess Education Study Committee: supplemental report, April 1953.
      • folder 8: Legislative Budget Study Committee: report, February 3, 1954.
      • folder 9: Legal Educational Advisory Committee: transcript of meeting of committee and black leaders, July 30, 1954.
      • folder 10: Legal Educational Advisory Committee: transcript of meeting of committee and school officials, August 12, 1954.
      • folder 11: Legal Educational Advisory Committee: report of subcommittee on planning, October 12, 1954.
      • folder 12: Hospital Study Committee: report, 1957.
      • folder 13: Senate Prohibition Study Committee: report, 1958.
      • folder 14: General Legislative Investigating Committee: report on inspection of East Mississippi State Hospital, August 18, 1958.
      • folder 15: Education Study Committee, No. 2: minutes, 1961.
      • folder 16: Education Study Committee, No. 2: scope of study, 1961.
      • folder 17: Education Study Committee, No. 2: memoranda and correspondence, n.d.; October 4, 1960-July 24, 1961.
      • folder 18: Education Study Committee, No. 2: drafts of reports, 1960-1961.
      • folder 19: Standing and conference committee reports, n.d.
  • Series 3: Legislative Subject Files
    • Box 8, folder 1: Attorney general's opinions.
      • folder 2: Attorney general's opinions on hospitals.
      • folder 3: Campaign materials.
      • folder 4: Constitutional convention.
      • folder 5: "Doings in the Legislature," January 8, 1940-March 23, 1942.
      • folder 6: Education.
      • folder 7: Education.
      • folder 8: Gubernatorial appointments procedure, 1956-1960.
      • folder 9: Highways.
      • folder 10: Hospital Study Committee, 1957.
    • Box 9, folder 1: House bills, unnumbered, n.d.
      • folder 2: House bills, numbered, 1938.
      • folder 3: House bills, numbered, 1940.
      • folder 4: House bills, numbered, 1942.
      • folder 5: House bills, numbered, 1958.
      • folder 6: House concurrent resolutions, unnumbered, n.d.
      • folder 7: House concurrent resolutions and House resolutions, numbered, 1940.
      • folder 8: House concurrent resolutions, numbered, 1942; 1954.
      • folder 9: Legislative acts, n.d.
      • folder 10: Legislative visit to Harrison County, March 12-14, 1954.
      • folder 11: Local and private bills, unnumbered, n.d.
      • folder 12: Manual on hospital laws in Mississippi.
      • folder 13: Milk-audit law amendments.
      • folder 13: Milk-audit law amendments.
      • folder 14: Motor vehicle traffic summary, 1957; n.d.
      • folder 15: Petitions, resolutions, and memorials.
      • folder 16: Population.
      • folder 17: Prohibition.
      • folder 18: Prohibition.
      • folder 19: Senate bills, unnumbered, n.d.
      • folder 20: Senate bill, numbered, 1940.
      • folder 21: Senate bills, numbered, 1952; 1956.
      • folder 22: Short course in legislative procedure.
      • folder 23: Special and statutory committees, 1952-1957.
      • folder 24: Special report of state auditor, 1942; 1952.
      • folder 25: Tax information.
  • Series 4: Speeches, Statements, and Proclamations
    • Box 10: folders 1-6.
  • Series 5: Scrapbooks
    • Box 11: 1936-1938; 1939-1942.
    • Box 12: 1951-1953.
    • Box 13: 1953-1956.
    • Box 14: 1936-1956; newspaper clippings (loose).
    • Box 23: Oversized items.
  • Series 6: Personal Subject Files
    • Box 15, folder 1: Biographical sketches.
      • folder 2: Certificates, invitations, passes, programs, and tickets.
      • folder 3: Humor.
      • folder 4: Itawamba Junior College.
      • folder 5: Newsclippings (various dates).
      • folder 6: Obituaries and tributes.
      • folder 7: Pontotoc Lions Club.
      • folder 8: Selective Service travel authorizations and vouchers.
      • folder 9: Vocational Rehabilitation Division.
    • Box 23: Oversized items.
  • Series 7: Photographs and Broadsides
    • Box 16, folder 1: Photographs.
      • folder 2: Broadsides.
  • Series 8: I Was There
    • Box 17: Holographic manuscript.
    • Box 18: Typescript No. 1.
    • Box 19: Typescript No. 2.
    • Box 20: Galley proofs Nos. 1 and 2.
    • Box 21: Signature page proofs.
    • Box 22, folder 1: Newsclippings.
      • folder 2: I Was There.