Z 2103.000 Somerville (Annie Keith Frazier) Genealogical Collection

Z 2103.000 S
SOMERVILLE (ANNIE KEITH FRAZIER) GENEALOGICAL COLLECTION

Annie Keith Frazier, daughter of Tennessee governor and United States senator James Beriah Frazier and Louise Douglas Keith Frazier, was born in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, on May 14, 1887. She married Robert Nugent Somerville on November 20, 1912.

Robert Nugent Somerville was the son of Robert Somerville, a civil engineer with the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners, and Nellie Nugent Somerville, the first woman elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and founder of the Mississippi Womans Suffrage Association. Robert Nugent Somervilles sister, Lucy Somerville Howorth, served in the Mississippi House of Representatives and was later a federal judge.

The Somervilles settled in Cleveland, Bolivar County, Mississippi, where Robert Nugent Somerville established a law practice. The couple raised two daughters, Ashton and Keith Somerville. Annie Keith Frazier Somerville traveled extensively and was an avid genealogical researcher. She was a member of the Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Crown, Daughters of the War of 1812, Descendants of the Barons of Runnymede, First Families of Virginia, Huguenot Society, and Magna Carta Dames. Somerville also served as state regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She died at the age of 90 on December 22, 1978.

This collection consists of correspondence and other papers, genealogical research, and photographs of Annie Keith Frazier Somerville of Cleveland, Bolivar County, Mississippi. The majority of the collection, including personal correspondence, genealogical material, and lineage documentation, is concerned with her research on the Frazier, Keith, and Somerville families of Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.

1. Correspondence (Family). 1901-1923. 1 folder.

This series contains correspondence of Annie Keith Frazier Somerville and other members of her family. Included are letters that Somerville wrote to her mother, Mrs. James Beriah Frazier, while attending Ward-Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee. Also included is a letter from Atwell Somerville to his brother, Robert Briggs Somerville, discussing family news and McDonald family genealogy. Of particular interest is a letter from Nellie Nugent Somerville to Annie Keith Frazier Somerville, which she received shortly after her marriage to Robert Nugent Somerville.

Box 1, folder 1

2. Papers (Personal). 1904-1965; n.d. 21 folders.

This series is organized into the following subseries: essays, travel notebooks, and newsclippings.

2.1. Essays. ca. 1930; 1940; n.d. 9 folders.

This subseries consists of essays and other writings of Annie Keith Frazier Somerville. Titles include the following: "Aging," "Antiquing in the South," "Friends," "Girlhood," "Marooned in a Cotton Patch," "Married Life," and "Washington Memories." Somerville reminisces about her father being elected governor of Tennessee, attending Ward-Belmont College, and christening the U.S.S. Tennessee in "Girlhood." She describes her wedding and honeymoon in "Married Life." This essay also contains Somervilles impressions of her mother-in-law, Nellie Nugent Somerville, and moving from Nashville, Tennessee, to Cleveland, Mississippi. In "Washington Memories," Somerville describes various social functions that she attended while living in Washington, D.C. She also mentions her famous neighbor, Alexander Graham Bell. There is also an untitled essay on telephones, thoughts on gardening, and a booklet published for the fiftieth anniversary of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy.

Box 1, folders 2-10

2.2. Travel Notebooks. 1949; 1954; n.d. 10 folders.

This subseries contains notebooks that Annie Keith Frazier Somerville kept on her European travels, especially in Austria, France, and Scotland. The notebooks are arranged in chapters, and topics include art, foreign customs and languages, and sea travel.

Box 1, folders 11-20

2.3. Newsclippings. 1904; 1956; 1960; 1964; 1965; n.d. 2 folders.

This subseries consists of newsclippings of articles written by or about Annie Keith Frazier Somerville. Topics include the christening of the U.S.S Tennessee (later the U.S.S. Memphis) and Somervilles review of the book, The Door to the Future. Of particular interest are several clippings of the column "I See All," which appeared in the Bolivar Commercial, Bolivar County, Mississippi, and was guest edited by Somerville.

Box 1, folders 21-22

3. Photographs. 1887-1966. 16 folders.

This subseries includes photographs of Annie Keith Frazier Somerville, Robert Nugent Somerville, and various family members. Most of the photographs have biographical information inscribed on the verso. There are two photographs of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy, an organization that Somerville founded. One image was taken at the first meeting of the society, and the other was taken its fiftieth anniversary. There are also photographs of Andrew Carnegie and Mark Twain, as well as an illustration of Tennessee circuit judge Charles F. Keith.

Box 3, folders 34-35

Box 4, folders 114

4. Genealogical Research (Allied Families). 1922-1968. 40 folders.

This series is organized into the following subseries.

4.1. Genealogical Research ("Your Heritage"). 1922; n.d. 3 folders.

This subseries contains a typescript entitled "Your Heritage," which was written by Annie Keith Frazier Somerville. The typescript is a compilation of the genealogical research found in subseries 4.5.

Box 2, folders 1-3

4.2. Genealogical Research (Miscellaneous). 1924-1977; n.d. 28 folders.

This subseries contains Annie Keith Frazier Somervilles research for the typescript entitled "Your Heritage" (see subseries 4.1). The families mentioned include the following: Adkins, Covington, Dockery, Douglas, Fulkerson, Hale, Julian/St. Julian, Lewis, Matthews, McDonald, McReynolds, Mullins, Nicholson, Penny, Pryor, Pugh, Randolph, Reade, Rice, Rust, Savage, Smith, Stanley, Travers, Warner, Watson, White, Winston, and Wyllys (Wyllis). Of interest are notebooks containing her research on North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; Daughters of the American Revolution genealogical data; and names and addresses of relatives. There are pencil sketches of coats-of-arms and a newspaper article on early Bourbon families.

Box 3, folders 1-32

Box 5, folders 4-5

4.3. Genealogical Research (Somerville Family). 1923; 1939; 1952; n.d. 4 folders.

This subseries consists of genealogical research and related correspondence, newsclippings, and photographs regarding the Somerville family of Mississippi and Virginia. The research material consists of Annie Keith Frazier Somervilles notes and typescripts of deeds and wills related to the Somerville family and two genealogical charts compiled by Somerville. Of interest are Somervilles Daughters of the American Revolution applications and a newspaper article on the history of the Somerville family, as well as an obituary for Robert Nugent Somerville.

Box 2, folders 4-7

Box 5, folders 1-2

4.4. Genealogical Research (Frazier Family). 1945; 1953; 1954; 1967; 1968; n.d. 3 folders.

This subseries contains genealogical research and related correspondence, newsclippings, and photographs regarding the Frazier family of North Carolina and Tennessee. The research material consists of Annie Keith Frazier Somervilles notes and typescripts of deeds and wills related to the Frazier family and a genealogical chart compiled by Somerville. The newsclippings include genealogical information and an obituary for James Beriah Frazier.

Box 2, folders 8-10

Box 5, folder 3

4.5. Genealogical Research (Keith Family). 1944-1968; n.d. 2 folders.

This subseries consists of genealogical research and related correspondence and newsclippings regarding the Keith family of Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The research material consists of Annie Keith Frazier Somervilles notes and a genealogical chart.

Box 2, folders 11-12

4.6. Correspondence (Genealogical). 1939-1955. 1 folder.

This subseries contains genealogical correspondence of Annie Keith Frazier Somerville. Topics include queries about the Kennedy and Wilkerson families. There are also letters from various genealogical societies, including the Huguenot Society, Institute of American Genealogy, and Martiau Memorial Association.

Box 3, folder 33