Z 2119.000 Williams (Howard S.) and Family Papers

Z 2119.000 S
WILLIAMS (HOWARD S.) AND FAMILY PAPERS

Howard Sarven Williams was born in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee, on July 16, 1878. He was the son of William Howard and Mary Elizabeth Sarven Williams. The Williams family moved to Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama, in 1883. As a teenager, Howard S. Williams began working as a cub reporter for the Anniston Hot Blast. He volunteered for service in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War, first as a member of the army band and then with the regular troops.

After the war, Williams resumed his newspaper career, and he helped to establish the Anniston Daily Star. Williams moved to Monterey, Nuevo León, Mexico, about 1903 to work as a reporter for the Monterey News, an English-language newspaper. He married Emma Ray Smith on June 6, 1904. She was the daughter of Stephen Pitts and Martha Carolina Walker Smith of Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The couple lived for a time in Monterey where Williams continued working for the Monterey News. Williams, his wife, and daughter Helen (b. December 7, 1907) moved to Mexico City, Mexico, where he began working for the Mexico City Daily Record. After obtaining a position as a staff writer for the Associated Press, Williams and his family, now including son Howard Sarven, Jr. (b. June 12, 1910), remained in Mexico City for a time and then moved to Atlanta, Cobb County, Georgia. Williams next moved his family to Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, where he assumed a position as a reporter and editor for the Jackson Daily News in 1912. The family moved to Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi, in 1917, and Williams became the editor and part owner of the Hattiesburg Daily Herald (later the Hattiesburg American).

Williams met evangelist Gipsy Smith, Jr., in December of 1922, while covering Smiths local revival meeting for the Hattiesburg American. He soon decided to sell his interest in the newspaper, purchase a revival tent, and become an evangelist in August of 1923. Williams and his wife had their third child, Alfred Keeton, on September 9, 1925. Williams held revivals in over twenty states during his thirty-seven years as a lay-evangelist. He retired from the road and returned to his home in Hattiesburg in 1950. Williams became pastor of the Petal Presbyterian Church (Forrest County, Mississippi), and at the age of seventy-seven, he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1956. He continued to serve as pastor until May of 1960, when he retired for health reasons. Williams died in Hattiesburg on September 4, 1960, at the age of eighty-two.

This collection consists of personal papers, an annotated biography typescript, photographs, scrapbooks, newsclippings, promotional items, printed materials, and miscellany of Howard S. Williams. It covers Williamss career as an early twentieth-century newspaperman and as a lay-evangelist and an ordained minister from 1923 until his death in 1960.

1. Papers (Personal). 1894-1964. 11 folders.

This series consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence and telegrams of Howard S. Williams, his family, and friends, along with sermon notes, certificates, and a Masonic prayer. The sermon notes include bible verses quoted by Williams in his sermons. The certificates attest to Williamss membership in the International Association of Evangelists, his appointment to the Chaplain Corps of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and his ordination as a Presbyterian minister. The Masonic prayer was sent to Williams by a fellow Mason. There are also several get-well cards that Emma Williams received from family and friends.

Box 1, folders 9-19 (1894-1964; n.d.)
Box 8, folder 1 (1949-1960; n.d.) Restricted
2. Biography Typescript. 1925-1960. 8 folders.

This series contains an annotated biography typescript of Howard S. Williams and correspondence relating to its possible publication. The biography was written by Dow L. Moody, a gospel singer and lay-evangelist, who served as Williamss director of music and publicity. Moodys correspondence was addressed to Williams and his daughter, Helen Williams Spiars. The biography also includes a chapter written by May B. Everette and notes supplied by Helen Williams Spiars.

Box 1, folders 1-8 (1925-1960)
Box 8, folders 2-8 (1949-1960; n.d.) Restricted
3. Photographs. 1899-1960; n.d. 3 folders.

This series contains photographs (some annotated) of Howard S. Williamss tent revivals, tabernacles, and congregations; signs announcing his revival meetings; and his portable radio station, WCBG, its equipment, and operator Ben Roller. Also included are photographs of Williams and his family. Of particular interest are a photograph of the cast of the Mississippi State College for Women drama-club production of Icebound, which includes cast members Eudora Welty and Helen Williams Spiars, and a photograph of President William Howard Taft and President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico, taken during their El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, meeting in 1909.

Box 1, folders 20-22 (1899-1960; n.d.)
Box 5, folders 5-7 (1925; n.d.)
Box 6, folders 1-8 (1909; 1925; n.d.)
Box 7, folders 1-2 (1916; 1920)
4. Scrapbooks and Newsclippings. 1915-1969; n.d. 2 boxes; 10 folders.

The three scrapbooks in this series cover different times in Howard S. Williamss life. The first scrapbook contains newsclippings that document Williamss career as a newspaper owner and editor and as president of the Young Businessmens Association. The second scrapbook was presented to Williams as a memento after a revival meeting he conducted in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1938, and it contains typescripts of poems and newsclippings collected by Mrs. L. F. Wilkins. The third scrapbook contains letters, newsclippings, photographs, and telegrams about Williamss death in 1960. Also included are newsclippings (arranged chronologically) from various newspapers documenting several of Williamss revival meetings.

Box 1, folders 23-26 (1915-1969)
Box 2, folders 1-6 (1920-1967; n.d.)
Box 3 (1915-1919; 1938)
Box 4 (1960-1969)
5. Promotional Materials. 1903-1958; n.d. 9 folders.

This series consists of materials that Howard S. Williams used to promote his revival meetings. Included are copies of Williamss gospel campaign song, "Somebody Else Needs a Blessing," and booklets, broadsides, fliers, leaflets, newsletters, posters, and programs. The booklets are associated with Williamss evangelical career. The broadsides, fliers, leaflets, and posters are all promotions for various revival meetings held by Williams. Programs include items from the Indian Park Bible Conference (Montoursville, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania) and the Christ Gospel Temple (Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina). The newsletters contain publications from various churches and religious organizations, such as the First Presbyterian Church (Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi), Newark Gospel Tabernacle (Essex County, New Jersey), and the Young Mens Business Club of New Orleans (Orleans Parish, Louisiana), announcing Williamss meetings. Also included are an issue of the Anniston Rotary Club (Calhoun County, Alabama) newsletter, the Roto-Peptomist, and several newsletters from the Hattiesburg Rotary Club (Forrest County, Mississippi). Among these items are copies of Williamss organizational plan for his ministry and transcripts of two of his sermons.

Box 2, folders 7-9; 12-15 (1903-1958; n.d.)
Box 5, folders 1-3 (1925; n.d.)
Oversized manuscript drawer (ca. 1926)
6. Printed Materials. 1905-1957; n.d. 2 folders.

This series contains a souvenir music book from the Winona Lake Bible Conference (Kosciusko County, Indiana) and a piece of sheet music entitled "The Old-Fashioned Meeting." Also included are several religious booklets. Titles include Truth in a Nutshell and Who-Me? Of particular interest is a booklet written by Hal W. Trovillion, editor of the Herrin News, discussing Williamss revival in Herrin, Williamson County, Illinois.

Box 2, folders 10 and 16 (1905-1957; n.d.)
7. Miscellaneous Materials. 1927-1967. 3 folders.

The miscellaneous folders contain two business cards of Howard S. Williams, a meal-ticket booklet of Helen Williams Spiars from a Know Mississippi Better Train tour, and a list of requirements for the United States Merchant Marine Cadet Corps. Also included are postcards of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, and Stanton Hall, Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. Of particular interest is an illustration of evangelist Gipsy Smith, Jr., which was drawn for the Hattiesburg American.

Box 2, folders 11 and 17 (1927-1967)
Box 5, folder 4 (n.d.)