Z 2176.000 Elias (Charles Harris) and Family Papers

Z 2176.000 S
ELIAS (CHARLES HARRIS) AND FAMILY PAPERS

Edward David Elias first settled in Okolona, Chickasaw County, Mississippi, about 1897. He became an apprentice at Julius Rubel and Company, his uncles dry-goods store. After working for his uncle for about two years, Elias moved his mother and sister from the family home in Columbia, South Carolina, to live with him in Okolona. Elias decided to open his own store, the Chickasaw Dry-Goods Company, in 1914. He also married Ruth Levin of Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1914. For twenty-two years, the Eliases lived in Okolona where they had two sons, Charles Harris and Barney Levin.

Charles Harris Elias was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 14, 1918. He and his younger brother attended schools in Okolona. Elias graduated from Okolona High School on May 31, 1938, and he enrolled at Mississippi State College (later Mississippi State University) in Starkville.

Around 1938, archaeologist John R. Swanton approached Elias about participating in a project to identify the route of the Hernando de Soto expedition through north Mississippi. Elias continued his work on the De Soto expedition until February of 1941, when he enlisted in the United States Army as a combat engineer in the infantry branch.

Elias married Mildred Louise Fraley in Wichita Falls, Texas, on July 17, 1942. The Eliases had four children: Charles Edward (b. November 27, 1943), Rachel Louise (b. November 11, 1946), James Dewey (b. October 1, 1948), and Sharron May (b. March 11, 1950). Elias received an honorable military discharge as a staff sergeant on November 21, 1945.

After leaving the army, Elias and his family settled in Little Rock, Arkansas. He worked at various jobs in the construction industry, including field supervisor and general contractor, from 1946 to 1978. Elias also continued his research on the route of the De Soto expedition and on Arkansas gunsmiths. He published a volume entitled Arkansas Gunsmiths in 1959. Elias began working as a freelance writer for various technical publications in 1978. Elias was living in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1995, and he was working as an archivist-historian for Congregation BNai Israel.

This collection consists of genealogical and personal papers or printed materials collected and organized by Charles Harris Elias. The files (originals and photocopies) are arranged mostly by subject matter.

The genealogical papers consist of files of photocopied materials collected by Elias, including newsclippings, excerpts from books, genealogical charts, lists of collaterally related families, cemetery data, archival donation information, and scanned images of photographs, all dating from 1922 to 1995. There is a photograph of the Okolona Dry-Goods Company interior depicting Edward David Elias and his first cousin, Joseph Morris, in 1922. There are also photocopies of annotated correspondence, maps, and newspaper articles concerning the following cemeteries: Friendship/Covenant (Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi); Magnolia (Augusta, Georgia); Oakland (Little Rock, Arkansas); and Pinecrest Memorial Park (Alexander, Arkansas). The annotations contain gravestone information for members of the Elias family of Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi; the allied Cone, Eichenbaum, Heiman, Knight, Levin, Lyons, and Miller families of Arkansas; and the Katz and Simpson families of Mississippi. Other collateral listings include the Morris family of Georgia and South Carolina and the Rubel family of Mississippi.

The personal papers consist of original materials documenting the high school, college, and military career of Elias and his research interests. The papers include yearbooks, a school magazine, a course schedule, a letter, a photograph, a program, clippings, an invitation, and photocopies of newsclippings and title pages from books. There are 1937 and 1938 yearbooks and a 1939 magazine from Okolona High School. There are also selected pages from three volumes (1939-1941) of the Mississippi State College Reveille. The course schedule is from Eliass 1940-1941 school term at Mississippi State College. Elias wrote the letter to his mother while he was on a 1940 trip to Miami, Florida. The photograph and program reflect Eliass membership in the Maroon Band at Mississippi State College. The clippings are actually images that may have been cut from a Mississippi State College yearbook, and they may depict the Maroon Band. The invitation is from Company B, 106^th Engineers, United States Army, inviting Elias to attend a 1941 dance. The research interests of Elias regarding the De Soto expedition and Arkansas gunsmiths are documented in the photocopied correspondence, newsclippings, and title pages from books.

The printed materials consist of clippings and partial issues of newspapers concerning an American Legion parade in New York City in September of 1937. Various American Legion posts from Mississippi and marching bands from Greenwood, Leflore County, and Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, participated in the parade.

1. Genealogical Papers. 1922-1995. 10 folders.

   Box 1, folders 1-10

2. Personal Papers. 1937-1941. 5 folders.

   Box 1, folders 11-14; 16

3. Printed Materials. 1937. 3 folders.

   Clippings and partial issues of newspapers:

   Box 1, folder 15

   Box 2, folders 1-2

• Box 1, folders 1-10: genealogical papers, 1922-1995.

              folders 11-14; 16: personal papers, 1937-1941.

              folder 15: printed materials, 1937.

• Box 2, folders 1-2: printed materials, 1937.