Dates: 1906-1988.

History:

Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company

The Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company, named in honor of Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, was chartered in February 1906 with capital stock of $50,000. A. C. Jones was elected as the first president of Lamar Mutual Life. The company began operations on April 6, 1906, in a suite of three rented offices in the Medical Building on Capitol Street in Jackson, Mississippi, next to the Century Theatre where the company's first organizational meeting was held.

The original office staff of Lamar Mutual Life consisted of a secretary, stenographer, and cashier, and the field force consisted of three agents. The cashier was Christian W. Welty, future president of the company and father of Mississippi author Eudora Welty. The company's first life-insurance policy was sold to Mississippi governor James K. Vardaman in 1906. A double-indemnity life-insurance policy was also sold to future Louisiana governor Huey P. Long in 1913.

During 1906 the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company purchased a two-story building on Capitol Street in Jackson, Mississippi, to serve as its home office. This building was located next to the Pythian Castle of the Knights of Pythias, and it would remain the company's home office until 1925.

In 1908 William Q. Cole became the company's second president. Before assuming the presidency, Cole insisted on major changes in the company's charter that included removing the word "Mutual" from its corporate name and requiring that thereafter the company would sell only non-participating life insurance. Under Cole's leadership Lamar Life grew steadily, and during the next few years the company was licensed to sell insurance in Tennessee in 1912 and Alabama in 1918. Lamar Life even managed to sustain modest growth during World War I.

Lamar Life's assets were listed at $1,366,266 at the time H. S. Weston became president of the company in 1920. Under his leadership Lamar Life continued to prosper during the 1920s, spreading to Louisiana and Arkansas in 1922 and Texas in 1924. H. S. Weston served as president until 1931.

Concurrent with Lamar Life's territorial expansion was the decision to build a new home office building. The new building was designed by the architectural firm Sanguinet, Staats, and Hedrick of Fort Worth, Texas, in association with architect N. W. Overstreet of Jackson, Mississippi. Construction began in 1923 and was completed by the end of 1924. The building was dedicated on February 17, 1925. Christian W. Welty, vice-president and general manager in 1925, announced that the new building was constructed without selling any corporate assets or incurring any corporate debt.

Following the 1927 Mississippi River flood that caused extensive damage in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Lamar Life helped to ease some of the financial burdens of its policy holders by extending the due dates for policy premiums and policy loans. Likewise, following the 1929 stock market crash and the resulting economic depression, Lamar Life once again helped to ease some of the financial burdens of its policy holders by allowing them to borrow against the cash value of their policies. Although the 1929 stock market crash brought Lamar Life's business to a near-standstill, the company continued to operate in-the-black throughout the depression.

Lamar Life established Mississippi's first network radio station, WJDX, in 1929. The original studio was located on the top floor of the Lamar Life Insurance Company Building. WJDX was an affiliate of the National Broadcasting System.

Christian W. Welty became Lamar Life's fourth president in 1931, but he had been in office only a few months before his untimely death from leukemia. Welty made many important contributions to the company such as successfully directing the field force, editing the company newsletter, The Firing Line, and organizing the All-Star Club which honored outstanding Lamar Life agents.

Jesse Bounds succeeded Christian W. Welty as president in 1931, and he served until 1937. Peter K. Lutken became president in 1937, and he served until 1962.

During World War II Lamar Life grew slowly, as many of its employees were on military leave. However, prosperity and expansion characterized the company after the war, as former members of the armed forces began to invest heavily in life insurance.

In 1953 the Weston family and other shareholders sold their forty-percent interest in Lamar Life to Clint Murchison, a Texas industrialist. In 1955 Murchison's two sons, John and Clint, Jr., were successful in purchasing the majority of the stock and formed the Life Companies, Inc., the parent company of the Lamar Life Insurance Company. The assets of Lamar Life were valued at $57,542,482 in 1955.

Lamar Life began the operation of the National Broadcasting Company-affiliated television station WLBT (Channel 3) in 1953. The studios for WJDX and WLBT were located in the company's radio and television center that was completed in Jackson that same year. In 1964 the United Church of Christ and a group of civil rights activists challenged WLBT's right to renew its broadcasting license with the Federal Communications Commission on the grounds that the station discriminated against blacks. The FCC investigated the charges but claimed that it could find no evidence to support them.

WLBT continued to be operated by Lamar Life until 1969, when Warren Burger, then a federal judge for the District of Columbia, reversed the Federal Communications Commission ruling and ordered WLBT's broadcasting license to be revoked by the FCC. WLBT was then operated by Communications Improvement, Inc., a non-profit organization designated by the FCC as interim broadcasting license holder in 1971. WLBT was operated by CII until it was sold to Civic Communications Corporation, a company that included black and white investors from Mississippi and Texas, in 1984.

William H. Mounger served as president of Lamar Life from 1962 to 1964. Harland L. Knight served as president of Lamar Life from 1964 to 1973. Jack P. Dean served as president of Lamar Life from 1973 to 1989.

By the 1980s Jackson businessmen Robert M. Hearin and Charles Else and New Jersey oil producer Leon Hess were successful in acquiring more than eighty percent of the stock of Lamar Life Corporation, the parent company of Lamar Life Insurance Company that was formed in 1972 shortly after the former parent company, the Life Companies, Inc., was liquidated.

In 1988 the Lamar Life Corporation sold the Lamar Life Insurance Company to Whitehall Insurance Holdings, Ltd., of Lexington, Kentucky, for 130 million dollars.

 
Scope and Content Note:

The business records of the Lamar Life Insurance Company begin during the year that it was chartered as the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1906 and end during the year of its sale to Whitehall Insurance Holdings, Ltd., of Lexington, Kentucky, in 1988. The business records of Lamar Life contain a great deal of narrative and statistical information about the history of a company that has played a leading role in the economic development of Mississippi and the Southeast through its commitment to provide financial security for its customers by offering a variety of innovative life-insurance products and related financial services. The business records of Lamar Life also provide evidence of the important contributions that the company has made to the insurance industry in Mississippi and its stature in the insurance industry nationally. The business records of Lamar Life further document the company's early involvement in radio and television broadcasting in Mississippi.

The collection also contains photographs of interior and exterior views of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company home office; the construction of the Lamar Life Insurance Company Building; the studio and tower of the radio station WJDX; locations throughout downtown Jackson, Mississippi; and Lamar Life conventions that were held throughout North America.

Of additional importance are the plans and elevations of the Lamar Life Insurance Company Building. This building is one of the most architecturally significant landmarks in downtown Jackson, Mississippi; and the plans and elevations, which are amazingly complete, will likewise be of considerable value to architectural historians interested in the study of early twentieth-century commercial architecture in the South.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Charter and Bylaws. 1909; 1931; 1940; n.d. 4 folders.
This series contains the printed charter and bylaws of the Lamar Life Insurance Company for the year 1909 and printed and typewritten bylaws of the Lamar Life Insurance Company for the years 1931 and 1940 respectively. There is also an undated typewritten draft of the bylaws of the Lamar Life Insurance Company.

Box 1, folders 1-4

Series 2: Minutes. 1909. 1 folder.
This series contains minutes of the annual meeting of the shareholders and board of directors of the Lamar Life Insurance Company for 1909.

Box 1, folder 5

Series 3: Life Companies, Inc., File. 1955; 1959-1962; 1970. 9 folders.
This series contains various records pertaining to the Life Companies, Inc., the former parent company of the Lamar Life Insurance Company. Included are actuarial reports, correspondence, financial statements, minutes of board of directors' meetings, minutes of shareholders' meetings, and a prospectus. Arranged alphabetically by subseries and thereunder chronologically.

Box 1, folders 6-14

Series 4: Annual Reports. 1906; 1922; 1924; 1930-1933; 1937-1946; 1948-1987. 73 folders.
This series contains published annual reports of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company.

Box 1, folders 15-72

Series 5: Correspondence. 1906-1909; 1912; 1920-1923; 1928-1934; 1936; 1939-1940; 1952-1953; 1955; 1959-1961; 1967; 1971-1972; 1984; 1988; n.d. 34 folders.
This series contains scattered incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company from 1906 to 1988. Of particular interest is a letter dated March 29, 1960, written by Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., president, Lincoln Liberty Life Insurance Company, Houston, Texas, to Peter K. Lutken seeking support for the Democratic Party nomination of Lyndon Baines Johnson as a candidate for President of the United States.

Box 1, folders 73-106

Series 6: Correspondence (Hurricane Camille-related). 1969. 13 folders.
This series contains form letters that were sent to Lamar Life policyholders that may have sustained property damage when Hurricane Camille ravaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 1969. The form letters requested Lamar Life customers to notify the company if their property had sustained any damage during the storm. The replies of the policyholders are included. Lamar Life was prepared to offer financial assistance to its policyholders, primarily in the form of policy loans. Arranged alphabetically.

Box 1, folders 107-119

Series 7: Annual Statements. 1906-1988. 6 cubic ft.
This series contains annual statements of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company that were submitted to the insurance commissioners of various states in which Lamar Life was licensed to do business. The annual statements provide very detailed information about the financial condition of the company from 1906 to 1988.

Box 2 (volume 1, 1906-1919)
Box 3 (volume 2, 1920-1929)
Box 4 (volume 3, 1930-1939)
Box 5 (volume 4, 1940-1949)
Box 6 (volume 5, 1950-1959)
Box 7 (volume 6, 1960-1969)
Box 8 (volume 7, 1970-1979)
Box 9 (unbound, 1980-1988)

Series 8: Stock Certificates. 1906-1910. 1 cubic ft.
This series contains a record copy of stock certificates issued to Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company shareholders between 1906 and 1910. Arranged numerically by certificate number.

Box 10 (volume 1, certificates 1-250)
Box 11 (volume 2, certificates 251-500)
Box 12 (volume 3, certificates 501-584)

Series 9: Stock Ledgers. 1906-1960. 2 cubic ft.
This series contains stock ledgers recording the purchase or transfer of ownership of Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and Lamar Life Insurance Company stocks by various shareholders from 1906 to 1960.

Box 13 (volume 1 indexed by last name of shareholder)
Box 14 (volume 2 contains shareholder accounts 1-1118)
Box 15 (volume 3 contains shareholder accounts 1119-1836)

Series 10: Stock Dividend Ledger. 1953-1959. 0.66 cubic ft.
This series contains a record of cash dividends paid to Lamar Life Insurance Company shareholders from 1953 to 1959.

Box 16

Series 11: Lamar Life Insurance Company Reports. 1939; 1944-1945; 1947-1951; 1954-1961. 20 folders.
This series contains printed statistical reports compiled by the Alfred M. Best Company, Dunne's Insurance Reports, and the Standard Analytical Service concerning the financial condition of the Lamar Life Insurance Company. Arranged alphabetically by company and thereunder chronologically.

Box 17, folder 1 (Alfred M. Best Company)
Box 17, folders 2-8 (Dunne's Insurance Reports)
Box 17, folders 9-20 (Standard Analytical Service)

Series 12: Insurance Rate Books. 1906; 1911; 1913; 1921; 1924; 1928; 1932-1933; 1935-1937; 1943; 1947; 1950; 1956-1957; 1959; 1960; 1964; 1969; n.d. 31 folders.
This series contains insurance rate books and rate book supplements that provide an explanation of the various types of life-insurance policies available from the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company and the cost of each.

Box 17, folders 21-51

Series 13: Investments Management Corporation File. 1953-1959; 1961; 1965-1966; 1969-1970. 16 folders.
This series contains agreements and correspondence between the Lamar Life Insurance Company and the Investments Management Corporation of Dallas, Texas. The Investments Management Corporation offered professional investment counseling to Lamar Life. Arranged alphabetically by subseries and thereunder chronologically.

Box 18 folders 1-16

Series 14: Photographs. 1906-1907; 1912; 1923-1925; 1929-1930; 1936-1937; 1942; 1951; 1956; 1967; n.d. 33 folders.
This series contains photographs of the interior and exterior of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company home office, the construction of the Lamar Life Insurance Building, and the studio and tower of the radio station WJDX. Included are photographs of downtown Jackson, Mississippi.

Box 18, folders 17-49

Series 15: Photographs (oversize and panoramic). 1914; 1923; 1926; 1930; 1935; 1940; 1964-1965; 1967; 1976; 1985. 10 folders.
This series contains oversize and panoramic photographs* of Lamar Life Insurance Company conventions that were held at various locations throughout the United States. Also of interest are a panoramic photograph of the 1914 flood in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, and a composite photograph of the 1923 honor roll of top-selling Lamar Life agents.

Oversize items are filed in the Manuscript Collection flat-storage area:
Series 15, folder 1 (1914)
Series 15, folder 2 (1923)
Series 15, folder 3 (1926)
Series 15, folder 4 (1930)
Series 15, folder 5 (1935)
Series 15, folder 6 (1940)
Series 15, folder 7 (1964)
Series 15, folder 8 (1965)
Series 15, folder 9 (1967)
Series 15, folder 10 (1976)
Series 15, folder 11 (1985)

Series 16: Printed Material. 1906-1909; 1911-1912; 1917; 1922; 1925; 1928; 1930-1937; 1939; 1941-1942; 1944-1945; 1948-1956; 1958; 1961; 1964-1967; 1981; 1983-1984; 1986; n.d. 71 folders.
This series contains a variety of printed material pertaining to the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company. Included are brochures, commemorative publications, greeting cards, ink blotters, manuals, pamphlets, and serials.

Box 18, folders 50-120

Series 17: Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company Honor Rolls. 1907-1908. 2 folders.
This series contains lists of top-selling Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company agents for the years 1907 and 1908.

Box 18, folders (121-122)

Series 18: All-Star Club Convention/Sales Conference File. 1924-1935; 1937-1941; 1946-1954; 1956-1959; 1964-1967; 1969-1970; 1972-1973; 1975-1982; 1984-1985; 1987-1988. 2 cubic ft.
This series contains brochures, correspondence, memorabilia, printed material, and programs pertaining to annual Lamar Life Insurance Company All-Star Club conventions and sales conferences that were held at various locations throughout North America. Lamar Life agents attending the conventions/conferences were chosen on the basis of their outstanding sales performance during the previous year.

Box 19, folders 1-30 (1924-1959)
Box 20, folders 1-20 (1964-1988)

Series 19: All-Star Club Convention/Sales Conference Photographs. 1918; 1924-1925; 1928-1934; 1936; 1938-1941; 1946; 1948; 1950-1958; 1963-1966; 1969-1970; 1972-1973; 1975-1976; 1978-1982; 1984-1985; 1987. 2 cubic ft.
This series contains photographs of annual Lamar Life Insurance Company All-Star Club conventions and sales conferences that were taken at various locations throughout North America. Lamar Life agents attending the conventions/conferences were chosen on the basis of their outstanding sales performance during the previous year. Included are images of Christian W. Welty, Chestine A. Welty, and Eudora Welty during the 1920s and early 1930s. Also included are images of Evelyn Gandy who attended the 1972 sales conference.

Box 21, folders 1-46 (1918-1958)
Box 22, folders 1-40 (1963-1987)

Series 20: President's Cabinet Convention File. 1962; 1964-1982; 1984-1989. 1 cubic ft.
This series contains brochures, correspondence, press releases, printed material, programs, and speeches pertaining to annual President's Cabinet conventions of the Lamar Life Insurance Company. President's Cabinet conventions were held at various locations throughout North America. The President's Cabinet was created in 1962 to honor top-selling Lamar Life agents.

Box 23, folders 1-27

Series 21: President's Cabinet Convention Photographs. 1962-1987. 34 folders.
This series contains photographs of annual President's Cabinet conventions of the Lamar Life Insurance Company. President's Cabinet conventions were held at various locations throughout North America. The President's Cabinet was created in 1962 to honor top-selling Lamar Life agents.

Box 24, Folders 1-34

Series 22: Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company/Lamar Life Insurance Company Historical File. 1906-1986; n.d. 2 folders.
This series contains a variety of ready-reference materials pertaining to the history of the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company.

Box 24, folders 35-36

Series 23: Lamar Life Insurance Company Fiftieth Anniversary File. 1956. 5 folders.
This series contains a variety of materials pertaining to the fiftieth anniversary of the Lamar Life Insurance Company in 1956. Included are correspondence, historical sketches, invitations, newspaper clippings, and printed material. Arranged alphabetically by subseries and thereunder chronologically.

Box 24, folders 37-41

Series 24: Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar File. 1923; 1927-1928; 1930-1932; 1936; 1942; 1956; 1960-1961; 1963; 1970-1971; 1973-1975; 1978; 1981; n.d. 6 folders.
This series contains biographical sketches, correspondence, graphic images, newspaper clippings, and printed material pertaining to Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar. The Lamar Life Insurance Company was named in his honor. Also included is a genealogical chart* of the family of L. Q. C. Lamar. Arranged alphabetically by subseries and thereunder chronologically.

Box 24, folders 42-46

Oversize item is filed in the Manuscript Collection flat-storage area:
Series 24, folder 1 (genealogical chart)

Series 25: WJDX-WLBT File. 1929; 1931-1932; 1952; 1954; 1968-1970; n.d. 11 folders.
This series contains various materials pertaining to the radio station WJDX and the television station WLBT. Both stations were owned and operated by the Lamar Life Insurance Company. WJDX began operations in 1929, and WLBT began operations in 1953. Included are correspondence, histories, newspaper clippings, and radio scripts pertaining to the operation of WJDX and/or WLBT.

Box 24, folders 47-57

Series 26: Lamar Life Insurance Company Building File. 1923-1925; 1950. 26 folders.
This series contains architectural drawings* and specifications, and legal records pertaining to the Lamar Life Insurance Company Building that was completed in December 1924. The building was designed by the architectural firm Sanguinet, Staats, and Hedrick of Fort Worth, Texas, in association with architect N. W. Overstreet of Jackson, Mississippi. Also included are two copies of a special edition of the Jackson Daily News* dated February 15, 1925, announcing the dedication of the Lamar Life Insurance Company Building on February 17, 1925.

Box 24, folder 58 (specifications)
Box 24, folder 59 (legal records)

Oversize items are filed in the Manuscript Collection flat-storage area:
Series 26, folders 1-23 (architectural drawings)
Series 26, folder 24 (newspaper special edition)

Series 27: Insurance Applications, Policies, and Claims of Historical Significance. 1906-1983. 0.50 cubic ft.
This series contains Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and Lamar Life Insurance Company applications, policies, and claims of historical significance. Included are insurance applications, policies, and claims pertaining to James K. Vardaman and Christian W. Welty. Arranged alphabetically by last name of policyholder and thereunder chronologically.

Box 25, folders 1-23

Series 28: Insurance Policies (blank). 1910; 1913; 1916-1917; 1920; 1922-1934; 1936-1937; 1942; n.d. 0.66 cubic ft.
This series contains examples of blank insurance policies and related documents pertaining to the Lamar Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Lamar Life Insurance Company. The blank policies provide a record of the various types of life insurance offered by the company.

Box 26, folder 1 (Lamar Mutual Life)
Box 26, folders 2-3 (Lamar Life)

Series 29: Scrapbooks. ca. 1910s-1970s; n.d. 1.33 cubic ft.
This series contains five scrapbooks pertaining to the Lamar Life Insurance Company. Included in Scrapbook No. 1 are correspondence and financial statements of the company from 1910 to 1913. Included in Scrapbook No. 2 are examples of blank insurance forms dating from 1910 to 1929. Included in Scrapbook No. 3 are examples of insurance policy endorsements dating from the 1910s to the 1930s. Included in Scrapbook No. 4 are correspondence, memorabilia, and photographs pertaining to the Leap Year's Most Popular Man Contest," sponsored by female employees of the home office in 1940. Included in Scrapbook No. 5 are photographs and printed material pertaining to the women's basketball team, men's softball team, picnics, and retirement parties of the company during the 1960s and 1970s. Arranged numerically by scrapbook and thereunder chronologically.

Box 27 (Scrapbook Nos. 1 and 3)
Box 28 (Scrapbook No. 2)
Box 29 (Scrapbook Nos. 4 and 5)
Box 30 (oversize material)