Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Dennis Murphree Papers (Z/1964).
Creator/Collector: Dennis Murphree.
Date(s): 1925-1947.
Size: 0.30 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, 1979; Described by Michael Hennen, 1989.
Provenance: Gift of Mary Frances Ford of Jackson, MS, on October 25, 1979; and in June 1989; Z/U/1979.072; Z/U/1989.029.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Dennis Murphree Papers (Z/1964), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

Dennis Murphree

Dennis Herron Murphree, two-time governor of Mississippi, was born on January 6, 1886, in Pittsboro, Mississippi. He was the first of four children of Thomas Martin and Caroline Cooper Murphree. After Thomas Martin Murphree's death in 1905, Dennis Murphree and his brother, Stanley, took over the Calhoun Monitor, the newspaper their father had published. Murphree married Clara Minnie Martin of Pittsboro, Mississippi, on October 9, 1909. The couple had four children: Mary Frances, Lois, Thomas Martin, and Margaret Imogene.

Murphree entered the political arena in 1911, when he was elected to represent Calhoun County in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He served three terms in the House before being elected lieutenant governor in 1923. Murphree started the "Know Mississippi Better Train" in 1925, a promotional tour designed to present a positive image of Mississippi to people across North America. The train eventually made twenty trips into forty-seven states, Mexico, and Canada.

Lieutenant Governor Murphree became governor upon the death of Henry L. Whitfield in March of 1927. Later that year, Murphree campaigned for election to that office, but he was defeated by Theodore G. Bilbo. Murphree was elected lieutenant governor again in 1931. He made another bid for governor in 1935, but Hugh L. White won the election. Murphree was elected lieutenant governor a third time in 1939. He became governor a second time when Paul B. Johnson, Sr., died in December of 1943.

Murphree made his final bid for governor in 1943, but he failed to win the primary. He retired from politics in 1944. Dennis Murphree died on February 9, 1949.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains personal papers and memorabilia of Dennis Murphree. Included in the collection are several articles written by Murphree, most of which are about hunting on Brierfield, the former plantation of Jefferson Davis. There is also an essay about his father, Thomas Martin Murphree, a Civil War veteran and state legislator. The collection contains some Jefferson Davis genealogical material, presumed to have been compiled by Murphree, including a Davis family tree and a 1932 photograph of Brierfield; two campaign speeches of Cecil E. Inman, chairman of the Mississippi Tax Commission and Murphree's brother-in-law; and a published account of the tornado that ravaged Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1936 written by Judge C. P. Long. It also contains a  booklet entitled "Souvenir of the Fifth Annual Tour of the Know Mississippi Better Train."

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Articles and Essays. 1938-1939; 1945; 1947; n.d.

Subseries 1.1: Essays, 1939; 1947; n.d. 
This series includes an essay by Dennis Murphree titled "Thomas Martin Murphree: Confederate Soldier," about his father, a Civil War veteran and state legislator. The series includes an original typescript which has several handwritten revisions and edits.  There is also an original carbon copy of the essay, preceded by a handwritten cover page by Mary Frances Murphree Ford, as well as a 2-page foreword typed by Ford.  The carbon copy is extremely fragile.  Lastly, a photocopy of the essay follows with a few editorial marks and an added note on the last page.

Two more essays by Dennis Murphree, are in this series.  One essay written in 1947 is titled "Brierfield: Home of Jefferson Davis" and includes a written note on the first page stating: "This was published in the 1947 Spring issue of Journal of Mississippi History by Mississippi Historical Society."   The second essay by Murphree, undated, is titled "The Hanging of Dock Bishop" about an incident that occurred in Calhoun County, near Sarepta.

Box 1, folders 1-5

Subseries 1.2: Published Articles, 1938; 1945. 
This series includes the magazines in which two of Dennis Murphree's articles were published.  The first is an article titled "Hunting Wild Geese" published in The Southern Sportsman: Voice of the Outdoor South, in the October 1938 issue.  The collection has two copies of the magazine, both very fragile.  The second publication is titled "Brierfield" published in SOUTH magazine in August 1945, but the article does not appear to be the same as the essay included in subseries 1.

Box 1, folders 6-7

Series 2: Genealogical Material on Jefferson Davis family, ca. 1932; n.d. 
The collection contains some Jefferson Davis genealogical material, presumed to have been compiled by Murphree, including a Davis family tree.  The photograph of Brierfield in 1932 is an 8x10 copy print.  An inscription on the back says: "The last picture taken of the old Jefferson Davis home Brierfield on Palmyra Island.  Standing on the porch are Jefferson Hayes Davis and former Governor Dennis Murphree.  Gov. Murphree had lunch with Mr. Hayes there that day this picture was made and the old home burned two weeks later.  Another picture made at the same time was given to Frank Everett of Vicksburg and used in his book Brierfield."

Box 1, folders 8-9

Series 3: Cecil E. Inman Speeches. 1925. 
This series consists of two campaign speeches of Cecil E. Inman, chairman of the Mississippi Tax Commission and Murphree's brother-in-law. This first speech was given on November 4, 1925, before the Exchange Club of Hattiesburg, and the second speech is titled "A Balanced Tax Program" and presented before the National Tax Association on November 10, 1925.

Box 1, folders 10-11

Series 4: Pamphlet. 1936.  
This series consists of a published account titled "A Short Description of the Tornado of April 5th, 1936" about the tornado that ravaged Tupelo, Mississippi, written by Judge C. P. Long.

Box 1, folder 12

Series 5: Memorabilia. 1929; n.d. 
This series consists of a booklet entitled "Souvenir of the Fifth Annual Tour of the Know Mississippi Better Train by William W. Broome, Vicksburg, Miss."  A letter from William W. Broome to "the members of the 1929 'Know Mississippi Better' Party" accompanied the booklet.  An American Red Cross Volunteer pin was part of this series, enclosed in an envelope with this inscription: "This pin belonged to Mrs. Dennis Murphree - wife of former Lt. Gov. and Governor of Miss. It was earned during 2nd World War for her volunteer service.”  The pin was transferred to the Museum Division historic object collections on January 11, 2024.

Box 1, folders 13-14

 

Box List:

Box 1
Folder 1: Original typescript, "Thomas Martin Murphree: Confederate Soldier," by Dennis Murphree, circa 1939. 
Folder 2: Original carbon copy, "Thomas Martin Murphree: Confederate Soldier," by Dennis Murphree, circa 1939, with handwritten cover page and typed foreword by Mary Frances Ford. 
Folder 3: Photocopy, "Thomas Martin Murphree: Confederate Soldier," by Dennis Murphree, circa 1939 [additional note on last page]. 
Folder 4: Essay, "Brierfield: Home of Jefferson Davis," by Dennis Murphree, 1947. 
Folder 5: Essay, "The Hanging of Dock Bishop," by Dennis Murphree, n.d. 
Folder 6: Published article, "Hunting Wild Geese," by Dennis Murphree, The Southern Sportsman, vol. 3, no. 3, October 1938 (2 copies). 
Folder 7: Published article, "Brierfield," by Dennis Murphree, SOUTH, vol. 1, no. 6, August 1945 (2 copies). 
Folder 8: Genealogical material on Jefferson Davis family, possibly compiled by Dennis Murphree, n.d. 
Folder 9: Photograph, Brierfield Plantation, circa 1932 (copy print). 
Folder 10: Speech, "An Address Before the Exchange Club of Hattiesburg, Miss.", by Cecil E. Inman, November 4, 1925. 
Folder 11: Speech, "A Balanced Tax Program", by Cecil E. Inman, November 10, 1925. 
Folder 12: Pamphlet, "A Short Description of the Tornado of April 5th, 1936," by Judge C.P. Long, 1936. 
Folder 13: Booklet, "Souvenir of the Fifth Annual Tour of the 'Know Mississippi Better' Train," 1929. 
Folder 14: Envelope and American Red Cross Volunteer pin of Mrs. Dennis Murphree, n.d.