Dates: 1832-1839; 1900; 1913-1971; n.d.

Biography:

Martha "Mattie" Nell Cooper

Martha (Mattie) Nell Cooper, daughter of Thomas Collins and May Alice Cooper, was born at Belle Prairie Plantation, Yazoo County, Mississippi, on October 2, 1887. She married Dr. Frederick Edward Rehfeldt, formerly of Germany, on September 3, 1913. They settled in Jackson, Mississippi, where Dr. Rehfeldt established a medical practice. The couple raised two children, Henrietta May and Frederick Cooper. Martha Rehfeldt was an avid genealogical researcher and a member of the Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of the American Revolution, and First Families of Virginia until her death between February of 1971 and February of 1972.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of personal correspondence and papers, lineage documentation, family genealogical material, photographs, research material, and miscellaneous papers of Martha Nell Cooper Rehfeldt of Jackson, Mississippi. The majority of the collection, including personal correspondence, lineage documentation, and family genealogical and research material, is focused on Rehfeldts research on the Medearis and Yancey families of Texas and Yazoo County, Mississippi, and the Alliston, Cole, Earle, Foote, Hurst, and Watson families of North Carolina and Virginia.

The personal correspondence and papers mainly consist of letters from Rehfeldts cousin, Agnes Parrish, concerning genealogical research on the Collins, Cooper, Mizelle, and Speir families. The personal papers also offer extensive biographical and genealogical material on Martha Rehfeldt. The lineage documentation contains copies of Revolutionary War pension records and wills. The family genealogical material includes research notes, copies of wills, pension records, and deeds, as well as privately published family genealogies. Of interest is a photograph of Belle Prairie, the Yazoo County, Mississippi, plantation house that burned in 1950. The research material contains extensive notes and probate information.

Series and Subseries Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence (Personal). 1926-1971; n.d. 3 folders.
This series contains a folder of correspondence from Agnes Parrish, a cousin of Martha Rehfeldt, discussing family news and genealogical research that the two women were engaged in concerning the Collins, Cooper, Mizelle, and Speir families. Also included is a folder of correspondence from E. S. and Syd Randolph, Mrs. Phillip Wallace Hiden, president of the First Families of Virginia, and Martha Rehfeldt concerning Syd Randolph’s application for membership in this organization. A miscellaneous correspondence folder contains letters from Mary W. Bond, Margaret Phillips, Berkeley Sloan, and Hatty Wooten offering news of family and mutual friends. There is also a letter from W. R. Fisher explaining degrees of kinship and collateral kinship. Also included are letters from Jean Fairly Sarrizan discussing the Watson family genealogy, Keith Frazier Somerville offering genealogical information on the Stanley family, Adena Ward Hardin asking for assistance with Taylor family genealogy, and a letter from "Cousin Evie" offering genealogical information on the Purvis family. A letter from June (Mrs. H. F.) Magee, dated October 6, 1946, contains the get-well wishes and the signatures of several members of the Ralph Humphreys Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Also included are letters from Mabel G. McLeod discussing upcoming business for the genealogical records section of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and registrar Mary J. Berry discussing Rehfeldt’s plans to submit two supplemental lines to the Colonial Dames of America. Of particular interest are the three letters concerning genealogical research on the Charlton, Mizelle, and Phillips families that were written by Martha Rehfeldt.

Box 1, folders 1-3

 

Series 2: Papers (Personal). 1920; 1960; n.d. 2 folders.
This series contains biographical material about Martha Rehfeldt, including her Daughters of the American Revolution and First Families of Virginia lineage papers. Also included are typescripts of Rehfeldt’s Magna Carta ancestors, typescripts of her family history, and a copy of the Rehfeldt coat-of-arms. There are several handwritten essays on the discovery and settlement of America, James Madison and the Constitution, negro poets, plantation life, and history of the Research Club of Jackson, Mississippi.

Box 1, folders 4-5
 

Series 3: Lineage Documentation. 1832-1833; 1962. 1 folder.
This series includes copies of wills and Revolutionary War pension records for the Patton and White families.

Box 1, folder 6
 

Series 4: Genealogical Research (Allied Families). 1913-1971; n.d. 29 folders.
This series is organized into subseries by the following families: Alliston, Cole, Cooper, Earle, Foote, Hurst, Medearis, and Watson.

Subseries 4.1. Genealogical Research (Cooper Family). 1957-1971; n.d. 4 folders.
This subseries contains research material, lineage documentation, personal correspondence, and a handwritten manuscript concerning the Cooper family and the allied families of Council, Everett, Hyman, Shannon, and Weaver. The research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes. Lineage documentation includes copies of letters, marriage records, wedding invitations, and wills. The personal correspondence contains letters from Annie S. (Mrs. T. Collins) Cooper, E. Russ Williams, Jr., and a program of the one hundred forty-seventh commencement exercises of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, listing Joseph Wiley Cooper as a participant. Also included is a handwritten manuscript entitled "True Events in the Life of Mary Alice Cooper."

Box 1, folders 7-10
Box 9, folder 1
 

Subseries 4.2. Genealogical Research (Hurst Family). 1938-1946; n.d. 4 folders.
This subseries contains research material and related correspondence on the Hurst family and the allied families of Armisted, Ball, Dowman, and Gaskins. The research material is divided into two folders, one relating directly to the Hurst family and the other to the Gaskins family. Both folders contain Martha Rehfeldt’s notes, including some with attached correspondence. The correspondence folder contains letters from Jennie Harding Cornelius and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine directly relating to the genealogy of the Ball family. Also included is a typescript of a page from the journal of William P. Armisted and a lineage chart for the Dowman family.

Box 2, folders 1-4
Box 9, folder 2
 

Subseries 4.3. Genealogical Research (Watson Family). 1900; 1948; 1954; 1960; n.d. 4 folders.
This subseries contains research material on the Watson family and the allied families of Charlton, Collins, Mizelle, and Smithwick. The Watson family research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and a letter, dated April 5, 1960, from Agnes Parrish discussing the Watson family genealogy. The Smithwick family research material contains notes and a typescript entitled "Hugh Smithwick and many of his descendants through the Charlton-Mizelle-Collins Line." The Mizelle family research material consists of notes, copies of deeds, and two pages from the North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register. The Charlton, Collins, Pollock, Rives, Speir, Swain, and West research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes.

Box 2, folders 5-8
Box 9, folder 1
 

Subseries 4.4. Genealogical Research (Alliston Family). 1838; 1962; n.d. 1 folder.
This subseries contains research material on the Alliston family and the allied families of Boygan, Caraway, and Sutton. The research notes include Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and attached correspondence. Also included are copies of Bible records and Elizabeth Sutton’s marriage and pension records and will.

Box 2, folder 9
 

Subseries 4.5. Genealogical Research (Cole Family). 1832; 1839; 1926; 1949; 1966; 1967; n.d. 2 folders.
This subseries contains research material and lineage documentation on the Cole family and the allied families of Bearden, Davis, Eaton, and Miller. The research material contains Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and attached correspondence. The lineage documentation consists of copies of Daughters of the American Revolution applications, deeds, pension records, and wills.

Box 3, folders 1-2
 

Subseries 4.6. Genealogical Research (Foote Family). n.d. 1 folder.
This subseries contains research material on the Foote family, consisting of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes.

Box 3, folder 3
 

Subseries 4.7. Genealogical Research (Earle Family). 1947; 1969; n.d. 1 folder.
This subseries contains research material on the Earle family and the allied families of Lassiter and Reed. The research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and lineage documentation.

Box 3, folder 4
 

Subseries 4.8. Genealogical Research (Howard Family). n.d. 0.13 cubic ft.
This subseries contains a typescript entitled "The Great Family of Howard in England and America," with accompanying papers.

Box 5, folder 4
 

Subseries 4.9. Genealogical Research (Medearis Family). 1939; 1954; 1956-1958; 1967; 1969; n.d. 10 folders.

This subseries contains research material, typescripts, and correspondence concerning the Medearis family and the allied families of Phillips and Yancey. The research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and lineage documentation for the Medearis family. The Phillips research material consists of Martha Rehfeldt’s notes and Daughters of the American Revolution genealogical worksheets. The typescripts are entitled: "Genealogy of Yancey-Medearis and Related Lines," "Captian John Medearis Story," "Appendix ‘B’ to Genealogy of Yancey-Medearis and Related Lines," and "The Descendents of Major William Phillips." The correspondence is divided into four folders: Robert T. Gill, Douglas M. Willis, J. H. Norwood, and miscellaneous. The Robert T. Gill, Douglas M. Willis, and J. H. Norwood folders also contain genealogical information on the Medearis and Yancey families. The miscellaneous folder contains two Medearis and Yancey family mailing lists.

Box 3, folder 5
Box 4, folders 1-9


Series 5: Photographs. n.d. 1 folder.
This series includes a photograph of Belle Prairie plantation house, birthplace of Martha Rehfeldt, with information on the back, and a photograph of an unidentified woman crocheting. Also included are photographs from the "Genealogy of Yancey-Medearis and Related Lines" (see series 4). The Medearis and Yancey family photographs show a John Medearis marker, the headstone of Thomas Smith with information on the back of the photograph, and a contact print with numbered miniature photographs of eleven people.

Box 6, folder 1
 

Series 6: Research Material. 1913; 1932; 1940-1969; 1953; 1958; 1970; n.d. 6 folders and 0.52 cubic ft.
This series includes Martha Rehfeldt’s research notes and notebooks, index cards, anonymous typescripts, and general research material. The research notes consist of loose-leaf pages containing information on the Ball, Boygan, Cooper, Haywood, Patton, and Phillips families. The notebooks include research on the Alliston, Ball, Boygan, Burkett, Cooper, Evans, Gaskins, Haywood, Lassiter, Medearis, Patton, Phillips, Telford, Watson, Webb, and Whitford families. The index cards contain probate information on numerous individuals. The general research material consists of brochures and typescripts on Mississippi, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Box 6, folders 2-7
Box 7, folders 1-6
Box 8, folders 1-8
 

Series 7: Papers (Miscellaneous). 1951; 1954; n.d. 3 folders.
This series contains typescripts of published poetry by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Edward Arlington Robinson. There is also an anonymously written short story entitled "Pie-a-la-Mode". Blank personal stationery of Martha Rehfeldt and letterhead of her son-in-law, Longstreet Minor, are also included. The newsclippings are of children in a school crosswalk and an article entitled "Record Opened By 1632 Pens" about the Accomack County Courthouse in Eastville, Virginia.

Box 3, folders 6-8