Biography:

Walter Wesley Crawford

Walter Wesley Crawford was born in Magnolia, Pike County, Mississippi, on March 21, 1872. He was the son of James Howell Crawford (1845-1929) and Eliza Minerva (Sandifer) Crawford (1845-1906). After receiving a degree in literature from the University of Valparaiso in Indiana, Crawford earned a degree in medicine from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Crawford practiced medicine in New Orleans and Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi, before settling in Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi. In May of 1900, he founded the South Mississippi Infirmary in Hattiesburg, where he worked as chief surgeon. Dr. Crawford married Ada Alma Howard Richardson of Ontario, Canada, on December 26, 1901, and they had at least two children: Hamilton and a daughter. He received a degree in pharmacy from Tulane University, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1905. Dr. Crawford also organized the Hattiesburg Chamber of Commerce and served as its president in 1906 and 1907.

During World War I, Dr. Crawford served in France as a major in the medical corps of the United States Army. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1919. Dr. Crawford was also instrumental in establishing Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg. He opened the Crawford Clinic in Hattiesburg in January of 1930. Dr. Crawford was one of the first surgeons in the United States to use radium in gall-bladder surgery. Among other distinctions, he was president of the Mississippi State Medical Association and the Southern Medical Association. Dr. Crawford died on November 2, 1954, and he was buried at Oaklawn Cemetery in Hattiesburg.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of correspondence, speeches, medical notes, photographs and lithographs, certificates, financial records, printed materials, miscellaneous papers, and newsclippings related to Dr. Walter Wesley Crawford.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1917-1947; n.d. 11 folders.

Almost all of the correspondence is original, but there are a few items that are photocopied. Eight alphabetically arranged folders of letters are titled according to the institutions concerned, such as the American Hospital Association or the Southern Medical Association. There are also three folders of chronologically arranged general correspondence. The letters exchanged between Dr. Crawford and institutions such as the American College of Surgeons concern various patients, the South Mississippi Infirmary, and meetings or seminars.

Most of the general correspondence was received by Dr. Crawford while he was serving in World War I or living in Hattiesburg. Other physicians wrote to Dr. Crawford to consult on patients at the South Mississippi Infirmary or at other hospitals across the country. Dr. Crawford received letters from members of the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons, from the United States Veterans Administration, and from editors of the medical journal entitled Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics. He also wrote letters to the surgeon general of the American Expeditionary Forces, to members of the Southern Medical Association, and to Dr. G. G. Dowdall accepting his appointment as consulting surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad Company. Dr. Crawford wrote Lieutenant Colonel James Baylis of the surgeon generals office of United States Army in 1937 and 1938. He wrote numerous letters from the South Mississippi Infirmary to various individuals to certify births, deaths, and hospitalization. Of interest is the December 1, 1934, letter of resignation of Dr. John Darrington of Yazoo City, Mississippi, from the American College of Surgeons due to that institutions acceptance of an African-American member.

Box 1, folders 1-7 (1917-1941; n.d.)
Box 2, folders 1-4 (1936-1941; n.d.)

 

Series 2: Speeches. 1908-1940; n.d. 2 folders.

The speeches were presented by Dr. Crawford to a number of clubs and groups in Mississippi, including 1917, 1919, and 1926 meetings of the Mississippi State Medical Association and 1920s and 1930s Rotary Club meetings in Hattiesburg. Accompanying Dr. Crawfords speech, Wounds of the Heart, are three photographs of recovering heart-wound patients and a small amount of business correspondence with other physicians who had treated heart wounds. There are multiple, annotated copies of several speeches.

Box 3

 

Series 3: Medical Notes. 1932; 1943; n.d. 3 folders.

The medical notes are primarily handwritten and undated, and they concern a variety of medical maladies and remedies. Dr. Crawford may have written many of the notes, but only an undated notebook has his name inscribed inside the front cover.

Box 2

 

Series 4: Photographs and Lithographs. 1897; 1906-1937; n.d. 2 folders.

The photographs and lithographs are black-and-white or color in format, and most of them are undated. The photographs depict a parade of soldiers, unidentified surgeons at work, and resident students at the Natchez Hospital in 1897. There is an oversized composite of the presidents of the Southern Medical Association from 1906 to 1937, including Dr. Crawford. The lithographs depict several notable scientists such as William Harvey and Walter Reed. There are also color postcards of the South Mississippi Infirmary in Hattiesburg.

Box 3, folder 1 (1897; n.d.)
Box 4, folder 1 (1906-1937; n.d.)

 

Series 5: Certificates. 1917-1919; 1945; n.d. 1 folder.

The certificates were presented to Dr. Crawford to confirm his 1917 appointment as a major in the medical section of the Officers Reserve Corps of the United States Army; to confirm his 1919 appointment as lieutenant colonel in the same capacity; and to honor his 1945 membership in the Mississippi Public Health Association of Jackson. There is also an undated certificate from the board of regents of the American College of Surgeons posthumously honoring Dr. Crawfords work.

Box 4

 

Series  6: Financial Records. 1914-1937; n.d. 1 folder.

The financial records include a comparative assessment of Hattiesburg public school, street paving, and water system costs in 1914 and 1931. A 1926 tax receipt of Dr. Crawford is from the Linville Township of Avery County, North Carolina. A letter concerning Dr. J. M. Harrison of Laurel, Mississippi, is attached to a copy of the charter of incorporation of the Jackson Hospital Benevolent Association. There are a few miscellaneous receipts, and there is an undated assessment of the operating cost and scholastic standing of fourteen high schools in Mississippi.

Box 3

 

Series 7: Printed Materials. 1906-1942; n.d. 3 folders.

The printed materials include three March 1919 issues of The Hatchet, which was published by personnel on the U.S.S. George Washington. There is a copy of A. T. McCormacks 1928 presidential address delivered to the Womans Auxiliary of the Southern Medical Association in North Carolina. Two items related to the Womans Auxiliary of the American Medical Association include a 1940 Bulletin and a 1941 publication containing its constitution, bylaws, and membership roll. There are several brochures, including the 1906 constitution and bylaws of the Southern Medical Association; a program from the 1907 Mississippi State Medical Association meeting in Gulfport, Mississippi; and a 1942 Servicemans Guide to Hattiesburg and Area. Among the undated items are informational brochures about the Crawford Clinic and Camp Shelby, an informational report written by Dr. Crawford entitled History of Base Hospital at Camp Shelby, [near] Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and a detailed report on Hattiesburg that includes photographs or maps of many businesses, municipal facilities, and residences.

Box 2, folders 5-6 (1906-1942; n.d.)
Box 3, folder 4 (n.d.)

 

Series 8: Miscellaneous Papers. 1917-1928; 1932; n.d. 1 folder.

The miscellaneous papers include several general or specific military orders issued to Dr. Crawford from 1917 to 1919. There are minutes from the 1928 Mississippi Credentials Committee meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Tampa, Florida; and there are 1932 minutes from a meeting of the Hattiesburg Chamber of Commerce. Miscellaneous undated papers include a cartoon on Crawford Clinic letterhead stationery and a statement outlining the minimum membership standards of the American College of Surgeons.

Box 3

 

Series 9: Newsclippings. 1876; 1918; 1943; 1971. 1 folder.

The newsclippings include an 1876 newspaper from Denver, Colorado, and a November 1943 article from the Booneville Independent of Prentiss County, Mississippi, concerning the formation of the Southern Medical Association. There is also a copy of a July 9, 1918, issue of the Hattiesburg American and a 1971 article from that newspaper discussing the South Mississippi Infirmary in Hattiesburg.

Box 4

 

 

Box List:

Box 1, folders 1-7: correspondence.

Box 2, folders 1-4: correspondence.
Box 2, folders 5-6: printed materials.
Box 2, folders 7-9: medical notes.

Box 3, folder 1: photographs and lithographs.
Box 3, folders 2-3: speeches.
Box 3, folder 4: printed materials.
Box 3, folder 5: financial papers.
Box 3, folder 6: miscellaneous papers.

Box 4, folder 1: photographs and lithographs.
Box 4, folder 2: certificates.
Box 4, folder 3: newsclippings.