Biography:

Lydia Magruder

Lydia Magruder was born in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi, on August 24, 1899. She was the daughter of Leonard A. and Lydia C. Magruder. Her siblings included A. W. (b. ca. 1896), Eva H. (b. ca. 1903), and Mary Eleanor (b. ca. 1909). Magruder was living with her family in Yazoo City and was employed as a stenographer in 1920. She had moved to Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, and was working as a bookkeeper by 1922. Magruder continued working in the secretarial field until at least 1948. She resided in Jackson until her death on November 10, 1979. Magruder was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of personal correspondence, legal and financial papers, photographs and postcards, publications, and miscellaneous papers. The personal correspondence includes three letters from Rosalie, a friend of Lydia Magruder, dating from 1926 to 1936. These letters were sent as Christmas greetings and offer news about the writer and thanks for gifts that Magruder sent. There is also a letter from Leonard A. Magruder, which originally accompanied an account book and other correspondence no longer present in this collection. In the letter, Magruder's father asks her to check an account book and related correspondence to ensure that the figures are correct and to bring the account book up to date.

The legal and financial papers consist of two real-estate contracts, an abstract of title, and statements dating from 1924 to 1933. The real-estate contracts are for three lots that Magruder purchased in Country Club Place, a Jackson residential development. The 1924 abstract of title is for Country Club Place and was prepared for the Jackson Development Company by Scott and Scott, attorneys at law. The statements concern Magruder's bank account and stock purchases at Capital National Bank in Jackson. There is also a note from the United States Treasury Department advising that Magruder's 1926 tax return was correct.

The photographs are of unidentified people and locations. The postcards are from various New Orleans and New York City locations.

The publications consist of a program, a bulletin, a booklet, and a brochure. The March 1930 program is from a Mississippi Grand Opera Association production, which featured the Chicago Civic Opera Company. The 1934 United States Department of Agriculture bulletin contains farmhouse designs and floor plans that were available for purchase. The booklet is from Antoine's in New Orleans and is undated. It offers a short history of and celebrity quotes about the restaurant. The brochure is from the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel in New York City and is undated.

The miscellaneous papers include items whose relationship to the rest of the collection is uncertain. There are two 1927 postcards addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Eric Ferdinando of Jackson. There is also a 1936 letter from the steamship company, Great White Fleet, addressed to Mrs. Harris Barksdale of Jackson.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1926-1936. 1 folder.

Box 1, folder 1

 

Series 2: Legal and Financial Papers. 1924-1933. 3 folders.

Box 1, folders 2-3; 5

 

Series 3: Photographs and Postcards. 1933; n.d. 1 folder.

Box 1, folder 4

 

Series 4: Publications. 1930-1934; n.d. 1 folder.

Box 1, folder 6

 

Series 5: Miscellaneous Papers. 1927-1936; n.d. 1 folder.

Box 1, folder 7