Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Alvin Merry Donnell Papers (Z/2379).
Creator/Collector: Alvin Merry Donnell; and others.
Date(s): 1946; 2011; 2019; n.d.
Size: 0.44 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, Laura Heller, 2024.
Provenance: Gift of Amanda Tillman of Terry, MS, on January 22, 2020; Z/U/2020.001.
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: Alvin Merry Donnell Papers (Z/2379), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

Alvin Merry Donnell

Alvin Merry Donnell was born on March 4, 1921, in Hinds County, Mississippi, the son of Amanda Gates (November 25, 1889 – December 31, 1980) and Young Donnell (February 9, 1886 – June 28, 1972). Some of his siblings include R.B. Donnell, Lem Donnell, Annie J. Donnell, Viola Donnell, Verma Donnell, and Ruby L. Donnell. Alvin attended Jim Hill High School in Jackson, and was a respected athlete in football, baseball, and track. His parents and several siblings are buried in the Sandhill Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Sand Hill, Rankin County.

Alvin Merry Donnell was listed among the 236 African American men of Hinds County in a newspaper article in the Clarion-Ledger on April 7, 1944, receiving orders to report to Camp Shelby. He enlisted on February 15, 1945. He was released from duty with honorable discharge on May 22, 1946.

Alvin M. Donnell married Lunathia Collins (February 22, 1924 - October 15, 2008), the daughter of Sylvester Collins, Sr. (February 24, 1884 – March 15, 1957), and Della Beauty Lee Collins (July 8, 1888-January 21, 1925), and she was the youngest of their eleven children.

After the war, Alvin M. Donnell worked as a tile layer for Homer C. Porter and Company; however, at the time of his death, at the age of 75, Donnell was working as a truck driver. He died of respiratory failure on Sunday, September 15, 1996, in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, and is buried in Garden Memorial Cemetery, near his wife. Lunathia Collins Donnell died on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. She was nicknamed “Aunt Bit” and spent several years as a cook at Hinds General Hospital.

 

Scope and Content Note:

 The Alvin Merry Donnell Papers consists of one copy-print photograph of Alvin and wife Lunathia Collins Donnell; two letters, one from Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, and one from President Barack Obama; a certificate of honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps Montford Point Marines, May 22, 1946; several certificates of recognition; and a program from the National Montford Point Marine Association Conference, October 12, 2019. 

 

Series Identification:

Series Identification to be completed at a later date.


 

Box List:

Box 1
Folder 1: Certificate. Honorable Discharge, United States Marine Corps, Alvin Merry Donnell, May 22, 1946.
Folder 2: Photograph. Lunathia Collins Donnell and Alvin Merry Donnell, n.d.
Folder 3: Letter. Mayor of the City of Jackson Chokwe A. Lumumba to the Donnell Family, Terry, MS, September 13, 2019.
Folder 4: Letter. President Barack Obama honoring legacy of Montford Point Marines, August 25, 2011.
Folder 5: Certificate. National Montford Point Marine Association Certificate of Recognition, United States Congress, Congressional Gold Medal, August 13, 2019.
Folder 6: Program. 10th Annual Banquet, Scholarship, and Awards Ceremony, National Montford Point Marine Association, October 12, 2019.
Folder 7: Certificate. United States Marine Corps, Montford Point Marines, Certificate of Recognition, n.d.
Folder 8: Newspaper. Article about Alvin Merry Donnell. Jackson Advocate, Vol. 82, No. 6, November 7-13, 2019.