Collection Details:
Creator/Collector: Ben Magruder Disharoon.
Date(s): 1951-1952.
Size: 0.40 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: Processed by staff, 1981; Updated by Laura Heller, 2023; Correspondence inventory by Camille Boyles, 2023.
Provenance: Gift from Ben Magruder Disharoon, of Port Gibson, MS, on January 11, 1981; Z/U/1981.003.
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: Ben Magruder Disharoon Collection, Z/1719.000/S, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

Biography/History:

Benjamin Magruder Disharoon, was born May 13, 1927, in Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi, the son of May Florine Levy (May 1, 1893-September 10, 1979) and George Lindsay Disharoon (February 7, 1892-October 6, 1952). He had three siblings: George Lindsay Disharoon, Jr. (October 18, 1919-January 11, 2002), Julia Sylvia Disharoon (April 1, 1921-May 31, 1977), and Nancy Marie 'Rie' Disharoon (July 22, 1922-June 29, 2019).

Ben attended Port Gibson public schools, graduating in May 1944. After attending the University of Mississippi in 1944-1945, he enlisted in the United States Navy on August 1, 1945 and served until August 24, 1946 during World War II. After his discharge, he enrolled in Louisiana State University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts in 1949 and a Master of Arts degree in Fine Arts, Painting, and Sculpture in 1951. He traveled extensively in Europe in 1951-1952, and, upon returning home, continued his artwork. From 1952 to 1958, he and his family maintained a farm near Port Gibson.

In 1958, he served as Director of the Claiborne County Department of Public Welfare and later served as the Regional Supervisor of the Department of Public Welfare. In July 1959, Ben married Susan Martindale Clay, the granddaughter of U.S. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky. The couple had four daughters between 1960 and 1972: Mary Martha Disharoon, Nancy Disharoon, Elizabeth Disharoon, and Jill Disharoon. Ben was partially disabled when he developed multiple sclerosis in 1960. In 1963, he received a Master of Science degree in social work from the University of Tennessee.

In 1980, he published under the title Love, Ben many of the letters he had written home during his European travels. These letters were written by a young Mississippian, fresh out of art school, who decided to tour Europe and see the treasures he had been studying. He is constantly comparing social situations there to ones back at home and his comments on the attitude of the Europeans toward Americans is interesting. Most of these letters were included in the privately published edition, Love, Ben (1980). Two letters in the collection were not published in the book, dated March 12, 1952 and March 25, 1952.

Benjamin Magruder Disharoon died at the age of 75 on November 7, 2002, and is buried in Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi, near his parents and siblings.

Series 1: Correspondence. 1951-1952. 36 letters.

Folder	Date	Letter Author	Author Location	Letter Recipient	Recipient Location	Notes
1	October 28, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Aboard S.S. Barbara Lykes en route to Paris	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben's notes on the crossing to Le Havre and Paris, with details of friendly passengers and crew, storms, and menu.
2	November 5, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Story of Ben's arrival in Paris with language and money confusion. He finds a hotel, and the American Student and Artists Club that is a good base. He takes French classes and describes Paris.
3	November 12, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben describes lovely Paris, a walk he took through the city, and Notre Dame, and being overwhelmed by the Louvre.
4	November 17, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben is buying Christmas presents for family and learning French. He has been too busy to start painting.
5	November 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon, Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben has mailed Christmas presents. He describes meals and ideas for travel. There are other Mississippi students there, especially girls from Sweet Briar College.
6	December 3, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben painted at the student club. He writes about bicycle traffic, people on the street, and his views on Americans in France, and French Communists. Ben plans to travel to Switzerland for Christmas.
7	December 12, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben reviews plans for Christmas travel to Galtur, Austria. He mentions going to the opera at Follies Bergere in Paris.
8	[December 22, 1951]	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben's update for travel plans, cutting travel to Vienna from the itinerary. They will go to Italy.
9	December 29, 1951	Ben Disharoon	Galtur, Tyrol, Austria	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben describes the ski chalet and the village in Galtur, Austria. They had a good Christmas, and they are headed to Italy.
10	January 9, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Padua, Italy	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben's train trip to Verona, where he praised the Italian town, food, and culture.
11	January 13, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Venice, Italy	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben stays in Italy because they enjoy it so much. Description of transportation, and the Doge's Palace. Notes about trying to find people from home, and one boy from LSU that he did see in Paris.
12	January 18, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Florence, Italy	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben traveled to Florence with George Dunbar and Adair Chambers of New Orleans, both art students. They are touring art museums.
13	January 19, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Florence, Italy	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben plans travels onward, but hopes to return to Florence. He hasn't heard from home, and hopes to find letters at American Express headquarters in Rome, his next stop.
14	February 2, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Nice, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben and George travel to Venice, Italy, to see the small chapel built by Matisse. He asks his parents if they might vacation in April in Paris.
15	February 17, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Palma, Majorca Spain	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben and friends travel to the Spanish island. He is enjoying mail from home via American Express.
16	March 1, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Palma de Majorca, Spain	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Finding beautiful beaches on Majorca. A letter from home worries Ben with news that his father was in the hospital.
17	March 12, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Palma de Majorca, Spain	Sylvia, Pete, Ellen, Jimmy, etc.	[maybe Port Gibson, MS]	Ben works to get gifts home. He tells family the younger ones should come to Europe for a year in college. He describes his affordable new clothes.
18	March 18, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Palma de Majorca, Spain	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben describes a slow life at hotel Camp de Mar. He considers some travel options for the future.
19	March 26, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Palma de Majorca, Spain	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben meets a boy from Mississippi he was looking for in Paris on the bay at Camp de Mar. Ben looks toward the end of his time in Europe and wonders what else he can fit in, and if he should stay a few more months.
20	April 4, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben is back in Paris and plans to visit galleries. He is amused at friendships made while traveling. Paris is full of Americans.
21	April 15, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Paris is beautiful and full of American tourists. Ben describes his friends George, Dave, and Adair, as well as his first subway ride in Paris. He needs his family to purchase some gifts in his name at home and put them with theirs.
22	April 17, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	On his way to see Bois de Boulogne in Paris, Ben describes other intellectual students. He is enjoying conversations.
23	April 25, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Elizabeth S. McLendon	Port Gibson, MS	Ben apologizes for not being able to meet someone in Limoges, France, that McLendon asked him to meet. He explained that his travel plans changed.
24	April 30, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben's friend George hurries home for a sick family member. Ben describes his trips to Versailles and Chartres.
25	May 13, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Copenhagen, Denmark	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	It is Ben's birthday, and he travels though Danish countryside.
26	May 15, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Copenhagen, Denmark	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben thanks family for letters and gifts. He discusses details on forwarding mail for the rest of his stay.
27	May 24-29, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Narvik, Norway; Oslo, Norway	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben has been to Stockholm, the Arctic Circle, and saw the midnight sun in Narvik. Ben and Dave try out a public shower. Ben and Dave took a long bus ride to Oslo, where they saw reindeer and Danish farms. Ben writes this letter on three different occasions.
28	June 5, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Copenhagen, Denmark	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Traveling from Oslo to Copenhagen. He sold art on the train. He considers family gifts, as he prepares to go home. Ben and Dave prepare for a trip to Holland.
29	June 15, 1952	Ben Disharoon	London, England	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben describes their trip to Amsterdam with wonderful museums, and modern post-war buildings. Communists were giving Anti-America speeches in Hyde Park. Ben and Dave stay busy with concerts and plays.
30	June 19, 1952	Ben Disharoon	London, England	Ernest L. Levy	Mitchell, IN	Writing to his Uncle Earnest, Ben checks on his uncle's health and writes to perk him up.
31	June 20, 1952	Ben Disharoon	London, England	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben and Dave are leaving London. They went to Ascot, concerts, and plays.
32	June 30, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Prince Edward, Loch Lomond, Scotland	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben and Dave are in Scotland. Ben recounted his trip through England via hitchhiking and youth hostels.
33	July 12, 1952	Ben Disharoon	London, England	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben sends some information on his ship home. Ben, Dave, and Barbara are leaving London for Paris. More details on sending presents home.
34	July 18, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Paris, France	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben is glad to be back in Paris. Ben leaves on August 1 for home.
35	August 5, 1952	Ben Disharoon	London, England	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Aboard the ship at the start of the journey. Ben describes his fellow travelers, and his uncertain expectations for arrival port.
36	August 7, 1952	Ben Disharoon	Aboard the S.S. Gibbes Lykes, anchored London, England	Disharoon Family	Port Gibson, MS	Ben sends the name of the ship S.S. Gibbes Lykes to his family in his last letter before departure home.