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Biography/History:
William Lampton left Boone County, Kentucky, around 1810 and was apparently the first family member to settle in Mississippi. He was the father of Benjamin Lampton.Benjamin Lampton (d. 1885) and Mary Jane Conerly Lampton (d. 1879) had five sons: Walter M. (1850-1930), Lucius L. (1852-1924), Iddo W. (1856-1913), William E. (1861-ca. 1960), Thaddeus Boothe (1867-1938), and two daughters: Cora (d. 1912) and an unidentified sister. A half-brother, Benjamin Frank, later joined the Lampton family.
Although he retained the family farm, Benjamin Lampton, Sr., was nearly bankrupt after the Civil War. Nevertheless, Lampton overcame economic difficulties during Reconstruction to found successful mercantile enterprises in Tylertown and other cities in south Mississippi. His sons further developed the family businesses into a network of banks and mercantile stores in Marion, Pike, and Walthall counties. The Lampton family would later acquire large investments in banking, cotton processing, real estate, and retail merchandising in the Jackson, Mississippi, area.
Thaddeus Boothe Lampton was born near Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi, on October 23, 1867, and he died on February 8, 1938. He was a graduate of Columbia High School and the University of Mississippi class of 1889. A one-year course at the Eastman School of Business in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1890 helped to prepare Lampton for a long business career. He served as state treasurer from October 1902 to January 1904 during the administration of Mississippi governor A. H. Longino, completing the unexpired term of George Carlisle. Lampton was also a member of the board of trustees of Millsaps College in Jackson and Whitworth College in Brookhaven and treasurer of the Mississippi Children's Home Society.
Mary (Mamie) Dorsey Terrell married Thaddeus Boothe Lampton on June 10, 1897. The couple apparently met while Terrell was visiting in Magnolia. Mamie Terrell Lampton was a graduate of Ward-Belmont College in Nashville. Her parents, Vernon Lagrange and Lida Fuqua Terrell, lived in Crystal Springs for many years, but they had moved to Jackson by the 1890s. Her grandfather, Samuel W. Lewis, was the commander of Fort Adams, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, during his military career. The Terrells were descendants of James A. Gilliland of South Carolina, an early Presbyterian missionary in Mississippi. Mamie Terrell Lampton had three sisters: Adine, who married Frank D. Lee of Shreveport, Louisiana; Lala, who married Charles McDavitt; and Lida, who married Lex Brame. Lampton’s brothers included Cary, Douglas, and Vernon Terrell.
Thaddeus and Mamie Lampton raised three children: Adine Terrell (1900-1975), Lala Helen (1903-1934), and Thaddeus Boothe, Jr. (b. ca. 1910). Adine Terrell Lampton, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, married George Clayton Wallace, Jr. (ca. 1893-1962) of Memphis, Tennessee, on June 10, 1925. Helen Terrell Lampton, a graduate of Goucher College, married John Blake Lowe, Jr., of Baltimore, Maryland, on December 19, 1925. Thaddeus Boothe, Jr., a graduate of the University of Virginia and the business school of Harvard University, married Helene Tupper McClure of Sardis, Mississippi, in 1940. Lampton pursued a career in the family banking and business enterprises.
Scope and Content:
This collection primarily consists of the business and personal correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr. The papers document his lengthy business career, his personal life, and the activities of business associates and Lampton and Terrell family members. Although the majority of the collection is from 1913 to 1938, there are scattered materials as early as 1849 and as late as 1976.Principal series include correspondence, financial papers, legal papers, printed materials, broadsides, newsclippings, bills and receipts, photographs, maps, genealogical materials, notebooks, and speeches. Series and subseries descriptions appear below. There are three appendices to the series and subseries descriptions. Appendix 1 is a box list of the collection; Appendix 2 describes photographs in series 8; and Appendix 3 describes maps in series 9.
Series Identification:
This subseries consists of correspondence concerning the banking activities of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr. The majority of the correspondence is from 1913 to 1938, with scattered items from 1902 to 1912. The activities of the following Mississippi banks are documented: Capital National Bank, Jackson (now Trustmark National Bank) (box 4); Columbia Bank (boxes 5-6); Magnolia Bank (boxes 11-12); Mechanics Bank, McComb (box 13); Southern Building and Loan Association, Jackson (box 17); and Bank of Wesson (boxes 22-23). The activities of the following out-of-state banks are also documented: Union and Planters Bank and Trust Company, Memphis, Tennessee (box 21), and the Germania and Whitney banks, New Orleans, Louisiana (boxes 7 and 21). This subseries also contains information on Lampton’s activities as state treasurer from 1902 to 1904 (boxes 18-19).
This subseries consists of the business correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., regarding firms owned by Lampton family members or controlled by them through membership on various company boards of directors. The majority of the correspondence is from 1913 to 1938, with scattered items as early as 1892. It primarily documents the business activities of Lampton in Marion, Pike, and Walthall counties in south Mississippi and provides details on the Lampton and Terrell families from the early twentieth century to the Depression. The businesses owned by one or more Lampton family members included the Diamond L Oil Company, Aberdeen (boxes 26-27); Lampton Company, Columbia (box 31); Lampton Brothers Company, Tylertown (box 32); Lampton and Rawls Company, Mount Olive (box 33); Lampton Realty Company, Magnolia (boxes 34-38); Lampton-Reid Company, Magnolia (boxes 39-40); Magnolia Compress Company, Magnolia Cotton Mill Company, and Magnolia Cotton Mills Company (box 41); Bolian Mercantile Company, Bogue Chitto, Lampton Cotton Company, Magnolia, and Lampton Mercantile Company, Magnolia (box 43); and Banner Lumber Company, Kentwood, Louisiana (box 43). Companies that the Lamptons did not own but controlled large numbers of shares in were the Jackson Fertilizer Company (boxes 28-30); Mississippi Mills, Wesson (box 42); and Tishomingo Gravel Company, Jackson (box 43).
This subseries consists of the business correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., with various companies or firms in which the Lampton family had relatively little or no financial interest or influence. The majority of the correspondence is from 1913 to 1938, with scattered items as early as 1902. Boxes 44 through 58 are arranged alphabetically, and boxes 59 through 62 are arranged chronologically. Of interest are letters from the following companies or firms: Alexander and Alexander, attorneys-at-law, Jackson (box 44); Brewer, Brewer, and Brewer, attorneys-at-law, Clarksdale (box 45); W. L. Brock, realtor, McComb (box 45); Cottoneva Redwood Company, Chicago, Illinois (box 47); L. O. Crosby, Picayune (box 48); Isaiah T. Montgomery, Farmers’ Cooperative Mercantile Company, Mound Bayou (box 49); Federal Compress and Warehouse Company, Memphis, Tennessee (box 49); Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company, Jackson (box 49); Joel F. Johnson, Canton (box 49); Lee Hardware Company, Shreveport, Louisiana, (box 49); Marine Oil Company, New Orleans, Louisiana (box 52); Pearl Realty Company, Jackson (box 53); A. B. Speight Lumber Company, Memphis, Tennessee (boxes 55-56); Union Compress and Warehouse Company, Memphis, Tennessee (box 58); and J. J. White Lumber Company, Columbia (box 58).
This subseries consists of the personal business correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., concerning matters that are unrelated to Lampton family banking or commercial interests. The correspondence is from 1902 to 1938. It concerns household and medical expenses, inheritances, and investments. Of interest is correspondence regarding the 1913-1914 construction of the Lampton family home located at 1915 North State Street in Jackson. The Lampton home was designed by Birmingham, Alabama, architect Bem Price and built by contractor I. C. Garber. There are letters from Garber in box 63 and letters from Price in box 66.
This subseries consists of the correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., regarding insurance policies or investments in insurance companies. The correspondence is from 1903 to 1938. It concerns the Lamar Life Insurance Company of Jackson, Mississippi, and the Volunteer State Life Insurance Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as the New York, Penn Mutual, and Prudential life-insurance companies.
This subseries consists of the correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., discussing family activities, travel plans, and other personal matters. The majority of the correspondence is from 1913 to 1937, with scattered items as early as 1888.
This subseries consists of the correspondence of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., regarding his involvement in personal civic and philanthropic endeavors. The correspondence is from 1913 to 1937. There are letters reflecting Lampton’s membership in civic and fraternal organizations such as the Jackson Rotary Club (boxes 89-90) and the Masonic Order (box 95). There also letters concerning Lampton’s political activities from 1917 and 1937 (box 88). Among the philanthropic and religious organizations represented in Lampton’s correspondence are the American Red Cross, Anti-Saloon League, Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, and Near East Relief Commission (box 83), along with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Mississippi State Charity Hospital, Mississippi Sunday School Association, Young Men’s Christian Association, and Young Women’s Christian Association (box 86). Other letters reflect Lampton’s service on the boards of trustees of Millsaps and Whitworth colleges, his interest in Belhaven College (boxes 91-93), and his work with the Mississippi Children's Home Society.
This subseries consists of the personal correspondence of Adine Terrell Lampton Wallace. The majority of the correspondence is from 1920 to 1925, with scattered items from 1930 to 1975. Of interest are letters concerning Wallace’s work with the American Red Cross during World War II and materials relating to her service on the board of the Mississippi State Eleemosynary Institutions Commission from 1951 to 1956.
This subseries consists of the personal correspondence of Lala Helen Lampton Lowe. The majority of the correspondence is from 1921 to 1926, with scattered items from 1904, 1915, 1919, and 1931. The letters mainly concern Lowe’s years as a student at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, and the period immediately following her December 19, 1925, wedding. There are Christmas cards from 1924 (box 101) and greeting cards from around 1920 to 1925 (box 106).
This series consists of the scattered personal correspondence of Mary (Mamie) Dorsey Terrell Lampton from 1925 to 1956. Also present is her bankbook from the Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company of Jackson from 1921 to 1933. Other letters pertaining to Lampton are included in the personal, non-business correspondence of her husband.
This series consists of the correspondence of George Clayton Wallace, Jr. The majority of the correspondence is from 1910 to 1919, with scattered items from the 1920s to the 1960s. The correspondence is divided into five categories: the settlement of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton Sr.'s estate, 1908-1939 (box 111); Rotary Club, 1940-1943 (box 112); Mississippi Children's Home Society, 1957, 1961-1962 (box 114); States' Rights Party, 1944, 1948-1952 (box 113); and tung-oil production, 1940-1941 (box 114).
This series consists of the financial papers of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., which have been subdivided into the following categories: banking; Lampton companies; non-Lampton companies; personal business matters; civic and philanthropic activities; and the financial papers of George Clayton Wallace, Jr. The majority of the financial papers are from 1913 to 1938, but there are scattered items from 1882 to 1942. Materials relating to the banking activities of Lampton are the most extensive. The daily operations of Capital National Bank are documented in automobile sales reports, audit reports, card files of loan-repayment schedules, insurance records, and weekly overdraft ledgers (boxes 126-130). Included are statements of condition for a number of Mississippi and out-of-state banks (boxes 133-137). There are records pertaining to various Lampton companies in boxes 137 to 141 and records pertaining to various non-Lampton companies in boxes 142 and 143. The personal business papers of Lampton are in boxes 145 to 147. Financial papers documenting the civic and philanthropic activities of Lampton are in boxes 148-150. Materials relating to the financial activities of George Clayton Wallace, Jr., are in box 151.
This series consists of the legal papers of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., and George Clayton Wallace, Jr., including agreements, contracts, deeds, titles, and wills. The majority of the legal papers are from 1912 to 1938, but there are scattered items from 1854 to 1911. The legal papers of Lampton are in boxes 153 to 156. The first box is arranged alphabetically, and the other three boxes are arranged chronologically. The legal papers of Wallace concern a lawsuit entitled Will D. Terry v. George C. Wallace and Charles Hamrick (box 157). The legal papers are from 1928 to 1932 and from 1936 to 1938.
This series consists of various printed materials of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., and George Clayton Wallace, Jr., including Mississippi state government reports, college yearbooks, certificates, greeting cards, and informational literature on the Masonic Order and the Rotary Club. The Rotary Club items of Wallace are in boxes 161 and 162. The printed materials of Lampton, which date from 1901 to 1938, are in boxes 163 to 165. Lampton's Masonic and Rotary Club items are in box 165.
This series consists of five printed broadsides from Mississippi. The first item is an announcement for a Utica Negro Farmers' Conference to be held at the Utica Institute on February 9-10, 1921. George Washington Carver is listed as the guest speaker. The second item is an August 24, 1933, political flier discussing reasons for the removal of Joseph Hester as sheriff of Copiah County. The third item is an undated chart of forage crops prepared by the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service for the Pig Club, which offers advice on hog feed, ration formulas, health, and tips on feeder and stile construction. The fourth item is an undated advertisement for a Jackson real-estate auction to be conducted by Britt Davis, which provides locations and photographs of the houses to be sold. Most home sites are in Jackson, but homes in other cities and counties are included. The fifth item is an undated announcement for a baseball game in Booneville between teams from Ukiah and Willits.
This series consists of photocopies of newspaper articles kept by the Lampton and Wallace families from 1902 to 1976. Of interest are newsclippings noting the anniversaries of several Lampton companies, including items from 1944 and 1955 (box 167). They provide information on the Lampton companies and the brothers who founded them. The 1925 and 1940 weddings of the Lampton children are covered extensively. The 1953 wedding of Adine Wallace Dalrymple is also documented. There are obituaries for Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., in February of 1938; Helen Lampton Lowe in January of 1934; Mamie Terrell Lampton in June of 1956; George Clayton Wallace, Jr., in October of 1962; and Adine Lampton Wallace in October of 1975.
This series consists of bills and receipts of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., which have been subdivided into the following categories: personal business transactions (boxes 168-170); Lampton companies (box 171); and tax receipts (box 172). The bills and receipts are from the 1890s to 1930s, and they have been alphabetically arranged by name of company or taxing jurisdiction. Bills and receipts for personal transactions are from construction, grocery, hardware, and utility firms. Bills and receipts from Lampton family businesses include those from the Jackson Fertilizer, Lampton, Lampton Brothers Company, Lampton Mercantile, and Lampton-Reid companies. The tax receipts include those from the following Mississippi cities: Aberdeen; Jackson, Magnolia, and McComb, and the following Mississippi counties: Amite, Bolivar, Hinds Madison, Monroe, Pike, Rankin, and Wilkinson. A folder of miscellaneous receipts is also included.
This series consists of approximately three hundred photographs on the following subjects: Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., ca. 1880-1930; Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Jr., ca. 1910-1950; Lala Helen Lampton Lowe, ca. 1907-1925; Adine Terrell Lampton Wallace, ca. 1920-1956; Adine Terrell Lampton Wallace (American Red Cross), 1940s; George Clayton Wallace, Jr., ca. 1917-1955; Colorado vacation (Lamptons), ca. 1897-1900; European vacation (Lamptons), 1920; Mexican vacation (Lamptons), 1934; Les Passees Ball, 1924; Capital National Bank (interior), 1916; Diamond L Oil Company Gas Station, Aberdeen, ca. 1933. There are twenty-seven images of graduates of the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, many of which are autographed or otherwise identified, from 1883 to 1889; five images of unidentified women; and a June 1889 image of a bride, possibly Lida Terrell Brame, sister of Mamie Terrell Lampton. These images were formerly housed in an album. There are also folders of miscellaneous images and several sets of stereoscopic cards. See Appendix 2.
This series consists of thirty-seven maps from 1908 to 1936. The maps are numbered as follows: Jackson-area (1-2); Hinds County (3-8); Mississippi (9-11); miscellaneous (12-16); Jackson plats (17-23); Rankin County (24); Pike County (25-29); Texas (30-31); Louisiana maps (32-37). See Appendix 3.
This series consists of correspondence relating to the efforts of Mat Reid to compile a genealogy of the Lampton and Terrell families. She was married to Eugene W. Reid, a nephew of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., and began compiling materials in the 1920s and 1930s. The research notes of Reid provide data on the Lampton and Terrell families from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. There is also a 130-page manuscript on the Terrell family. It does not, however, provide a complete family history, but it does record births and deaths and notes sources consulted.
This series consists of seven notebooks kept by Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., and other family members. Included are Adine Terrell Lampton's circa 1915 high-school chemistry notebook from Ward-Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee; Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr.'s 1917 officer's training school notebook and his appointment books for 1909, 1935, and 1936; Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Jr.'s 1930 notebook from the University of Virginia; and an 1884 student notebook of Charles E. McDavitt, a brother-in-law of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr.
This series consists of twenty-eight speeches, including some of Thaddeus Boothe Lampton, Sr., from 1904 to 1933. They concern banking, politics, and other topics. There is one folder of speeches used by Lampton in a public-speaking class.