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Biography/History:
William Thomas Ratliff
William Thomas Ratliff was born in Raymond, Mississippi, on September 16, 1835. His parents were William Ratliff of Pike County, Mississippi, and Jane Davis of Belfast, Ireland. Orphaned as a child, Ratliff was raised by his grandmother, Isabella Spencer, of Clinton, Mississippi. He attended Mississippi College at Clinton from 1852 to 1856. While there, he organized the Hermenian Society and served as its first president. Ratliff married Mary Olive Cook of Edwards, Mississippi, on June 18, 1856. The Ratliffs were the parents of William Davis, Alma, Percy Cook, McKinney Cook, Thomas Wilson, Mary, Paul D., Jeannette, Clifton, and Isabella. They settled at Edwards in the western part of Hinds County, where Ratliff studied law and worked as a teacher and farmer from 1859 to 1860.
Ratliff first served in the Confederate infantry in Kentucky during the winter of 1861 and in 1862. He later served in Company A, First Regiment, Mississippi Light Artillery. Ratliff commanded a battery of 360 men in General Louis Hebert's brigade of Major General William H. Forney's division during the engagements around Vicksburg, Mississippi, and during the siege of that city in July of 1863. He was promoted to captain after the fall of Vicksburg, and he remained in the Confederate army until his parole in Jackson, Mississippi, on May 12, 1865.
After the Civil War, Ratliff operated a military school at his home in Raymond, Mississippi. Ratliff was elected probate clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1865, and he remained in office until his removal by Governor Adelbert Ames in 1869. He was also chairman of the Hinds County Democratic Committee during Reconstruction. In 1874, Ratliff was active in the Taxpayers' League, an organization that hastened the demise of the carpetbaggers in Mississippi. He was elected as Hinds County chancery clerk in 1875, an office he held for twelve years, and afterwards served as Hinds County sheriff for four years. Ratliff served as Hinds County administrator in 1900. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, serving from 1910 to 1916. He was unanimously elected to serve as vice-president of the board in 1913, succeeding board member Stephen D. Lee.
Ratliff served as a deacon of the Raymond Baptist Church. He also served as president of the board of trustees of Mississippi College for forty-five years. Ratliff was president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1906. He was an honored guest at the October 19, 1916, wedding of his grandson and namesake, William T. Ratliff, Jr., to Minnie Money Vardaman, youngest child of James K. Vardaman. Ratliff died on January 20, 1918.
James K. Vardaman
James Kimble Vardaman was born in Jackson County, Texas, on July 26, 1861. His parents, William Sylvester and Mary Fox Vardaman, were originally from Holmes County, Mississippi. William S. Vardaman served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. After the war, the family moved back to Mississippi, settling on a farm in Yalobusha County. James K. Vardaman, the fourth of six children, was largely self-educated, attending a one-room school as a child and later studying law with his uncle, Pierson Money, in Carrollton, Carroll County, Mississippi. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one, and he began to practice law with his cousin, United States Representative Hernando DeSoto Money, in Winona, Montgomery County, Mississippi. Vardaman married Anna E. Burleson Robinson on May 31, 1883. She was a widow with one son, Douglas, and a plantation at Sidon, Leflore County, Mississippi. Vardaman moved to Sidon with his new wife and stepson. The couple would eventually have four children of their own: Aletha, James Money, John (later James) Kimble, and Minnie Vardaman.
Vardaman leased the plantation at Sidon and moved the family to Greenwood in 1886. He was elected to the Mississippi legislature in 1890, serving two additional terms. When the Spanish-American War began, he joined the Judge Advocate Corps of the Fifth United States Volunteer Infantry, serving in Santiago, Cuba, from August 1898 to May 1899. Later known as the "White Chief" and as the leader of the "rednecks," Vardaman was a flamboyant politician who ran for office more often than he won. Whenever he was out of office, Vardaman kept his political views before the public as editor or publisher of several Mississippi newspapers: the Winona Advance in the 1880s, the Greenwood Enterprise from 1890 to 1895, the Greenwood Commonwealth from 1896 to 1903, the Issue (Jackson) from 1908 to 1912, and Vardaman’s Weekly from 1919 to 1922. After two unsuccessful attempts, he won the Mississippi gubernatorial race in 1903, holding that office until 1908. Although an ardent white supremacist, many of Vardaman’s political reforms actually helped black working-class citizens. He advocated equal protection under the law for all citizens, regardless of race or religion; reformed conditions in state prisons; and increased funding for public schools for both races. After his term as governor ended, Vardaman twice ran for the United States Senate before winning a seat in 1911. Vardaman was one of six senators who voted against the entry of the United States in World War I. His isolationist views contributed to the loss of his senate seat in the next election and his place in the national political arena. After retiring from public life, Vardaman moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to live with his two daughters, Aletha Vardaman Fairly and Minnie Vardaman Ratliff. Vardaman died on June 25, 1930, and he was buried in Jackson.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of two groups of family papers, those of William Thomas Ratliff and those of James Kimble Vardaman. The Ratliff papers include correspondence, legal records, historical essays, church records, and printed material. The Vardaman papers include photographs, financial records, and miscellany.
The correspondence W. T. and Mary O. Ratliff and their daughter, Mary, reflects their interest in the Civil War and in honoring those who served the Confederacy. Also of interest is a May 2, 1865, letter from Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, to Assistant Adjutant General W. A. Percy, father of Senator Leroy Percy. Taylor wrote to Percy from his headquarters in Meridian, Mississippi, out of concern for the welfare of his troops who were facing imminent surrender. He also mentioned General Robert E. Lee's recent surrender at Appomattox.
The majority of the collection consists of files that Ratliff maintained while serving as probate and chancery clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi. These records span the years from 1870 to 1935. They include legal correspondence, estate and guardianship files, wills, mercantile and tax receipts, and court vouchers. Also included are Hinds County tax settlements for the years 1896 to 1899. There are two land deed record books that pertain to townships six and seven, range two, west, of Hinds County listing grantors’ and grantees’ names. There is a municipal ordinance record book for Raymond, Mississippi. Scattered correspondence concerns the settlement of estates and other legal matters.
There are minutes, ledgers, and other papers and records pertaining to the Raymond Baptist Church. Also included are several letters-of-dismissal from other Baptist churches dating from the antebellum period.
The collection includes several early twentieth-century addresses, the majority of which were delivered by Ratliff at Mississippi College commencement exercises. There are also several Civil War regimental histories, biographies, and reminiscences and histories of Raymond and Hinds County.
The photographs in the collection date from 1898 to 1917. They are primarily portraits and landscapes, and many are unidentified. There are several photographs of Santiago, Cuba, and its environs, especially the encampment of the Fifth United States Volunteer Infantry. A number of photographs of James K. Vardaman are present.
There are two scrapbooks, one compiled by W. T. Ratliff and the other by his daughter, Mary. Both scrapbooks contain newsclippings on the Civil War, Raymond, and Hinds County. There are also loose newsclippings that pertain to the Civil War.
Series and Subseries Identification:
This series contains the correspondence of W. T. and Mary O. Ratliff and their daughter, Mary. Principal correspondents include W. T., Mary O., and Mary Ratliff, Clay Sharkey, Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, Assistant Adjutant General W. A. Percy, Nancy R. Perkins, William Rigby, M. M. Callum, L. E. Hall, Mrs. E. W. Smith, W. F. Wesson, and B. A. Pendarvis. Most of the correspondence pertains to the affairs of Civil War veterans. There is also a carbon typescript of a letter to Governor John J. Pettus from D. M. Scales, with an endorsement from Captain W. S. Featherston, regarding the enlistment status of Scales. Included is correspondence to Colonel Power from William Rigby, acting chairman, Vicksburg National Military Park Commission, that lists the names and addresses of the commissioners. There is also a letter to Ratliff from M. M. Callum requesting Ratliff's support of Callum's candidacy for the position of doorkeeper of the Mississippi legislature. There is a letter to Mrs. E. W. Smith of Hernando, Mississippi, from Confederate veteran W. F. Wesson of Company F, Forrest’s Regiment, relating his experiences as a Confederate soldier. There is also a letter to Mary Ratliff, from B. A. Pendarvis, supervisor of the Work Projects Administration veterans’ grave-registration project, that lists the names of men from Raymond, Mississippi, who served in the Mexican War.
This series is organized into the following subseries: estates, guardianship records, tax receipts, tax settlements, land deed record books, municipal ordinance record book, and miscellany. The files were maintained by W. T. Ratliff who served as probate and chancery clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi.
2.1. Estate Records. 1861; 1866; 1870-1871; 1878; 1881-1911; 1915; n.d.This subseries consists of the estate files of R. W. Bailey, Sarah G. Clark, Elizabeth Harrison, Sallie F. Johnston, Henry and Robert Kells, Elizabeth J. Jackson, Mary A. Lee, J. L. Pettigrew, W. W. Rose, W. D. Smith, H. C. Timberlake, and T. J. Walne. Also included are the estate-record books kept by W. T. Ratliff.
This subseries contains estate files of R. W. Bailey, including correspondence from the law firm, Green and Green, of Jackson, Mississippi, to W. T. Ratliff, administrator of the estate. There is also a Mississippi state tax receipt.
This subseries contains correspondence from the Washington, D.C., law firm, Moyers and Consul, to Sarah G. Clark concerning her reparations claim for property taken by United States military forces during the Civil War.
This subseries contains documents concerning the settlement of the estate of Elizabeth Harrison. W. T. Ratliff was her guardian before her death.
This subseries contains a letter from the law firm, Watkins and Watkins, of Jackson, Mississippi, to W. T. Ratliff, executor of Sallie F. Johnston's estate. There is also a cost bill for the Johnston estate.
This subseries contains the probate records of the Henry Kells estate, of which William Kells was the executor.
Box 1This subseries contains correspondence and other documents pertaining to the estate of Dr. Robert Kells. Among the correspondence is a list of his heirs. Most of the correspondence concerns the estate settlement of the Kells heirs. There are also affidavits and powers-of-attorney.
Boxes 1-2This subseries contains a canceled check and a statement of attorney's fees pertaining to the estate of Elizabeth Jane Jackson.
This subseries contains a receipt for the final estate settlement of the heirs of Mary Ann Lee.
This subseries contains a typewritten copy of the will of J. L. Pettigrew.
This subseries contains the funeral-expense statements of Martin W. Philips.
This subseries contains correspondence; a petition and an order for the employment of counsel for selling a plantation owned by W. W. Rose, deceased, by his heirs, Frank and Margaret Beresford; and a lawsuit filed by the Beresford heirs against Rose’s widow.
Box 2This subseries contains correspondence, billing statements from various merchants, canceled checks, tax receipts, and a lease. It also contains photocopies of original land patents. Also included is the will of W. D. Smith.
This subseries contains canceled checks and tax receipts. There are also several notes of indebtedness from Mississippi College to H. C. Timberlake, a professor of classical languages. There is also a deed-of-trust and a deed-of-conveyance of Mary O. Ratliff.
This subseries contains correspondence to W. T. Ratliff from his cousin, the Reverend T. J. Walne. There are also deeds-of-trust, receipts, canceled checks, and statements from dry-goods stores in Clinton, Mississippi.
This series contains record books that contain lists of names and accounts for estates and guardianships under W. T. Ratliff's supervision.
2.2. Guardianship Records. 1888; 1892-1903; n.d. 1.00 c.f.
This subseries contains the guardianship files of Frank, Margaret, and William Beresford, Lucy P. Brent, Minnie, Ollie, and Susie Hamilton, and Kate Hutchins.
This subseries contains guardianship files pertaining to Frank Beresford. Included are statements-of-account from various merchants and schools in Jackson and Raymond, Mississippi. Most files include canceled checks and chancery court vouchers. There are also some state and county tax receipts. W. T. Ratliff was Frank Beresford's guardian.
Box 3This subseries contains guardianship files pertaining to Margaret Beresford. Included are statements-of-account from various boarding houses, merchants, and schools in Mississippi. Most files include canceled checks and chancery court vouchers. Also included are state and county tax receipts. There is also an index for Margaret Beresford's records dating from 1893 to 1902. W. T. Ratliff was Margaret Beresford's guardian.
This subseries contains a bond appointing W. T. Ratliff as guardian of Frank and Margaret Beresford, minor heirs of William M. Beresford. There is also a letter concerning Ratliff’s duties and responsibilities as guardian.
This subseries contains files that W. T. Ratliff kept while serving as guardian of Lucy Patton Brent. Included are receipts and statements-of-account from local merchants. There is also correspondence and a deed-of-gift.
This subseries contains guardianship files for Minnie, Ollie, and Susie, Hamilton. Included are receipts and statements-of-account from local merchants. J. L. Hamilton was their guardian.
This subseries contains correspondence from Kate Hutchins to her guardian, W. T. Ratliff, requesting tax-filing assistance and financial aid. There are also accounts and canceled checks.
Box 42.3. Tax Receipts. 1886; 1892-1896; 1899; 1902-1911. 4 folders.
This subseries contains real and personal property tax receipts for Hinds County, Mississippi. There are also real and personal property tax receipts for Clinton, Mississippi.
2.4. Tax Settlements. 1896-1899; 1901. 5 folders.
This subseries contains tax settlements for Hinds County, Mississippi. These files were kept by W. T. Ratliff, tax collector of Hinds County.
Box 52.5. Land Deed Record Books. 1842; 1855; 1859; 1867-1868; 1870; 1872-1873; 1876-1881; 1883-1891; 1898. 2 folders.
This subseries contains two land deed record books, one pertaining to township six, range two, west, and the other pertaining to township seven, range two, west. They both list the grantors’ and grantees’ names and dates of filing.
2.6. Municipal Ordinance Record Book. 1895. 1 folder.
This subseries consists of a record of ordinances passed by the city of Raymond, Mississippi. It also contains newsclippings of the ordinances. The record book belonged to P. D. Ratliff.
Box 62.7. Miscellany. 1861-1936; n.d. 0.33 c.f.
This subseries contains legal records pertaining to the sale of land on behalf of J. F. McFarland. W. T. Ratliff was trustee for the land sale.
This subseries contains canceled checks and statements-of-account of W. T. Ratliff and other Hinds County residents with whom he had official business. There are also bankbooks belonging to Ratliff.
Box 7This series primarily contains records from the Raymond Baptist Church in Raymond, Mississippi. Included are the constitution and minutes of the first meeting of the Ladies Missionary Society of the church, of which Mary Ratliff was its first president. There is also a church history (incomplete) and a list of contributors to a building fund. One account book records baptistery and Sunday school collections, pastor's and sexton's wages, names of church members, letters-of-dismissal, and anti-saloon activities. Another account book records funds given to Mississippi College, collections received from neighboring churches, building-fund expenses, the pastor's salary, and newsclippings. Extraneous records include a description of the first session of the Central Baptist Association held at the Mound Bluff Baptist Church, Flora, Mississippi; letters-of-dismissal from the Benton Baptist Church, Benton, Mississippi, the First Baptist Church, Natchez, Mississippi, and the Baptist Church of Christ, Palestine, Mississippi; the African Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama; and the Yellow River Baptist Church, Yellow River, Walton County, Florida; and an abstract of minutes of the Old Salem Church.
This series contains speeches given by various individuals. One speech was delivered at the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Hermenian Society at Mississippi College. Two speeches were given by W. T. Ratliff, one on good citizenship, and the other, a report on obituaries. There is also a speech delivered by Major G. W. Bellamy at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Another speech was given to the Central Baptist Association at Clinton, Mississippi, by Dr. J. A. Hackett of Meridian, Mississippi. There is also a speech of Mary Ratliff on kindergarten principles in primary teaching.
Box 8This series includes Civil War-related regimental histories, biographies, correspondence, and articles. Among the regimental histories is a description of Captain Addison Harvey's Scouts from the Mississippi Official and Statistical Register (1908). Included is information on Mississippi soldiers who served with General William Barksdale and General Robert Lowry. There is a record of the organization of General John C. Pemberton’s army in the Vicksburg campaign listing the names of officers and the positions of various divisions and batteries during the siege of Vicksburg. Included are two letters, one from Mrs. W. T. Stuart to Captain F. G. Obenchain concerning the Battle of Champion Hill, and another from Mary Ratliff to Miss Kate relating the story of the angel of Champion Hill. There are two essays, one by Mary Ratliff entitled "Loyalty," and another written anonymously entitled "A Hero of the Sixties." Included is a tribute to Captain W. A. Montgomery. There are copies of articles from the Hinds County Gazette, Raymond, Mississippi, dated January 30 and November 28, 1861, and November 2 and 5, 1872, that were written by W. T. Ratliff. Included is an illustrated history of Confederate flags by Mary Ratliff.
Box 9This series consists of two subseries: identified and unidentified photographs.
6.1. Photographs (Identified). 1898-1899; 1904; 1906; 1910; 1913; 1917; n.d.
6.2. Photographs (Unidentified). n.d.
This subseries contains unidentified and undated photographs.
Boxes 11; 13This series contains a variety of printed material, including The Peak Sisters: An Entertainment (1887); Stag Club of Jackson, Miss. (1888); The Red Haired Girl and Other Poems (1896); The Old South: A Monograph (1905); Jefferson Davis: A Sketch of the Life and Character of the President of the Confederate States (1908); Address by Capt. W. T. Ratliff at Mississippi College Opening, 1911; Confederate Veteran (April 1918); The Southern Magazine (January-February, 1934); Blue Mountain College Bulletin (October 1942 and February 1943); Copiah County Cookery, Issued by the Woman’s Mission Society, for the Benefit of the Building Fund of the Baptist Church, Hazlehurst, Miss. (n.d.). and The Last Week of the Ministry of Jesus in the Flesh (n.d.). There is also a Vicksburg National Military Park booklet that lists Confederate and Union monument sites. Included are invitations to the commencement exercises of the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College (1899); University of Tennessee College of Medicine (1916); and Mississippi College (1934) and the alumnae homecoming of Blue Mountain College (1930).
Box 14This series contains two scrapbooks, one of W. T. Ratliff, and the other of his daughter, Mary. The scrapbook of W. T. Ratliff contains a variety of newsclippings and other material concerning the history of Raymond and Hinds County, Mississippi, and Civil War veterans from that area. Included among the newsclippings are obituaries, poetry, wedding announcements, and a biography of W. T. Ratliff. Among the loose items in the scrapbook are an address by Ratliff to Army of Tennessee veterans and a roster of the Raymond Fencibles that fought in the Mexican War. There is a letter from T. M. Hederman of the Clarion-Ledger to Mary Ratliff listing newspaper articles on W. T. Ratliff and the city of Raymond. There is also a brief memoir of Estelle Tribell Oltrogge on life in Raymond. The scrapbook of Mary Ratliff primarily contains newsclippings from Our Heritage, including articles she wrote as historian of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Included are obituaries, poetry, and newsclippings on Civil War personalities. There is a program of the Hermenian Society of Mississippi College and a sixtieth-anniversary address of Dr. J. B. Hutton honoring Hermenian Society founder W. T. Ratliff. Included is a letter from W. A. Montgomery to Dr. J. W. Provine concerning the dedication of a dormitory at Mississippi College in honor of W. T. Ratliff. There are two letters to W. T. Ratliff, one from S. M. Ellis of Isola, Mississippi, and the other from J. M. Barrier of Delhi, Louisiana, and one letter from E. E. King of McKinney, Texas, to Mary Ratliff.
Boxes 15-16This series contains newsclippings of W. T. and Mary O. Ratliff. They mostly pertain to the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. Most of the newsclippings are from unknown sources.
This series contains various items, including a facsimile edition of an October 29, 1764, issue of the Connecticut Courant, Hartford, Connecticut, and a Thanksgiving proclamation signed by Governor James K. Vardaman. There are also statements-of-account of Vardaman with drugstores, grocers, publishers, insurance agents, and coal companies in Greenwood and Jackson, Mississippi. Included are six postcards of various Mississippi scenes.
Box 17