Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Higgins and Rucker Family Papers, 1884-1994
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Higgins family
- Title
- Higgins and Rucker Family Papers
- Dates
- 1884-1994 (inclusive)18841994
bulk 1900-1940 (bulk)19001940 - Quantity
- 2 Linear feet of shelf space, (3 Boxes)
- Collection Number
- Cage 783 (collection)
- Summary
- The collection consists of correspondence and other manuscripts, notebooks, legal and financial documents, a small number of photographs, and memorabilia, including printed ephemera related to the Higgins and Rucker families.
- Repository
-
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open and available for research use.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Vincent Lafayette Higgins (1851-1941) was born near Burnsville, North Carolina. As a young man, he moved west, living in Arkansas, Missouri, Northern California, and the Willamette Valley in Oregon, eventually settling permanently at Union Flat near Pullman, Washington in 1884. There he established a diversified agriculture farm, which had wheat growing as its principal activity. Vincent married Emma Peed of Jasper, Missouri in 1889, and their daughter, Frankie Belle Higgins, was born in 1890. Both Vincent and Emma Higgins were active in Masonic organizations, and Vincent was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows.
Belle Higgins graduated from Pullman High School and attended Washington State College. She married Lee Roy Rucker in 1915, and they had two children, Delbert Leeroy (1916-1976) and Dale Elliot (1919-1920).
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of correspondence and other manuscripts, notebooks, legal and financial documents, a small number of photographs, and memorabilia, including printed ephemera. Most of the material is related to Vincent and Emma Higgins, Belle Higgins Rucker, and Delbert Rucker, with a small amount related to Ellen Chandler Higgins and Suzanne Rucker.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Preferred Citation
[Item description]
Higgins and Rucker Family Papers, 1884-1994 (Cage 783)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in a single series, with materials related to each generation grouped together.
Acquisition Information
Suzanne Rucker donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 1999 and 2012 (MS 1999-13 and MS 2012-21).
Processing Note
This collection was processed by Cheryl Gunselman
Separated Materials
A 1909 precinct map of Whitman County, Washington was transferred to the Historic Map Collection, 1587-1980s (SC 001)
Related Materials
Vincent Lafayette Higgins Diaries, 1892-1936 (Cage 649)
Vincent Lafayette Higgins Papers, 1900-1920 (Cage 1983)
A biographic sketch of Vincent Lafayette Higgins is included in the James Emerson Lindsey Papers, 1926-1972 (Cage 491)
Higgins Scrapbooks, circa 1890s-1950s (unprocessed collection: UPC 0004).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | |
| 1 | 1 | Family history record (separated from family Bible in Box 3) |
| 1 | 2 | Vincent and Emma (Peed) Higgins. Includes correspondence, pocket notebooks, address book, autobiography of V. L. Higgins, 1896 manuscript map of V. L. Higgins's land showing use details, and newspaper clippings, 1884-1939. |
| 1 | 3 | Vincent and Emma (Peed) Higgins. Legal and financial documents including deeds, mortgages, appraisals, tax statements, and receipts, circa 1885-1935. |
| 1 | 4 | Belle Higgins. Postcards (incoming) and Christmas lists, circa 1908-1915. |
| 1 | 5-8 | Lee Roy and Belle (Higgins) Rucker. Correspondence, including many postcards, autograph album, wedding album, and photographs, circa 1912-1930. |
| 1 | 9 | Delbert Rucker correspondence (letters from Delbert to his mother, Belle Rucker, written from Japan), 1939. |
| 2 | 10 | Delbert Rucker. Childhood documents including school attendance records and awards and a "Children's Bureau Weighing and Measuring Test" form, 1918-1925. |
| 2 | 11 | Delbert and Suzanne Rucker correspondence, 1968-1994. |
| 2 | 12 | Ellen Chandler Higgins reminiscence, "A Child's Experience of the Civil War" (typescript), 1927. |
| 2 | 13 | Artifacts. Pins from the Rebekahs and the Royal Arch Masons (No. 8, Colfax, W.T.), a pin with a photograph of an unidentified girl, and a mechanical pencil. |
| 3 | Higgins and Rucker family Bible (bound volume). The Holy Bible: containing the Authorized edition of the New Testament and the Revised version of 1881, arranged in parallel columns, with Cruden's complete concordance. Philadelphia: A.J. Holman, 1884. | |
| Folder | ||
| 2 | 14 | Administrative file (collection processing notes and background information) |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Personal Names
- Higgins, Ellen Chandler.
- Higgins, Emma.
- Higgins, Vincent Lafayette, 1851-1941.
- Rucker, Dale Elliot, 1919-1920.
- Rucker, Delbert Leeroy, 1916-1976.
- Rucker, Frankie Belle, 1890-
- Rucker, Lee Roy.
- Rucker, Suzanne.
Family Names
- Higgins family -- Archives.
Geographical Names
- Pullman (Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
- Whitman County (Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
Other Creators
-
Family Names
- Rucker family -- Archives. (creator)
Finding aid prepared by Cheryl Gunselman
2022
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
