Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Cage 783
Higgins family
Higgins and Rucker Family Papers
1884-1994
bulk 1900-1940
2 Linear feet of shelf space
3 Boxes
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.
Collection materials are in English
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).
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.
The collection is arranged in a single series, with materials related to each generation grouped together.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Higgins and Rucker Family Papers, 1884-1994 (Cage 783)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Suzanne Rucker donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 1999 and 2012 (MS 1999-13 and MS 2012-21).
This collection was processed by Cheryl Gunselman
A 1909 precinct map of Whitman County, Washington was transferred to the Historic Map Collection, 1587-1980s (SC 001)
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).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Higgins, Vincent Lafayette, 1851-1941.
Higgins, Emma.
Rucker, Frankie Belle, 1890-
Rucker, Lee Roy.
Rucker, Delbert Leeroy, 1916-1976.
Rucker, Dale Elliot, 1919-1920.
Higgins, Ellen Chandler.
Rucker, Suzanne.
Higgins family -- Archives.
Rucker family -- Archives.
Pullman (Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
Whitman County (Wash.) -- History -- Sources.
Washington (State)
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.
2
14
Administrative file (collection
processing notes and background information)