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University of Miami Special Collections
Indigenous peoples -- North America -- Florida -- Seminoles
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The E. G. Barnhill Collection contains negatives of Florida homes and birds, as well as glass plate negatives of Florida scenes. The collection also contains hand-colored postcards by Barnhill depicting Florida scenes (ca. 1910s-1930s), early Florida ephemera, several biographical pages and scrapbooks put together by Barnhill with many resourceful historical clippings from the early half of the 20th century on pirates, Native Americans, archaeological exploits, early technology, and treasure hunting.
The Florida Documents Collection contains correspondence, diaries, military orders, invoices, receipts, and other documents related to various aspects of Florida history dating from 1777-1979. Topics covered include, but are not limited to the Seminole Wars, the Civil War, Fort Dallas, the Indian Key Massacre, Alachua County, the Cape Florida Lighthouse, the Cape San Blas Lighthouse, politics, land, and travel.
The collection also contains six diaries on 19th century community development in Florida authored by town developer, carpenter, handyman, and Civil War veteran Capt. Rufus W. Beaujean of Melbourne Beach in Brevard County, Florida. The diaries provide details of the many aspects of his work to develop his new community, repairing the boats of named neighbors, and socializing with, and executing chores for, named male and female residents.
The Florida Photograph Collection contains a series of photographs and negatives depicting the state from 1886 to 1950. The content of these includes people, scenery, nature, infrastructure, historic areas and landmarks, housing, commerce, tourism, and aerial views. Cities photographed include, but are not limited to, Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, St. Augustine, Key West, Coral Gables. Also of particular notice are photographs of Seminole Indians and villages, and historic photographs by Ed Romer from the 1940s of lower income African-American housing from the Sign Company and Gulf State Properties, Inc. in Overtown (Miami).
The James Hutchinson Exhibition Catalog collection includes catalogs for an exhibition of Seminole Indian paintings by James Hutchinson at the Lowe Art Museum.
The Mark F. Boyd Collection contains materials relating to Florida and United States history as well as to natural history and medicine. The collection, arranged in six series, includes maps, newspapers, prints, photographs, pamphlets, original documents, copies of historical documents, reprints of articles and other materials.
The Minnie Moore Willson Papers document the life and career of a noted Florida writer and advocate for the Seminole Indians of Florida. The Papers also include materials related to her husband James Mallory Willson, a prominent Kissimmee businessman and a defender of Seminole Indian rights. The Papers were purchased by the University of Miami in the late 1940s from the Elizabeth Aultman Cantrell Historical Museum in Kissimmee, Florida. Selected materials from the Papers, including books, maps, pamphlets and some periodicals were removed from the collection and sent to the appropriate areas in the Library.
The collection includes material from Minnie Moore Willson as well as material from her husband James Mallory Willson. The Minnie Moore Willson Collection consists of correspondence with individuals including Florida Senator Duncan Fletcher and Florida Representative Ruth Bryan Owen. Correspondence files also include letters with Seminole Indians such as Billy Bowlegs, Tony Tommie and other prominent Seminole Indian chiefs. The collection contains a number of manuscripts by M.M. Willson related to the Seminole Indians and such issues as the equality of blacks and Southern politics. Additional material relates to the creation of a bird sanctuary in Kissimmee, Florida.
James M. Willson's papers contain business records including correspondence, abstract of titles (original and copies) scrapbooks, and financial records from the 1880's to the 1930's (in the latter years Minnie Moore Willson handled the business correspondence due to illness). Correspondence deals with Mr. Willson's real estate and insurance business in the Kissimmee area. The files also contain manuscripts, correspondence and material collected or written by Elizabeth Cantrell, niece of James Mallory Willson. Correspondence to and from S.B. Aultman (Elizabeth Cantrell's father and brother-in-law of J.M. Willson)and letters with Dr. Howard Kelly, a family friend and widely known surgeon are also organized in these files.
The collection also includes several newspaper clippings from the late 1800's through the 1930's. The majority of these clippings are from Florida-based newspapers. Several maps of Florida have been removed from the collection and placed with Map Collection.
Also included are photographs of the Willsons, Seminole Indians, plants, and animals. The collection also includes postcards depicting scenes from Florida and the United States.
