Description Rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2019.0.3
Summary Information
Repository: University of Central Arkansas, Torreyson Library, Archives and Special Collections
Creator: Berry, William Andrew (Will); Berry, Alice
Title: William Andrew Berry papers
ID: M89-01
Dates Bulk: 1893-1915
Dates Inclusive: 1892-1929
Physical Extent: 1 box (0.209 Linear feet: 1 Half Hollinger)
Language of the Material: English
Preferred Citation: (Bibliographic) Will A. Berry papers, M89-01, University of Central Arkansas Archives and Special Collections, Conway, Arkansas.
(Footnote/Endnote info) Description of item, File or Item number, Box number, Series number, Subseries number, Will A. Berry papers, M89-01.
Biographical Note: William (Will) Andrew Berry was born November 16, 1871 in DeView (Woodruff County), Arkansas to James M. and Lisa Sellers Berry. He attended the local schools and helped his father on the family farm. Berry’s father was a Confederate veteran and moved the family from Pontotoc, Mississippi to DeView, Arkansas in the early 1850s. The family resettled to Springfield in the early 1890s.
By the age of 19 or 20, Will earned his teaching certificate and taught in the schools of Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, and Faulkner counties. Berry married schoolteacher Aphra Ridgway on November 5, 1893. Their only child, Carleton, was born on November 9, 1898. Aphra died from complications due to childbirth on November 30, 1898. Carleton died from pneumonia on August 13, 1900.
Berry married Katherine (Katie) Ristine Cureton on October 29, 1899. Between 1900 and 1909, he moved his family to Conway, where the couple’s five children were born: William Madison, Hugh Eli, Annie Leah, Emma Lea, and James Richard. Berry also worked as a reporter with the Petit Jean Country Headlight. After he unsuccessfully sought a state political office, Berry established the short-lived weekly newspaper, The Conway County Banner in Center Ridge. From 1911 to 1936, Berry was a regular dispatcher for the Conway Post Office. In his retirement years, Berry joined the Woodman of the World Insurance Company, read extensively, wrote poetry, and helped his wife in their flower gardens. Berry died of cancer May 10, 1943. He was survived by his wife Katie, sons William and Richard, and daughter Emma Lea Berry Merrill. Katie died March 19, 1957.
Scope and Contents Note: The papers of Arkansas educator William Andrew Berry consist of personal and professional—including teachers’ licenses, contracts, and work records. Other items in the collection include newspaper clippings of Berry’s poetry, his mathematics teaching booklet, other items, and some of his sister, Alice Berry’s undergraduate workbooks when she attended Arkansas State Normal School (now the University of Central Arkansas).
Newspapers are stored with the Rare Newspaper collection items, which are in oversized boxes.
Arrangement: This collection is arranged chronologically within one Half Hollinger. There are no series or subseries.
Administrative Information
Publication Statement: University of Central Arkansas Archives and Special Collections
UCA Archives
Torreyson Library
201 Donaghey Avenue
Conway, AR 72035
Phone: (501) 450-3418
Access Information: Please call (501) 450-3418 or email archives@uca.edu prior to your visit to ensure availability of records.
Conditions Governing Use: This collection is open for researchers; however, copyright and/or literary property rights remain with the Berry family.
Any student records in this collection are subject to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) restrictions of one hundred years from the date of creation of the record.
Physical Access: In accordance with the UCA Archives and Special Collections policy and archival best practices, two staff members must be present to move the oversized boxes for research use.
(Conservation) Materials are fragile. The Archivist may choose to provide a photocopy for research use.
In accordance with the UCA Archives and Special Collections policy and archival best practices, nitrile gloves will be provided to patrons for handling photographs.
Processing Information: The collection was donated by J. Richard Berry on June 30, 1987. The collection was processed under the direction of archivist Tom W. Dillard. The finding aid was updated in 2025 by Shelbea Gentry.
Immediate Source of Acquisition: Berry, James Richard (Donor, Person)
Related Archival Materials: Faulkner County Educational records (M86-05)
Arkansas Education Association collection (M89-19)
Oak Grove Cemetery collection (M08-07)
Official Records of the University of Central Arkansas collection (M99-01)
Faulkner County Historical Society Photograph Collection (P4)
Controlled Access Headings:
American newspapers—Ownership
Arkansas—Petit Jean Mountain
Autobiographical poetry
Berry, Alice (Person)
Berry, William Andrew (Person)
Cities and towns—Conway (Faulkner County), Arkansas
Colleges and Universities—Arkansas State Normal School (ASNS)
Colleges and Universities—Arkansas State Teachers College (ASTC)
Colleges and Universities—State College of Arkansas (SCA)
Colleges and Universities—University of Central Arkansas (UCA)
The Conway County Banner
Newspaper presses
Newspaper publishing—United States
Newspapers—Anniversary editions
Petit Jean Country Headlight
Rural journalism
Teachers—Certification—United States
Universities and colleges—Alumni and alumnae—Arkansas
Collection Inventory
Box 1
- File 1 – Teachers’ Licenses and Contracts, June 18, 1892-June 14, 1915
- File 2 – Teacher Work record and General Accounting Book, 1893-1913
- File 3 – History and Memorabilia
- File 4 – Newspaper Clippings—Poetry, Death Notices
- File 5 – Alice Berry’s freshman English notebook, 1909-1910
- File 6 – Alice Berry’s Latin notebook
- File 7 – Alice Berry’s History notebook
- File 8 – Alice Berry’s Physics notebook
- File 9 – Arkansas State Teachers College Bulletin, July 1929
- File 10 – Photographs, Unidentified individuals, c.1905-1915
End of Box 1
End of Collection