The collection consists of papers belonging to Mrs. Eva Patton, a homemaker and mother of two who lived in Wooster, Faulkner County, Arkansas. The majority of the items are letters written to her by Asa Lester Patton, whom she married on Halloween in 1916. The remaining items are mostly postcards they sent to each other and additional keepsakes of her life.
Mrs. Patton was born on August 6, 1895, to William Edward and Martela Clementine Culpepper Lawrence on a farm about two miles west of Greenbrier (Faulkner County). The Lawrences had moved to Arkansas from Carbon Hill, Alabama, after the first of their eleven children was born with only their few possessions on a wagon pulled by oxen.
Asa Patton’s family also moved from Alabama and settled near the Lawrence farm. It was on a mountain between the two farms that Eva and Asa eloped when Asa was home on school break in 1916. The marriage was kept a secret from their families for months.
Most of the letters were written while Mr. Patton was attending the State Normal School in Conway (now University of Central Arkansas) and the Oklahoma State Normal School. After completing his education, he taught in public schools in Oklahoma and Arkansas (Spanish, Latin, and math) and served as a school principal. Throughout his career, they maintained a home in Wooster, living between two residences.
Mrs. Patton was active in the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and the Extension Homemakers Clubs (formerly Home Demonstration Clubs).
Mrs. Patton died in 1987 and is buried in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery at the Pleasant Valley community near Wooster.
Box 1
File 1 – Assorted greeting cards
File 2 – Letters from A. L. Patton, 1912
File 3 – Letters from A. L. Patton, 1913
File 4 – Letters from A. L. Patton, 1914
File 5 – Letters from A. L. Patton, 1915
File 6 – Letters from A. L. Patton and others, 1916-1934
File 7 – Miscellaneous keepsakes, holiday cards, and photos
File 8 – Newspaper clippings
File 9 – Postcards, 1907-1915
End of Box 1
End of Collection