Whitehead-Osborne papers

Restrictions: None

Biographical sketch: Residents of Meade, Wichita, Kan.

Abstract: Personal papers pertaining to the Whitehead and Osborne families from Meade, Kan. This collection describes the lives of Jesse and Arvilla (Osborne) Whitehead and their family history. It includes correspondence; genealogical information (1790 – 1977); diplomas; music programs; marriage licenses; a death certificate; recital announcements; U.S. Army discharge papers; correspondence with the U.S. Veterans Administration (now the Dept. of Veterans Affairs) & the Social Security Administration as well as the Kansas State Dept. of Health’s Division of Vital Statistics; employment documentation from the Wichita, Kan., public school system; identification and membership cards; war ration cards; financial receipts; and copies of newspaper articles pertaining to family members and the city of Meade. The collection also includes videotapes of the family, including a family reunion, and photographs. The bulk of the collection dates from 1916 thru 1989.

Summary:

Series 1: Personal Papers of Jesse Whitehead, 1917-1941

Jesse Elmo Whitehead was born in Cheney, Kansas, in 1897 to Gilbert and Effie Whitehead. He was from a family of eight, three boys and five girls. Jesse Whitehead moved with his family to Meade, Kansas, in 1914 and graduated from Meade High School in 1916. In 1917 he volunteered to serve in the United States Army during World War I, where he was stationed in England and France for two years in the American Expeditionary Forces air forces. In 1920 Jesse Whitehead married Arvilla Osborne in Meade and later moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he worked in the lumber business for twenty-one years. The Whiteheads had four children, Lorna Dean Whitehead, Carol Trembly, Marilyn Cariri, and Jess Elwyn Whitehead. Lorna Dean passed away when she was only seven months old.

For the last seven years of his life, Jesse Whitehead worked for the Rock Island Lumber Company in Illinois. In the fall of 1940 he had moved to Rock Island, Illinois, to work with plans for his family to join him there soon. In February of 1941 he passed away suddenly in his sleep due to complications suffered from a heart attack in September of 1940.

This folder includes school documents, Army information, personal correspondence and belongings, and obituary copies.

Series 2: Whitehead Family Genealogical Information and Newspaper Articles

Gilbert Gambil Whitehead and Effie Palestine Greer were married in 1894 and had eight children: Jesse Elmo, Carl Lester, Velma, Beulah, Reva, Roy Austin, Margaret Katharine, and Theresa Bertie Whitehead. The Whitehead family moved to Meade where they were long time residents.

Included in this folder are family trees, biographical information, a marriage certificate, copies of newspaper clippings, and obituaries for the Greer and Whitehead families.

Series 3: Whitehead - Greer Reunion Documents, 1988

On July 30-31, 1988, the families of Gilbert Gambil Whitehead and Effie Palestine Greer came together for a family reunion. Roy Whitehead, Jesse Whitehead’s brother and Jesse Whitehead’s daughter Carol Trembly were two of the main organizers of the reunion. Gilbert and Effie Whitehead were long time residents of Meade and they are both buried there.

The folder includes copies of newspaper clippings about the reunion, correspondence regarding the reunion, some census and biographical information, and family trees.

Series 4: Personal Papers of Arvilla (Osborne) Whitehead, 1916-1987

Arvilla Whitehead was born in Plains, Kansas, in 1898 to Lou and Tressie Osborne (Balser). In 1904, Arvilla Whitehead moved to Meade with her mother and siblings after the death of her father. In 1917 she graduated from Meade High School, and in 1920 Arvilla Osborne married Jesse Whitehead. They later moved to Wichita. The Whiteheads had four children, Lorna Dean Whitehead, Carol Trembly, Marilyn Cariri, and Jess Elwyn Whitehead. Lorna Dean passed away when she was only seven months old.

In February, 1941 Arvilla Whitehead was widowed when her husband Jesse died in his sleep due to complications from a heart attack he had that previous fall. Mr. Whitehead had recently moved to Rock Island, Illinois, for work with the Rock Island Lumber Company, and his family had plans to join him there soon after. Arvilla Whitehead was widowed with three teenage children to raise at the start of World War II. She decided to go to college and earned her teaching degree. She taught at the elementary level in the Wichita public schools until her retirement in 1967. She is described by her children as being a lover of music and played and taught the piano. She passed away March 21, 1997.

Included in this folder are high school and college diplomas, a bridal book, personal correspondence, fiscal documents, and obituary information. Separate folders contain her collection of music and teaching collections and her family history.

Series 5: Collection of Musical Programs and Articles Pertaining to Arvilla Whitehead, Family, and Winfield College of Music, 1979

A collection of programs and articles collected by Arvilla Whitehead about concerts her children and she participated in or attended and those of people she knew. There is a notebook with clippings and programs from the Winfield College of Music from 1917. The focus is on the piano.

Series 6: Documentation of Arvilla Whitehead's Teaching Career, 1950-1967

This folder contains copies of newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other documents detailing the teaching career of Arvilla Whitehead in the Wichita Public School system.

Series 7: Correspondence and Articles Relating to the Children of Jesse and Arvilla Whitehead

The following are the children of Jesse and Arvilla Whitehead: Lorna Dean Whitehead, deceased; Carol Robertson (Mrs. Philip N.) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Carol Trembly (Mrs. Grant W.), Hutchinson, Kansas; Marilyn Cariri (Mrs. Benjamen), Stamford, Connecticut; and Jesse E. Whitehead, Wichita.

This folder contains some of their correspondence and copies of newspaper clippings announcing recitals, and marriages.

Series 8: Personal Papers of Tressa Maude Osborne Conger and the Osborne Family, 1893-2002

Tressa Maude Conger (1876-1967) was the mother of Arvilla Whitehead. Her maiden name was Balser (in some documents spelled Bolser) and she was born in Union Mills [Iowa?] to John Mahlon and Mary Balser (Morrison). Maude Balser’s (Tressa) mother died when she was four years old; her father remarried and the family moved to Plains, Kansas, when she was ten years old. She married Lou Osborne in 1893 and had four children: Earl (1894-1964) Bess (1896-1973), Arvilla (1898-1987), and Louis (1903-1978). Mrs. Osborne’s husband, Lou Osborne, died of an accidental gunshot wound in 1904. Maude Osborne moved her family to Meade, where she later married Samuel S. Conger (1857-1944) in 1910. She was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Daughters of Rebekah (now Rebekah Assembly), the women's auxiliary order of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Included in the folder are marriage certificates, a brochure about Lone Tree Lodge, copies of newspaper articles describing the death of Lou Osborne, funeral announcements, copies of family information in family Bibles, and newspaper articles about the Osborne children and their descendents and their obituaries.

Series 9: Articles and advertisements about Meade, Kansas

Copies of newspaper clippings about Meade, advertisements for local businesses, and an essay about the history of Meade included.

Series 10: Miscellaneous Items.

Biog. Sketch (Full):

The Whitehead and Osborne families were joined by the marriage of Jesse Whitehead and Arvilla Osborne in Meade, Kansas, on June 3rd, 1920. Jesse Whitehead was born in Cheney, Kansas, February 2, 1897, to Gilbert Gambil and Effie Palestine (Greer) Whitehead. Arvilla (Artie) Osborne was born in Plains, Kansas, September 11, 1898, to Lou and Tressa Maude (Balser) Osborne. Jesse and Arvilla graduated from Meade (County) High School in 1916 and 1917 respectively. After graduation Jesse joined the United States Army to fight in World War I; he was stationed in England and France for two years in the American Expeditionary Force’s aero squadrons. In 1920 Jesse Whitehead married Arvilla Osborne in Meade and later moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he worked in the lumber business for twenty-one years. The Whiteheads had four children, Lorna Dean Whitehead, Carol Trembly, Marilyn Cariri, and Jess Elwyn Whitehead. Lorna Dean passed away when she was only seven months old.

For the last seven years of his life, Jesse Whitehead worked for the Rock Island Lumber Company. In the fall of 1940 he had moved to Rock Island, Illinois, to work; he had plans for his family to join him there soon. January 31, 1941, he passed away suddenly in his sleep due to complications suffered from a heart attack in September of 1940.

Arvilla Whitehead became a widow with three teenage children to raise at the start of World War II. She decided to go to college and earned her teaching degree. She taught at the elementary level in the Wichita public schools until her retirement in 1967. From the newspaper articles collected, she was a teacher who was innovative and dedicated to her students. She is described by her children as being a lover of music, and she played and taught the piano. She died March 21, 1987, in Fowler, Kansas, in a nursing home.

Scope and content:

This collection describes the lives of Jesse and Arvilla (Osborne) Whitehead and their family history. Their daughters, Carol Trembly and Marilyn Cariri, have brought together their belongings, information, and pictures to be preserved and used at the Kansas State Historical Society. The collection is divided between the Whitehead and Osborne families. Most of the information about Jesse and Arvilla Whitehead begins after their graduation in 1916 and 1917 respectively from Meade County (Kansas) High School. The first part of the series deals with the life of Jesse Elmo Whitehead including his school journal; ribbons; high school diploma; military discharge information; correspondence with his family while living and working in Rock Island, Illinois; and copies of his obituaries and funeral announcements. There is no information about the years he lived in Wichita, Kansas, with his family. Information regarding his family history follows in series 2. In this series there are some biographical sketches of his family and the Whitehead - Greer family tree. Included are his parents’ marriage certificate and copies of articles relating to his family’s activities. Series 3 includes information regarding Jesse Whitehead’s lineage, documents collected and arranged for the Whitehead and Greer reunion held in Meade in 1988. In this collection of documents are family trees, biographical sketches, and correspondence regarding the family’s heritage and reunion.

The second part of the collection deals with the life and family of Arvilla (Osborne) Whitehead. The first folder contains her high school diploma; correspondence with her family while away at school; bridal book; correspondence and information about a family friend, Mary Frame; correspondence with her husband while he was living in Illinois; correspondence with the United States Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs) and Social Security Administration as well as the Kansas State Department of Health’s Division of Vital Statistics; her college degree; and a calendar detailing her daily life after retirement living once again in Meade, Kansas. Two other folders, (series 5 and 6) contain her collection of programs and articles about her musical endeavors and interests, including information about the Winfield College of Music and papers documenting her career as a teacher in the Wichita public school system. Following the folders describing Arvilla Whitehead’s life is the folder (series 7) with bits and pieces of correspondence received or written by her children and articles about them. Next is a folder (series 8) with more information about Arvilla’s mother, Tressa Maude (Balser, also spelled Bolser) Osborne Conger and a few articles about her two husbands, Lou Osborne and Samuel Conger, and her children and grandchildren. Included are marriage certificates and copies of family tree information from family Bibles. The last two folders (series 9 and 10) contain a small amount of information about Meade and miscellaneous newspaper articles, a Kansas Diamond Jubilee Exposition booklet, a booklet with pictures of the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, and a cookbook from 1936.

Contents: Ser. 1. Personal papers of Jesse Whitehead, 1917-1941 -- ser. 2. Whitehead family genealogical information and newspaper articles -- ser. 3. Whitehead-Greer Reunion documents, 1988 -- ser. 4. Personal papers of Arville (Osborne) Whitehead, 1916-1987 -- ser. 5. Collection of musical programs and articles pertaining to Arvilla Whitehead, family, and Winfield College of Music, 1979 -- ser. 6. Documentation of Arvilla Whitehead's teaching career, 1950-1967 -- ser. 7. Correspondence and articles relating to the children of Jesse and Arvilla Whitehead -- ser. 8. Personal papers of Tressa Maude Osborne Conger and the Osborne family, 1893-2002 -- ser. 9. Articles and advertisements about Meade, Kan. -- ser. 10. Misc. items.

Associated materials: Photographs and videotapes: Removed and transferred to photograph collection.

Indexes: Alphabetical card index to correspondents by name available in the repository.

Restrictions: None

Use and reproduction: Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this microfilm may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

Ownership/Custodial Hist.: Records given by Arvilla and Roy Whitehead to Carol Trembly and Marilyn Cariri.

Cite as:

Note: [document and/or series description], Whitehead-Osborne Papers, 1893-1989 (bulk 1916-1988), Ms. Collection 782, Kansas Historical Society.

Bibliography: Whitehead- Osborne Papers, 1893 – 2002 (bulk 1916 – 1989), Ms. Collection 782, Kansas Historical Society.

Action note: Collection arranged and described by Kim Angelina Glover, 2004.

Accumulation/Freq. Of Use: No additions to this collection are expected.

Holder of originals: Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)