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Mary Elizabeth Deer Cook diaries

1    COLLECTION SUMMARY

              1.1      Introduction

The Mary Elizabeth Deer Cook materials consist of diaries, photographs, and letters. The diaries were written by Mary E. Cook from the 1890s to the early 1960s and span the entirety of her life. The photographs included are roughly from the late 1930s through the 1940s. The letters were written by family members and are addressed to Mary Cook.

1.2      Dates

           1885 - 1962 

1.3      Quantity

                        3 cubic foot boxes, one 2.5-inch document case

1.4      Creator

                        Mary Elizabeth (also known as Lizzie) Deer Cook

1.5      Title

                        Mary Elizabeth Deer Cook diaries

1.6      UID and/or Call #

                         UID: 530760

                Locator: 143 – 04 – 04 – 01 03 & 008 – 07 – 05 – 09

1.7      Language

                          English

               1.8     Notes

This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Research Room in the society’s Center for Historical Research during regular research hours. That part of the collection on microfilm may also be borrowed through interlibrary loan for your use at a participating public, academic, or research library. Information on interlibrary loan is available from the Kansas State Historical Society and on its web site, http://www.kshs.org. Support for telephone, mail and online research and reference is limited.

In a continuing effort to improve the completeness and accuracy of finding aids, revisions are made as more or new information becomes available. Consequently, this finding aid may differ slightly from what appears on the microfilm or on the Kansas State Historical Society’s web site.

                1.9   Repository

                        Kansas State Historical Society: State Archives located in Topeka.

2    BIOGRAPHY OR HISTORY

Mary Elizabeth, also known as Lizzie, Deer Cook was born on October 24, 1869, in Missouri to parents John (1842  - 1918) and Mary Renfrow Deer (1847 – 1906).[1] After a few years, the family relocated to Elk City, Kansas in the early years of the 1870s.[2] Lizzie lived and worked on her parents farm near on the Elk River near Elk City throughout her childhood. In 1885, at age 15, Lizzie began writing down her daily memories.

Lizzie Deer married Clarence Ray Cook on March 8, 1900, in Coffeyville, Kansas when he was 34 and she was 30.[3] Together they built a farm in Montgomery County near Elk River, where they lived and farmed. In the three years that they had, they farmed multiple crops and built a few structures on their land. Clarence Cook died on January 18, 1903, from pneumonia. Lizzie remained on the farm for a few years before moving to Coffeyville to live with her parents in 1905.[4] Lizzie remained in the Coffeyville area until about 1957 when she decided to sell her properties and moved to live with her sister, Sarah Catherine Heritage, also called Kate, in Spokane, Washington, where Lizzie died on April 4, 1962.[5]

3    SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Mary Elizabeth Cook materials contain photographs, letters, and 36 diaries. Some of the photographs are originals which were torn from a scrapbook. Other photographs appear to be prints from a scan of the original. The letters are addressed to Lizzie, two were written by her sister Kate and one written by an unidentified author. The diaries were written by Lizzie Cook from 1888 – 1962.

4    CONTENTS LIST

            Box 1: 143 – 04 – 04 – 01, Series 1: Photographs

Folder 1: Folder containing scrapbook pages with photographs and prints of scanned photographs. The photographs show Lizzie Deer and her siblings Willie Deer, Annie Deer, and Kate Deer.

Series 2: Letters

Folder 2: Three letters addressed to Lizzie with transcriptions created by the donor.

                        Series 3: Diaries

Folder 3: Visiting cards and signature book, 1880s-1890s

Folder 4: January 1885 - 1888

Folder 5: January 1889 – December 1891

Folder 6: January 1892 – December 1892

Folder 7: January 1893 – December 1894

Folder 8: January 1895 – August 1896

Folder 9: September 1896 – October 1900

Folder 10: October 1900 - October 1903

Folder 11: October 1903 – December 1906

Folder 12: January 1907 – December 1909

Folder 13: January 1910 – March 1912

Folder 14: April 1912 – July 1914

Folder 15: August 1914 – June 1917 

            Box 2: 143 – 04 – 04 – 02, Series 3, continued;

Folder 16: July 1917 – October 1919

Folder 17: November 1919 – September 1921

Folder 18: October 1921 – December 1924

Folder 19: January 1925 – September 1927

Folder 20: October 1927 – June 1930

Folder 21: July 1930 – November 1933

Folder 22: June 1933 – March 1935

Folder 23: April 1935 – March 1937

Folder 24: April 1937 – October 1939

Folder 25: September 1939 – January 1942

            Box 3: 143 – 04 – 04 – 03, Series 3, continued;

    Folder 26: February 1942 – May 1944

    Folder 27: June 1944 – August 1945

    Folder 28: September 1945 – April 1947

    Folder 29: No diary, missing April 13, 1947 – February 28, 1948. This folder has a note about removing paint varnish and a July 20, 1947, group photograph showing the congregation of First Nazarene Church in Coffeyville. 

    Folder 30: March 1948 – May 1949

    Folder 31: June 1949 – February 1950

    Folder 32: March 1950 – October 1950

    Folder 33: November 1950 – April 1952

    Folder 34: May 1952 – November 1953

    Folder 35: December 1953 – July 1955

    Folder 36: August 1955 – April 1957

    Folder 37: May 1957 – February 1959

    Folder 38: March 1959 – November 1960

          Box 4: 008 – 07 – 05 – 09, Series 3, continued;

     Folder 39: December 1960 – December 1961

     Folder 40: January – March 1962

5    RELATED MATERIALS

      There are no known related materials in the collection currently.

6    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancestry. “Mary Elizabeth Deer.” Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/family-tree/person/tree/151747018/person/302010677019/facts?_gl=1*104gtgd*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjM4NDc1NzM3LjE3NDcwNzQ1MDU.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*c2Q2ZGJmNjhhLTE4NjctNDA3OS05MDEzLTZmZGY1N2Q1NTE2NiRvMSRnMSR0MTc0NzA3NDUxMiRqMCRsMCRoMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*c2Q2ZGJmNjhhLTE4NjctNDA3OS05MDEzLTZmZGY1N2Q1NTE2NiRvMSRnMCR0MTc0NzA3NDUwNCRqMCRsMCRoMA.

7    INDEX TERMS/SUBJECT HEADINGS/ACCESS POINTS

Dust Bowl – 1930s  

Agriculture – Farming

Personal Names

Mary Elizabeth Lizzie Deer Cook (1869 – 1962)

Clarence Ray Cook (1865 – 1903)

John Whelin Deer (1842 – 1918)

Mary Francis Renfrow Deer (1847 – 1906)

Sarah Catharine Kate Deer Heritage (1873 – 1963)

William Howard Heritage (1866 – 1936)

Ruby Arletta Heritage (1902 – 1987)

Cynthia Ann Annie Deer McCloud (1866 – 1948)

Arthur McCloud (1870 – 1930)

Geographic Locations

Elk City, Montgomery County, Kansas, USA

Coffeyville, Kansas

Southeast Kansas

Kansas – History

 

8    ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

8.1      Restrictions on access

                        This collection has no access restrictions.

8.2      Restrictions on use

                        This collection has no restrictions on use.

8.3      Custodial History/Provenance

Mary Elizabeth, also known as, Lizzie Deer Cook created the diaries as a personal record of her life. Deer Cook kept the diaries through her death April 4, 1960. The diaries were then in Lizzie's sister Kate Deer Heritage possession through her death March 16, 1963 in Spokane, Washington. Following Kate Heritage’s death, the diaries were in Kate's daughter, Ruby Heritage’s, possession through her death in 1986 in Pend Oreille, Idaho. The diaries were then with Ruby's cousin's wife Barbara Heritage, and then her son John Gunsaulis in Spokane Valley, WA through 2016. Marilyn Hoyt brought them to Pelham, NY in 2017 before donating the diaries to the Kansas State Historical Society in July of 2024.

8.4      Alternate forms

                        The collection does not currently have alternate forms.

8.5      Preferred citation

Note: Mary Elizabeth Deer Cook diaries, 1880-1962, Kansas State Historical Society, Manuscript Collection no. 530760.

Bibliography: Cook, Mary Elizabeth Deer. Mary Elizabeth Deer Cook diaries. 1880-1962. Kansas State Historical Society. Manuscript Collection no. 530760.

8.6      Acquisition information

                        Kansas Historical Society Accession #2025-033.

8.7      Processing information

                        Processed by Rebekah Stewart, Acquisitions Assistant, 2025.


[2] Mary Elizabeth Cook collection, 1880-1962, Kansas State Historical Society, Manuscript Collection no. 530760.

[4] Mary Elizabeth Cook collection, 1880-1962, Kansas State Historical Society, Manuscript Collection no. 530760.