Mary Malvina Southard Geer Papers Inventory (#5005)
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Contact Information:
- Manuscripts Department
- CB#3926, Wilson Library
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
- Phone: 919/962-1345
- Fax: 919/962-3594
- Email: mss@email.unc.edu
- URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
- Processed by
- John Foster
- Date Completed
- October 2000
- Encoded by
- John Foster
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Descriptive Summary Including Abstract
- Title
- Mary Malvina Southard Geer Papers (#5005) 1906-1936
- Creator
- Geer, Mary Malvina Southard.
- Extent
-
- About 1000 items (3.0 linear feet)
- Repository
- Southern Historical Collection
- Abstract
- Mary Malvina Southard was attending Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) in 1907, when she met Solomon Haddon Geer, a sophomore at Furman University. Their relationship continued through Geer's years at Furman and his attendance at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., 1909-1913. They were married in June 1913. Solomon Haddon Geer subsequently served on various naval vessels and participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, by United States troops in 1914. He was then transferred to duty in the Pacific, serving on a survey ship in the Philippines after the outbreak of World War I. He returned to the United States in 1918 and seems to have died between 1918 and 1924. The collection contains a large number of letters, 1906-1936 and undated, from Solomon Haddon Geer to Mary Malvina Southard during their courtship and after their marriage in 1913. There are also letters from other members of the Southard and Geer families to Mary Malvina Southard Geer. The letters from Solomon Haddon Geer discuss his social life while a student at Furman University, his academic and social experiences while at the United States Naval Academy, details of his training and duties while serving in the United States Navy on various warships, and his experiences during the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, and on survey duty in the Philippines during World War I. Also included are typed transcripts of most of the letters; photographs of Mary Malvina Southard Geer; and photographs taken during the Russian Revolution, that appear to depict the aftermath of the coup attempt led by Czech general Rudolf Gajda, in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1919.
Administrative Information
- Usage Restrictions
- Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Online Catalog Terms
- Family--South Carolina--Social life and customs--20th century.
- Furman University--Students--History--20th century.
- Geer family.
- Geer, Mary Malvina Southard.
- Geer, Solomon Haddon, 1890-1935.
- Greenville Woman's College--Students--History--20th century.
- Mexico--History--Revolution, 1910-1920.
- Philippines--Description and travel.
- Soviet Union--History--Revolution, 1917-1921--Photographs.
- Southard family.
- Students--South Carolina--Social life and customs--20th century.
- United States Naval Academy--Students--History--20th century.
- United States. Navy--Officers--Correspondence--History--20th century.
- United States. Navy--Sea life.
- Veracruz (Veracruz, Mexico)--History--American occupation, 1914.
- World War, 1914-1918--Naval operations.
- Women college students--South Carolina.
- Women--Education, Higher--South Carolina--History--20th century.
Biographical Note
Mary Malvina Southard was the daughter of W. O. Southard and his wife, S. C. Southard, of Jonesville, S.C. She was attending Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) in 1907, when she met Solomon Haddon Geer, the son of a hotelier from Belton, S.C. Geer was a sophomore at Furman University. Their relationship continued through Geer's years at Furman and his attendance at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., 1909-1913. They were married in June 1913. Solomon Haddon Geer subsequently served on various naval vessels and participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, by United States troops in 1914. He was then transferred to duty in the Pacific, serving on a survey ship in the Philippines after the outbreak of World War I. He may have contracted tuberculosis in 1917. He returned to the United States in 1918 and was estranged from his wife. He died in 1935.
Back to TopCollection Overview
The collection contains a large number of letters, 1906-1936 and undated, from Solomon Haddon Geer to Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) student Mary Malvina Southard during their courtship and after their marriage in 1913. There are also letters from other members of the Southard and Geer families to Mary Malvina Southard Geer. The letters from Solomon Haddon Geer discuss his social life while a student at Furman University, his academic and social experiences while at the United States Naval Academy, details of his training and duties while serving in the United States Navy on various warships, and his experiences during the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, and on survey duty in the Philippines during World War I. Also included are typed transcripts of most of the letters; photographs of Mary Malvina Southard Geer; and photographs taken during the Russian Revolution, that appear to depict the aftermath of the coup attempt led by Czech general Rudolf Gajda, in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1919.
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Description
Papers, 1906-1936.
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Items Separated
Items separated include photographs (P-5005).