WILLIAM C. HICKS PAPERS
1894-1928

East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia
Box 70295
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614

E-mail: archives@etsu.edu
Telephone: (423) 439-4338

INTRODUCTION

Title: WILLIAM C. HICKS PAPERS
Collection Number: Accession No. 212
Physical Description: 0.5 linear foot; 1 Hollinger box, 1 ledger
Creator: William C. Hicks
Repository: Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: The William C. Hicks Papers were purchased for the Archives of Appalachia by East Tennessee State University's Library Acquisitions Department from Bookworm and Silverfish, Rural Retreat, Virginia. The papers were ordered on November 4, 1983 by Ellen Garrison, director of the archives, and were received sometime in December.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Processing Information: Scott Schwartz, Becky Tuthill, and Alice Cunningham completed processing and the records were open in 1990.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

William C. Hicks (December 24, 1864 - April 6, 1928) was the owner-operator of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, Morristown, Tennessee (1894-1899 and 1917-1923) and the Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills, Rural Retreat, Virginia (1921-1922). After retiring from the milling profession, William Hicks opened and operated a jewelry-watch repair store in Morristown, Tennessee between 1925 and 1927.

In 1893 William C. Hicks was licensed as a Methodist preacher by the Quarterly Conference, and in 1894 he was admitted into the travelling ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Between 1894 and 1897 he served as a travelling minister for the Clintwood, Virginia Circuit. Hicks was admitted to full connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Morristown, Tennessee and ordained deacon by Bishop R. K. Hargrove on October 16, 1898. During his tenure, he served the Clinch Valley, Virginia-Tennessee Circuit (1898-1899); Clinchport, Virginia Circuit (1900-1903); and the Kingsport, Tennessee Circuit (1904). In 1905 Hicks' ministerial duties were reduced by the Virginia diocese because of failing health, and he was forced eventually to retire in 1913.

William C. Hicks married Mary A. Wampler June 11, 1896, remained married for 32 years and had five children. He was also the administrator of the Eldredge estate between 1917 and 1918 and the estate of his sister, Mattie A. Forkner, between 1920 and 1922.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The William C. Hicks Papers contain personal and business correspondence, receipts, accounting ledgers and a cash book documenting W. C. Hicks' business activities between 1894 and 1927. The business correspondence describes purchase contracts for the acquisition of factory equipment for the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company and the Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills. The personal correspondence documents Hicks' involvement with the sales of the Eldredge and Forkner Estates.

Organization: The Collection is divided into two series: Series I, Correspondence and Memorabilia, 1917-1927, and Series II, Accounting Ledgers, 1894-1923. The first series contains papers documenting Hicks' activities as an owner-operator of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company and the Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills between 1917 and 1927. In addition this series includes material concerning Hicks' administration of the Eldredge and Forkner Estates. Series I is broken down into two sub-series: Sub-series I-A: Personal and Business Correspondence, 1917-1925, and Sub-series I-B: Business Receipts, 1917-1927. Series II contains accounting ledgers and a cash book documenting the business transactions of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company and the Morristown Watch-Jewelry Repair store between 1894 and 1923. A subject index follows the Box and Folder list.

Important subjects covered in the collection include:

Anglo-American Mill Company
Armstrong, Bruce
Burchell, Charles E.
Flour-mills
Forkner, Mattie A.--Estate
Hicks, William C., 1864-1928
Huddle, M. C.
Marion Foundry and Machine Works
Rural Retreat Water Mills
W. J. Savage Company
Wassum, John

SERIES DESCRIPTION

Series I, CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMORABILIA, 1917-1927, Box 1.

Series I contains personal and business correspondence, receipts and memorabilia documenting William C. Hicks activities as an owner-operator of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, Morristown, Tennessee; Virginia Rural Retreat Waster Mills, Rural Retreat, Virginia; and the Morristown Watch-Jewelry Repair store, Morristown, Tennessee between 1917 and 1927. In addition to these records, there is correspondence that documents Hicks' personal involvement with the Eldredge and Forkner Estate settlements between 1917 and 1922. The series is broken down into two sub-series: Sub-series I-A: Personal and Business Correspondence, 1917-1925, and Sub-series I-B: Business Receipts, 1917-1927. The records are arranged chronologically by the first date of a date span listed on each folder.

Sub-series I-A, PERSONAL AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE, 1917-1925, Box 1.

Sub-series I-A contains personal and business correspondence, life insurance policy, and memorabilia documenting Hicks' business transactions as owner-operator of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills, and the Morristown Watch-Jewelry Repair store between 1917 and 1925. The personal correspondence documents Hicks' administrative involvement with the Eldredge and Forkner Estate settlements between 1917 and 1922. The correspondence is arranged chronologically according to the first date of the date span listed on each folder and is followed by a folder of memorabilia.

Sub-series I-B contains business receipts and invoices documenting Hicks' business and personal transactions while an owner-operator of the Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills between 1917 and 1927. The records are arranged chronologically according to the first date of a date span listed on each folder.

Series II contains accounting ledgers and a cash book documenting the business transactions of the "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills, and the Morristown Jewelry- Watch Repair store between 1894 and 1923. The accounting ledgers are arranged chronologically in Box 1 according to the first date encountered in each ledger. The cash book is located next to Box 1.

BOX AND FOLDER LIST

Series I, CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMORABILIA, 1917-1927Box 1.

Sub-series I-A, PERSONAL AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE, 1917-1925, Box 1.

Box 1

1. Personal Correspondence: Miscellaneous, 1917-26.
2. Personal Correspondence: Selling the Eldredge Estate, 1917-18.
3. Business Correspondence: "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, 1917-19.
4. Business Correspondence: Anglo-American Mill Company , 1917-19.
5. Personal Correspondence: Miscellaneous, 1919-24.
6. Personal Correspondence: Life Insurance, 1919-24.
7. Personal Correspondence: Mattie A. Forkner Estate, 1920-22.
8. Business Correspondence: Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills, 1921-26.
9. Business Correspondence: Watch-Jewelry Repair, 1925-27.
10. Memorabilia, 1917-25.

Sub-series I-B, BUSINESS RECEIPTS, 1917-1927, Box 1.

Box 1

11. Personal Receipts: W. C. Hicks, 1917-26.
12. Business Receipts: Virginia Rural Retreat Water Mills, 1923-27.

Series II, ACCOUNTING LEDGERS, 1894-1923, Box 1.

Box 1

13. Accounting Ledger: "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, 1894-1899.
14. Accounting Ledger, 1899-1907.
15. Accounting Ledger, June 1910-November 1922.
16. Accounting Ledger: "Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company, December 1919-December 1923.Cash Book
17. Cash Book: Morristown Watch-Jewelry Repair, July 1917- February 1928.

INDEX TO WILLIAM C. HICKS PAPERS*
*Notation following index term indicates box and folder location of indexed materials.

Agriculture: East Tennessee: 1-3, 1-4, 1-8, 1-13, 1-15.
Anglo-American Mill Company: 1-4.
Armstrong, Bruce: 1-1.
Burchell, Charles E.: 1-15.
Eldredge estate: 1-2.

Eldredge, Jakie: 1-2.
Eldredge, Mrs.: 1-2.
Estate settlements: 1-2, 1-7.
Florida, G. F.: 1-14.
Forkner, J. F.: 1-14.

Forkner, Mattie A.: 1-7.
Henley, Samuel: 1-14.
Huddle, M. C.: 1-1.
Marion Foundry and Machine Works, Marion, Virginia: 1-11.
"Midget" Roller Flour and Corn Meal Company: 1-3, 1-13, 1-15.

Milling: 1-3, 1-4, 1-8, 1-13, 1-15.
Morristown Watch-Jewelry Repair: 1-9.
Private Industry: East Tennessee: 1-3, 1-4, 1-8, 1-9, 1-13, 1-15.
Private Industry: Virginia: 1-8, 1-11, 1-12.
Standard Oil Company: 1-3.

Stephens, J. D.: 1-14.
W. J. Savage Company: 1-11.
Wassum, John: 1-1.

MTC 12/00