Puryear Family Photograph Albums released on TeVA...

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the U.S.’s involvement in World War I, TSLA’s newest online collection, the Puryear Family Photograph Albums, commemorates two brothers from Gallatin, Tennessee, who served in the Army Air Service during and after World War I. Comprised of three photograph albums and several loose items and pictures, this collection offers a visual record of the early history and aircraft of the Army Air Service.

Lt. George W. Puryear next to a SPAD S.XIII fighter plane, France, 1918.
Puryear Family Photo Album, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

On July 26, 1918, as a fighter pilot with the 95th Aero Squadron, George W. Puryear shot down his first and only German plane during World War I. Unfortunately for him, he was also taken prisoner the same day. After being transferred to a number of different prisoner of war camps and making one unsuccessful escape attempt, he would take part in a mass escape attempt from a camp in Villingen, Germany, on October 6, 1918. Five days later, he would swim across the Rhine River to reach Switzerland, thus becoming the first American officer to successfully escape from a German prisoner of war camp during World War I.

George's older brother, Alfred I. Puryear, was a supply officer and was stationed in Paris where he was responsible for all of the manifests of supplies that were shipped to all the various Air Service units throughout France.

Lt. Alfred I. Puryear, Paris, France, 1918.
Puryear Family Photo Album, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Both George and Alfred stayed in the Air Service after the war. George was assigned to the 9th Aero Squadron based at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, but he was killed in an airplane crash on October 20, 1919. In 1921, Alfred completed his flight training and qualified as an airship (dirigible) pilot. He would retire from the Air Service/Air Corps in 1933.

Their stories give us insight into both the history of the Army Air Service and of the development of aviation itself. In the days before the aircraft industry would be dominated by the likes of Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, and Boeing, and in the days before standardization and aerodynamics factored into aircraft design, the albums record the rich assortment of aircraft that were built and used during the early years of aviation.

For more detailed information about the Puryear Family Photograph Albums collection and about the lives of George and Alfred Puryear, read our press release, visit the TeVA site dedicated to the Puryear photo albums, and view the finding aid for this collection at: http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/manuscripts/findingaids/D-0011.pdf.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.

State Library & Archives Puts Family Bible Records Online...

Visitors to the website of the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) can now access family Bible records previously available only to on-site patrons. A new database on the TSLA website allows researchers to browse these records in their entirety, and a search function will ultimately include all of the thousands of names written in these unique documents.

In recognition of this special occasion and as a homage to past and present, we wanted to recreate the scene as former State Librarian and Archivist Mrs. John Trotwood Moore viewed our collection of Family Bibles back in 1941. Many of the Bibles seen here are in foreign languages, including Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Danish, Hungarian, German, Dutch, Irish, French, Hebrew, Cherokee, and Old English, ranging in date of publication from 1538 to 1863.

In our recreation of this scene, current State Librarian and Archivist, Chuck Sherrill, poses for this picture with the same Family Bibles displayed by Mrs. John Trotwood Moore years earlier in a photographic tribute to the collection.

Read more about our new Family Bible Records website on our press release at http://tnsos.org/Press/story.php?item=759, and to see if TSLA holds a Bible record for your family, please visit the project online at http://tnsos.net/TSLA/Bibleproject/.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.

TSLA celebrates our independence...

Independence Day offers us an opportunity to celebrate our nation's freedoms and recognize the important historical events that have shaped our nation since its founding.

On this Independence Day, we offer a photographic look back at previous events and Independence Day celebrations that took place on the 4th of July, with a special emphasis on images held in the collections of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Enjoy!

Defend Your Country
Words by John W. Bratton, music by Leo Edwards, copyright 1940
Rose Music Collection, TSLA

This patriotic song, published in the interest of national defense, was inspired by the famous United States Army poster, “Defend Your Country,” painted by Major Tom B. Woodburn, USA, noted artist, who collaborated on the song with the composers.

This image from the U.S. Army Signal Corps is entitled with the caption, "Soldiers of the Three hundred and twenty-fifth Infantry, Eighty-second Division, presenting arms while the band plays the Star-Spangled Banner. July 4 celebration."

The fall of Vicksburg marked a crucial turning point in the American Civil War, as Confederate General John C. Pemberton's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863, opened up the Mississippi River again for the Union. As a result of the surrender on this date, Vicksburg did not celebrate the 4th of July for 81 years.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has a wealth of material related to this battle digitized in our Looking Back at the Civil War in Tennessee Collection, including this wonderful tintype of the Ammons Brothers, Benjamin and Raiford, who served in Company L, 1st Tenn., CSA, until the unit's surrender at Vicksburg.

Jefferson City, Tennessee. Hattie Massengill and Mattie Vesser pose for pictures in crepe paper dress for a Fourth of July celebration in Jefferson City, Tennessee in 1904. They won a prize for their costumes.
Looking Back at Tennessee Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

This street scene Lenoir City, Tennessee shows a childrens' Fourth of July parade in 1924. They are in costume and are carrying signs. One says "Patriotic through all the year" and the others name the months.
Looking Back at Tennessee Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.