31. Mervis, Helen Ackerman
1953-1989 (bulk 1965-1978)
5 cubic ft.

Helen Ackerman Mervis was actively involved in a number of civic organizations, including the Council of Jewish Women and Save Our Schools. The papers reflect her involvement with other civic bodies and are a rich resource for the study of race relations. Organizations represented include the Community Relations, the National Urban League and its New Orleans affiliate, the Southern Regional Council, the New Orleans Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee and the American Jewish Congress. Also included are records that deal with Mervis' employment by the New Orleans Consortium (a cooperative program between Loyola and Xavier Universities and Dominican College to exchange students, library facilities, and cultural events); by Wake Up, Louisiana (a federal grant-funded program designed "to mobilize citizen interest" in Louisiana's social, economic, governmental, and educational problems and potential); and by Mayor Ernest N. Morial's Office of Community Development (for which Mervis served as Public Information Officer). The papers include correspondence and memos, press releases, speeches, minutes of meetings, annual reports, and various publications such as newsletters and reports. A number of photographs and audio tapes are also included.

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32. New Orleans Business and Professional Women's Club
1957-1974
2 volumes; 2 scrapbooks; 1 carton; MS-124

This collection includes scrapbooks and files, including correspondence, minutes, reports, photographs, clippings, and other materials, mostly relating to activities of the Club
during the presidency of Lucile Callaghan, 1960-1961. Also included are materials relating to activities of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, and 12 volumes of bound minutes, ca. 1943-1974. A rich resource for the study of women in business in the mid-twentieth century.

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33. New Orleans City Archives
1768- present
5,975 cu. ft. (unbound) and 3,150 ft. (bound)

Official archives of the city of New Orleans. Includes extensive records of municipal agencies as well as some Orleans Parish offices. Records relate to all segments of the local population and range from traditional genealogical sources (such as death, cemetery, and marriage registers) to voter registration, police records, real and personal property tax, and public health records. Extensive correspondence files of the New Orleans Mayors and the official proceedings of the City Council document relationships between local officials and their constituents. Women are represented throughout the archives in all stations of life as they were affected by, or as they themselves affected the laws, regulations, or day to day business of the city or state. This is a rich resource for the study of women in all guises from the eighteenth century to the present day.

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34. Orleans Parish Civil Courts Collection
1804-present
ca. 2500 cu. ft. (unbound) and 490 ft. (bound)

Archives serve as the official depository for the pre-1928 records of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court and its predecessor agencies. Documents the early history of civil litigation involving individuals and corporations in the parish. Of special interest are succession records, often including extensive inventories of the estates, and separation/divorce records, documenting family relations and life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Again, women are featured throughout the archives with an emphasis on property, money and individual civil rights.

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35. Orleans Parish Criminal Courts Collection
1830-present
675 cubic ft. and ca. 500 vols.

Official depository for the pre-1932 records of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and its predecessor agencies. Archives document the history of criminal jurisprudence in the city and provide information on criminals, crime, and the victims of crime. This is a rich resource for the study of women in the parish.

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36. Payne, Julia F.
1876
1 item

A resident of Brandon, Mississippi, and president of the local Wesleyan Aid Society, Payne wrote this letter to Mrs. M. C. Ludeling of New Orleans, describing the work of the Society and giving a list of its officers.

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37. Perkins, Ethel Willia
ca. 1908-1952
Ms. 93

High school chemistry teacher in New Orleans. Papers include typewritten letters, 1942-1946, to Miss Perkins from various official agencies involved in her attempt to communicate with relatives captured by the Japanese during World War II. Also included is a typescript memoir of a 1908 trip to Guatemala, compiled from diaries and letters written at the time; a typescript collection of "boners," apparently accumulated during her years of teaching; and a scrapbook of Chinese Christmas and greeting cards, some from a mission school in Tsingtao and others probably from relatives living in Shanghai. Perkins visited China in 1937.

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38. Poole, William
1865-1871
1 item

Account book that includes records of Poole's accounts with Elizabeth Hall, Mrs. A. H. Anderson, and Mrs. Sewell, including amounts received and spent on their behalves during Poole's tenure as notary public of New Orleans.

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39. Rembert, Virginia Elizabeth
1961-1987
4.5 ft.

Correspondence, research notes, family group sheets, pedigree charts, copies of original documents, photographs, clippings, and other research materials relating to the Mayberry, Stewart, Ingersoll, Touterel, Grandchamps, and other families.

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40. Reynolds, Cynthia
1852-1856
3 items

Letters, photographs, program, and ticket relating to her musical career in New Orleans.