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Lewis (Robert) family papers
7151
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Robert Lewis family papers
Creator:
Lewis family (East Texas)
Creator:
Lewis, Robert (1895)
Identifier/Call Number: 7151
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/3446
Physical Description:
1.08 Linear Feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1893-1979
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: 1
Container: 2
The Robert Lewis family papers comprise a multigenerational archive of a family of Black military servicemen who served in
World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The collection holds documents relating to the Lewis family's military service,
as well as documents relating to the Lewis Family's East Texas cotton farm in Naples, Texas. Material in the collection dates
from 1893 through the 1970s. Robert Lewis, the main subject of the collection, served as a Private in the U.S. Army for 14
months from 1918-1919, at the tail end of World War I. Robert's son Harold served in the Korean War and another relative,
Alfonso Lewis, possibly Harold's older brother, served in the 93rd Signal Company in World War II. The collection also documents
the effects of Jim Crow era poll tax policies in Texas and includes three poll tax receipts. Texas was one of the last states
where poll taxes remained in effect until 1966, when a resolution repealed the practice. Various privileges of citizenship,
including voter registration or issuance of driving licenses, were conditioned on payment of poll taxes. They were an effective
tool of racial and socioeconomic discrimination used by the Jim Crow regime, as they charged a premium for full citizenship
that the poorest segments of society could not afford. Like so many smallholding farmers in the early 20th century, the members
of the Lewis family were in debt, and several documents in the collection record delinquency in their payments or liens on
their property. The documents in the collection reveal aggressive tactics by the family's creditors to pursue payment of these
debts. In a pension application form from 1939, Robert Lewis states his income as a self-employed farmer earning 350 dollars
for the entire year. Some of the tax documents included are addressed to Wilson Carlisle, father of Robert Lewis's wife Texana
Lewis. Wilson Carlisle owned the cotton farm at the time that these tax documents were issued. Some of the documents in the
collection list Naples, Texas--the town where the family's farm was located--as being part of Cass County in East Texas. Other
documents list the neighboring Morris County as the location of Naples. In a circa 1951 application for national service life
insurance, Harold Lewis lists a mailing address located in Oxnard, California. The collection consists of approximately 123
pages of documents and ephemera, along with two rag dolls.
Collection stored off-site. Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special
Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Max Rambod Rare Books, November 15, 2023.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Robert Lewis family papers, Collection no. 7151, Regional History Collection, Special Collections,
USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American families -- Texas, East -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African American farmers -- Texas, East -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African American soldiers -- Texas -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African Americans -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African Americans -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Texas -- 20th century -- Archival resources
African Americans -- Texas, East -- Economic conditions -- Archival resources
Family farms -- Texas, East -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Naples (Tex.) -- History -- Archival resources
United States -- Armed Forces -- African American officers -- Archival resources
World War, 1939-1945 -- Veterans -- Archival resources
Cloth dolls
Dolls (figurines)
Financial records
Forms (documents)
Receipts (financial records)
Service records
Tax records
Carlisle, Wilson -- Archives
Lewis, Alfonso -- Archives
Lewis family (East Texas) -- Archives
Lewis, Harold (1930) -- Archives
Lewis, Robert (1895) -- Archives
Lewis, Texana (1901-1961) -- Archives