Special Collections

Finding Aid for the E. Wilson Lyon Collection
(MUM01726)

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Finding Aid for the E. Wilson Lyon Collection

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Descriptive Summary
PURL:	http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM01726/
Title:	E. Wilson Lyon Collection
Dates:	1923-1974 (bulk 1923-1928)
Collector:	Webb, Elizabeth Lyon
Physical Extent:	3 boxes + 1 bound volume (1.04 linear feet)
Repository:	University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University, MS 38677, USA
Identification:	MUM01726
Language of Material:	English
Abstract:	Collection contains personal letters from E. Wilson Lyon (UM 1925) to his family and Girault Jones from his time studying in Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar from Mississippi. Collection contains transcripts of most of the letters as well as a bound volume of The Mississippian from the 1923-1924 terms Lyon served as editor.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Collection donated by Elizabeth Lyon Webb.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Audrey M. Uffner, 2010. Finding aid encoded by Jason Kovari, July 2010.

Additions

No further additions are expected to this collection.

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Subject Terms

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Formats

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Biographical Note

E. Wilson Lyon (1904-1989) was the son of Rufus and Willia Wilson and a native of Heidelberg, Mississippi. Wilson graduated
from the Jones County Agricultural High School in Ellisville and attended a course at the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical
College in Starkville.

Lyon attended the University of Mississippi from 1921-1925, earning a bachelor of arts degree from the University in 1925.
He served as editor of The Mississippian in 1923-1924, as President of the School of Liberal Arts and YMCA, and as an active member of the Phi Sigma literary society.
He also served as a reporter for Memphis’s Commercial Appeal, Jackson’s Clarion Ledger and the Meridian Star, reporting University news and athletic events.

In 1924, he was selected to represent Mississippi in the incoming Oxford University class of 1925 as a Rhodes Scholar. He
was a member of St. John’s College, earning bachelor of arts and bachelor of letters degrees during his tenure from 1925-1928.

Wilson began his college teaching career in 1928 at the Polytechnical Institute in Ruston, Louisiana. In 1929, he accepted
a position in the history department at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. During the three summers between 1930-1932,
Wilson attended the University of Chicago to earn his doctorate.

In 1933, he married Carolyn Bartel, with whom he had two children, Elizabeth and John.

After twelve years of distinguished teaching, including becoming departmental chair, Wilson left Colgate in 1941 to accept
the presidency of Pomona College in Claremont, California. He led the College for almost three decades, the longest serving
president in the college’s history. He retired in 1969.

He achieved innumerable honors over the course of his career, including twelve honorary degrees. Queen Elizabeth II appointed
him Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his continued support of the Rhodes Scholarship
program. In 1975, the University named him an inaugural member of their Alumni Hall of Fame.

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Scope and Content Note

Boxes 1 and 2 contain correspondence from Wilson to his family, primarily his mother. Box 2 also contains correspondence from
Wilson to his friend Girault Jones. Box 3 contains two letters to Wilson from Chancellor Alfred Hume and Girault Jones as
well as nearly complete transcripts of all of Wilson’s letters. The bound volume of editions of The Mississippian during Wilson’s tenure as editor actually belonged to Girault Jones and were given to Wilson as a gift.

Girault Jones (Jug) was Wilson’s closest friend from Ole Miss. Studying for the ministry at the Episcopal theological school
at the University of the South, Jones went on to become the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Wilson’s
letters to Jones stand apart from those Wilson sent to his family, exhibiting his active social activities and relationships
not present in letters to his family.

Researchers of interwar Europe will find Wilson’s observations of France and Italy of particular interest as he describes
the construction and meaning of many World War I monuments as well as his own commentary regarding Fascist Italy and Mussolini.
He also provides commentary regarding the British General Strike of 1926.

Researchers interested in the University of Mississippi as well as Governor Theodore Gilmore Bilbo should note 2.10, 2.12,
2.15, 2.27, 2.30, and 2.31 where Wilson offers his own views on the proposed movement of the University during Bilbo’s tenure.
Wilson also comments throughout his letters on the value of his education at the University and score of football games.

Researchers interested in general twentieth century or southern American studies may find Wilson’s letters home curious in
his comments regarding the family acquiring both an indoor toilet and electricity in his absence. He is also generally interested
in his father’s farming ventures, cotton prices, and the seasonal flooding of the Mississippi in 1927.

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User Information

Prefered Citation

E. Wilson Lyon Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi

Access Restrictions

The E. Wilson Lyon Collection is open for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the
making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under
certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized
to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions
is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other
than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or
later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”,
that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

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Related Material

Resources at the University of Mississippi

Pomona College Bulletin November 1941, “The Inauguration of Elijah Wilson Lyon as the Sixth President of Pomona College” LD 4571 .P348 1941

Barbe-Marbois, Francois, marquis de and edited with an introduction by E. Wilson Lyon. The history of Louisiana, particularly of the cession of that colony to the United States of America. Baton Rouge: Published for the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission by the University of Louisiana Press, 1977. F372. B2413 1977

Lyon, E. Wilson. The College of the Future. At the Seventy-Sixth Commencement of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif.: Pomona College, 1969. LD4571 .P347 1969

Lyon, E. Wilson. The education of a Mississippian : the early life of E. Wilson Lyon, sixth president of Pomona College, 1941-1969. Claremont, Calif.: Pomona College, 2009. LA2317.L96 L96 2009

Lyon, E. Wilson. The Full Force of Our Enlightened Will. An address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif.: Pomona College,
1943. LD4571 .P279 1943

Lyon, E. Wilson. The history of Pomona College, 1887-1969. Claremont, Calif: Pomona College, 1977. LD4571.P32 L84

Lyon, E. Wilson. Louisiana in French Diplomacy, 1759-1804. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1934. F372 .L92

Lyon, E. Wilson. The Man Who Sold Louisiana; The Career of Francois Barbe-Marbois. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1942. DC146 .B17 L9

Lyon, E. Wilson. Mark Hopkins Beneath the Eucalypti. And Address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif.: Pomona College,
1955. LD4571 .P279 1955

Lyon, E. Wilson. The President Looks at the College. An Address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif: Pomona College, 1956.
LD4571 .P279 1956

Lyon, E. Wilson. The Responsibilities of the Liberal Arts College. An Address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif: Pomona College, 1945.
LD4571 .P279 1945

Lyon, E. Wilson. So Much to Do – So Little Time To Do It. And Address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College. Claremont, Calif.: Pomona College,
1942. LD4571 .P279 1942

Lyon, E. Wilson. This Household of Learning. Claremont, Calif: Pomona College, 1959. LD4571 .P279 1959

Lyon, E. Wilson. Unfettered Minds for New Responsibilities. An Address by President E. Wilson Lyon at the Opening Convocation of Pomona College, 1954. LD4571 .P279 1954

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Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically and by correspondent.

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Container List

1.1

TLS. Wilson to Mother (aboard the R.M.S. Lancastria), 3 October 1925

1.2

ALS. Wilson to Mother (aboard the R.M.S. Lancastria), 5 October 1925

1.3

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 9 October 1925

1.4

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 24 October 1925

1.5

ALS. Wilson to Josephine Lyon (his sister), (Cannes, France), 13 December 1925

1.6

Christmas Card. Wilson to Mr. and Mrs. R. Lyon, 1925

1.7

Christmas Card. Wilson to Josephine Lyon (his sister), 1925

1.8

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Nancy, France), 2 January 1926

1.9

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 19 January 1926

1.10

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 2 February 1926

1.11

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 16 February 1926

1.12

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 2 March 1926

1.13

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 9 March 1926

1.14

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 12 March 1926

1.15

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Rome, Italy), 31 March 1926

1.16

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Rome, Italy), 4 April 1926

1.17

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Florence, Italy), 18 April 1926

1.18

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 28 April 1926

1.19

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 8 May 1926

1.20

TLS. Wilson to Father (Oxford, England), 18 June 1926

1.21

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Grymsdyke, Prince’s Rysborough, Buckinghamshire, England), 25 June 1926

1.22

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Budapest, Hungary), 16 July 1926

1.23

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Gyon, Hungary), 20 July 1926

1.24

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Hungary), 30 July 1926

1.25

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Hungary), 10 August 1926

1.26

TLS. Wilson to Mother and TLS. Wilson to Joe (sister) (Gyon, Hungary), 18-19 August 1926

1.27

Postcard. Wilson to Josephine (his sister) (Venice, Italy), 26 August 1926

1.28

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Milan, Italy), 27 August 1926

1.29

Postcard. Wilson to Father (Geneva, Switzerland), 30 August 1926

1.30

TL. Wilson to Mother (France), 8 September 1926

1.31

TLS. Wilson to Mother (France), 19 September 1926

1.32

TLS. Wilson to Mother (France), 30 September 1926

1.33

TLS. Wilson to Mother, (Rouen, France), 10 October 1926

1.34

TLS. Wilson to Father (Oxford, England), 17 October 1926

1.35

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 30 October 1926

1.36

TLS. Wilson to Mother and Father (Oxford, England), 18 November 1926

1.37

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 2 December 1926

1.38

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Nancy, France), 18 December 1926

1.39

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Nancy, France), 24 December 1926

1.40

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Nancy, France), 9 January 1927

1.41

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Paris, France), 18 January 1927

1.42

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 28 January 1927

1.43

TLS. Wilson to Father and Mother (Oxford, England), 10 February 1927

1.44

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 24 February 1927

1.45

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 13 March 1927

1.46

ALS. Wilson to Sister (Oxford, England), 18 March 1927

1.47

ALS. Wilson to Mother (London, England), 21 March 1927

1.48

ALS. Wilson to Mother and clipping from Times re: Lady Astor’s Ball, Brussels, Belgium, 29 March 1927

1.49

ALS. Wilson to Mother, 4 April 1927

1.50

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Brussels, Belgium), 10 April 1927

1.51

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Brussels, Belgium), 19 April 1927

1.52

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Brussels, Belgium), 26 April 1927

2.1

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 9 May 1927

2.2

TL. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 21 May 1927

2.3

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 7 June 1927

2.4

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 12 June 1927

2.5

ALS. Wilson to Mother, Lincoln, England, 26 June 1927

2.6

ALS. Wilson to Mother, Aberdeen, Scotland, 3 July 1927

2.7

ALS. Wilson to Mother, Perthshire, Scotland, 12 July 1927

2.8

ALS. Wilson to Mother (London, England), 24 July 1927

2.9

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 8 August 1927

2.10

ALS. Wilson to Mother, Amsterdam, 18 August 1927

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.11

ALS. Wilson to Josephine (his sister), Heidelberg, Germany, 24 August 1927

2.12

ALS. Wilson to Mother, Heidelberg, Germany, 25 August 1927

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.13

ALS. Wilson to Mother and contains bank check for ten pounds (Nancy, France), 27 August 1927

2.14

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Paris, France), 30 August 1927

2.15

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Nancy, France), 10 September 1927

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.16

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Paris, France), 11 October 1927

2.17

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 23 October 1927

2.18

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 13 November 1927

2.19

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 24 November 1927

2.20

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 4 December 1927

2.21

Christmas card (Oxford, England), 10 December 1927

2.22

Christmas card. sister Josephine (Oxford, England), 12 December 1927

2.23

ALS. Wilson to Mother (London, England), 12 December 1927

2.24

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Paris, France), 19 December 1927

2.25

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Paris, France), 9 January 1927

2.26

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 25 January 1928

2.27

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 5 February 1928

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.28

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 12 February 1928

2.29

ALS. Wilson to Mother, onboard R.M.S.P. Andes, 17 March 1928

Scope: Notes on immigrants

2.30

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 25 February 1928

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.31

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 4 March 1928

Scope: Bilbo and Ole Miss

2.32

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Madrid, Spain), 25 March 1928

2.33

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Madrid, Spain), 5 April 1928

2.34

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Madrid, Spain), 15 April 1928

2.35

ALS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 6 May 1928

2.36

TLS. Wilson to Mother (Oxford, England), 7 June 1928

2.37

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Vienna, Austria), 12 July 1926

2.38

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones), Gyon, Hungary, 21 July 1926

2.39

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (France), 8 September 1926

2.40

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 4 November 1926

2.41

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 21 January 1927

2.42

ALS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 18 March 1927

2.43

ALS. Wilson to Mon Vieux (Belgium), 27 April 1927

Note: Letter in French

2.44

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones), 24 May 1927

2.45

ALS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Somerset, England), 26 July 1927

2.46

ALS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Amsterdam), 18 August 1927

2.47

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 12 November 1927

2.48

ALS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones), December 1927 & January 1928

2.49

TLS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 4 March 1928

2.50

ALS. Wilson to Jug (Girault Jones) (Oxford, England), 13 May 1928

3.1

Transcripts of E. Wilson Lyon letters (not complete), 1925-1928

3.2

ALS. Chancellor Alfred Hume to Dr. Lyon, 8 October 1949

3.3

Newspaper articles written by E. Wilosn Lyon for Laurel Daily Leader (not dated),

3.4

“Our Coming to Pomona” memoir by E. Wilson Lyon,

3.5

Preface to “The Education of a Mississippia” by E. Wilson Lyon and memoir (missing p. 11),

3.6

Article from Meridian Star announcing the 1st group inducted into Ole Miss Hall of Fame, including J.D. William, Robert J. Farley, Arthur Guyton, E. Wilson Lyon and Fred B. Smith, 15 October 1975

3.7

TLS. Jug (Girault Jones) to Wilson, note attached to bound volume of Mississippians, 2 June 1981

3.8

Reflections from Girault Jones of Wilson for 1989 memorial service in Heidelberg, Mississippi, 1989

3.9

Speech by Burdette C. Poland at Memorial Service for President Emeritus E. Wilson Lyon on behalf of the faculty of Pomona College, 10 March 1989

Bound volume

Girault Jones’ bound volume of The Mississippian for the years E. Wilson Lyon was editor, 1923-1924