Edgar Gardner Murphy papers, 1893-1913.

Creator: Murphy, Edgar Gardner, 1869-1913.
Collection number: 1041
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Abstract: Episcopal clergyman, publicist, executive secretary of the Southern Education Board, 1903-1908, author, and amateur astronomer. Correspondence, writings, and miscellaneous papers of Murphy, whose interests included race relations and child labor reform. The collection consists of an incomplete manuscript of a projected book, “Issues, Southern and National;” scattered correspondence, mostly letters received by Murphy from scholars and philanthropists, with some copies of letters from Murphy to his son, Gardner (b. 1895), psychologist and author; scrapbook, 1891-1901, and clippings and other printed matter written by or about Murphy, his ideas and activities while a minister in Texas, Ohio, New York, and Montgomery, Ala., reflecting an interest in race relations, education of African Americans, industrial conditions, child labor legislation, public schools, and the question of suffrage restrictions in the Alabama constitutional convention of 1901. Also included is a German translation of “A Beginner’s Star Book” by Kelvin McKready (a.k.a. E. G. Murphy).

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights:  Clippings and letters in the scrapbook discuss the Southern Conference on Race Problems, an African-American Episcopal Church, and the question of suffrage restriction, particularly between 1899- 1901 (Folder 11). The collection also includes the incomplete manuscript of a projected book, “Issues Southern and National,” which covers topics including Tuskegee Institute, suffrage restriction, and the role of African Americans in the southern and northern states (Folders 12-14).