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RUPERT N. RICHARDSON
No Armchair Historian By Olivia J. Olmsted When Dr. Lacy Hunt describes his cousin, the late Dr. Rupert Richardson, noted author, researcher, and preservationist, he is quick to point out that “Rupert was not an armchair historian.” He goes on to explain that Richardson, who spent more than half a century in the classroom as a professor at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, was actively engaged in field study. “Keep in mind,” Hunt notes, “that this was a time [the mid-1900s] when research was more difficult and timeconsuming. Rupert visited county courthouses and searched the musty old files of long-ago newspapers. He walked battlefields and traveled along the old roads that previous generations had trod. When the opportunity arose, he conducted personal interviews of aging participants of important events.” Richardson’s old-fashioned, active participation in the accumulation of knowledge informed the lives of the thousands of students— and the fruits of his painstaking efforts continue to make an impact on the state’s historical record today.
Dr. Rupert Richardson was a noted historian, researcher, educator, university administrator, and preservationist. Photograph by Bill Wright.
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Richardson served as president of Hardin-Simmons University for a decade and was a founding member of the West Texas Historical Association and the Texas Historical Commission. As a researcher and writer, he remains a leading 20th-century Texas scholar and historian. Former THC commissioner and preservation activist Shirley Caldwell, of Albany, who worked with Richardson in the 1960s, puts it simply: “In my opinion, Dr. Richardson was and is the finest historian to come out of West Texas. His works are still highly respected and used as resources today.” Born in 1891, Richardson was the youngest child of Willis Baker and Nannie (Coon) Richardson. His parents traveled by covered wagon from Nacogdoches, in East Texas, to Stephens County in the west-central area of the state in 1879. They homesteaded, cut logs for their dwelling, and then made the 200-mile round trip to Fort Worth for floor-
Dr. Richardson openly shared his love of Texas history both inside and outside of the classroom. All photographs are courtesy of The Rupert N. Richardson Library, Abilene, unless otherwise noted.
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ing, shingles, and windows. Eventually, six children, along with their parents, filled the rooms of the pioneer-style log home. Richardson’s parents valued education and instilled in him an early interest in learning. His father practiced scientific farming and ranching by researching the latest techniques and approaches in books and bulletins obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because of their home’s location near a government mail route, the Richardsons enjoyed periodicals and newspapers unavailable to other families in remote areas. Richardson’s mother was a teacher, and the family maintained a home library consisting of classic works, as well as those by popular 19th-century writers. All of the Richardson children learned to read before they entered school. Because of the example set by his parents, Richardson was taught the value of hard work and how to deal with adversity. Richardson often spoke with admiration of his mother, who lost her right hand in a milling accident at age ten, stating, “She could do just about anything that anybody else did and do it quite as well or better.” The historian wrote of his father, “Integrity and reverence were qualities that he emphasized by precept and example. His sense of justice and loyalty to the truth were magnificent.” As a child, Richardson sporadically attended one-room rural schools in Stephens County. In 1907, at age 16, he enrolled in Simmons College in Abilene. Given the gaps in his early education, the budding scholar undertook two years of preparatory work at the college before beginning coursework for his four-year degree. During his time at Simmons, Richardson met his future wife, a fellow student named Pauline Mayes. After graduating with a bachelor of arts in 1912, Richardson taught school to earn money to continue his education. In a short time, he became principal of a school near his Stephens County home. After further study, he earned a second degree, a bachelor of science in philosophy, from The University of Chicago. As a young man with
Richardson and his son, Rupert Richardson, Jr. pose in front of the ruins of the old family homestead near Caddo, Texas. Richardson often joked that both he and Abraham Lincoln were born in log cabins. broad interests, Richardson felt unsure of which career path to pursue, but he knew for certain that if he wanted to marry Pauline Mayes, he needed a job. Rupert Richardson returned to West Texas in the fall of 1914, working as a teacher and principal. After deciding that public school administration was to his liking, he attended a summer program at The University of Chicago’s School of Education. He married Mayes in December 1915, and by the following year, the hard-working and ambitious young man was principal of Sweetwater High School. The 25-year old educator seemed to be on his way to a career in public school administration until March 1917, when he accepted a faculty position at Simmons College, teaching history, government, sociology, and economics. Shortly after beginning this new assignment, the United States entered World War I. When a Student Army Training Corps was formed at Simmons College, Richardson was among a group of students and teachers sent to Illinois for specialized training. After completing the program, the newly-commissioned second lieutenant returned to the college where he resumed teaching and drilling. Richardson received his Army discharge when the war ended. Recognizing once again that any career advancement necessitated further education, he and his family traveled to Austin in 1921, where Richardson completed his master’s degree at The University of Texas the following year; he earned his doctorate in philosophy from the same institution in 1928. In Austin, Richardson had the opportunity to indulge
his interest for Texas’ past, befriending famous historians, including Eugene Barker and Joe Franz, and enjoying access to research materials at the university and the Texas State Library and Archives. When he returned to Abilene, Richardson became dean of students at Simmons College in 1926, and subsequently accepted the position of vice president, a post he held for 10 years. During this time in administration, Richardson expanded his knowledge and understanding of history through study and writing. Those who knew him describe the academic’s approach to research as straightforward. When reading the findings of other scholars, Richardson took their interpretations with a grain of salt, preferring instead to draw his own conclusions. He said on many occasions that “the pursuit of truth is not always an easy job; in fact, it is often hard and demanding work, but it is the most important thing.” It was a philosophy that Richardson felt could be applied to all aspects of life, regardless of one’s profession or station. This dedication to discovering the truth and active participation in the search for information gave strong voice to Richardson’s first book, The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement, published in 1933. While working on this manuscript, Richardson became friends with Comanche Chief Quanah Parker’s son, Baldwin, who assisted him with translations and introductions. Richardson attended multiple religious ceremonies with the tribe and conducted numerous interviews with elders. In addition, he spent a summer in Washington, D.C., examining government documents and witness accounts of Indian raids. Vo l u m e 3 2 0 1 1 |
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Rupert Richardson was commissioned by the U.S. Army as a lieutenant during World War I. Sixty-five years later, Richardson’s impressive first effort on the Comanche Indians was still listed as one of the top 50 books on Texas history, demonstrating the timelessness and quality of the scholarship and writing. Emphasizing that point, former THC colleague, Shirley Caldwell offers a very recent example of that lasting influence. “In Empire of the Summer Moon, published in 2010, author S.C. Gwynne praises Richardson’s research on the Comanche Indians. There is no doubt that present-day historians are still using the knowledge that Richardson provided. His hand practically reaches from the grave to help younger historians.” As Richardson’s career advanced, his modest Baptist school of higher learning also continued to grow and expand. In 1935, Simmons College became HardinSimmons University. From 1938 to 1940, Richardson served as executive vice president for the university but declined the presidency in 1940 in order to complete his work on Texas: The Lone Star State. First published in 1943, this book was updated in numerous editions and remained the leading college textbook on Texas history into the mid-1980s. Once Lone Star was completed, Richardson again assumed a leadership position at Hardin-Simmons and served as acting president and then president from 19431953. He took the post during World War II, when the campus lost many students and teachers to military service. After the conflict ended, the campus was overrun with students, thanks to the GI Bill, and Dr. Richardson oversaw the expansion of the faculty. Left, top to bottom: Although they first lived in a log cabin, the Richardson family soon built the large farmhouse pictured here. Rupert (on tricyle), sister, Mabel, and his father are shown; Richardson tended beehives throughout his life; the historian’s parents were a life-long influence on him.
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