General Roger Williams papers
Abstract
The General Roger Williams papers (dated 1823-1991, bulk 1898-1929; 62 cubic feet; 149 boxes, 1 folder) contain materials related to the businesses, investments, and military service of the prominent Kentuckian from 1898 until 1929.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- General Roger Williams papers
- Date
- 1823-1991 (inclusive)
- 1898-1929 (bulk)
- Creator
- Williams, Roger D., General (Roger de Coverly)
- Extent
- 62 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Kentucky -- Militia.
- Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Philippines.
- Iron industry and trade -- Kentucky.
- Photography, Military -- United States
- United States -- History -- World War, 1914-1918
- Dogs -- Breeding -- Kentucky.
- Military training camps.
- Dogs -- Diseases
- Kennel owners
- World War, 1914-1918.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by subject and format into seven series: General, Lexington Engine and Boiler Works, Military Service and Involvement, Personal, Photographs, Publications, Rookwood Kennel papers.
- Preferred Citation
- 2008ms013: [identification of item], General Roger Williams papers, 1823-1991, bulk 1898-1929, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Roger D. Williams descended from Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. His great-great-grandfather, George Williams, moved from Rhode Island to Virginia and fought in the Revolutionary War. George Williams' son, General Roger Williams was born in 1770. In 1794 he married Mary Kerfoot and they came to Kentucky in 1773 to establish a home in Bourbon County where Roger Williams' grandfather. Major George W. Williams was born in 1801. Major Williams was a graduate of Transylvania University, served more than twenty years in the state legislature, was a delegate to the Kentucky Constitutional Convention in 1849, was a Whig and member of the American Republican (Know Nothing) party, and was a strong abolitionist. Major Williams was made the first permanent president of the Republican State Party in 1864. Major Williams was also a candidate in 1868 for the Supreme Court. Major Williams died in Paris, Kentucky in 1870.
- Roger D. Williams' father, Benjamin Franklin Williams, was born in Bourbon County in 1827 and was an honor graduate of Bethany College in Virginia. He was admitted to the bar, but never practiced law. Instead he preferred to devote his time to manufacturing and mercantile. Benjamin Williams was married to Mary Gates Massie of Bourbon County; and Roger D. Williams was born on August 29, 1856. Roger D. Williams spent much of his childhood in Chicago because his parents moved there during the Civil War. On his return to Kentucky, he entered the University of Kentucky and was the youngest student to have attended at the time, 1872-1873. Williams served two years in the Pension and Internal Revenue Departments of the Federal Government. He was one of fourteen on a pioneer party to explore the Black Hills of the Dakotas. While in the Black Hills, he occupied stockades near present day Custer City. He was active in mining and prospecting and was well known in all of the leading camps. When the Battle of Little Big Horn occurred, Williams was a war correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Denver Tribune.
- Williams returned to Kentucky in 1879 and became involved in manufacturing. He established the Kentucky Copper Works and Iron Foundry in 1880 which was eventually known as the Lexington Engine and Saw Mill Works. Williams was active in civic and sports affairs. He was once commissioner of the Eastern Asylum for the Insane and was a park commissioner of Lexington. For thirty years Williams was an officer in the Kentucky National Guard where he was advanced from lieutenant to brigadier general. Williams was commanding colonel of the Second Regiment for fifteen years and for twenty-five years was one of the officers who commanded troops during mountain feuds and calming night riders. Theodore Roosevelt had requested his service during the Spanish American War, but the war was over by the time Williams organized a troop for the Rough Riders. In 1916, he commanded a sector on the Rio Grande from Fort Hancock, Texas, to Las Cruces, New Mexico. He served with General Pershing at Colonia-Dublan, Mexico. Williams was commissioned a brigadier general of the National Army and commanded the Indiana and the Kentucky troops in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was overseas from July, 1918 until March, 1919, and was with the headquarters of the first army of France. Williams retired from the National Army in 1919, but he was active in a veteran group retirement.
- Roger D. Williams was an avid hunter and was the owner of Rookwood Kennels in Lexington. Dogs from Rookwood were shipped all over the country. As a sportsman Williams was a member of Iroquois Hunt Club, Southern Fox Hunter's Association, National Fox Hunter's Association, and the American Fox Hound Association. He served as an officer in all of the hunting and hound associations. Williams was the author of Deer Hunter in the West Indies, Old Times in the Black Hills, The Greyhound, Wolf Coursing, The Bloodhound, Horse and Hound, High Ground in Fox Hunting, Training the Fox Hound, Running Hounds, and The Fox Hound. Along with these books Williams compiled a two volume work, The National Foxhunter's Association Stud Book 1898, which was published by the National Fox Hunter's Association. In his book, The Wilderness Hunter, Theodore Roosevelt said, "General Roger D. Williams, more than any other American is entitled to speak upon hunting big game with horse and hound."
- Roger D. Williams and Minnie Lyle Sayre, daughter of banker Ephraim Sayre and Mary E. Woodruff Sayre of Lexington, were married in November 1887. Roger D. Williams and Mary Sayre Williams had two children, Roger Jr., born in 1895 and Mary Sayre, born in 1892. Roger Jr. served with father in World War I and went on to have a military career. Roger Williams Jr. married the Countess Florence Marie Odenreld Ludric Forest Divonne, France, in 1919 and they had one daughter, Dorothy. Mary Williams married Lucas B. Combs, a son of Leslie Combs, in 1916 and they had one son, Sidney Sayre, who was born in 1917.
- Sources: Charles Kerr, editor. History of Kentucky. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1922.
- E. Polk Johnson. History of Kentucky and Kentuckians. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1912. accessed 2012 March 29, http://archive.org/details/historyofkentuck03injohn
- Scope and Content
- The General Roger Williams papers (dated 1823-1991, bulk 1898-1929; 62 cubic feet; 149 boxes, 1 folder) contain materials related to the businesses, investments, and military service of the prominent Kentuckian from 1898 until 1929. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence between Rookwood Kennels and individuals trying to sell or purchase dogs. Williams' Kennel farmed out the breeding of hound dogs and had contacts with patrons throughout the United States and as far as Germany and China. The series includes materials from 1898 until 1929. Some of the correspondence is between patrons and Williams' daughter, Mary Sayre Combs, who took over the business after Roger Williams died. The collection also includes correspondence and receipts from the iron foundry founded by Williams in the Lexington Engine and Boiler Works series. The foundry bought and sold materials to other businesses in the Ohio River Valley region which the correspondence and receipts reflect. Materials related to Williams involvement in military affairs includes documents pertaining to his travels as a war correspondent through the American West; documents about various fundraisers and benevolent societies; and the operations of military training camps. Also in the series are several maps prepared by the military war school. The photographs in the collection relate to kennels and hunting, military service, and personal relationships of General Roger Williams. Some of the photographs were found loosely throughout the entire collection and others were on the pages of two bound photo albums.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
General, 1915-1925, undated
Scope and Contents
The General series contains materials not closely related to the other series in the collection. Included are newspaper clippings broadly related to personal and professional events in Williams' life. There are notes and fragments related to Williams' daily life like laundry receipts. Also there is a file of letters, mostly addressed to Ms. L. Hurley, who is of an unknown relation to General Roger Williams. There are the checkbooks of Williams' son-in-law, Lucas B. Combs, as well as, a personal letter from Roger Williams, Jr.
Blank supply forms, undated
Letters to Ms. L. Hurley and receipts, 1915-1921
Lucas B. Combs checkbook, 1919 March-1922 April
Lucas B. Combs checkbook, 1924 March-1925 September
Notes and fragments, undated
Roger D. Williams biography typed, undated
The Unwanted Child by Florence Edna May, 1923
Lexington Engine and Boiler Works, 1912-1926, undated
Scope and Contents
The Lexington Engine and Boiler Works series contains two ledger volumes, correspondence, and receipts from the iron foundry General Williams established in 1879 in Lexington, Kentucky. The foundry was named the Kentucky Copper Works and Iron Foundry, then the Lexington Engine and Saw Mill Works, and then the Lexington Engine and Boiler Works, Incorporated. Most of the documents within the series are orders and receipts for work and raw materials. Also included are related advertisements from business partners, business cards, and meeting minutes. Some of the correspondence is addressed to Mr. D.P. Galvin, the Secretary Treasurer of Lexington Engine and Boiler Works. The invoice books contain company sale and purchase receipts for 1914 and 1922. There is also a diagram of a Boring Bar, used for the machines in the foundry.
Correspondence and receipts, 1912-1926, undated
undated
1912 March
1912 September
1914 January
1914 April
1914 July
1914 August
1914 September
1914 October
1914 November
1914 December
1915 January
1915 February
1915 March
1915 May
1915 June
1915 July
1915 August
1915 September
1915 October
1915 December
1916 January
1916 February
1916 April
1916 May
1916 June
1916 July
1916 December
1917 January
1917 February
1917 March
1917 May
1917 June
1917 July
1917 August
1918 January
1918 February
1918 March
1918 May
1918 June
1918 July
1918 August
1918 September
1918 October
1919 April
1919 May
1919 June
1919 July
1919 August
1919 September
1919 October
1919 December
1920 January
1920 February
1920 March
1920 April
1920 May
1920 June
1920 July
1920 August
1920 September
1920 October
1920 November
1920 December
1921 January
1921 February
1921 March
1921 April
1921 May
1921 June
1921 July
1921 August
1921 September
1921 October
1921 November
1921 December
1922 January
1922 February
1922 March
1922 April
1922 May
1922 June
1922 July
1922 August
1922 September
1922 October
1922 November
1922 December
1923 January
1923 February
1923 March
1923 April
1923 May
1923 June
1923 July
1923 October
1923 November
1923 December
1924 January
1924 March
1924 March
1925 January
1925 February
1925 May
1925 July
1925 August
1925 September
1925 October
1925 November
1926 January
Business papers found with Correspondence, undated
Expansion Boring Bar Detailed Diagram by Manufacturers Equipment Company, 1922 September 6
Fragments, undated
Pamphlets and materials from other companies, undated
Military Service and Involvement, 1898-1928, undated
Scope and Contents
The Military Service and Involvement series includes documents from General Williams' military service as well as his involvement in military affairs after his retirement. The series primarily covers the years 1914-1925 with the strongest representation from the years 1916-1917, when General Williams was serving on the U.S.-Mexico border. Documentation from his formal service includes military orders, maps, supply lists, enlistment lists. Materials related to Williams involvement in military affairs include documents pertaining to his travels as a war correspondent through the American West; documents about various fundraisers and benevolent societies, such as Victory loans and military training camps; and memorials, such as a Roosevelt tree planting ceremony. The series also includes documents providing insight into the life of a former soldier, such as information about war-risk and veterans' health and life insurance. Additionally, the series includes letters between General Williams and his son, who was involved in military service before and during WWI as well as maps created by war schools in Washington, D.C. featuring the west, civil war battles, and trench construction.
Correspondence, 1898-1928
1898 June
1898 April
1899 May
1899 June
1899 July
1899 August
1899 September
1899 October
1899 Novemeber
1899 December
1901 January
1908 October
1910 July
1910 September
1911 March
1911 June
1911 September
1911 October
1911 October
1911 November
1911 December
1912 July
1912 January
1912 February
1912 March
1912 April
1912 May
1912 June
1912 December
1913 July
1913 November
1914 February
1914 April
1914 July
1914 November
1915 June
1916 September
1916 November
1916 December
1917 June
1917 October
1918 August
1918 September
1918 October
1919 July
1919 December
1920 January
1920 February
1920 March
1920 May
1920 June
1920 July
1920 August
1920 September
1920 December
1921 February
1921 April
1921 May
1921 June
1921 July
1921 August
1921 September
1921 October
1921 December
1922 January
1922 February
1922 March
1922 April
1922 May
1922 June
1922 July
1922 August
1922 September
1922 October
1922 November
1922 December
1923 January
1923 February
1923 March
1923 April
1923 May
1923 June
1923 July
1923 August
1923 September
1923 October
1923 November
1923 December
1924 January
1924 February
1924 March
1924 April
1924 May
1924 June
1924 July
1924 August
1924 September
1924 October
1924 December
1925 January
1925 February
1925 March
1925 April
1925 May
1925 June
1925 July
1925 August
1925 September
1925 October
1925 November
1926 July
1926 August
1927 July
1928 June
General, 1916-1924, undated
Blank forms, undated
Handwritten notes, undated
List of lieutenants, undated
List of service men, undated
Maps, pamphlets, and reports, undated
Memorandums, undated
Fragments, undated
Newspaper clippings, undated
Newspaper clippings, 1916-1924
Reports, undated
Maps, 1913-1917, undated
Conventional Plan and Typical Section of Part of A Modern Intrenched Line, Prepared at Army War College, 1917 March
Maneuver Map Camp of Instruction, 18th US Infantry, Owensboro Kentucky, 1915 July 15-23
Map of Mexico, undated
Position Sketch 10th Division Maneuvers in Las Cruces, New Mexico by Ohio Engineers, 1916 October 9
Topographical Map of Antietam at Gettysburg Prepared by the Engineer Department of the Army Service School/Map of Samalayuca, Mexico, 1913, 1915
Typical Supporting Point Trench Map, Prepared at War College Division in Washington, D.C., 1917 March
Personal, 1899-1928, undated
Scope and Contents
The Personal series contains correspondence, receipts, and money orders for business and financial ventures involving General Williams independently of Rookwood Kennels and the Lexington Engine and Boiler Works iron foundry. The series includes materials related to stock shares, tobacco sales, real estate investments, executions of wills, and the sale of pets (monkeys and kittens). It also includes documents relating to Williams' involvement in Lexington businessmen's clubs. There is a large blueprint of a water tank, presumably for his real estate investments.
Correspondence, 1899-1928, undated
undated
Letter from Roger Williams, Jr., undated
1899 June
1905 October
1912 July
1911 October
1912 January
1912 August
1913 March
1913 June
1914 January
1914 February
1914 July
1914 August
1914 September
1914 October
1914 November
1914 December
1915 January
1915 February
1915 March
1915 April
1915 May
1915 June
1915 July
1915 August
1915 September
1915 October
1915 November
1915 December
1916 January
1916 April
1916 May
1916 December
1916 June
1916 September
1917 January
1917 March
1917 May
1917 June
1917 July
1917 August
1917 September
1917 December
1918 January
1918 May
1918 July
1918 August
1918 September
1918 October
1918 November
1919 March
1919 April
1919 May
1919 June
1919 December
1920 January
1920 February
1920 March
1920 April
1920 May
1920 June
1920 July
1920 August
1920 September
1920 October
1920 November
1920 December
1921 January
1921 February
1921 March
1921 April
1921 May
1921 June
1921 July
1921 August
1921 September
1921 October
1921 November
1921 December
1922 January
1922 February
1922 March
1922 April
1922 May
1922 June
1922 July
1922 September
1922 August
1922 October
1922 November
1922 December
1923 January
1923 February
1923 March
1923 April
1923 May
1923 June
1923 July
1923 August
1923 September
1923 October
1923 December
1924 January
1924 February
1924 March
1924 April
1924 May
1924 July
1924 October
1924 August
1924 November
1924 December
1925 January
1925 February
1925 March
1925 April
1925 May
1925 June
1925 July
1925 August
1925 September
1925 October
1925 November
1925 December
1926 November
1927 January
1928 January
Photographs, 1899-circa 1917
Scope and Contents
The Photographs series contains photographs found loosely throughout the collection as well as photographs from two albums. Most of the photographs are related to kennels and hunting, military service, and presumably personal relationships of General Roger Williams. Photographs found loosely and in the albums related to Kennels and hunting includes images of men about to begin hunting, particularly in the west, and images of horses and dogs. Most commonly pictured dog breeds are bloodhounds, and Russian and Irish Wolfhounds. A number of photographs were sent to Rookwood Kennel by individuals hoping to sell dogs to them for resale; those photos remain with the original correspondence in the Rookwood Kennel series.
Photographs related to the Military Service appear to be primarily from three events: the assassination of Senator Goebel of Kentucky (Kentucky National Guard, Second Regiment); military life along the Rio Grande, including a few from Mexico (1916-1917); and life in Camp Beckham, Kentucky, with the possibility of some from Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Seventy-sixth Brigade; 19171918). Some photographs could be from Gen. Williams' time with the Red Cross in France. Additional images include the building which later became the Lexington Engine Boiler Works and one full length portrait of William Woodard, Jr. of Kentucky.
Loose photographs, 1900, undated
Six negatives of family and animals, undated
Hound dog, undated
Dog in field, undated
Two dogs, undated
English bloodhound owned by David Kennedy in Amherstburg, Ontario, undated
Dog, child, and man on farm in Arkansas, undated
Two dogs, child and man on farm in Arkansas, undated
Man and dog, undated
Dog, undated
Photo album two loosely found with Page 26 soldiers throwing man in the air, undated
Men on horses at military camp, undated
Group of soldiers throwing man in the air, undated
Man on horse, undated
Camp Beckham in Jackson, Kentucky, undated
Men in tents at camp, undated
Men at camp, undated
Men standing on horses, undated
Two men and one woman at laundry wash buckets, undated
Group of dogs and man, undated
Two Norwegian bear dogs in Wisconsin studio owned by Rookwood Kennel, undated
Roger Williams portrait, undated
Two dogs attacking dead fox, undated
Horses at camp, undated
Roger Williams outside of tent at camp, undated
General Roger Williams and soldiers by tent, undated
Men loading cannon, undated
Machinery in factory, undated
Camp of Major Nelson F. Edwards in Frankfort, Kentucky, 1900 February 10
Sergeant J.K. Groghan and Kentucky group, undated
Soldiers at provost guard tent, undated
Parade of soldiers and crowd, undated
General Roger Williams on horseback, undated
Two men at postal telegraph tent, undated
Soldiers on horseback, undated
Men standing in front of tents, undated
Soldiers with rifles outside of tents, undated
General Roger Williams with horse, undated
Line of soldiers on a field, undated
Model T cars and American flag, undated
General Roger Williams portrait, undated
First Regiment Kentucky Infantry camp in Owen Bieme, Texas, undated
William F. Woodard, Jr. in Kentucky, undated
- Box 147, folder 36
Scope and Contents
The Loose Photographs subseries includes photographs found throughout the collection and were placed in envelopes for preservation reasons. Most of the photographs are images of potential candidates for dog breeding. There are also photographs of servicemen and military camps. Also in the subseries are portraits of General Roger D. Williams' and William F. Woodard, another serviceman. Finally there is a portrait of a child which printed onto cloth. Presumably the child is part of Williams' family.
General Roger Williams portrait, undated
Unidentified child printed on cloth, undated
Photograph album one, undated
Unidentified man's portrait, page 1, undated
Men posing comically in military uniforms, page 2, undated
Soldiers with Union Jack uniforms posing at studio, page 4, undated
Soldiers on a trail in a forest, page 6/Soldiers group posing with flag and gatling gun, page 7, undated
View of cabins, page 8/Group of soldiers at tent, Page 9, undated
Two studio photos of men in military and western costumes, page 10/Line of soldier at camp, page 11, undated
Man on horse, page 12/Soldiers marching and crowd, page 13, undated
Men firing cannon in field, page 14/Exterior of Kentucky Copper Works Iron Foundry and Machine Shops, page 15, undated
House on a town block, page 16/Lexington courthouse, page 17, undated
Two portraits of men, page 18, undated
Soldiers in tree with scenic view of village, page 20/Five men at military camp tent, page 21, undated
Soldiers at tent, page 22/Soldiers in line pointing rifles, page 23, undated
Men firing gatling gun, page 24/Soldiers at mess tent, page 25, undated
View of entire military camp, page 26/Soldiers in line with rifles, page 27, undated
Men and women on horse on country road, page 28, undated
Soldiers on ground with unassembled gatling gun, page 30/Line of soldiers, page 31, undated
Soldiers in forest, page 32/Line of soldiers at camp, page 33, undated
Group of men at camp, page 34/Group at mess area, page 35, undated
Group at tent, page 36/Soldiers with a cannon, page 37, undated
Soldiers in front of large building, page 38/Two men standing in a tent, page 39, undated
Soldiers with backpack and rifle, page 40/Men and women playing tennis, page 41, undated
Men and women at tennis court, page 42/Line of soldiers at camp, page 43, undated
Boy on pony with dog, page 44, undated
Man on horse, page 46, undated
Photograph album two, 1899, undated
Men riding donkeys and yak with dog and rifles, page 1/Man with Irish wolfhounds, page 2, undated
Photos of soldier camp, men, and children, page 3/Men in uniforms with musical instruments and soldier with rifle facing two girls in a field, page 4, undated
Camps and soldiers, page 6/Soldiers at camp and fort on island, page 7, undated
Military camps and foreign country, page 8/Military camps and soldiers, page 9, undated
Military camps and soldiers, page 10/Military camps and soldiers, page 11, undated
Town, fort, Roger D. Williams, and camp, page 12/Military men in two photos, military camp and decorated tree, page 13, undated
Military camps, page 14/Military camps, photo of Roger Williams with Filipino children, page 15, undated
Military camps and soldiers, page 16/Military camps and military medical servicemen, page 17, undated
Military soldiers, scenic foreign country, page 18/Military soldiers, sunken ship, man riding horse with dog, portraits of unidentified men, page 19, undated
Soldiers on horseback, page 20/Soldiers throwing man into the air, military camp, page 21, undated
Soldiers, page 22/Aerial view of village in mountains, soldiers, page 23, undated
Men in winter coats, page 24/Line of soldiers, page 25, undated
Group of men on horses with native americans, page 26/Dogs and men on horseback, page 27, undated
Groups of soldiers Page 28/Civilians, soldiers, military men, medical office, page 29, undated
Civilians, family at log house, page 30/Building, parade, unidentified man, soldiers, page 31, undated
Dogs, group on stage, page 32/Child riding horse, dog, poet scout, B. McCauley portrait, page 33, undated
Dogs, page 34/Soldiers riding on horse, page 35, 1899 September 12, undated
Dogs and horses, page 36/Men with dogs and horses, page 37, undated
Soldiers, civilians, buildings, page 38/Dogs and buildings during winter, soldiers in studio, page 39, undated
Men with dogs, women on horses, page 40/Horses, children, and women, page 41, undated
Adults with horses, dogs, and children, page 42/Gun case, houses, men with dogs, women with children, page 43, undated
Men with dogs or horses, page 46/Men in plains on horses, page 47, undated
Soldier in groups or portraits, page 48/Medical camp, soldiers on horseback, soldiers with cannon, page 49, undated
Horses, soldiers, view from inside train tunnel, child, page 52/Donkey, town crowd, large ship, page 53, undated
Dogs, hunters, and dead bear, buildings, page 54/Dogs, child riding horse, dead animals, page 55, undated
Soldiers, scenic view of bluffs, page 58/Soldiers with women, horses, page 59, undated
Military camp, YMCA tent, waterfall, men on horseback, page 60/Cannons, waterfall, military camp, civilians, page 61, undated
Men with women, men on horseback, page 62/Native american with donkeys, dogs Page 63, undated
Men with horse and dogs, page 64/Group of adults and girl outside, portraits, horses, page 65, undated
Mountain lion skins, boy riding pony, soldiers, men on horseback, page 66/Fort on island, soldiers at camp, page 67, undated
Waterfall, man in tree, Roger Williams, buildings, page 68/African American boys polishing shoes at camp, men with hunted game, horses, waterfall, page 69, undated
- Box 147, folder 34
