Collections for Ray P. Authement College of Sciences

COLL 1-B 05 c – University Archives: Biology

COLL 24 – South Louisiana Camellia Society Records

The South Louisiana Camellia Society existed from 1945 to 1965. Its major activity was an annual show usually held in conjunction with the Camellia Pageant held at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). There are also documents from two Shreveport nurseries which were involved with importing camellias from abroad between 1935 and 1941. The collection was donated by the South Louisiana Camellia Society.

COLL 29 – Ira S. Nelson Papers

Ira Schreiber Nelson was a horticulturist and long-time member of the Horticulture Department at Southwestern Louisiana Institute/University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He was extremely active in various horticulture societies on the state and national level. The collection reflects his varied interests and wide-spread activities. Barbara Nelson, his wife, was the long-time secretary of the Louisiana Society for Horticultural Research, and some of her records in this office are in the collection. Barbara Nelson donated this collection.

COLL 35 – New Orleans Botanical Garden Records

The New Orleans Botanical Garden was established in City Park, New Orleans, to develop a living collection of woody plants, both native and exotic. This collection contains correspondence, minutes of the Arboretum Committee, reports, constitution and by-laws. It also contains the plans for organizing the New Orleans Botanical Garden and other miscellaneous materials.

COLL 63 – Society of Louisiana Irises Records

The Mary Swords Debaillon Louisiana Iris Society was organized in 1941 under the leadership of W. B. MacMillan of Abbeville, Louisiana. In 1948 the group changed its name to the Society for Louisiana Irises. This collection contains records for both organizations. Most of the correspondence comes from the Secretary's files. The Society for Louisiana Irises donated this collection, which made UAAMC the official repository for its records.

COLL 64 – Jennings Nursery Records

Business records of the Jennings Nursery of Jennings, Louisiana along with several ledgers.

COLL 88 – William B. MacMillan Papers

William Buchanan MacMillan was a resident of Abbeville, Louisiana since July 1928. He served as a sales promotion and public relations manager of the Louisiana State Rice Company, and was well known and highly praised for his work in flower hybridization. He also was a distinguished person in the fields of education and business. This collection contains Mr. MacMillan’s correspondence and papers, mainly concerned with his work in horticulture. Sarah Daniel of Abbeville, Louisiana donated this collection in 1978.

COLL 231 – Joseph K. Mertzweiller Papers

Mertzweiller was born in 1920 in New Orleans, La. He received an engineering degree from Loyola University in 1941 and a master's degree from the University of Detroit in 1943. He was interested in Louisiana Iris. He conducted his own hybridizing experiments. He was also active in a number of organizations devoted to the Louisiana Iris. This collection contains materials related to this topic.

COLL 236 – Frank E. Chowning Papers

Frank E. Chowning was a lawyer who practiced in Little Rock, AK. In 1930, he began collecting the native irises of Arkansas and Louisiana. He continued for many years hybridizing and growing them, writing about them, and promoting them through the American Iris Society and the Society for Louisiana Irises. This collection contains correspondence, his writings, certificates and awards, organization publications, photographs, and other materials.

COLL 298 – Barbara F. Nelson Papers

Barbara Furnas Nelson, the wife of Ira S. Nelson, worked for the Horticulture Department at Southwestern Louisiana Institute/the University of Southwestern Louisiana as a librarian and instructor. She was a member of the Society for Louisiana Irises, Louisiana Society for Horticultural Research and other horticultural societies. This collection consists of information on nurseries and assorted flowers, fruits, and vegetables, plants, etc. Also included is material on organizations of which she was a member.

COLL 371 – Marie Caillet Papers

Marie Caillet taught Home Economics at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) until her retirement in 1972. She was one of the founding members of the Society for Louisiana Irises. This collection consists of personal information, correspondence, photographs, and material on the Society for Louisiana Irises.

COLL 387 – John J. Lynch Papers

John J. Lynch a biologist, botanist, and preservationist, specializing in the wetlands and migratory birds. He was especially concerned with the survival of Whooping Cranes in Louisiana. Other endeavors included studies on Louisiana orchids, surveying migratory patterns of waterfowl, and teaching about coastal marshes at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). This collection consists of Lynch’s research and personal papers, including correspondence, maps, and research and writings on Whooping Cranes, marsh ecology, wildlife, and more. Mary Lynch Courville, daughter of John J. Lynch, donated this collection.

COLL 499 – Caroline Dormon Collection

Caroline Dormon was a botanist and horticulture who worked closely with theU.S. Forest Service to establish parks and forestlands. Sheconsulted on multiple projects for such parks as the Hodges Gardens State Park in Sabine Parish and the 301-acre Louisiana State Arboretum in Evangeline Parish.This collection consists of framed sketches of different flowers. The sketches are oversized and are organized into three boxes.The Louisiana Society for Horticultural Research Board of Directors donated the collection.

COLL 500 – Walter C. Holmes Collection

Dr. Walter Holmes is a retired botanist and professor of biology. He has taught at Northwestern State University and Baylor University. A native of St. John the Baptist Parish, he has written much on Louisiana plants and wildlife. This collection contains two unpublished manuscripts he wrote on Louisiana plants and animals. Dr. Holmes and his wife Nan Holmes donated the collection.

COLL 530 – Thomas C. Michot Papers

COLL 531 – Jacob M. Valentine Papers

MSS 81 – William E. Wunderlich Collection

Materials related to efforts to control aquatic plants like water hyacinth. For many years Wunderlich was Chief of Aquatic Growth Control Section, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans. Donated by James Foret.

MSS 246 – Bird Refuges of Louisiana Article

The Bird of Refuges of Louisiana by Theodore Roosevelt. Scribner’s Magazine, Volume LIX, March 1916, no.3.