Colgan and Bruner Families Papers
Dates: 1826-1983.
Relatives of the Truman family.
The papers of the Colgan and Bruner families include
correspondence, financial records, legal documents, handwritten notes,
newspaper clippings, and other documents mostly relating to the history
of the Colgan family and the relationship by marriage between the Colgans
and the family of Harry S. Truman. The collection contains letters written
or received by Truman's aunt, Emily Truman Colgan; her husband, Rochester
Campbell Colgan; their son, Murray Truman Colgan; and their granddaughter,
Virginia Colgan Bruner. Also in the collection are newspaper clippings
and other printed materials concerning President Truman.
[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description
| Series Descriptions | Folder
Title List]
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Size: Less than one linear foot (about 1,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Mrs. Bruner has given to the U.S. government her copyright in all unpublished
materials in this collection, and in any other collection of Colgan-Bruner papers in
depositories administered by the U.S. government. Documents prepared by U.S. government
officials in the course of their duties are also in the public domain. Copyright in other
documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Dennis Bilger (1984); Randy Sowell (2004); David Clark (2007).
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
1855 (July 25) | |
Birth of Emily Ricks Truman (younger sister of John Anderson Truman,
Harry S. Truman's father) |
1875 (October 13) | |
Marriage of Emily Ricks Truman to Rochester Campbell Colgan |
1879 (September 9) | |
Birth of Murray Truman Colgan, Harry Truman's cousin, son of Rochester and
Emily Colgan |
1881 (July 17) | |
Birth of Myra Emily (Polly) Colgan, Harry Truman's cousin, daughter of
Rochester and Emily Colgan |
1882 | |
Birth of Fred Rochester Colgan, Harry Truman's cousin, son of Rochester
and Emily Colgan |
1884 (May 8) | |
Birth of Harry S. Truman |
1885 (July 7) | |
Birth of Mary Virgil Colgan, Harry Truman's cousin, daughter of Rochester
and Emily Colgan |
1905 | |
Marriage of Murray Truman Colgan and Milbra Campbell |
1906 (September 14) | |
Birth of Rochester Campbell Colgan II, son of Murray and Milbra Colgan |
1912 (July 16) | |
Birth of Virginia Elizabeth Colgan, daughter of Murray and Milbra Colgan |
1935 (June 8) | |
Marriage of Virginia Elizabeth Colgan to Dr. Robert Earl Bruner
(they would have three children: Murray Truman Bruner, Robert Earl Bruner, Jr., and
Mary Ann Bruner) |
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| Collection Description | Series
Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
The papers of the Colgan and Bruner families include correspondence, financial records,
legal documents, handwritten notes, and newspaper clippings providing genealogical information
about the Colgan family and their relationship by marriage with the family of Harry S. Truman.
As a young man, Truman was especially close to his Colgan cousins: Murray, Myra ("Polly"), Fred,
and Mary, who were roughly the same age as Truman. The future President briefly lived with
the Colgans while working in a Kansas City bank in 1905. In later years, he continued to
correspond with his cousins and their children.
The collection is comprised of two series, a General File and a Harry S. Truman File. The General
File contains documents dating back to 1826 that relate to the ancestors of Rochester Campbell Cogan,
who married Harry Truman's aunt, Emily Ricks Truman, in 1875. Of particular interest are several
letters to Colgan's mother describing conditions in the Kansas-Missouri border region during the
Civil War, and documenting the raid on the region by Confederate forces under the command of
General Sterling Price in late 1864. Also included in this series is a 1900 letter from
William T. Truman (Emily's older brother) to his younger sister, Mary Martha Truman, containing
references to Harry Truman and his parents. Other letters, financial records, and legal
documents relate to the affairs of Rochester and Emily Colgan and their eldest son, Murray
Truman Colgan. Virginia Colgan, Murray's daughter, married Dr. Robert E. Bruner in 1935, and the
series includes some materials pertaining to their family. The General File also contains information
about other prominent Missourians: the artist Thomas Hart Benton; Dr. John Sappington, who
pioneered in the use of quinine as a treatment for malaria; and Sappington's
great-great-great-granddaughter, the film star Ginger Rogers. The Sappingtons were distant
relatives of the Colgans.
The Harry S. Truman File mostly consists of clippings of newspaper and magazine articles relating
to Mr. Truman and his family, and programs for such special events as the 1949 Inauguration.
The series also includes Truman correspondence with Dr. and Mrs. Bruner, dating from the 1930s to
the 1970s. Most of this correspondence marks occasions such as birthdays and holidays, but a few
letters refer to the prominent involvement of the Bruners in the Cerebral Palsy Foundation (two of
their children suffered from the disease). A small accretion was added to the series in 2007, consisting of
Truman correspondence with Mr. and Mrs Rochester C. Colgan II, Mrs. Roy D. (Myra Colgan) Hornbuckle,
Benjamin F. Cook, and Murray Colgan. Much of the correspondence in the accretion relates to birthdays,
holidays and the death of Harry S. Truman.
Related materials at the Truman Library include the papers of Roy
Romine, which contain Truman's correspondence with his cousins Myra
Colgan Hornbuckle and Mary Colgan Romine. Also of interest is the Library's
oral history interview with Mary Ethel
Noland, another Truman cousin who recalls the practical jokes Harry
and the Colgans played on each other when they were young.
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| Collection Description | Series
Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Container Nos. | | Series |
1-2 | | GENERAL FILE, 1826-1977 |
| | Correspondence, financial records, handwritten notes, legal
documents, newspaper clippings, and other items relating to the Colgan and Bruner families
and their connection with Harry S. Truman. Arranged alphabetically by folder title. |
2 | | HARRY S. TRUMAN FILE, 1937-1983 |
| | Newspaper clippings, programs, correspondence, and other items
documenting the life of President Truman and his association with Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Bruner
Mr. and Mrs. Rochester C. Colgan II and Mrs. Roy D. Hornbuckle. Arranged alphabetically
by folder title, and thereunder chronologically.
|
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch
| Collection Description |
Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
FOLDER TITLE LIST
Box 1
- Account Books-R. C. Colgan, c. 1900
- Account Books-Regarding Wages Paid, 1888
- Addresses, List of-Colgan, Bruner, Ragland, Truman, and Wallace Families, Etc.
- Announcements and Calling Cards
- Benton, Thomas Hart [clippings, etc., 1930-1977]
- Bible-List of Births, Marriages, and Deaths Taken from the Bible of Anderson Shipp Truman
- Bruner-Commissioning of the U.S.S. Fulton, September 12, 1941
- Bruner-Colgan Correspondence, 1948
- Buying a Slave [or land]-Legal Paper, 1845
- Campbell and Colgan Tax and Other Receipts, c. 1826-1877
- Campbell, Hugh-Correspondence
- Campbell, Miscellaneous-Correspondence, 1867, 1885, Undated
- Civil War Letters to Elizabeth Colgan
- Colgan, Elizabeth-Correspondence, 1864-1889
- Colgan, Emily-Contracts, 1903
- Colgan, E. R.-Correspondence
- Colgan-Financial Statements (Bills), 1838-1901
- Colgan, Fred-Correspondence with Murray Colgan, 1912
- Colgan, Grandmother and Aunt Emma-Letters from Cammie Colgan, 1886
- Colgan Insurance and Other Receipts
- Colgan, Mattie-Class of 1890
- Colgan, Murray-Correspondence, General, 1898-1902
- Colgan, Murray-Correspondence with Milbra Campbell, 1904
- Colgan, Murray-Correspondence with Nat Young, 1898-1899
- Colgan, Murray-Letter to His Mother, 1901
- Colgan, Murray-Manual Training High School, 1903, Etc.
- Colgan, Murray-Pocket Memorandum, 1902
- Colgan, Myra-Correspondence, 1903, 1905, Undated
- Colgan, Rochester and E. R.-Agreements and Contracts, 1902-1903
- Colgan, Rochester C.-Correspondence from School Land Department, Guthrie, Territory of Oklahoma, 1901
- Colgan, Rochester C.-Deeds and Contracts, 1892-1897
- Colgan, Rochester C.-Letter, 1877, Etc.
- Colgan, Rochester C.-Letters from F. M. McGuire, 1870-1872, Etc.
- Colgan, Thomas G., Inventory of the Estate of (Not Dated)
- Colgan, Thomas G.-Land Grants, 1852
- Colgan-Truman History-Letter, 1957
- Colgan, William Henry-Pocket File, 1880
- Colgan, William Henry to R. C. Colgan, 1893
- Dairy, Country Club-Dr. R. E. Bruner, 1975
- Johnson, R. E., from R. C. Colgan, 1901
- Miscellaneous Material
- Newspaper Clippings-Miscellaneous
- Receipts-Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Bruner, 1972-1975
- Sappington-Correspondence Regarding Genealogical Records
- Sappington-Data on Family History
- Sappington, Dr. John-Articles and Newspaper Clippings Regarding, 1930-1967
Box 2
- Sappington-Family History
- Sappington-Genealogical Background Materials
- Sappington-Harvey Sappington's Autograph Book, 1889
- Truman, Mary Martha-Letter from W. T. Truman, 1900
- Truman, Mattie [Mary Martha]-Letters from Ellen Noland and Others, 1900
- Ararat Temple, Kansas City, Missouri-Ceremony, November 1, 1948, Program
- Correspondence Between President and Mrs. Truman and Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Bruner, c. 1937-1972
- Correspondence Between President and Mrs. Truman and Mr. and Mrs. Rochester C. Colgan II,
1952-1979 [2007 Accretion]
- Correspondence Between President and Mrs. Roy D. Hornbuckle, 1946-1961 [2007 Accretion]
- Correspondence Between Senator Truman and Benjamin F. Cook, 1944 [2007 Accretion]
- Correspondence Between Senator Truman and Murray Colgan, 1944 [2007 Accretion]
- Cross Reference Sheet [for photo, and genealogical information]
- Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation-Program
- Newspaper Articles in Kansas City Star by Margaret Truman Daniel, December 1972
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1940s
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1950s
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1960-1965
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1966-1969
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1970-1972
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1973-1974
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1974-1979
- Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman-1980s
- 1949 Inaugural Program
- Saturday Evening Post, June 13, 1964, Featuring Article on Harry S. Truman
- Tribute to Harry S. Truman by W. Stuart Symington [Truman Memorial Concert, 1974]
- Whistle Stop-Harry S. Truman Library Institute
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| Collection Description | Series
Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
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