Hinde, Edgar G. Papers

Postmaster of Independence, Missouri, 1935-1960 and Friend of Harry S. Truman

The papers of Edgar G. Hinde consist of letters, telegrams, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings from Harry S. Truman and Bess W. Truman, documenting Jackson County, Missouri politics and the Democratic Party in Jackson County and the State of Missouri.

Size: 5 linear inches (207 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donors have donated to the U.S. government their copyright interest in all unpublished writings in this collection. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Tammy K. Williams (2022).

The papers of Edgar G. Hinde consist of letters, telegrams, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings from Harry S. Truman and Bess W. Truman, documenting Jackson County, Missouri politics and the Democratic Party in Jackson County and the State of Missouri. Edgar Hinde served with Harry S. Truman in World War I, and Truman maintained close friendships with many of the men he served with. As a Senator, Truman helped Mr. Hinde obtain the position of Postmaster of Independence, Missouri.

Most of the letters from Mr. Truman to Hinde in this collection are typed, likely by one of Mr. Truman’s secretaries, but many of them contain handwritten postscripts by Mr. Truman. Topics of the letters include: Jackson County, Missouri politics; the Democratic Party in Missouri; construction of a Post Office building in Independence, Missouri; the Korean War; Tom Pendergast; Maurice Milligan; Missouri Governor Lloyd Stark; Independence, Missouri Mayor Roger Sermon; and others. Mr. Truman also made frequent reference to the "Harpie Club," a group of men that gathered together to play poker on the Independence Square.

Related collections include the Truman Papers: Papers as U. S. Senator and Vice-President; President’s Personal File (PPF 1245); President’s Secretary’s Files; Post-Presidential Papers; and the papers of James Aylward, Rufus Burrus, Jesse Donaldson, Shannon Douglass, Harry Easley, James Farley, Robert Hannegan, James Pendergast, and Roger T. Sermon, Sr. and Roger T. Sermon, Jr. Also related is the oral history interview with Edgar Hinde.