Noland, Mary Ethel Papers

Cousin of Harry S. Truman

The papers of Mary Ethel Noland consist of postcards, correspondence, printed materials, charts, photographs and newspaper clippings generally relating to the genealogy of Harry S. Truman. Also included is correspondence from Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman and Margaret Truman to Mary Ethel Noland and Nellie Noland.

See also Mary Ethel Noland oral history.

Size: 2.4 linear feet (about 4,800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Mary Ethel Noland donated to the U.S. government her copyright interest in all unpublished writings in this collection.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: Erwin Mueller (1971); Sharie Simon, Jan Davis, David Clark and Randy Sowell (2007).

The papers of Mary Ethel Noland consist of postcards, correspondence, printed materials, charts, photographs and newspaper clippings generally relating to Harry S. Truman and his genealogy. Also included is correspondence from Bess Truman and Margaret Truman to Mary Ethel Noland (who was commonly called Ethel) and her sister Ellen Tilford “Nellie” Noland. The collection consists of four series.

Mary Ethel Noland was Harry S. Truman’s first cousin. Her mother, Margaret Ellen Truman, was a sister of John Anderson Truman, who was Harry S. Truman’s father. After the Truman family moved to Independence in 1890, Ethel and Harry developed a close relationship. During her lifetime, Ethel became the family genealogist and researched many of the branches of the family’s history. There are letters in the collection that were sent to Harry S. Truman regarding his genealogy, which he then forwarded to Ethel Noland for a response.

The Postcard File primarily consists of postcards with handwritten notes sent by Harry S. Truman to Ethel and Nellie Noland. The postcards are from places that Truman visited between 1903 and 1958 including South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Montana, Indiana, Ohio, Costa Rica, Mexico, Bermuda, Hawaii and France. Also included are postcards sent by Bess Truman and Margaret Truman to the Noland sisters during trips to Mississippi and Colorado. The postcards contain brief messages to the Noland family as well as photos of the places the Truman family visited, including schools, buildings, churches and landscapes.

The Correspondence File includes correspondence from Harry S. Truman to the Noland family from 1917 to 1968. The letters from Truman relate to his activities during World War I, Senatorial years, presidential administration and post-presidential life. Many of the letters from Truman relate to family genealogy and accompany letters he received from individuals claiming to be related to him. The series also contains a small amount of correspondence from Bess Truman and Margaret Truman to members of the Noland family. Biographical information about individuals mentioned in the correspondence has been included with the letters.

The Subject File contains a program from Harry S. Truman’s 1901 high school commencement, invitations, an abstract of title for land owned by the Nolands, newspaper clippings mostly related to Harry S. Truman, photographs of family members, a scrapbook of the 1949 Inauguration of Harry S. Truman, a scrapbook from the editors of Life for Ethel Noland and Nellie Noland pertaining to the Truman family, and souvenirs from the 1949 Inauguration.

The Genealogical File contains correspondence, charts, newspaper clippings, photographs, parish records, court records, deeds, land records, wills, and printed materials related to the genealogy of Harry S. Truman. The documents relate to the different branches of the Truman family including the Trumans, Colgans, Bruners, Shipps, Doniphans, Holmeses, Duvalls, Greggs, Nolands, and Tylers. Much of the correspondence is from relatives providing genealogical information about President Truman’s ancestors. Other correspondence is from individuals claiming to be related to Harry S. Truman. Another item in the series is a diary kept by Truman’s aunt, Mary Martha Truman, in 1893. The diary describes her visit to the Chicago World’s Fair.

Additional information about Mary Ethel Noland can be found in her oral history interviews, the President’s Secretary’s Files, and the Post-Presidential Papers.