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Waggaman Family collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0394
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

The Camille Waggaman/Waggaman Family Collection consists largely of photographs and newspaper articles but also includes some personal correspondence and memorabilia. The bulk of the material regards Camille Waggaman and focuses upon her radio career (1932-1963) and upon the years after her retirement.

The collection also includes a number of family photographs and portrait reproductions dating from the seventeenth century. Regional or local historians may find these of interest since the Waggamans were among the most prominent plantation families of Louisiana.

Dates

  • 1841-1977, bulk 1932-63
  • Majority of material found within 1932 - 1963

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Biographical Note

Camille Waggaman was born in Houston, Texas in 1895 and was the youngest of five children. Along with her sister, Adele, she attended and was one of the first graduates of Rice Institute (est. 1912) in 1917. Two years after completing her education, she married Major Roy Stuart Brown of the U.S. Army Air Force who immediately took her off to the Phillippines where he had been posted on a two-year tour of duty. Camille was content to follow the major on his military wanderings until his retirement at the height of the depression (1932) forced her to seek additional income in the work-a-day world.

She reported the news for the Alabama Journal for a brief time until she successfully competed for a job as the hostess of a local radio talk show. Around the Town with Camille Brown became the longest running sponsored program of its day lasting exactly thirty-one years. By virtue of her radio popularity and active social life, she was regarded as among the most respected citizens of Montgomery.

That same respect was accorded her in Houston, where her family had been long time residents. Originating in Louisiana of French-Canadian and Spanish stock, the Waggamans were wealthy plantation owners. The family home, Avondale, was built in 1840, thirty years after Camille's great great-grandfather had arrived in New Orleans. Her great-grandfather came to Texas with the army. He was decorated for gallantry and meritorious conduct at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma in 1846 and retired from active service in 1861. Camille Brown died in 1974.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The Camille Waggaman/Waggaman Family Collection consists largely of photographs and newspaper articles but also includes some personal correspondence and memorabilia. The bulk of the material regards Camille Waggaman and focuses upon her radio career (1932-1963) and upon the years after her retirement. Regional or local historians may find these of interest since the Waggamans were among the most prominent plantation families of Louisiana.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mark Edwin Andrews, via Alumni Archives Committee, 1985 and 1987.

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Waggaman Family collection, 1841-1977, bulk 1932-1963 MS 394
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892