This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items) |
Abstract | Mary Malvina Southard was attending Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) in 1907, when she met Solomon Haddon Geer, a sophomore at Furman University. Their relationship continued through Geer's years at Furman and his attendance at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., 1909-1913. They were married in June 1913. Solomon Haddon Geer subsequently served on various naval vessels and participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, by United States troops in 1914. He was then transferred to duty in the Pacific, serving on a survey ship in the Philippines after the outbreak of World War I. He returned to the United States in 1918 and seems to have died between 1918 and 1924. The collection contains a large number of letters, 1906-1936 and undated, from Solomon Haddon Geer to Mary Malvina Southard during their courtship and after their marriage in 1913. There are also letters from other members of the Southard and Geer families to Mary Malvina Southard Geer. The letters from Solomon Haddon Geer discuss his social life while a student at Furman University, his academic and social experiences while at the United States Naval Academy, details of his training and duties while serving in the United States Navy on various warships, and his experiences during the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, and on survey duty in the Philippines during World War I. Also included are typed transcripts of most of the letters; photographs of Mary Malvina Southard Geer; and photographs taken during the Russian Revolution, that appear to depict the aftermath of the coup attempt led by Czech general Rudolf Gajda, in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1919. The addition of August 2022 includes Geer family postcards; transcripts of two interviews with Mary Malvina Southard Geer's son, former UNC-Chapel Hill history professor William Monroe Geer about his upbringing in Jonesville, S.C.; and William Monroe Geer's handwritten transcription of a journal kept by 19th century South Carolina politician Benjamin Franklin Perry. Journal entries date from Entries from 1832 to 1863. |
Creator | Geer, Mary Malvina Southard. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English. |
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Mary Malvina Southard was the daughter of W. O. Southard and his wife, S. C. Southard, of Jonesville, S.C. She was attending Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) in 1907, when she met Solomon Haddon Geer, the son of a hotelier from Belton, S.C. Geer was a sophomore at Furman University. Their relationship continued through Geer's years at Furman and his attendance at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., 1909-1913. They were married in June 1913. Solomon Haddon Geer subsequently served on various naval vessels and participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, by United States troops in 1914. He was then transferred to duty in the Pacific, serving on a survey ship in the Philippines after the outbreak of World War I. He may have contracted tuberculosis in 1917. He returned to the United States in 1918 and was estranged from his wife. He died in 1935.
Mary Malvina Southard Geer and Solomon Haddon Geer had two children: William "Bill" Monroe Geer (1915-1999) and Dorothy Haddon Geer (1918-2002). Bill Geer was a long-time history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Back to TopThe collection contains a large number of letters, 1906-1936 and undated, from Solomon Haddon Geer to Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) student Mary Malvina Southard during their courtship and after their marriage in 1913. There are also letters from other members of the Southard and Geer families to Mary Malvina Southard Geer. The letters from Solomon Haddon Geer discuss his social life while a student at Furman University, his academic and social experiences while at the United States Naval Academy, details of his training and duties while serving in the United States Navy on various warships, and his experiences during the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, and on survey duty in the Philippines during World War I. Also included are typed transcripts of most of the letters; photographs of Mary Malvina Southard Geer; and photographs taken during the Russian Revolution, that appear to depict the aftermath of the coup attempt led by Czech general Rudolf Gajda, in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1919. The addition of August 2022 includes Geer family postcards; transcripts of two interviews with Mary Malvina Southard Geer's son, former UNC-Chapel Hill history professor William Monroe Geer about his upbringing in Jonesville, S.C.; and William Monroe Geer's handwritten transcription of a journal kept by 19th century South Carolina politician Benjamin Franklin Perry. Journal entries date from Entries from 1832 to 1863.
Back to TopThe collection contains a large number of letters, 1906-1936 and undated, from Solomon Haddon Geer to Greenville Female College (later Greenville Woman's College) student Mary Malvina Southard during their courtship and after their marriage in 1913. There are also letters from other members of the Southard and Geer families to Mary Malvina Southard Geer. The letters from Solomon Haddon Geer discuss his social life while a student at Furman University, his academic and social experiences while at the United States Naval Academy, details of his training and duties while serving in the United States Navy on various warships, and his experiences during the 1914 occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, and on survey duty in the Philippines during World War I. Also included are typed transcripts of most of the letters; photographs of Mary Malvina Southard Geer; and photographs taken during the Russian Revolution, that appear to depict the aftermath of the coup attempt led by Czech general Rudolf Gajda, in Vladivostok, Russia, in 1919.
Folder 1 |
Letters, 1906 |
Folder 2-9
Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9 |
Letters, 1907 |
Folder 10-16
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16 |
Letters, 1908 |
Folder 17-18
Folder 17Folder 18 |
Letters, 1909 |
Folder 19-21
Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21 |
Letters, 1910 |
Folder 22-30
Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
Letters, 1911 |
Folder 31-40
Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40 |
Letters, 1912 |
Folder 41-53
Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53 |
Letters, 1913 |
Folder 54-59
Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59 |
Letters, 1914 |
Folder 60 |
Letters, 1915-1917 |
Folder 61 |
Letters, 1924-1936 |
Folder 62 |
Undated letters |
Folder 63 |
Undated letters and cards |
Folder 64 |
Transcripts, 1906 |
Folder 65 |
Transcripts, 1907 |
Folder 66 |
Transcripts, 1908 |
Folder 67 |
Transcripts, 1909-1910 |
Folder 68-69
Folder 68Folder 69 |
Transcripts, 1911 |
Folder 70-71
Folder 70Folder 71 |
Transcripts, 1912 |
Folder 72-73
Folder 72Folder 73 |
Transcripts, 1913 |
Folder 74 |
Transcripts, 1914-1917 |
Folder 75 |
Undated transcripts |
Image Folder PF-5005/1 |
Personal photographs |
Image Folder PF-5005/2-3
PF-5005/2PF-5005/3 |
War photographs |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 20230511.1
The addition of August 2022 includes Geer family postcards; transcripts of two interviews with Mary Malvina Southard Geer's son, former UNC-Chapel Hill history professor William Monroe Geer about his upbringing in Jonesville, S.C.; and William Monroe Geer's handwritten transcription of a journal kept by 19th century South Carolina politician Benjamin Franklin Perry. Journal entries date from 1832 to 1863.
Folder 76-77 |
The Life and Journal of B. F. Perry, Volumes I and IIAppears to be a handwritten transcription of a journal kept by Benjamin Franklin Perry. Entries date from 1832-1863. Inside front cover includes instructions to "return to William M. Geer, Carrel 503, Library UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. or Jonesville, S.C. |
Folder 78 |
Geer Family postcards, Belton, S.C., 1907-1915
|
Folder 79 |
Solomon Haddon Geer postcards, 1906-19141906-1914 |
Folder 80 |
Transcripts of interviews with William Monroe Geer, 1990Transcripts of two interviews with William Monroe Geer conducted in the summer of 1990 by Pamela Dean of the Southern Oral History Program and transcribed by Sarah Geer. The interviews concern the Southard family and his upbringing in Jonesville, S.C. An additional interview (L-0034) can be found via the Southern Oral History Program database. |
Items separated include photographs (PF-5005/1-3).
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