Of particular interest in the correspondence is discussion on of the building of bridges and roads. One letter from 1912 documents the first payment received toward the building of the Bermuda Bridge. In addition, there is correspondence from members of the area School Board and Police Jury. A petition to build a school at Old River, Louisiana is included in an 1896 letter. The bulk of the correspondence is from the late 1890s and early 1910s.
There are only three photographs in the series, with only one being identified and dated. The other two are unidentified group shots.
The bulk of the invoices date from the late 1890's and document purchases made by Prudhomme from New Orleans retailers. Of importance, are a few documents describing the mode of transportation used to ship the goods.
Included in the manuscripts are enlarged copies of the Prudhomme Papers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill microfilm collection. These documents include papers related to the Prudhomme and Lecomte families. Also included are drawings for the construction of The Lecomte Building in Natchitoches.
Publications include brochures, booklets and catalogs relating to Prudhomme's activities of road building and his retail store. Of interest, are several retail catalogs advertising road equipment and machinery of the early twentieth century. Also included are several New Orleans Cotton Exchange Reports and New Orleans retail price lists of general merchandise. These items date from the late 1890s.
Journals include two poetry books from the late 1890s written by Prudhomme family women. Also present are several personal journals from various family members. Of particular interest are recorded minutes and a member list of the 1891 Bermuda Tennis Club.
The promissory notes consist of notes written on scrap paper requesting items from the Prudhomme store and promising future payment for the these items.
The last group, Empty Envelopes and Fragments, is a sampling of some of the empty envelopes found in the collection, most of which are addressed to Prudhomme. Also, in this box are some fragments of letters and receipts.
Location: 17-A-2 and 17-C-2
Correspondence (1888-1974, n.d.)
Box 1 All documents are original
Folder 1 1888-1892
Included are:
Correspondence regarding the condition of the bridge
crossing Bayou Derbonne and the rebuilding of it,
1889
Form letter from Natchitoches Drug Co., Limited, 1891
Establishing a school in Cypress, LA., 1891
Notification of a meeting of the Democratic Central Executive
Committee, 1891
Request from the Bradstreet Company for a report on P. E.
Prudhomme, 1891
Request for information on the hog law, 1892
Notification of school board and Police Jury meetings
Folder 2 1895-1896
Included are:
Statements of accounts and invoices from The Old
River Lumber Co., Ltd., 1895
Letter from United States Department of Agriculture requesting
P. E. Prudhomme to work as a reporter for the Division of
Statistics, 1895
Request for teaching position at Cypress School, 1895
Departure of the Dominican Priests, 1896
Carpetbaggers, scalawags, unwanted Republican administration,
1896
Notice of dissolution of the firm of Flowers, King & Putnam,
1896
Petition for a public school at Old River, LA., 1896
Notice of school board & police jury meetings, 1896
Letter from chairman of the Democratic State Executive
Committee, 1896
Folder 3 1909-1911
Included are:
Letter from the Office of Commissioner Of Louisiana Military
Records regarding a compilation of records & list of men
who served from Louisiana in the “War Between the States” and
publication of the records in book form, 1909
Certification of election of P. E. Prudhomme as delegate to the
Annual Reunion and Convention of the Louisiana Division
UCV for 1910
Commercial solicitation flyers & form letters
Washed out roads & bridges between Flora and Potts, 1911
Repair of Berry Bridge on Bayou Pierre, 1911
Political solicitations, 1911
Folder 4 1911
Included are:
Letter from C. D. Keator asking for donations of produce to be
used for an exhibit in Chicago, 1911
Letter from Eugenia Garrett requesting payment of her boarding
fees at LA. State Normal School, 1911
Commercial solicitations
Request from H. V. Kirkland for help in finding employment,
1911
LA. State Board of Health, copies of Sanitary Code were
forwarded to Dr. J. T. Keator, Dr. E. G. Lawton, Dr. L. A.
Cockfield, and Dr. J. B. Pratt, 1911
Folder 5 1911-1912, 1942, 1974, others not dated
Included are:
Invoice from Kaffie Bros. Company, Ltd., 1911
Commercial solicitations
Request for road repairs from A. J. Hertzog, 1911
Order for bridge materials, 1911
Receipt for payment made by P. E. Prudhomme for Bermuda
Bridge on Cane River, 1912
Request for road repairs from M. L. Payne, 1912
Bill, for services rendered, Bermuda Bridge, from Ira W.
Sylvester, 1912
Folder 6 1911, others not dated
Unidentified
Invoices (bulk, late 1890s)
Box 2
Folder 7 1888 – 1987
Included are:
Letter written by David Dranguet Williamson, re: compilation
of old invoices found in the Atahoe Plantation’s store,
1987 photocopies
Freight bill, Statements of Account, Receipts, Bill of Lading,
1888-1940 , original documents
Promissory Note – named individuals agree to pay P. E.
Prudhomme of the bridge committee, 1895; original
document
Invoice of payment due for laborers signed by H. L. Perot,
1911; original document
Folder 8 1905-1940, All documents are original
Accounts payable list, not dated
Receipts, Purchase order, Statements of Account, Invoices,
Folder 9 1888-1892, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Member’s letter from The United States Mercantile Protective
Association
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Receipts
Folder 10 1888-1892, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Invoices
Folder 11 1888-1892, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Shipping receipts
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Folder 12 1888-1892, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Invoices
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Letter concerning a missing shipment of cases of shoes
Shipping receipts
Order for “7lbs. twenty pennies” to be shipped to J. A.
Prudhomme
Debt collection notice
Box 3
Folder 13 1888-1892, others not dated, (1) photocopied news article,
All other documents are original
Included are:
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Invoices
Receipts
News article pertaining to counterfeiting, photocopied
Folder 14 1887-1891, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Shipping receipts
Folder 15 1889-1891, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Bill for work on court house from W. Harkins
Cotton report
Shipping receipts
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Folder16 1889-1892, others not dated, All documents are original
Included are:
Bank draft
Shipping receipts
Statements of Account
Requests for payment of accounts
Folder 17 1890-1891, others not dated, All documents are original
Shipping receipts
Statements of Account
Folder 18 1889-1891, others not dated, All documents are original
Requests for payment of accounts
Shipping receipts
Invoices
Statements of Account
Notice from New Orleans Brewing Association, re: they will
resume bottling of their “Louisiana” brand beer
Manuscripts (1833-1873, n.d.)
Box 4
Folder 19 Prudhomme Papers (copies), 1833-1873; some in French; source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Box 4 continued
Folder 20 Prudhomme Papers (copies), 1833-1873; some in French; source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Folder 21 Prudhomme Papers (copies), 1833-1873; some in French; source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Folder 22 Program, Cane Theatre, week of May 3rd, no year, Natchitoches,
LA.; original document
Program, Cane Theatre, week of September 28th, no year,
Natchitoches, LA.; original document
Program, “The Priscilla Beach Theatre Presents Kind Lady”, no
date; original document
Folder 23 Graduation invitation, Mr. Robert E. Chaplin, Louisiana State
Normal School, 1910; original
Poem, “Dearest – Then I Love You More, 1 Verse”, handwritten;
original document
Folder 24 Cotton Sales Contract, Starke Taylor & Son, Inc. vs. Riverside
Plantation, et al, photocopy
Occupational License, F. Reginald Prudhomme, Retail Dealer,
Bermuda, Louisiana 1934, 1935, 1936; originals
Folder 25 Petition for Membership, Stonewall Lodge No. 78, Grand Lodge
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; original
document
Pamphlet, “Instituted February 6th, 1897. By-Laws Stonewall
Lodge No. 78, I.O.O.F., Natchitoches, La. Meets Every
Tuesday Evening”; original document
Folder 26 Mantle for gasoline lamps from Sunshine Products Co. in Chicago, Illinois, shipped in small cotton bag with Cash On Delivery (C. O. D.) paper tag addressed to P. Felix Prudhomme, 1933; original
Folder 27 “Natchitoches Hospital Membership Certificate” for P. Felix Prudhomme, P. E. and J. B. O. Prudhomme, December 8th 1933 – December 8th 1934, hospitalization plan; original document
Receipt, Natchitoches Hospitalization Service, payment of dues,
P. Felix Prudhomme, 1933 – 1934
Folder 28 “Road Report, State of Louisiana, Parish of Natchitoches”, blank, original document
Appointment of unreadable as Overseer of Road No. 16 from Bayou Natchez, 1896 (?); original document
Folder 29 “An Address to Our Fellow Democrats”, submitted by Amb. J.
Hertzog, L. Charleville, J. S. Dixon, J. H. Normand, P. E.
Prudhomme, H. H. Hathorn, J. J. Rains, Isidore Raphiel
proxy for H. Raphiel; Natchitoches, La., January 4, 1892;
accompanying envelope addressed to Theo Hertzog,
Bermuda, LA.; original documents
Recommendation for membership in the Progressive League of
Louisiana;form letter; no date; original document
Membership ticket, Progressive League of La., Mr. E. P.
Prudhomme; no date; original document
Certificate, Mr. P. E. Prudhomme, donation to the Democratic
National Committee, 1908; original document
Memoriam card, John F. Kennedy; original document
Political solicitations, not dated; original documents
Article, “Text of FDR War Plea”, no date; photocopy
Bloom County cartoons (2), photocopy
Folder 30 Brochures, road grading equipment, J. D. Adams & Company,
no date
Folder 31 Catalog, pamphlet & letter, road machinery, Superior Machinery
& Supply Company, 1910, 1911
Folder 32 Catalog, flyers & letters, road machinery & bridge supplies,
not dated
Folder 33 Form letter, Prof. Beery’s Mail Course in Horsemanship; no date; original document
Paint samples with accompanying letter from A. O. Pessou,
1888; original documents
Pamphlet, Home Fence Company, no date
Folder 34 Pamphlets, farm machinery:
International Harvester, 1910
Foster & Williams, no date
Folder 35 Pamphlet, in French and English, “More Light. How Long, Oh,
How Long Will The People Be Deceived?”
Not in folder: LA. State Tax Assessment, blank; original
In small box: Free Samples, “Nash’s Purgative Tablets”, “Nash’s Capsules
For Relief of Colds”, manufactured by Nash Bros. Drug Co. in Jonesboro, Arkansas; original
Publications (1871-1987, n.d.)
Box 5
Folder 36 Graduation invitation, Natchitoches High School, Mazie Jean
Dranguet, 1952; attached: news article, “Three NSC
Dramatics and Speech Leaders”, 1955; photocopy
Graduation program, Natchitoches Central High School, 1987
News article, “Lecture Course Normal Auditorium”, 1902;
photocopy
News article, “Miss Mazie Jean Dranguet Becomes Bride of
Richard Lamar Williamson”, no date; photocopy
News articles, “Dranguets Give Post-Rehearsal Supper Party”,
“Relatives and Friends Convene Here for Wedding”, 1958;
photocopy
Notice, advertisement flyer for a barbecue held in Natchitoches,
no date
Folder 37 Employment solicitation for position of salesman from the
Cavascope Manufacturing Co., for P. E. Prudhomme, 1891
Pamphlet, Dr. J. H. McLean Medicine Company, 1892
Folder 38 Letter & price list for buggies, 1891
Paint samples, no date
Flyer, National Remedy Company, no date
Folder 39 Political publications, “The Democratic Parish Executive Committee 1892”, “The Lottery In the Northern States, Progressive League of Louisiana 1890”, “Both Sides of It,
Progressive League of Louisiana 1890"
Folder 40 Pamphlet, The Monthly Banner, Danville, N. C. March 1892
Pamphlet, Davis Leisure Hour, published by John H. Collins &
Co., No date
Folder 41 Cotton & Sugar Factor daily price list; 1891
New Orleans Cotton Exchange Market Report; November 21,
1889;December 13, 1889; February 19, 1891
Shipping Order, Texas & Pacific Railway Company, 1925
Folder 42 Price list, J. W. Platt, Wholesale and Retail Grocer, April 3, 1891
Folder 43 Price lists, E. F. Del Bondio, Commission Merchant,
July 1891, September 1891, November 1891
Not in folder New York Life Insurance Company policy, Peter E. Prudhomme,
1908-1909
Net Cash Price List, Basye and Robinson, 1891; *moved to Art Cabinet Drawer 10
Box 6
Booklet, Ginseng Its History Cultivation Market Value and Profits,
no date
Pamphlets, Proceedings of the Bimetallic Conference, 1896,
Bimetallism 1896,Agricultural Prices and How Price Levels
Are Determined 1895
Our Land and its Care, 1949
“United States Department of Agriculture Monthly List of Publications”,
July & October 1911
School Laws Enacted by the General Assembly of Louisiana Session
of 1910
Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Tobacco. Yellow Leaf
andCigar Varieties.
Letter & pamphlet, Prof. Beery’s Mail Course in Horsemanship, 1911
Brochure, Reversible Road Machine, Grader and Ditcher, 1911
Brochure, The Welcome Guest A Book For Old and Young, no date
Box 7
Barr’s of St. Louis Fashion Catalogue No. 66 Spring and Summer,
1896
Second Series No. 10 Bulletin of the State Experiment Station of
the Louisiana State University and A. & M. College, 1891
Third Annual Catalogue 1890-91 Horses
Bulletin of New Books Published by the American Book Company,
January 1896
Dead Moved or Married A list of money that does not belong to the
publishers – Maybe some of it is yours, published by Montgomery
Ward & Co., Chicago, 1892
Cotton Report, April 15th 1891
Pamphlets advertising plows, wine, medicinal products, grocery items, infant
food, and clothing
Box 8 Magazines & Newspapers
Rural Louisiana, December 1969
The Natchitoches Times Presents A Natchitoches Miscellany, Souvenir of the
City’s 250th Birthday Celebration, Thursday, May 7, 1964
The Daily Shreveport Times, Sunday, December 24, 1871
Cosmopolitan, March 1942, August 1967
Redbook, July 1942, March 1966
Ladies Home Journal, December 1966
Collier’s, October 1951
Better Homes & Gardens, December 1967
Look, September 1969
The American Home, December 1965
Life, March 1962
Journals (1887-1905)
Box 9
Pierce’s Memorandum and Account Book, 1906, 2 different copies
Scrapbook, M. Lise Prudhomme, 1887
Journal, not dated
Minutes & member list of the Bermuda Tennis Club, Miss Lise Prudhomme,
secretary, 1891
Letters & poems, some to Laura Prudhomme at Ever-green Plantation, Bermuda,
March 1889 – January 1890, others not dated
Promissory Notes (bulk)
Box 10
Folder 44 Shipping receipt, 1889
Statements of Account, 1891
Receipt for Breach of Peace suit, not dated
Note to unknown recipient from unknown sender, not dated
Folder 45 Invoices, payment due for work completed by O. Lambre, 1892
Invoices, payment due for work completed by others, 1890
Requests to have plows sharpened, 1890-1892
Receipt of payment for crossing school children, P. E.
Prudhomme To Dr. J. B. Petit, 1891
Letter from Joe O. Johnson, re: his uncle working on a building,
1890
Notes to Cousin Emanuel from O. Lambre, re: Emanuel can do
the blacksmithing work for the year, 1891
Invoices, payment due for work completed, not dated
Folder 46 Cash loans, from Felix & P. E. Prudhomme to various people,
1890, 1891, others not dated
Folder 47 Promissory Notes, 1889
Folder 48 Promissory Notes, 1890
Folder 49 Promissory Notes, January – March 1891
Folder 50 Promissory Notes, April – June 1891
Folder 51 Promissory Notes, July – December 1891
Folder 52 Promissory Notes, 1892
Folder 53 Promissory Notes, not dated
Folder 54 Promissory Notes, not dated
Empty Envelopes and Fragments (bulk, late 1890s)
Box 11
Empty envelopes
