 Clara Smith Collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. Materials
Collection DescriptionBiographical NoteBorn in 1897, Clara E. Smith was a native of Jackson County, Mississippi but lived most of her life in Madison and Clarke counties in Georgia. Smith was an attorney who started her law career as a secretary and bookkeeper for a law firm. She took the Correspondence Law Course from the American Extension University and read law under the guidance of the firm for which she worked. She took the Bar Examination in 1932 and was admitted to practice. She was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeals of Georgia as well as the United States Supreme Court. Clara Smith served on U. S. Senator Richard B. Russell's staff from 1941 to 1963. Senator Russell, chairman of the Senate Immigration Committee in 1941, hired Smith as a clerk of the committee. She transferred to Russell's office in 1947 when government reorganization changed the Immigration Committee to a subcommittee under Judiciary. In 1963, Miss Smith left Washington and reopened her law office in Athens, Georgia for general practice. Clara Smith died October 10, 1989 in Athens, Georgia. Scope and ContentExcluding a brief autobiographical sketch of Smith, the focus of the collection is U. S. Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. News clippings and mementos such as the announcement and platform for Governor of Georgia in 1930 and ballots for that election document the early years of Russell's career. News clippings begin in 1930 and extend to 1970. There are also programs of events memorializing the Senator after his death, as well as a few items concerning the Richard B. Russell Memorial Library. A copy of Senator Russell's will is included. Smith's record of mailed contributions to Russell's campaign fund is also part of the collection. The collection also contains photographs of various United States government officials (Robert McNamara, Herman Talmadge, Frank Carlson, Robert G. Stephens, Jr.), including former presidents (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson). Other miscellaneous photographs include images of the Biltmore House in Ashville, North Carolina and a group of high school students from Athens, Georgia visiting Washington, D.C. Organization and ArrangementThe collection is arranged chronologically where possible. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationClara Smith Collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. Materials, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641. Processing NotesNewspaper clippings were copied onto bond paper, matched against Russell scrapbooks, and duplicates discarded. Photographs were removed for preservation. User RestrictionsLibrary acts as "fair use" reproduction agent. Copyright InformationBefore material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Finding Aid PublicationFinding aid prepared on: 2008. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this Repository
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