 Truitt and Billings Family Papers
Collection DescriptionBiographical NoteSelvia Devanie (S. D.) Truitt (1894-1975) was a county extension agent for Fulton County, Georgia. Born and raised in Whitesville in Harris County, Georgia, Truitt graduated from the Georgia A&M School in Carrolton in 1913, and attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1917. He began his career as County Extension Agent for Oconee County in September 1917, transferring to Hancock County in 1922 and serving as the County agent there for nine years. In July 1932, Truitt transferred to Fulton County and served there until taking an emeritus post in 1961 and then retiring in 1966. In 1958, S. D. received the Outstanding Leadership Achievement with Rural Youth Award from the American Hereford Association, and the next year was awarded the Superior Service Award by the United States Department of Agriculture. Truitt was heavily involved in community organizations such as the Tri-City Civitan Club, the Southeastern Fair Association, the Florence Crittendon Home, and 4-H. He also worked on promoting fire prevention. Truitt married Maria Cotton (1894-1997) and they had two daughters, Leila T. Grubbs (formerly Williams) (1922-) and Elizabeth T. Billings (1927-2010). In 1975, the city of College Park honored Truitt by renaming Camp Fulton for him. Ray Henry Billings (1922-1979) was a communications engineer for the Atlanta Police Department and an amateur photographer. He was born in Vernon, Texas to Melford Ray Billings (1893-1969) and Louise Dorothy Frank Billings (1898-1964). Billings served in the 13th Fighter Squadron, United States Air Force. He married Elizabeth Truitt and the couple had four children, Truitt Ray (1949-2007), Maria Frieda (1951-), Henry Lee (1955-), and Raynette Leila (1957-). Upon completing his service in the Air Force, Billings attended Georgia Tech, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. He took a job with the Ford Motor Company in Hapeville, and later became communications engineer with the Atlanta Police Department. He designed the Emergency 911 system for the city of Atlanta and worked with the Motorola Corporation to purchase the 911 towers for the system. Billings retired in 1978. Elizabeth taught school in Fulton County for 28 years. Scope and ContentThe collection comprises the papers of the S. D. Truitt family, and the Ray Henry Billings Family. It includes materials relating to S. D. Truitt's career as a county extension agent from 1917 to 1966, his acceptance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Superior Service Award in 1959, the Truitt family's involvement with a 4-H camp, slides of a 1959 trip to Washington D.C., and items relating to the family's friendships with several prominent Georgia politicians. Included also are items relating to Ray Henry Billings' career as a communications engineer for the Atlanta Police Department, Billings' and son Henry's involvement with Boy Scouts, and the premature birth of Maria Frieda Truitt. The collection includes awards, clippings, photographs, correspondence, color slides, and a scrapbook. Notable also are the bronze bull award that S. D. Truitt received from the American Hereford Association, and a pair of homemade Talmadge suspenders. Organization and ArrangementThese papers are organized into four series: I. Truitt Family, II. Billings Family, III. Political Files, IV. Photographs, and V. Audiovisual Materials. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationTruitt and Billings Family Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641. 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 permissions. 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: 2010. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this Repository
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection Lester G. Maddox Biographical File Clifford Hodges Brewton Collection of Lester G. Maddox Speech/Press Research Files Thomas Gresham Collection of Lester Maddox Speech/Press Files Related Collections in Other RepositoriesRay Billings Photographs, Atlanta History Center | ||||||||||||||||||||