Collection contains mainly personal correspondence among members of the families of John S. Givens and Thomas B. Hopkins who lived in Louisiana and Texas. Included also are records concerning lands held by the Givens family in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Of special note in the correspondence are accounts of travel or work assignments abroad: Mattie Hopkins Williams in the Middle East (1910) and Japan (1920); Lyle Givens in Europe (1929); John S. Givens in Alaska (1935) and Czechoslovakia (1946); Lyle Givens Williams in Latin America (1943-1944); Agnes Givens Gercke in Japan (1946-1952) and Anna H. Givens in Japan (1950-1952). Other letters mention the Corpus Christi flood of 1919, the death of Will Rogers and Willey Post in 1935, and the controversy between the DAR and Marion Anderson in 1939. Major figures in this collection are John S. Givens (1835-1887); Sallie Torian Givens (1840-1928); Louise Givens Clegg (1874-1954); John S. Givens (1873-1936); Anna Hopkins Givens (1883-1963); Lyle Givens Williams (1905-1992); John S. Givens, Jr. (1913-1994); and Thomas B. Hopkins (1832-1922).

For more on Lyle Givens Williams, including some material on the Givens Family, see Collection 27 - David R. Williams Papers.

This collection was donated by Lyle Givens Williams.