[Ernest and Margaret Medders Sit in Furnished Room]

Description

Photograph of Ernest Medders and his wife Margaret Medders, sitting on a couch in a well furnished room.

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1 photograph : negative, b&w.

Creation Information

Cochran, Jimmy W. Creation Date: Unknown.

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This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Jimmy Cochran Photographs and was provided by the Midwestern State University to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. More information about this photograph can be viewed below.

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Midwestern State University

Midwestern State University is a leading public liberal arts university committed to providing students with rigorous undergraduate and graduate education in the liberal arts and the professions. The University was established in 1922 and is located in Wichita Falls, midway between Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

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Description

Photograph of Ernest Medders and his wife Margaret Medders, sitting on a couch in a well furnished room.

Physical Description

1 photograph : negative, b&w.

Notes

Part of a collection of 6000 photos, negatives, and ROTC memorabilia donated by the photographer to Moffett Library in 1999.

Ernest and Margaret Medders lived in Muenster, TX from 1961-1967. The couple moved to Muenster from Memphis, TN. Ernest was a mechanic and Margaret was a nurses aid at St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis. Ernest and some of his close relatives met with a Mississippi lawyer, who promised the family that they were the rightful heirs to the Spindletop oil fortune. Ernest and Margaret then began asking for loans from the Poor Sisters of St. Francis Seraph of Mishawa ka, Indiana. The Catholic order operated within the St. Joseph Hospital. Ernest promised the nuns that he would donate $10 million to their order once the lawyer had won the suit for the Spindletop fortune. Ernest and Margaret then moved to Muenster, TX, a predominantly Catholic town, to continue to receive favor for the nuns. Ernest and Margaret built a mansion in Muenster and became renowned Texas socialites, hosting celebrities and politicians at their mansion on the regular. In 1967, a lawsuit against Ernest and Margaret showed the couple to have received over $3 million dollars from various sources, two-thirds from the nuns. It was discovered that the couple was living on borrowed money. The creditors were repaid for cents on the dollar, but the nuns remain unpaid.

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Jimmy Cochran Photographs

Pulitzer Prize nominee Jim Cochran was the chief photographer for the Wichita Falls Times. He left his 6,000-item collection of photos and negatives to his alma mater, Midwestern State University.

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  • This photograph's creation, acceptance, or submission date is unknown.

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Added to The Portal to Texas History

  • Aug. 11, 2020, 10:03 p.m.

Description Last Updated

  • July 17, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

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Cochran, Jimmy W. [Ernest and Margaret Medders Sit in Furnished Room], photograph, Date Unknown; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1274744/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Midwestern State University.

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