Edwin Pittman Collection Processed as Brandon Ball Completes 50th Collection

News item published on: 2026-03-09 13:50:00

The comprehensive Edwin Pittman Collection has now been fully processed and is open for research in University Libraries’ Special Collections at The University of Southern Mississippi. Spanning more than six decades, the collection documents Pittman’s life, with particular depth in the 40 years he served Mississippi as a public official.

The collection totals 84 cubic feet and includes a wide range of items, including campaign materials, meeting minutes, court opinions, photographs, correspondence, and articles. Brandon Ball, a processing assistant in Historical Manuscripts and Archives, began reviewing and processing the collection in August 2023.

“Brandon is our ‘go-to’ processor for political collections, which can be quite large,” said Lorraine Stuart, head of Special Collections. “His patience makes him well suited for these lengthy projects, which often take more than a year to process. As a native Mississippian and a political buff, he is familiar with much of the content, which was particularly helpful with this substantial collection. Over a 40-year career, Pittman held positions in all three branches of state government. The nuclear waste proposal, steamboat gambling, and the teacher’s strike are among the issues he addressed, all of which remain of interest to researchers today.”

While working with the collection, Ball uncovered a number of unique and interesting materials—some of which turned out to be personal. He discovered letters that his grandparents wrote to Pittman when they were employees in the Petal School District.

“I was pleasantly surprised to find letters that my grandparents had written to Edwin Pittman when they were employees in the Petal School District,” said Ball. “Discovering their correspondence preserved within the collection made the experience especially meaningful, as it connected my own research directly to my family’s history.”

Pittman, a native of Hattiesburg, earned degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi (then Mississippi Southern College) and The University of Mississippi School of Law. He was also a 30-year military veteran, serving from 1957 to 1987. Alongside his private law practice in Hattiesburg, he represented Forrest County in the Mississippi State Senate and went on to serve as state treasurer, secretary of state, and attorney general. In 1988, he was elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court, serving as presiding justice from 1998 to 2001, and became chief justice in 2001, a role he held until his retirement in 2004. He is among a fairly select group of public officials whose careers have included all three branches of state government.

This large, multi-year project is Ball’s 50th collection to process. His work with Special Collections began in January 2012 as part of an 18-month grant and transitioned directly into a permanent position upon its completion. His expertise lies in political collections, and he has processed numerous large archival holdings, including the papers of U.S. Representative Gene Taylor, Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Gandy, and a political campaign collection donated by Dr. John Pendergrass.

“Of course, political collections are not all that Brandon has processed. He has also completed a number of our military, civil rights, and other collections,” said Stuart. “Justice Pittman’s collection marks his 50th—and to think he came here to work on an 18-month grant project! As an alumnus who bleeds black and gold, he found his niche in Special Collections, and I know I speak for all of us when I say we are happy he did.”