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History Resources: Special Collections & Archives

Special Collections Procedures

COVID-19 Policies

Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) is open by appointment.

SCUA has never stopped providing online reference and digitization services. You’ll find we have further expanded and improved access to our collection resources during the pandemic. In all we do, we follow University protocol to enhance the safety of our spaces. This page provides important information that will make your next visit to Special Collections and University Archives a success.

 

Hours of Operation

Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.

During the semester some classes will be held in Special Collections that may affect the availability for appointments. Please keep this in mind as you plan your visit, and we thank you in advance for your flexibility.

 

What to know before you make an appointment

  • For the safety of staff and researchers, the number of researchers allowed in the reading room will be limited. Researchers and staff will be required to wear masks/cloth face coverings at all times.
  • Appointments will be scheduled in two-hour research blocks. You may book up to two sessions per day.
  • One researcher is allowed at each table. Each table will be thoroughly sanitized before and after use.
  • Researchers must maintain social distancing of six feet.
  • Please allow 48 hours' notice when making appointments. Many of our materials are shelved offsite and require sufficient time for safe retrieval and access. If you need an exception, contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu.
  • We are unable to offer on-site photocopying services at this time. You may use your cell phone or a digital camera to take photos (without flash) of materials.

How to make an appointment

  • Create an account on our registration form.
  • Email us at specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to start the conversation about your research needs. Let us know your research topic, what items interest you, and/or if you need help identifying materials. Please tell us if you expect to require multiple visits so we can discuss your options.
  • Do not travel to the library until you’ve received an email confirming your appointment and requests.

On the day of your appointment

  • Please wash and dry your hands thoroughly before entering the reading room. Hand sanitizer will be available, but hands must be completely dry before touching any materials.
  • Visitors will enter through the terrace doors.
  • Researchers will need to present a valid photo ID or Vanderbilt ID.
  • You may bring the following with you into the reading room:
    • Laptop (without bag or sleeve)
    • Cell phone (set to vibrate or silent)
    • Camera
    • Pencils
    • Loose leaf paper

Archive Finders

What are Special Collections?

Sepcial Collections

  

 

Collections of unusual or scarce materials such as rare books, manuscripts, historical maps, drawings, paintings, photographs, etc., as well as the institution's own archives (alumni papers, professors' papers, university records) housed in a climate  controlled secured area.

Univ. Archives & Special Collections Research Guide

History of Medicine Collection @ Biomedical Library

Before You Go: Research Trip Planning

Select Manuscript Collections

Vanderbilt Observer, 1882Special Collections owns approximately 700 manuscript collections on a variety of topics including civil rights, performing arts, astronomy and physics, and others.  The collections listed here are a select list of manuscript collections held by Vanderbilt Libraries. 

Special Collections Finding Aids.

For a list of all special collections by subject, please see the collections Subject List.

For a list of all the special collections by title, please see the collections Alphabetical List. 

Please note that for the alphabetical and subject lists, a handful of items are owned by other libraries in the system even though most items belong to Special Collections.  If you are uncertain which library owns an item on the list contact Special Collections.

Off-Site

If the phrase "off-site" appears next to a collection title, then the collection is stored at our off-site facility.  Individual boxes will need to be requested for use in class and in the Special Collections Reading Room.  Due to limited storage on our hold shelf, only two boxes per person may be requested at a time from off-site storage.

Inventory Available

If the phrase "inventory available" appears next to a collection title, then a paper-based inventory is available for the collection.  To request a PDF of the inventory, please contact Special Collections for assistance.

Small Collection

If the phrase "small collection" appears next to a collection title, it contains less than one full box of material.  All other collections contain at least one full box of papers.

Thanks to Teresa Gray, Public Services Librarian, Special Collections, for compling this manuscripts page.

Branscomb, Bennett Harvie - inventory available

Harvie Branscomb was born on December 25, 1894 in Huntsville, Alabama.  After earning degrees at Birmingham College, Oxford University, and Columbia University, Branscomb served as instructor and administrator at Southern Methodist University and Duke University before coming to Vanderbilt in 1946 as Chancellor.  While at Vanderbilt, he doubled both the physical facilities of the campus and the number of PhD programs as well as conducting a number of highly successful fund-raising campaigns for the university.  Branscomb served as chancellor during the sit-in movement in Nashville and the highly publicized expulsion of graduate student James Lawson for participating in sit-in demonstrations.  He died on July 23, 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Harvie Branscomb Papers include correspondence from 1929 to 1978; speeches delivered by Branscomb; academic papers; materials relating to James Lawson; and papers relating to Branscomb’s various regional and international organizational activities.

Egerton, John Papers
Egerton, John Papers - Addition

Egerton has written or edited eleven non-fiction books and contributed over two hundred articles to periodicals. He has also been a participant in and writer for many projects or conferences dealing with desegregation and civil rights.  The John Egerton Papers, 1950s-2001, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, speeches, research materials, publication materials, publicity for books, reviews, legal and financial documents, memorabilia, clippings and photographs, programs from cultural events, scrapbooks and periodicals on race relations and school desegregation, and audio and video tapes.  Major topics include civil rights, desegregation, race relations, Southern history, and Southern food.

Eleazer, Robert Burns Eleazer Papers

Robert Burns Eleazer (1877-1973) served as a candidate for the Prohibitionist Party, worked as a journalist, and joined the Tennessee Anti-Saloon league as a Field Worker and editor of their official paper The American Issue. In 1909, he moved to Nashville to work as Office Secretary for the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, an agency of the Southern Methodist Board of Missions. He was an anti-war activist during World War I and was involved in the Methodist Church’s Movement for Revision, an effort to limit the power of Bishops and make the church more democratic.  Eleazer also worked as Education Director for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and as “Special Worker in Race Relations” for the Methodist General Board of Education.

The Robert Burns Eleazer Papers (1877–1973) include correspondence and writings by Eleazer as well as newspaper clippings, course and program outlines, press releases and pamphlets. There are several autobiographical writings as well as a transcription of Mr. Eleazer being interviewed by historian John Egerton shortly before Mr. Eleazer’s death in 1973. Writings by others include reviews, articles, pamphlets and student papers.

Hamlett, Edwin Papers

The Edwin Hamlett Papers contain a variety of material pertaining to Ed Hamlett’s life, acquaintances, and materials from the impressive number of organizations in which he participated. The collection spans 39.62 linear feet in total, and covers the years from 1954 to 1988. Most of the material, however, is concentrated between the 1960’s to 1975, and his involvement in civil rights and psychiatric nursing. The papers include correspondence, large numbers of notes, photographs, reports, proposals, and writings by others, as well as numerous collected publications. The majority of the material relates to Ed’s involvement with civil rights organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Students Organizing Committee (SSOC), and his tenure at Vanderbilt in Psychiatric Nursing. 

Lawson, James M., Jr. Papers – inventory available

Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. was an active participant and leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.  After serving a year in prison as a conscientious objector during the Korean War, he spent three years as a missionary in India where he studied the nonviolent resistance techniques developed by Mohandas Gandi.  As a student at Vanderbilt, he helped organize the sit-in movement protests and trained other students and activists the nonviolent techniques he had learned in India.  He has worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). 

The James M. Lawson, Jr. Papers contain files pertaining to his education and coursework, his conscientious objector status during the Korean War, his career as a Methodist minister, his work with FOR and SCLC, and his work as a activist.

See also, Who Speaks for the Negro?  An Archival Collection of Interviews Conducted for Robert Penn Warren's Seminal Book for an interview with Rev. Lawson.

McCollum, Salynn Papers

During her junior year in college, Salynn McCollum became involved in the Nashville Non-Violent Movement, the Nashville branch of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).  She was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement between 1961 and 1965.  She wrote the “I am a Freedom Rider” series depicting her experiences on the Freedom Ride and her subsequent jailing at the Birmingham Jail.  She worked as a SNCC field secretary in different locations in the South.  She was particularly active in Nashville, Tennessee; Cairo, Illinois; Charleston, Missouri; and Des Moines, Iowa.

The collection is organized into two series: Personal Material, which includes Salynn’s correspondence, poetry, and journal entries; and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee Material, which includes many of that organization’s publications, as well as field notes, committee meeting minutes, committee promotional materials, and many newspaper articles involving SNCC activities Salynn was involved in. 

Carol Hamilton Scott and James M. Lawson, Jr. Collection – inventory available

Carol Hamilton Scott was active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and directed the Springfield Urban League’s Leadership Development Project.  Through her participation in the National Council of Negro Women, she helped welfare mothers obtain college scholarships to continue their education and pursue professional careers. 

She was the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of Wilberforce University and the first African-American woman to serve on the Board of Directors of Banc Ohio National Bank and later, National City Bank.   She has held leadership positions with numerous community organizations and has been the recipient of a multitude of awards.  In 1994, she was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in recognition of her dedication and service to others.

Carol Hamilton Scott and James M. Lawson, Jr. Collection contains 30 pieces of correspondence from James M. Lawson, Jr. to Carol Hamilton during his time in prison for refusing to enlist in the Korean War.  It also includes two pieces of correspondence from the Department of Justice to Carol Hamilton receiving permission to write James Lawson, three essays, and three postcards.

See also, Who Speaks for the Negro?  An Archival Collection of Interviews Conducted for Robert Penn Warren's Seminal Book for an interview with Rev. Lawson.

Smith, Kelly Miller  Papers                

Kelly Miller SmithA prominent church leader and activist, Kelly Miller Smith played a significant role in the civil rights movement, serving as part of the circle of advisors to Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Capital Hill for 34 years.  The first African-American named to the faculty of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, he served as Lecturer in Church and Ministries and as Assistant Dean.  Smith was very active in the civil rights movement in Nashville as well as nationally. 

 

The Kelly Miller Smith Papers include correspondence, notebooks kept as a student at Morehouse and Harvard Universities, biographical/personal material, writings, church records, subject files, and other related materials.

See also, Who Speaks for the Negro?  An Archival Collection of Interviews Conducted for Robert Penn Warren's Seminal Book for an interview with Rev. Smith.

Chowning, James C. Papers [small collection]

This collection contains 21 letters, arranged in nine folders by year, mostly written by James C. Chowning to his mother and sisters, during the Civil War and afterwards. They describe his training with the Tennessee Volunteers in the Confederate Army, and military operations of those troops. These letters provide a somewhat detailed description of training in the camps, of rumors among the troops, and his opinion of political events. A few letters were written from admirers to his sisters. Most of the letters are handwritten, some with a typescript.

Harding, William Giles Papers

William Giles Harding [1808-1886] was born near Nashville and attended the University of Nashville; the American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy in Middletown, Connecticut; and, studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut.  At the beginning of the American Civil War he served as a General in the Tennessee militia. In 1862 he was imprisoned for six months by federal troops as a political prisoner, for supporting the Confederate rebellion, and sent to Detroit and Fort Mackinaw, Michigan. During his absence, his wife was left to manage their home, the Belle Meade Plantation. During the war, his plantation was used as a headquarters for the Union Army.  After the war, Belle Meade became one of the best thoroughbred breeding farms in the country.

This collection includes original, handwritten general correspondence sent to William Giles Harding primarily from Matthew Fontaine Maury, 1827-1872. The letters discuss Agricultural and Meterological Societies, importation of Llamas and Alpacas from South America to Tennessee, the Civil War, and politics. Also included is original handwritten family correspondence from William Giles Harding's wife Elizabeth I. McGavock Harding; daughter, Selene; daughter-in-law, Maggie; servant, Susanna; sister-in-law, Mary McGavock Southall; nephew, Randal McGavock Southall; and, friends beginning in 1860 and continuing while he was in prison during the American Civil War and ending in1867. The letters chronicle family life in Nashville during the Union occupation.

Jones, T. M. N. Collection [small collection]

This collection contains three diaries of T.M.N. Jones, describing his service in the Cavalry of the Confederate Army from September 24, 1863 to May 23, 1865.  A typed transcript of the diary entries is included.

Kimmel, John Collection [small collection]

This collection contains 15 items. The letters are addressed primarily to John Kimmel from friends, during the Civil War. One letter is addressed to Lucy Ingham, who became his wife. There is one unidentified daguerreotype photograph included in the collection, and one poem by John Kimmel.

Williamson, P. J. Papers [small collection]

This collection contains 25 typed copies of letters from P. J. Williamson to his wife, Eunice from 1862 to 1869. One letter is from his brother William to P. J. Williamson. The letters are organized in 6 folders, chronologically.

Allen, Ward Sykes Papers

Ward Sykes Allen, a Nashville native, attended Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee and Vanderbilt University. He received a B.A. in 1947, a M.A. in 1949 and a PhD. in 1963. A relative of Ward Allen, James H. Joyner, was a medical doctor in Sumner County, Tennessee during the late 19th Century.

The Ward Sykes Allen Papers contain correspondence written to Ward Allen from his family and friends during his college years. There is also material relating to Dr. James H. Joyner of Sumner County, Tennessee, such as information on property ownership (tax receipts, insurance policies, mortgage), stock dividend receipts, and lists of medical debts owed to Dr. Joyner for his services.

Clark Family Papers

The Clark Family papers (1816-1899) contains correspondence of various members of the Clark family of Campbell County, Virginia. 

Tucker W. Clark and his brother Edward B. Clark, with their wives and children, migrated to Franklin, Kentucky about 1832 and later moved to Russellville, Kentucky. Several married sisters in Virginia bringing into the correspondence the family names Moorman, Harris, and Martin. Edward B. Clark died in 1835. His daughter Mary Evalina Clark seems to have been the person who preserved this collection since about half the letters were addressed to her. Among the more frequent correspondents was Missouri P. W. Clark, whose widowed mother lived in Raleigh, North Carolina. Missouri often addressed Tucker W. Clark as her Uncle and foster-father. About 1843 she married a Mr. Ricks and settled in Ohio. In 1939, in Russellville, Mary Evalina Clark married Robert Z. Hill, who had migrated from Virginia to Russellville some years before. The most frequent correspondent in later years was a cousin, Julia A. B. Clark, a mother of several children.

Subjects include business transactions, the Civil War, education, family life, 19th-Century customs, poetry, and religion.

Clark, Mary Helen Papers

The Mary Helen Clark Papers consist primarily of letters written by Clark to members of her family while she resided in Brazil.  The letters provide detailed accounts of Mary Helen's days in Brazil, particularly in Belo Horizonte, Minas; Porto Alegre; and in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Moore of the Instituto Granberry.  In addition to Helen Clark's own letters, there is one folder of his sister Blanche Henry Clark's correspondence during her stay in Brazil in 1932.

Haun, Andrew and Mattie Papers

Born in 1870, Andrew Haun received his teaching degree from Tusculum College in 1888.  In 1893, Mr. Haun moved to Nashville to accept a position as teacher at an elementary school.  In 1910, he and his wife Mattie moved to Franklin, Tennessee where Mr. Haun became principal of the elementary school and superintendent of the city schools.  Andrew Haun died in 1947.

 This contains correspondence, diaries, family records, newspaper clippings and other materials relating to Andrew Jacob Haun and Mattie Francis Oliver Haun, aunt and uncle of the southern writer Mildred E. Haun.

McTyeire-Baskervill Papers - inventory available

The McTyeire-Baskervill Papers contain the family papers of Bishop Holland Nimmons McTyeire, Janie McTyeire Baskervill, and William Malone Baskervill.  Bishop McTyeire persuaded Cornelius Vanderbilt to endow Vanderbilt University as an educational institution and served as president of the first Board of Trust.

The McTyeire-Baskervill Papers contain correspondence; papers relating to Vanderbilt University; materials relating to the history of the McTyeire family; and newspaper clippings.

See also, the John J. Tigert Papers (inventory available) for additional McTyeire material and Holland McTyeire-Cornelius Vanderbilt correspondence.

For additional McTyeire family papers, see the following collections of papers in microfilm which are available through Central Library:
McTyeire, Holland Nimmons.  Papers and family correspondence, [microform] the latter dealing with his schooling, 1873-1874.  MiFilm 792.
 McTyeire, Holland Nimmons.  Correspondence. [microform] Letters to his wife Amelia Townsend, 1847-1889; letters of Mrs. Robert L. Crawford concerning the origin of Vanderbilt University; letters of Charles F. Deems, 1885-1887; letters of L.C. Garland relating to the organization of Vanderbilt University, 1873-1888. MiFilm 793.

Cheney, Brainard and Frances Neel Papers

Brainard Cheney was a reporter for the Nashville Banner, a novelist and playwright.  Frances Neel Cheney worked for the Vanderbilt libraries for 14 years, at the Library of Congress, and taught library courses at George Peabody College.  The Brainard and Frances Neel Cheney Papers, 1841-1989, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, speeches, research materials, publication materials, publicity for books and play productions, reviews, legal and financial documents, family records, memorabilia, clippings and photographs, programs from cultural events, clippings on race relations, materials from Brainard Cheney’s career in politics, and manuscripts of writings by other authors.  Among their many correspondents were Caroline Gordon, Donald Davidson, Mildred Haun, Andrew Lytle, Flannery O’Connor, Allen Tate, Peter Taylor, Robert Penn Warren, and Stuart Wright.

Davidson, Donald Grady Papers    

A member of the Fugitives literary group, Davidson received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University and remained at the University his entire professional career (1920 - 1968) teaching English. In addition to being a teacher Davidson was also a poet, novelist, and critic.  

The Donald Davidson Papers include correspondence and writings by Davidson as well as reviews, research materials, publications materials, publicity for books, legal and financial documents, family records, newspaper clippings and photographs, segregation materials, and manuscripts of writings by others. The bulk of the materials range from the 1920's through the 1960's.

Egerton, John Papers
Egerton, John Papers - Addition

Egerton has written or edited eleven non-fiction books and contributed over two hundred articles to periodicals. He has also been a participant in and writer for many projects or conferences dealing with desegregation and civil rights.  The John Egerton Papers, 1950s-2001, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, speeches, research materials, publication materials, publicity for books, reviews, legal and financial documents, memorabilia, clippings and photographs, programs from cultural events, scrapbooks and periodicals on race relations and school desegregation, and audio and video tapes.  Major topics include civil rights, desegregation, race relations, Southern history, and Southern food.

Rice, Grantland Papers - inventory available

Henry Grantland Rice was born on November 1, 1880 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  He received his B.A. in 1901 from Vanderbilt University, where he played on both the baseball and football teams.  After graduation, he began his long career as a sports journalist at the Nashville Daily News before going to work for the Nashville Tennessean.  In 1911 he moved to New York where he continued his sports writing career as well as turning to radio and film.  He was a prolific writer, producing numerous sports columns, books, and poetry throughout his career.  He is probably best known by the quotation “It’s not how you win or lose, but how you play the game,” which is a misquote of a poem he used in a Tennessean article he wrote in 1908 to describe a Vanderbilt alumnus football game.  He died on July 13, 1954 in New York City.

The Grantland Rice Papers include correspondence; writings; newspaper clippings; photographs and biographical sketches of sports figures; personal, business and estate papers; souvenirs; and miscellaneous publications.

Squires, James D. Papers

James D. Squires rose from mill worker's son to editor and executive vice president of one of the country's most influential newspapers, the Chicago Tribune.  A 1966 Peabody College graduate, Squires began his journalism career at the Tennessean in 1962, where he worked as a reporter, night city desk editor and Washington correspondent before moving to the Tribune in 1972. He worked in the Washington bureau until 1977, becoming the bureau chief in 1974. While at the Tribune, Squires covered Watergate, presidential elections and accompanied former President Gerald Ford on a 1975 state visit to China.  He moved from the Tribune to the Orlando Sentinel-Star (later the Orlando Sentinel) in 1977, where he was editor until returning to Chicago as editor of the Tribune in 1981. Eight-and-a-half years and seven Pulitzer Prizes for the Tribune later, Squires resigned. He and his wife Mary Anne moved to a horse farm in Kentucky, where he bred 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. He was an adjunct professor at Harvard University in 1990 and Middle Tennessee State University in 1992. Squires was Ross Perot's media adviser during his 1992 presidential campaign.

Fleming, Denna Frank Papers
Fleming, Denna Frank Papers - Addition

Denna Frank Fleming was a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, 1928-1961.  From 1939 to 1947, Fleming presented a series of weekly radio programs broadcast from WSM over much of the United States concerning events leading up to, during, and after the World War II.  The programs were favorably received and many of them were collected and published in the book While America Slept.  Transcripts of most of these broadcasts are in the collection.

Files on international and national organizations in which Fleming had an interest show a concern about the Vietnam War and the possibilities of a third world war.  Committed to peace, Fleming supported numerous organizations including the American Association for the United Nations, Inc., the Arms Control Association, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Fund for Peace.

Horn, Stanley F. Papers - inventory available

The Stanley F. Horn Collection contains more than six hundred individual pieces ranging in date from 1782 to the 1870s.  Virtually all of the early governors of Tennessee are represented by one or more documents.  There are also papers of Sam Houston, John Sevier, John Quincey Adams, James Robertson, Davy Crockett, and others.

More than a third of the items in the collection are Andrew Jackson Papers, making it one of the five foremost collections of Jackson material in existence.  There are letters between Jackson and such contemporaries as Col. Samuel Swartwout, William H. Crawford, Joseph Anderson, Hugh Lawson White, and Willie Blount.

Morgan, Edmund M., Jr. Papers (off-site)

Edmund M. Morgan, Jr. received the Bachelor of Arts in 1902, the Master of Arts in 1903 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1905. He later completed another Masters degree at Yale (1919).  Morgan left Yale for Harvard in 1925, serving as Royall Professor of Law until he reached mandatory retirement age in 1950. During the summers, he taught at Columbia, North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Stanford, and Southern California. In 1936-37 and 1942-45, he was Acting Dean of the Harvard Law School. Upon his retirement, he joined the faculty of the Vanderbilt University Law School and was named Rand Professor of Law in 1951. He taught at Vanderbilt until approximately 1962.

The papers of Edmund M. Morgan, Jr., date from approximately 1906 to 1964 and document his lengthy and distinguished career as an attorney, a legal scholar, a teacher, and a public servant. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1940s and 1950s. Extensive correspondence, Morgan's own writings, and papers related to his professional activities provide insight into his scholarship and record his part in such important proceedings as the simplification of the federal rules for civil procedure and the modernization of the code of military justice. Other materials reflect his role in the development of rules for civil procedure in Puerto Rico and Israel.

Cheney, Brainard and Frances Neel Papers

Brainard Cheney was a reporter for the Nashville Banner, a novelist and playwright.  Frances Neel Cheney worked for the Vanderbilt libraries for 14 years, at the Library of Congress, and taught library courses at George Peabody College. 

The Brainard and Frances Neel Cheney Papers, 1841-1989, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, speeches, research materials, publication materials, publicity for books and play productions, reviews, legal and financial documents, family records, memorabilia, clippings and photographs, programs from cultural events, clippings on race relations, materials from Brainard Cheney’s career in politics, and manuscripts of writings by other authors.  Among their many correspondents were Caroline Gordon, Donald Davidson, Mildred Haun, Andrew Lytle, Flannery O’Connor, Allen Tate, Peter Taylor, Robert Penn Warren, and Stuart Wright.

Curry, Walter Clyde Papers

A distinguished Medieval and Renaissance scholar, Walter Clyde Curry was a member of the Vanderbilt University English Department faculty for 40 years. He served as head of the English department and the humanities division from 1941 until his retirement in 1955. Walter Clyde Curry was also a founding member of the Fugitive literary movement.

Curry's collection contains 77 outgoing letters; 135 incoming letters; writings - published & unpublished; book reviews; publishers' announcements & revisions; royalty statements; research/lecture notes; budget/curriculum notes; graduate information; offprints by others; diagrams & illustrations; photographs; and ephemera.

Davidson, Donald Grady Papers    

A member of the Fugitives literary group, Davidson received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Vanderbilt University and remained at the University his entire professional career (1920 - 1968) teaching English. In addition to being a teacher Davidson was also a poet, novelist, and critic.  

The Donald Davidson Papers include correspondence and writings by Davidson as well as reviews, research materials, publications materials, publicity for books, legal and financial documents, family records, newspaper clippings and photographs, segregation materials, and manuscripts of writings by others. The bulk of the materials range from the 1920's through the 1960's.

Drake, Robert Young, Jr. Papers

Robert Drake was born on October 20, 1930 in Ripley, Tennessee.  he received his B.A. in 1952 and M.A. in 1953 from Vanderbilt University, and a second M.A. in 1954 and Ph.D. in 1955 from Yale University.  During his academic career he taught at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Northwestern University; University of Texas, Austin; and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The Robert Drake Papers include correspondence; writings; speeches; research and publication materials; publicity for books; reviews; legal and financial documents; memorabilia; clippings; personal and biographical material; and photographs.

Flye, James Harold Papers (off-site)

James Harold Flye was born on October 17, 1884 in Bangor, Maine.  He received his B.A. in 1910 from Yale University and his M.A. in 1912 from the University of Virginia.  he graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1915.  In December 1915, he was ordained into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church.  He served as history teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1918-1954, where he befriended future writer James Agee.  He died on April 14, 1985 in New York.

The James Harold Flye Papers include Flye's correspondence with over two hundred individuals (primarily letters received), journals kept in scattered years during the 1920s and 1930s, almost daily journals kept from 1957 to 1981, Flye's own writings, and information regarding James Agee. The collection does not currently include originals of the Agee-Flye correspondence, but it does include typescript copies of Flye's letters to James Agee.  The papers also include information regarding a 1980-1981 traveling exhibit of Flye's photographs from the 1930s and 1940s, an extensive file of photographs from the 1920s to the 1970s, and audio tapes of telephone conversations, personal observances, and reminiscences.

Gordon, Caroline Papers (small collection)

Caroline Gordon was an American novelist, short story writer, and critic often associated with the Southern Literary Renaissance and the Southern Agrarian Movement.  She married poet Allen Tate in 1924.  Gordon and Tate divorced in 1945, remarried, and divorced again in 1959.  Gordon published a total of ten novels throughout her life including Aleck Maury, Sportsman in 1924, None Shall Look Back in 1937, and The Women on the Porch in 1944.  Her early fiction was heavily influenced by her association with Southern Agrarianism, and she is best known for her writings which synthesize elements of mythology, Southern History, and Roman Catholicism.

The Caroline Gordon Papers consists of outgoing correspondence from 1942, 1972, and 1973.  In addition, the collection contains two of Gordon’s manuscripts: “Old Mrs. Llewellyn” and “The Olive Garden,” both of which are not dated.

Additional Gordon/Tate correspondence can be found in the Brainard and Frances Neel Cheney Papers, Donald Davidson Papers, and the John Crowe Ransom Papers.

Haun, Mildred Eunice Papers - inventory available

Mildred Haun was born on July 11, 1911 in Hamblen County, Tennessee.  She received her M.A. in 1937 from Vanderbilt University.  In 1940, she published a collection a short stories under the title The Hawk’s Done Gone.   Throughout her career, she worked as book editor for the Nashville Tennessean, editorial assistant for the Sewanee Review, information specialist at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, and as public relations editor and technical manuscript author for the Department of Agriculture.  She died on December 20, 1966 in Washington, D.C.

The Mildred Haun Papers contain correspondence; diaries and personal records; business papers; research notes; folk songs; writings; estate papers; and miscellaneous materials.

O’Donnell, George Marion Papers

George Marion O'Donnell was born January 21, 1914, on the Silver Home Plantation near Midnight, Mississippi. Upon graduation from high school in 1932, he entered Memphis State University. In 1934, he transferred to Vanderbilt University, where he was influenced by several well-known Southern literary figures, including Allen Tate, Cleanth Brooks, and Andrew Lytle. He received a B.A. in English from Vanderbilt in 1936 and his M.A. in 1939.

The papers of George Marion O'Donnell date from approximately the 1870s to 1982. The bulk of the collection, however, dates from the 1940s and 1950s. It includes O'Donnell's correspondence, journals, and daybooks, which reflect his interest in modern literature and the influence of several Vanderbilt and other Southern literary figures over his own work.  O'Donnell's literary career is further documented by the manuscripts and published versions of many of his poems, stories, essays, and reviews included in this collection.

Owsley, Frank Lawrence Papers

Frank Lawrence Owsley obtained his B.S. in 1912 from the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, Alabama and his M.A. in history from University of Chicago in 1917.  He joined the staff of Vanderbilt University in 1920. He was a member of the Agrarians literature movement at Vanderbilt and wrote the essay entitled "The Irrepressible Conflict" for I'll Take My Stand: the South and the Agrarian Tradition published by Harper Brothers of New York and London in 1930.

The Frank Lawrence Owsley Paper include correspondence; writings; personal and biographical materials; Agrarian literary group material; papers relating to his academic career and  professional activities; and research materials.

Ransom, John Crowe Papers

John Crowe Ransom graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1909, was a Rhodes Scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, 1910-1913, and joined the faculty of Vanderbilt in 1914, where he taught English until 1937. While at Vanderbilt, Ransom was a major figure in the Fugitive and Agrarian Groups and their publications, The Fugitive (1922-1925) and I'll Take My Stand (1930). In 1937, Ransom accepted a position at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio as professor of poetry and later founded and edited an important literary quarterly, The Kenyon Review (1939-1959). Ransom retired in 1959, but remained active in literary pursuits until his death in 1974 at the age of eighty-six. His works of poetry include Poems About God (1919), Chills and Fever (1924), and Selected Poems (1945, 1963, 1969).

The collection consists primarily of correspondence and manuscripts produced during Ransom's retirement (1959-1974), although important earlier materials are included, such as Ransom's letters to his wife, Robb Reavill Ransom, dated 1920-1938. Also included are class rolls, clippings, family records, financial records, Kenyon College items, lecture notes, memorabilia, photographs, programs, publications, recommendations, and school catalogs. There are also a few scattered older pieces of incoming correspondence, such as a 1917 letter from Macmillan rejecting the manuscript which was eventually published as Poems About God.

Additional Ransom correspondence can be found in the Donald Davidson Papers.

Warren, Robert Penn / William Meredith Correspondence (small collection)

Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905- September 15, 1989) was a poet, novelist, essayist, and critic of the first rank, and he received many honors and awards for his work . He won Pulitzer Prizes for his novel All the King’s Men (1946) and for 2 books of his poetry Promises:Poems 1954-1956 (1958) and Now and Then (1979).  On February 26, 1986 he was named the first official poet laureate of the United States. His papers are in the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

In this small collection (.21 linear feet) is the personal correspondence between  William Meredith and Robert Penn Warren, his wife Eleanor Clark and his daughter Rosanna Warren for the years 1962-1980. Also included : an album of over 80 manuscript pages of poems by R.P.W.; a folder of invitation cards to Meredith from the Warrens; and a folder of several miscellaneous materials including R.P. Warren’s letter to the Editor of the New York Times dated May 24, 1980.

The following collections contain additional correspondence by Warren: Robert Penn Warren Collection (small collection), Brainard and Frances Neel Cheney Papers, Donald Davidson Papers, and the John Crowe Ransom Papers.

Wills, Jesse Ely Papers

Jesse Ely Wills, 1899-1977, a Nashville native, was a member of the group of poets who met in Nashville in the early 1920's to write and publish the influential literary magazine The Fugitive. He was an officer and executive of the National Life and Accident Insurance company during his business career and was active in Vanderbilt University affairs as a member of the Board of Trust and chairman of the Board of the Joint University Libraries.

This collection contains correspondence; writings; book drafts; offprints; and newspaper clippings.

Craig, Francis Collection

Francis Jackson Craig was born in Dickson, Tennessee, on September 10, 1900.  Craig entered Vanderbilt University in January 1919 after a very brief stint in the Army between his eighteenth birthday and the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. A talented pianist, he formed a dance band in 1920 to help pay his college expenses. After graduating in 1922, he continued his music career.

The Francis Craig Papers date from 1919 to 1994 and include a small amount of biographical information, correspondence, memorabilia, and photographs. The bulk of the collection, however, dates from the 1930s and 1940s and consists of clippings, sheet music, and recordings.

Mann, Delbert Papers

Delbert Mann, motion picture and television director, was a native of Lawrence, Kansas and graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1941. He directed a number of productions for television, including Jane Eyre, The Man Without a Country, All Quiet on the Western Front, All the Way Home, and April Morning. His motion picture credits include Marty (1954), Desire Under the Elms (1957), Separate Tables (1958), and That Touch of Mink (1961). Mann won the Academy Award, Best Director, for Marty in 1955.  He died on November 11, 2007.

The papers of Delbert Mann consist primarily of the materials generated by Mann's television and motion picture productions. Papers on approximately two hundred productions often include scripts, publicity, reviews, scrapbooks, casting and shooting schedules, background information, memoranda, and correspondence.

Rice, Grantland Papers - inventory available

Henry Grantland Rice was born on November 1, 1880 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  He received his B.A. in 1901 from Vanderbilt University, where he played on both the baseball and football teams.  After graduation, he began his long career as a sports journalist at the Nashville Daily News before going to work for the Nashville Tennessean.  In 1911 he moved to New York where he continued his sports writing career as well as turning to radio and film, even starting his own film production company called Sportlight.  He was a prolific writer, producing numerous sports columns, books, and poetry throughout his career.  He is probably best known by the quotation “It’s not how you win or lose, but how you play the game,” which is a misquote of a poem he used in a Tennessean article he wrote in 1908 to describe a Vanderbilt alumnus football game.  He died on July 13, 1954 in New York City.

The Grantland Rice Papers include correspondence; writings; newspaper clippings; photographs and biographical sketches of sports figures; personal, business and estate papers; souvenirs; and miscellaneous publications.

Robinson, Francis Papers

Francis Arthur Robinson was born on April 28, 1910 in Henderson, Kentucky.  He received his B.A. in 1932 and an M.A. in 1933 from Vanderbilt University.  He worked for WSM and the Nashville Banner before going to work for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.  During the 35 years he worked at The Met, Robinson served as tour director, assistant manager, press representative, and spokesman, as well as befriending a large number of performers such as Maria Callas and Luciano Pavorotti.  He also served his alma mater as a member of Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust.  He died on May 14, 1980.

The Francis Robinson Collection includes correspondence; newspaper clippings; material relating to Vanderbilt University; personal and business papers; photographs; opera and dance memorabilia; and scrapbooks.

Taylor, John Lark Papers

John Lark Taylor was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1881. He attended Tarbox School and Fall Business College in Nashville before turning his attention to the stage.  As a teen, he played piano to accompany silent films in Nashville’s first movie house. His first professional job was a $5/week vaudeville stint in St. Louis when he was 17 years old. The following year, he moved to New York where he performed in a variety of stage plays. By 1906, Lark Taylor had joined the Sothern-Marlowe Company, and he played in theater productions for the company for the next ten years. In 1922-1923, he played a part in the Arthur Hopkins’ production of Hamlet. In 1924, Taylor sold his New York residence and moved back to Nashville. He started a Little Theater and began performing plays in a movie house near the Belcourt Theater in Hillsboro Village. In 1933 he began to doing radio programs for WSM, announcing broadcasts and performing in radio dramas. He continued his radio career until his retirement in 1942.

The John Lark Taylor Papers contain correspondence, plays and original music by Taylor, photographs, promptbooks, playbills, radio scripts, and other stage and radio memorabilia spanning 1879 to 1944. The collection includes an autobiography of Taylor and an account of his season playing in Hamlet with John Barrymore.

Barnett, Eugene Epperson Papers [small collection]

Eugene Epperson Barnett was born in 1888 in Leesburg, Florida. He received a B.A. from Emory University in 1907; post-graduate study in the School of Religion at Vanderbilt University, 1907-1908; and received Honorary Degree of LL.D., from Emory University in 1944, and University of North Carolina in 1946.  He was the General Secretary of the National Council of YMCA's from 1908-1910. He continued his work with the International Committee of the YMCA. From 1910-1936 he worked in China. While in China, he observed many religious and political changes including the downfall of Chiang Kai-Shek and the resurgence of Communism. After leaving China, he continued to work for the YMCA until his retirement in 1953.

The autobiographical manuscript written by Eugene E. Barnett gives detailed information on his family background (the Barnett and Epperson Families), his boyhood, his college years with his involvement with the YMCA, the lives of his family both at home and abroad, and his many experiences.

Flye, James Harold Papers (off-site)

Father James Harold FlyeJames Harold Flye was born on October 17, 1884 in Bangor, Maine.  He received his B.A. in 1910 from Yale University and his M.A. in 1912 from the University of Virginia.  he graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1915.  In December 1915, he was ordained into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church.  He served as history teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1918-1954, where he befriended future writer James Agee.  He died on April 14, 1985 in New York.

The James Harold Flye Papers include Flye's correspondence with over two hundred individuals (primarily letters received), journals kept in scattered years during the 1920s and 1930s, almost daily journals kept from 1957 to 1981, Flye's own writings, and information regarding James Agee. The collection does not currently include originals of the Agee-Flye correspondence, but it does include typescript copies of Flye's letters to James Agee.  The papers also include information regarding a 1980-1981 traveling exhibit of Flye's photographs from the 1930s and 1940s, an extensive file of photographs from the 1920s to the 1970s, and audio tapes of telephone conversations, personal observances, and reminiscences.

Lawson, James M., Jr. Papers – inventory available

Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. was an active participant and leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.  After serving a year in prison as a conscientious objector during the Korean War, he spent three years as a missionary in India where he studied the nonviolent resistance techniques developed by Mohandas Gandi.  As a student at Vanderbilt, he helped organize the sit-in movement protests and trained other students and activists the nonviolent techniques he had learned in India.  He has worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). 

The James M. Lawson, Jr. Papers contain files pertaining to his education and coursework, his conscientious objector status during the Korean War, his career as a Methodist minister, his work with FOR and SCLC, and his work as a activist.

See also, Who Speaks for the Negro?  An Archival Collection of Interviews Conducted for Robert Penn Warren's Seminal Book for an interview with Rev. Lawson.

Mayhew, George Noel Papers

Dr. Mayhew retired from the Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1963 after spending 29 years on the faculty. Originally from Virginia, Dr. Mahew received a B.A. degree from Lynchburg College, a B.D. degree from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. During his lifetime he was a member of the Board of Education of the Disciples of Christ, the National Council on Religion in Higher Education, and the American Society for Oriental Research. He died on 7 Aug 1965 in Homestead, Florida.

The Papers of George Noel Mayhew date from approximately 1853 to 1965 and document his education and career as a religious scholar and businessman. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1930's to the 1960's. Extensive correspondence document Mayhew's career and his participation in the Disciples of Christ Church and his writings and business records provide insight into his many fields of interest. The papers are comprised of approximately thirteen cubic feet (40 boxes, 1 flat) of correspondence, teaching materials, Christian Church materials, and business records.

Smith, Kelly Miller  Papers                

Kelly Miller SmithA prominent church leader and activist, Kelly Miller Smith played a significant role in the civil rights movement, serving as part of the circle of advisors to Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Capital Hill for 34 years.  The first African-American named to the faculty of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, he served as Lecturer in Church and Ministries and as Assistant Dean.  Smith was very active in the civil rights movement in Nashville as well as nationally. 

 

The Kelly Miller Smith Papers include correspondence, notebooks kept as a student at Morehouse and Harvard Universities, biographical/personal material, writings, church records, subject files, and other related materials.

See also, Who Speaks for the Negro?  An Archival Collection of Interviews Conducted for Robert Penn Warren's Seminal Book for an interview with Rev. Smith.

McTyeire-Baskervill Papers - inventory available

The McTyeire-Baskervill Papers contain the family papers of Bishop Holland Nimmons McTyeire, Janie McTyeire Baskervill, and William Malone Baskervill.  Bishop McTyeire persuaded Cornelius Vanderbilt to endow Vanderbilt University as an educational institution and served as president of the first Board of Trust.

The McTyeire-Baskervill Papers contain correspondence; papers relating to Vanderbilt University; materials relating to the history of the McTyeire family; and newspaper clippings.

See also, the John J. Tigert Papers (inventory available) for additional McTyeire material and Holland McTyeire-Cornelius Vanderbilt correspondence.

For additional McTyeire family papers, see the following collections of papers in microfilm which are available through Central Library:
McTyeire, Holland Nimmons.  Papers and family correspondence, [microform] the latter dealing with his schooling, 1873-1874.  MiFilm 792.
 McTyeire, Holland Nimmons.  Correspondence. [microform] Letters to his wife Amelia Townsend, 1847-1889; letters of Mrs. Robert L. Crawford concerning the origin of Vanderbilt University; letters of Charles F. Deems, 1885-1887; letters of L.C. Garland relating to the organization of Vanderbilt University, 1873-1888. MiFilm 793.

Vanderbilt, Cornelius IV Papers

Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, the first child of Grace Wilson Vanderbilt and Cornelius Vanderbilt III, was born in New York City on April 30, 1898.  He was educated at various boys’ schools in the United States and Europe.  During World War I, he served in France as a dispatch driver and was honorably discharged in 1919.  He began work as a cub reporter for the “New York Herald” and other newspapers, using the by-line Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.  In the 1920s-1930s, he worked as an associate editor for the “New York Mirror,” and he began traveling extensively throughout the world as a reporter for various news organizations.  During World War II he served as a major in the United States Army Intelligence Services from 1942-1943, when he was honorably discharged because of poor health.  He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of the FBI in 1942.

The Cornelius Vanderbilt IV Papers include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, lecture materials, reviews of his books and film, personal papers, legal and business documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks of his various writing and lecture projects.  The forty-five boxes of the collection cover approximately 26.03 linear feet.  Cornelius Vanderbilt IV was an inveterate traveler and much of his writing consists of articles written for several different periodicals as he journeyed throughout the world, observing the political and social scene. He was the biographer of his mother, Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, and the collection contains memorabilia, newspaper clippings, photographs, and correspondence related to his mother’s reign as queen of New York and Newport society.  There are also many photographs and clippings pertaining to Cornelius Vanderbilt IV’s career as a journalist and lecturer, as well as radio scripts from the broadcasts he made in the 1930s and 1940s.

Vanderbilt, Harold Stirling Papers - inventory available

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, served as a member of Vanderbilt University’s Board of Trust for over twenty years.  An avid yachtsman and bridge player, he worked for the New York Central Railroad for over 40 years.  The Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Papers contains correspondence, yachting memorabilia, contract bridge memorabilia, and material relating to Vanderbilt University.

Branscomb, Bennett Harvie Papers - inventory available

Harvie Branscomb was born on December 25, 1894 in Huntsville, Alabama.  After earning degrees at Birmingham College, Oxford University, and Columbia University, Branscomb served as instructor and administrator at Southern Methodist University and Duke University before coming to Vanderbilt in 1946 as Chancellor.  While at Vanderbilt, he doubled both the physical facilities of the campus and the number of PhD programs and carried out a number of highly successful fund-raising campaigns for the university.  Branscomb served as chancellor during the sit-in movement in Nashville and the highly publicized expulsion of graduate student James Lawson for participating in sit-in demonstrations.  He died on July 23, 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Harvie Branscomb Papers include correspondence from 1929 to 1978; speeches delivered by Branscomb; academic papers; materials relating to James Lawson; and papers relating to Branscomb’s various regional and international organizational activities.

Garland, Landon Cabell Papers

Landon Cabell Garland became Vanderbilt’s first Chancellor in 1875.  He also served as head of the Department of Astronomy and Physics during his tenure at the university.   The Landon Cabell Garland Papers include correspondence, diaries, speeches, sermons, a report to the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust, and personal and biographical materials.

Kirkland, James Hampton Papers

James Hampton Kirkland was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina on September 9, 1859.  He received an A.B. in 1877 and A.M. in 1878 from Wofford College.  He received a Ph.D. in Comparative Philology at the University of Leipzig in 1885.  In 1886, he was appointed professor of Latin at Vanderbilt University.  In 1893 he was elected chancellor and served in that position until his retirement in 1937.  He died in 1939.

The James Hampton Kirkland Papers contain correspondence, writings, biographical material, material relating to his academic career, legal papers, financial records, family papers, and newspaper clippings.

McGaw, Robert Papers - inventory available

Robert Armistead McGaw was born in Nashville, Tennessee on March 25, 1914 to Samuel M. and Bonnie Howard McGaw.  A product of Nashville public schools, he graduated from Hume Fogg High School in 1931.  Accepted into Vanderbilt University, he only attended for one year before he went to work at the Nashville Banner in the sport department under Vanderbilt Alumnus Fred Russell.  In 1936 he went work at Methodist Publishing House where he served as magazine editor, advertising manager, and director of personnel and public relations.  He stayed at Methodist Publishing House till his move Vanderbilt, with the exception of the leave of absence he took to serve in the United States Marine Corps as a celestial navigator in the Pacific Arena of WWII. 

Mr. McGaw served on the Vanderbilt University administration staff for 31 years from 1948 to 1979.  He started his career at Vanderbilt as assistant to Chancellor Harvie Branscomb in charge of publications, the first person to fill such a role at the University.  In 1964 he was appointed Secretary of the University by Alexander Heard, and held that position until his retirement in 1979. 

The Robert A. McGaw Papers are comprised of four series; Vanderbilt University, Designs, Writings and WWII.  The papers follow closely McGaw’s career and are important to anyone interested in the history of the university.  Of special note is the Design Series where McGaw assisted in re-designing the symbols of the university in the 1970s.

Crater, Frances M. Papers

Throughout her academic career Ms. Crater was an advocate for women’s rights, an avocation she carried into her adulthood with her participation in organizations that worked for equality.  From 1969 until 1974 she worked for NOW, a civil rights organization dedicated to bringing women into the mainstream of society. She founded the Nashville Chapter of NOW in 1971, published the monthly newsletter, served as public spokesperson, and held responsibilities for lobbying the State Legislature for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.  These papers contain materials on NOW  Nashville’s creation and document Crater’s important and dedicated longtime participation in the group.

Green, Sue Daniel Kirtland Papers

Sue Daniel Kirtland GreenMrs. Sue Daniel Kirtland Green (1887-1967), an associate of Margaret Sanger, operated the first birth control clinic in Tennessee at 2204 21st Avenue, South, Nashville, Tennessee, from 1932 to about 1941. In 1941 she began to sell Fem-A-Gyn contraceptive suppositories, which she developed from a recipe that Margaret Sanger included in her "Family Limitation" pamphlet. She and her daughter, Ruth H. Mocker continued a modestly successful mail order business until 1970.

The collection documents her professional life as a birth control advocate and includes correspondence, business papers, personal papers and notes, newspaper clippings, and artifacts. The patient records series, which span 1934 to 1966, are restricted.


Hendrix, Nancy Collection                   

Nancy Hendrix, a Vanderbilt alumna was active in the establishment and development of the Nashville women’s movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Topics covered in the collection include articles and clipping on the national women’s movement as well as other socio-political issues of the time period including southern history issues and the Vietnam War. 

Thrasher, Martha Sue Papers (off-site)

Martha Sue Thrasher is a human rights activist who was worked with groups such as labor unions, civil rights, workers’ rights, women’s liberation, Southern Students Organizing Committee (SSOC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the National Democratic Coalition.  This 19 linear feet collection contains correspondence, minutes, manuscripts for books, newsletters, oral histories, research notes, audio tapes, and photographs which range in date from 1967 to 1996.

Avery, Roy Crowdy Collection [small collection]

Roy Crowdy Avery was born in 1885 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He received an A.B. Degree from the University of Connecticut, a B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a PhD. degree from Vanderbilt.  He became a naturalized citizen in 1917 and immediately joined the United States Army. He was later commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant, and served with the Sanitary Corps from 1917-1919, spending time in France, Germany, and England. After the war he studied at Manchester University in Manchester, England.

Roy Crowdy Avery later was a Professor of Bacteriology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University from 1926-1953. He became Professor Emeritus in 1953.

Briggs, Marion H. Collection [small collection]

Marion H. Briggs, a native of Spencerville, Ohio, served in the U. S. Army during World War I. His overseas service was spent with the 147th U. S. Infantry Med. Dept. in Belgium, France, and Germany.  This .21 linear feet collection of 28 items contains 18 pieces of correspondence written to family members primarily during World War I pertaining to army life and health. The collection also contains a booklet, map, pamphlet, and roster from the late 19th century. The collection is arranged in 14 file folders.

Bryan, Stanley Fisk Collection [small collection]

This collection contains copies of the World War I letters of Captain Stanley Fisk Bryan to his mother, father, and brother. Most of the letters are typed, but several are handwritten. The collection also contains 3 newspaper clippings, 2 pamphlets, and song lyrics all relating to World War I.

Eleazer, Robert Burns Eleazer Papers

Robert Burns Eleazer (1877-1973) served as a candidate for the Prohibitionist Party, worked as a journalist, and joined the Tennessee Anti-Saloon league as a Field Worker and editor of their official paper The American Issue. In 1909, he moved to Nashville to work as Office Secretary for the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, an agency of the Southern Methodist Board of Missions. He was an anti-war activist during World War I and was involved in the Methodist Church’s Movement for Revision, an effort to limit the power of Bishops and make the church more democratic.  Eleazer also worked as Education Director for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and as “Special Worker in Race Relations” for the Methodist General Board of Education.

The Robert Burns Eleazer Papers (1877–1973) include correspondence and writings by Eleazer as well as newspaper clippings, course and program outlines, press releases and pamphlets. There are several autobiographical writings as well as a transcription of Mr. Eleazer being interviewed by historian John Egerton shortly before Mr. Eleazer’s death in 1973. Writings by others include reviews, articles, pamphlets and student papers.

World War I and II Pamphlets – inventory available

The World War I and II Pamphlet Collection has been arranged chronologically. There are seven items published during the First World War with the bulk of the collection containing newspapers and magazines from World War II published in the United States by servicemen stationed at bases across the country.

Eskind, Allen S. World War II Papers

Allen Stanley Eskind is a 1942 graduate of Vanderbilt University. He was born April 8, 1921 and is a lifelong resident of Nashville.  He attended Vanderbilt from 1938-1942, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was enlisted in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to April 24, 1947.  He served as a Navigation Officer on board the USS LCI(D) 227 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. During the war he made a tour of duty in the South Pacific serving in such places as New Guinea, the Philippines, and Brisbane, Australia.

This Collection is .21 linear feet and includes Allen Eskind’s  WWII Journal in fifteen chapters and his official correspondence during his time of service with the U.S. Navy.

An interview with Mr. Eskind regarding his expereinces during World War II is available at Vandy Goes to War.

Rezek, Philipp Papers [small collection]

This collection contains personal letters written by friends and family of Philipp Rezek, who were Jewish refugees. The collection covers Austria's takeover by the Germans in 1938, the family's departure, internment camps, arrival to the United States, and medical school. A few of the letters are written from right to left to pass German censors.  The majority of this collection is in German.

Roulhac, Polly Ann Billington Collection [small collection]

Polly Ann Billington Roulhac was a Vanderbilt University graduate, who served as a Recreation Worker and Assistant Field Director for the American Red Cross from 1942-1944. She was attached to various hospitals in Maryland, Oklahoma, England, Algeria, and Italy.  The book is compiled of three years of letters and v-mail 'home', to various members in her family, while serving in the American Red Cross in Europe and Africa during World War II.

Joe Thompson, Jr. Papers – inventory available

Joseph "Tiger Joe" Thompson, a native of Nashville, graduated from the Wallace University School in 1937.  He received his B.A. in biology from Vanderbilt University in 1941. After graduating from Vanderbilt, he joined the Army Air Corps and was assigned to British Royal Air Force 66th Squadron for training, later joining the 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the U.S. 9th Air Force.  For his military service, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, with fifteen oak leaf clusters and six Bronze Stars, The Distinguished Unit Badge and the French Croix de Guerre.  Just days before Thompson's death, President Sarcozy of France honored him with the country’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honor.  

The Joe Thompson, Jr. Papers contain autobiographical and biographical notes, correspondence, Army Air Force records, and scrapbooks.

Additional information on Mr. Thompson can be found in Tiger Joe: A Photographic Diary of a World War II Aerial Reconnaissance Pilot by Joe Thompson and Tom Delvaux.   Nashville, Tennessee: Eveready Press, c2006.  (Special Collections, SouthCV-OV Collection,  D811 .T466 A3 2006).

Thompson, John Papers

John Thompson, a native of Nashville, was a graduate of the former Wallace School. He attended Vanderbilt University and received a B.A. in 1930 and M.A. in 1932. He then attended Harvard Law School. In 1933 he joined the staff of the Tennessean, where he became an editorial writer and a day city editor. He also was a night manager of the Associated Press Nashville Bureau. In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Navy for service in World War II. In 1944 he was promoted to Lieutenant, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1945, he wrote a weekly newsletter for the naval post squadron and wings. He was stationed in Alaska, and later assigned to a naval cruiser in the Pacific.

This .21 linear feet collection contains 63 letters, two postcards, and one V-Mail Christmas Card from John Thompson to several family members while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. The letters are arranged in file folders chronologically by year, then month.

Vandy Goes to War: World War II Remembered
Digital Archive
Manuscript Finding Aid - inventory available

Paper copies of the transcripts and other supporting materials donated by the participants are housed in Special Collections and University Archives. Altogether there are forty participants. The interviews are complemented by a number of digitized photographs from the personal collections of some of the contributors and include ninety pages from a World War II photograph journal of a Naval officer’s tour of duty in the South Pacific.

This project records the histories and reminiscences of men and women who attended or had connections with Vanderbilt and Peabody during the war years and documents their experiences in the service and on the campus during that time and afterward when some came back to school and attended on the G.I. Bill. The interviews include eye witness accounts of soldiers fighting at the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 and early 1945, in the Far East at Okinawa, flying aerial reconnaissance in the European theatre, and medical and hospital work in North Africa and southern Italy.  One soldier, a prisoner of war in a camp in Germany tells his story.  Another tells of being an eighteen year old soldier liberating prisoners from Dachau Concentration camp in southern Germany. Women speak of taking leadership positions in campus life, when so many men had gone to war and of their efforts on the home front and of the realities of rationing and limited necessities.

World War I and II Pamphlets – inventory available

The World War I and II Pamphlet Collection has been arranged chronologically. There are seven items published during the First World War with the bulk of the collection containing newspapers and magazines from World War II published in the United States by servicemen stationed at bases across the country.

Other Archives in Nashville
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