History Commons^™

Weir Family Collection (Mss 651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 651. Letters and papers of the Weir family of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and related members of the Rumsey and Miller families. Well-to-do merchants and farmers, the Weirs were leading supporters of the Union during the Civil War, providing advocacy, financial support, and military service. Includes full-text scans of a letter from the brother of steamboat pioneer James Rumsey defending his legacy as an innovator; James Weir's journal; James Weir's will; the annotated recollections of Edward Weir, Sr.; and two letters from former Weir slaves recolonized in Liberia (Click on "Additional files" below).

Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3278. Letters to Lucy Ann Robbins Ligon, the daughter of Fulton County, Kentucky judge Josiah Parker and his wife Lucy A. Parker, written while she lived in Crittenden County, Arkansas with her late husband’s brother, and in Hickman, Kentucky after her remarriage. Lucy’s parents relay news of her siblings and of pre-Civil War Hickman, and at the outbreak of war dramatically describe the division of loyalties, the townspeople’s fear and uncertainty as invasion threatens from the North, the enlistment of local men, two destructive fires, economic conditions, …

Fry, Samuel Van Buren, 1840-1903 (Sc 3276), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3276. Letter, 31 July 1864, of Samuel V. Fry, 16th Kentucky Infantry, to Ruth Jane Sapp. From Dalton, Georgia, he writes of engaging Confederate forces near Atlanta in a "big fight every day” and hopes to see her if he survives the war. He urges her not to “give me up for lost and take some other gentle man in my place.”

Scott, James Mcmillian, 1870-1907 (Mss 628), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 628. Letters of James McMillian Scott, a native of Cumberland County, Kentucky, to Sarah Elizabeth “Ellie” Garnett of Adair County, Kentucky, written before and after their marriage. Frequently separated from his wife because of his work on his family’s Texas farm and his editorial positions on newspapers in Texas, Kentucky and Arkansas, Scott writes of his family, his social and religious activities, his Spanish-American War service, and his newspaper work. He is frequently resentful of local attacks on his reputation arising from unspecified indiscretions committed while living in Kentucky. Full-text scans of several Spanish-American War …

Cloud, Allen Carol, 1930-1982 (Sc 3140), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3140. Letter, 26 September 1951, of Allen Carol Barnes. Writing during his military service in Seoul, Korea, he declares his love for her and his intention to propose marriage, and regrets a friend's premature disclosure to her of this confidence. He also comments on the poor living conditions of the Korean people.

Carroll, Hillary Bellerby, 1908-1999 (Mss 615), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 615. World War II letters written by Hillary B. Carroll, while serving in the U.S. Army in The Philippines and Japan, to his wife Katherine “Kate” (Whallen) Carroll, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Also includes some information and photos related to Carroll’s family.

Huenefeld, Earl Warren, B. 1921 And Alvis Marie (Dunaway) Huenefeld, 1922-1994 (Mss 606), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 606. Courtship letters of E. Warren Huenefeld, Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and his fiancé and eventual wife, Alvis Marie Dunaway, while she was teaching school in Madison County and Pulaski County, Kentucky. Includes some elementary music teaching Material and a pencil sketch of Alvis Huenefeld.

Barr, Edward Wallace, 1887-1962 (Mss 576), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 576. Papers, lecture notes and appointment book relating to Dr. E. Wallace Barr’s training and service as a dentist with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I; includes a few items of family correspondence.

Luthene G. Kimball (Sc 2976), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archive Project 2976. Letters sent from U.S. Army Sergeant Luthene G. Kimball to his soon to be fiancé and nurse, Jane Robertson, while he was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, during World War II. He discusses their relationship, military life, and current events.

See also: SC 3111 "Robertson, Jane, 1925-2015"

Anderson, Catherine (Simmons), D. 2008 - Collector (Mss 517), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 517. Chiefly letters written to James Preston Cherry while he was sick and in a Louisville hospital (1913), in school at the University of Kentucky (1915-1917), and while in military service during World War I (1917-1918). Also includes family information related to the Cherry, Phelps, Simmons and Anderson families.

Dallas, William Robert, Sr., 1910-1997 (Mss 472), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 472. Correspondence, almost exclusively between William Robert Dallas, Sr., and his girlfriend, fiancé, and later wife Virginia “Ginny” Eileen Lindsay. Dallas was in the Army Air Corps and stationed in Louisville, Kentucky, while Ginny was living in her hometown of Ventnor, New Jersey, right outside Atlantic City. The letters are courtship related and are filled with plans for their wedding on 15 September 1945.

Topmiller Family Papers (Sc 2778), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2778. Letters and papers of various members of the Topmiller family of Kentucky, Tennessee and New Mexico. Includes letters of Benjamin E. Topmiller to his wife Jessie; letters of condolence to Jessie on her husband’s death; postcards from a World War I serviceman to a young lady in Owensboro, Kentucky; and letters to Victor Topmiller regarding his service to the Davet Home and School for Spastic Paralysis in Owensboro.

Wall Family Papers (Sc 1094), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1094. Documents mainly of Wall family members of Cynthiana (Harrison County), Kentucky, and Dallas, Texas. The family correspondence includes three Civil War era letters. The financial receipts include one for the cost of an 1841 servant’s coffin.

Coombs Family Collection (Mss 349), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 349. Correspondence, photographs, business records and miscellaneous papers of the Coombs, Robertson and related families of Warren and Simpson counties in Kentucky and of Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. Includes correspondence, personal papers and research of Elizabeth Robertson Coombs, librarian at the Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University. Several documents from this collection have been scanned are available for viewing by clicking on the "Additional Files" below.

Fox-Walthall Letters (Sc 1007), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only and scan (Click on "additional files" below) Manuscripts Small Collection 1007. Family letters of the Fox and Walthall families, chiefly of Mildred P. (Walthall), Joseph, Rachel M. and William S. Fox of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. The collection includes family correspondence, Civil War letters, 1861-1862 (34), and courtship letters.

Carter, Chillon Conway, 1830-1891 (Mss 112), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts of selected material for Manuscripts Collection 112. Correspondence, chiefly written by Monroe County, Kentucky native Chillon Conway Carter, to his wife, Lucinda E. and his two daughters Nancy G. and Louisa A., during the Civil War. Also includes letters written to Carter by his brother, John B. Carter, who lived in White County, Illinois.

Hoerter, Henry Charles, 1909-1959 (Sc 837), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 837. Chiefly World War II letters written by Henry Charles Hoerter to his fiancée Alicia Mahoney while serving aboard the U.S.S. Barker, 26 October 1944-2 February 1945; Hoerter wedding photograph (photocopy), 7 June 1945; and related war items.

Twitchell, Jacob Paul, 1909-1971 (Mss 433), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 433. Correspondence, news clippings, photographs, and publications including prose and poetry of Jacob Paul Twitchell, a native of Paducah. Includes World War II correspondence with his wife, Camille, and letters to family, friends, as well as with editors and publishers.

Cook, Elizabeth Charlotte (Mss 403), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 403. Letters written by various male friends, many in military service during World War II, to Elizabeth Charlotte Cook while she was in school at Campbellsville College, Campbellsville, Kentucky and Western Kentucky State Teachers College, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Some of the letters are of a courtship nature.

Wickersham Family Papers (Sc 560), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 560. Bound typescripts of 73 letters, 1861-1877, and an 1887 deed of the Wickersham family, Mercer County, Kentucky. The collection includes 53 Civil war letters, chiefly written to the family by brothers William, Jacob and George Wickersham, who served with Kentucky Union regiments. The majority of these letters are from William who prayed for peace and to be reunited with his family, but he died in 1863. Additionally, there are other family letters from 1863 to 1877.

Selby, Cornelia Frances, 1916-2005 (Sc 2530), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2530. Letters from Cornelia Frances “Fran” Selby to her sister, Mary Agnes Selby in Utica, Ohio, written during Cornelia’s service in the Women’s Army Corps at Camp Campbell, Kentucky. She writes of her activities, her anticipated furlough and their male acquaintances.

Godby, Coye Perkins, 1918-2004 (Mss 453), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 453. Chiefly World War II correspondence between Coye Perkins Godby, Elihu, Pulaski County, Kentucky, and his mother, Pearl Godby. Also, letters that his mother wrote to him. Godby was stationed in Orlando, Florida before being sent to England, France, the Rhineland, etc. in 1944. Topics include family news, relationships, and military life.

Perguson, Dee Carl, Jr., 1921-2010 (Mss 8), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 8. Correspondence and diaries of Deel Carl Perguson, Jr., Horse Branch (Ohio County), Kentucky, and Seattle, Washington. Of interest are his letters written while serving in World War II in the United States, North Africa, and Italy, and his later memoirs of this period. Also of interest are diaries of his years as a student at Western Kentucky State Teachers College, 1939-1943. The collection also includes his recollections of growing up in Horse Branch in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dickerson-Venable Family Papers (Mss 334), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 334. Correspondence, clippings and genealogical data relating to the Dickerson and Venable families of Warren County, Kentucky, and related families. Includes military papers from the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Hatfield-Gaines Family, 1834-1981 (Mss 2275), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2275. Chiefy receipts, deeds, wills, and other legal and financial documents of the Hatfield and Gaines families of Simpson County, Kentucky. Includes some Civil War-era correspondence of the Hatfield family.

Hall, Dorthie A. (Mss 295), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 295. Letters written to Dorthie A. Hall, student and editor of the "College Heights Herald" at Western Kentucky Teachers College, Bowling Green, Kentucky, during World War II. The male correspondents are all former students from Western, and they describe military life in their specific locations around the world. They all express devotion to Western and ask for details and comment about the school, sports teams, and the Bowling Green community.

Smith, Edmond, 1843?-1863 (Sc 1915), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1915. Letter from Edmond Smith, serving with the 4th Indiana Artillery, to "Annie" describing his regiment's reception in Louisville, Kentucky and his reaction to negative comments besmirching his character. Written on letterhead with the word "UNION!" printed in red and blue ink along with an eagle holding a shield decorated with stars and stripes.

Wheeler, Ernest Eugene, 1921-1944 (Mss 210), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 210. Correspondence between Ernest Eugene "Gene" Wheeler and his fiance and future wife, Alma Blancett of Calhoun, Kentucky. The correspondence begins while Wheeler was a student at Western Kentucky State Teachers College and continues when he enters the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed on D-Day. Also contains Alma's 1945 diary.

World War Ii, 1939-1945 - Letters (Sc 1870), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1870. Letters written by "Chet" to his girlfriend "Dottie" discussing military life in Italy during the last years of World War II. The letter writer may have come from the Henderson, Kentucky area as several letters make references to places in that community.

Hamilton, Andrew Graff, 1835-1895 (Sc 1858), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1858. Information, chiefly published items, related to Hamilton's role in the escape of Union prisoners from Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia in 1864. Also, details concerning his 1895 death.