History Commons^™

Elkton Motor Company - Elkton, Kentucky (Sc 3526), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3526. Letter, December 1939, from Elkton Motor Company, Elkton, Kentucky, wishing the recipient a Merry Christmas and suggesting the purchase of a new 1940 Ford V-8 as a family gift. The letterhead features a car wrapped as a Christmas present.

Duff Collection (Mss 692), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 692. Correspondence, photos, diaries, and other family related memorabilia from the families of Michael Edward Jelley and his wife Laura Josephine (Duff) Jelley. Most of the material relates to Laura’s family, the Duffs of Jackson, Kentucky, and to Michael and Laura’s immediate family. The bulk of the collection consists of Laura’s diaries, correspondence, recipes, and scrapbook.

Melton, Cynthia I. "Sibbie," 1866-1923 (Mss 697), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 697. Postcards, chiefly addressed and inscribed to Cynthia Melton, Cairo, Kentucky. Physical limitations kept Melton confined to her community. Friends, family and acquaintances helped her explore the world from her mailbox.

Anthony, Allen, 1930-2020 - Collector (Mss 696), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 696. Correspondence and copies of research material collected by Dr. Allen Anthony for his book, Columbus, Kentucky As the Nation’s Capital: Legend or Near Reality? Also includes a holographic copy of the manuscript.

Account Books, 1802-1888 (Mss 694), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 694. Account books from various members of the Quarles, Thomson and Gaines families of Fayette County and Scott County, Kentucky. Includes detailed financial accounts for tenant farming in Kentucky and Mississippi, including a large hemp operation in Scott County; a general store in Fayette County; and a lumberyard in Scott County. Also includes an account of a small dairy operation from 1879.

Patterson, Roland, 1872-1935 (Sc 3524), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescript (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3524. Letter to his parents, 22 July 1899, from Roland Patterson, teaching school and boarding with the Gerald family in Jennie, Barren County, Kentucky. His contemplative letter, written while sitting up with the family’s young son who is recovering from malaria, describes the family, his quiet surroundings, and opening his school.

Yone Noguchi And Miss Morning Glory: American Humor, Identity, And Cultural Criticism In The Works Of Yone Noguchi, Evan Connor Alston

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Yone Noguchi’s novels, The American Diary of a Japanese Girl and The American Letters of a Japanese Parlor-Maid, both published with the first decade of the twentieth century, have been the subject of study for scholars in the humanities for the past few decades. The research examines both novels in historical context and against his personal communications and his subsequently published works, understanding Noguchi not just as a Japanese immigrant but also a member of an American literary community. I compare the larger structing of the Diary to the works of his literary peers and mentors and demonstrate that understanding …

The Common Man And The Rise Of The Anabaptist Kingdom Of Munster, 1534-1535, Andrew Roebuck

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This essay studies the causes of the rise of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, with special emphasis on the actions and agency of the common people. The analysis begins with the two main primary sources, Hermann von Kerssenbrock and Henry Gresbeck, whose accounts provide firsthand knowledge of how events in Munster led to the Anabaptist takeover. Care is taken to read beyond some of the biases and assumptions made by those authors to gain the clearest insight for what really happened.

The essay looks at Anabaptism itself, including what it meant to be Anabaptist from the perspectives of participants and …

Forgotten Mistakes: Crossing The Rhine Gorge, 1945, Michael Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the years following World War II, official military records along with news reports and personal accounts of senior military leaders formed a narrative that emphasized American exceptionalism and focused on the success of the United States military. That original narrative became a foundation for foreign policy and military doctrine, and its characterization of the tactical and operational decisions made by American military leaders has remained almost entirely unchallenged. This thesis seeks to reverse that trend by carefully analyzing the tactical and operational aspects of one specific event, the crossing of the Rhine Gorge by the 89th Infantry Division.

The …

Ua94/6/1 Covid-19 Diary, Anonymous

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

COVID-19 diary submitted to WKU Archives by a healthcare worker.

American Business Women's Association - Kentucky Colonel Chapter (Mss 693), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 693. Minutes, financial papers, scrapbooks, programs, newsletters and various other organizational papers from Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Kentucky Colonel chapter of the American Business Women’s Association.

Croghan, George, 1852-1911 (Sc 3523), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3523. “The Mammoth Cave Controversy,” a notice by George Croghan of Michigan Bar, Sacramento County, California and a beneficiary of the Mammoth Cave Estate, a trust administered for the heirs of Dr. John Croghan, the Cave’s last private owner. He details numerous grievances against the Estate’s board of trustees: unfilled vacancies, negligent administration, lack of accounting, self-dealing, and falsification of records. He seeks public support for his current pursuit of legal and other remedies.

Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3522), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript for Manuscripts Small Collection 3522. Letter, 28 September 1861, to his mother from John L. Hebron, serving with the 2nd Ohio Infantry at Camp King near Covington, Kentucky. He describes his travel from Camp Dennison in Ohio, camping and drilling, and the shooting of an African American by a guard. He acknowledges receipt of a needle book and expresses a desire to procure oilcloth for a blanket. He reports on efforts to raise another company in Ohio, the treatment of the men by officers, and the absence of “secesh women” in that part of the state.

Hemphill, William Ramsey, 1806-1876 (Sc 3521), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3521. Letter, 23 February 1872, of Reverend William Ramsey Hemphill, Lowell, Kentucky, to Robert Rennick, discussing the incorporation of the Associate Reformed Presbytery of Kentucky. He suggests Rennick investigate the power of the county or circuit courts to incorporate, and in the alternative prepare a bill for passage by the Kentucky General Assembly. He also suggests content for the bill, including incorporators’ names and corporate powers and restrictions.

Williams, Michael Ann - Collector (Mss 691), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 691. Research material, including news clippings, promotional material, interviews, reports and miscellaneous printed items related to John Lair and the operations and performers at Renfro Valley, Kentucky. Collected by Michael Ann Williams for a book she wrote about Lair and Sarah Gertrude Knott.

Grise, Mary Ruth, 1938-2001 (Sc 3520), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3520. Baby book for Mary Ruth Grise, Bowling Green, Kentucky, the daughter of Finley C. Grise and Mary (Eshman) Grise; and a second, unused baby book. Also includes a Notification of Birth Registration for Mary Ruth issued by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Sledge, William Leonard, B. 1948 - Collector (Sc 3514), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for SC 3514. Script and photographs from two womanless wedding shows held in the Alvaton School gymnasium in Alvaton, Warren County, Kentucky in the 1960s. The images are stored in the WKU Photo Archives.

Wallar, James Leaman, 1837-1933 (Sc 3518), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3518. Letter, 21 October 1861, to his mother and sisters from James L. Wallar of Marshall, Illinois, serving with the 40th Illinois Volunteers at Paducah, Kentucky. He describes the current circumstances of his regiment: the possibility of winter quarters; the drill and guard routine; construction of fortifications; the wounding of pickets and scouts and the funeral procession of one who was killed; the capture of Confederates; and the local flora. He asks about his crops at home and the possibilities of sale, and notes an “ugly letter” …

From D.C. To Kentucky: The History Of The United States Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Bowers

Documents

This Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience aims to highlight the importance of the historical object and accurately document the complete history of the former United States Senate Clerk’s Desk, placed in the chamber in 1859 and removed in 1951. The desk’s first and last occupants were Kentucky natives and civil servants, and its current resting place is in Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Museum. Through research that began in the nation’s capital, and a journey to follow the desk’s paper trail, the object’s massive historical legacy and close ties to the state of Kentucky may live on. Along with a traditional …

Carter, Will-Parker (Sc 3517), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3517. “A Life of Service: The Domestic Healthcare Policies of Dr. Tim Lee Carter,” a research paper by Kentucky congressman Carter’s great-nephew Will-Carter Parker, written while he was a student at Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky. He reviews Dr. Carter’s legislative work and argues that his ideas influenced the content of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010).

A Desk's Tale, Olivia Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

A Visual Analysis Of The U.S. Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Renee Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

Cast Of Characters, Olivia Renee Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

Shuster, John W., 1846-1916 (Sc 3512), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text transcripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3512. Letters, 26 June and 19 July 1864, to Ensign Chubb, Canfield, Ohio, from John W. Shuster, serving with Company H of the 139th Indiana Volunteers. From Fort Jones, Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, he writes of illness in camp, July Fourth celebrations, the predations of “bushwackers,” and the popularity of Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan (“little Mac”) among the troops.

Whipple, Thelma Louise, B. 1912 (Sc 3516), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3516. School memory book of Thelma Louise Whipple, Hickman, Kentucky, containing autographs and names of teachers, classmates and friends.

Drake, Louise (Carson), 1894-1979 (Sc 3515), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3515. “Sesquicentennial Vesper Service Remarks Made by Mrs. W. P. Drake at Pioneer Cemetery, Bowling Green, Kentucky, April 23rd, 1969,” a speech by Louise (Carson) Drake reviewing the early history of the Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green and providing biographical and genealogical data on selected members, including some interred at Pioneer Cemetery.

Peter, William Henry, 1840-1865 (Sc 3510), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text transcripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3510. Letters from W. Henry Peter to his sister in Brighton, Illinois. Stationed with the 122nd Illinois Infantry at Paducah, Kentucky on 11 December 1863, he recounts his regiment’s travel there by steamer to a camp site previously occupied by another regiment. He reports receiving a backlog of mail, expresses confidence in the strength of his regiment’s position and its supporting gunboats, and urges her and other family members to visit him. His letter of 12January 1864 reports his assignment as clerk for a military …

Sledge, William Leonard, B. 1948 - Collector (Sc 3513), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3513. Information collected by William Sledge, Bowling Green, Kentucky, on the Alvaton, Kentucky post office. Includes 1883 application for a post office, four data sheets 1915-1947, dedication program for 1970 post office, list of postmasters 1883-1963, and two envelopes postmarked 1889.

Floyd Collection (Mss 689), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 689. Field books, 1851-1929, containing Warren County, Kentucky surveying notes recorded by John B. Floyd as well as some Warren County land records related to the Floyd family. Educational material from Jesse A. Floyd, Jr. relating to his teaching career in Warren County. A travel journal kept by Hubert and Alleyne Robinson during their trip to the western United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Stone, Dan Ray, 1921-2007 - Collector (Sc 3511), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3511. Miscellaneous papers collected by Dan Ray Stone, Bowling Green, Kentucky: constitution of the reactivated Senators’ Club, Inc., of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and cover letter (1948); notes on the Greer family of Barren County, Kentucky; a letter of thanks to Stone for yearbooks, written by WKU alumnus Clarence Glover (2002); and Bible records of the Taylor family of Warren County, Kentucky.