Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jenkins family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jenkins family letters
- Date
- 1909-1945 (inclusive)
- 1909-1911 (bulk)
- Extent
- 0.8 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Courtship
- Divorce -- United States -- History -- 20th century
- Letters.
- Love-letters
- Theater -- 20th century
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0089: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jenkins family letters, 1909-1945, bulk 1909-1911, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- June Yates Jenkins (1893-1988) was born in Grapevine, Texas to Thomas Jefferson Jenkins (1861-1931) and Henrietta N. Allman (1863-1928). He was the youngest of four children: Telfair (1885-1955), Annette (1886-1971), and Eleanor (1889-1975). He met his future wife, Alleen (Fletcher) Dukes (1886-1972) in 1909. She was married to Asbury F. H. Dukes and during the time of her romance with Jenkins in 1911, she was attempting to get a divorce from Dukes. During 1911, Alleen moved to Atlanta, Georgia to live with her brother Tom and persuaded Jenkins to give up his job with the Dalton Brothers at the Orpheus Theatre in Dallas, Texas and move to Chicago, Illinois to find employment. She wanted to keep their romance a secret to not interfere with the divorce proceedings and would join him in Chicago after October 1st when the divorce would become final.
- Yates received a cryptic message from his family in October asking him to return home due to a family emergency, most likely concerning his friend Cecil who attempted suicide after quarreling with his fiancée on the phone by shooting himself in the chest, but survived. Upon his return to Dallas, Alleen's divorce became final and the two married on October 25, 1911. The Jenkins later moved to Santa Monica, California where Yates entered the arts community and became successful and well-respected chalk ware artist during the carnival chalk ware prize era. He was the first to copyright his pieces and was commissioned by different Hollywood studios to create sculptured statues of famous celebrities such as Mae West and Clara Bow.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Jenkins family letters (dated 1909-1945, bulk 1909-1911; 0.8 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprise letters between June and Alleen Jenkins that document the intricacies of their courtship and relationship during the early twentieth century. The majority of the letters are from June Jenkins to Alleen that discuss his longing to be with her, his frustration with her divorce proceedings, and his willingness to do anything to be with her; there are letters from Alleen as well that discuss similar sentiments to June's letters. Additionally there are some letters from June's friend Cecil and Allen's brother Tom that discuss their views on the couple's relationship and their personal lives.
- The Jenkins family letters are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Jenkins family letters, 1911 March
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Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
