Jean Thomas The Life and the Legend scrapbook
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Jean Thomas The Life and the Legend scrapbook
- Date
- 1943-1984 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.56 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Ballads, English.
- Folklorists -- Kentucky -- Biography.
- Historians.
- Historic buildings -- Kentucky -- Ashland.
- Mountain people -- Songs and music.
- Museums -- Kentucky -- Ashland.
- Singers.
- Songs -- United States.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically.
- Preferred Citation
- 87m47: [identification of item], Jean Thomas The Life and the Legend scrapbook, 1943-1984, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Author, historian, and singer Jean Thomas, founder of the American Folk Song Festival, was born in Ashland, Ky. November 20, 1881. She met her husband while in New York, where she studied at Hunter College and the Pulitzer School of Journalism. After living and working in Greenwich Village, Mrs. Thomas moved to Hollywood where she worked as a script girl for Cecil B. DeMille. At age 17 she returned to Kentucky and served as a court stenographer traveling on horseback and transcribing testimonies of feuds and murders, thus exposing her to the traditions of the people of the mountains. While traveling in the eastern Kentucky mountains as a stenographer, she became known as the "Traipsin Woman"and during that period she collected and preserved their folklore, traditions, and music.
- In the late 1930s, realizing a fascination that she had for the songs and culture of the Kentucky mountain people, she founded the American Folk Song Festival which she personally conducted for over 35 years at or near her home in Ashland. In addition, Jean Thomas wrote nine books dealing with Kentucky folklore including The Traipsin' Woman (1933) and the Singin' Gatherin' (1939).
- Because she collected artifacts and memorabilia of all kinds, her home became a treasure of antiques and trivia of museum proportion and in 1979 the Jean Thomas Museum - centered around a reconstructed version of her home, "Wee House in the Woods" - was opened to the public.
- Scope and Content
- The Jean Thomas "The Life and the Legend" scrapbook (dated 1943-1984; 0.55 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of a scrapbook concerning the life of Kentucky folklorist Jean Thomas, which was compiled by University of Kentucky student, Jerry Groce. Jerry Groce was also from Ashland, Kentucky. Included in the scrapbook entitled, "Jean Thomas: The Life and the Legend", are photographs, photocopies of articles, correspondence and broadsides dealing with her life and work as a folklorist. Known as the "Traipsin Woman", Jean Thomas' life was dedicated to the preservation of the eastern Kentucky mountain culture particularly in song. The scrapbook includes some later newspaper clippings centering around celebrations of her birthdays and contain information on the restoration of her home, "Wee House in the Woods", for use as a museum.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- 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.
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.
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.
