Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: George E. Woodruff family papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: George E. Woodruff family papers
- Date
- 1890-1957 (inclusive)
- 1904-1908 (bulk)
- Creator
- Woodruff, George Ezra, 1883-1963
- Extent
- 1.8 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Correspondence.
- Family.
- Business enterprises -- Kentucky -- Louisville
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by subject and chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0066: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: George E. Woodruff family papers, 1890-1957, bulk 1904-1908, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- George Ezra Woodruff (1883-1963) was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Col. Ezra Woodruff (d. 1913) and Frances Gaulbert Woodruff (d. 1919). Graduated from Lawrenceville Academy, Lawrenceville, NJ, in 1896, and Yale University in 1904 and went to work as a clerk for Peaslee & Gaulbert Co. and hoped to work his way up from the bottom, learning the business as he went along. Seems that the firm's owners, however, were eager to acquire his mother's stock in the company and paid him very little wages, which he apparently constantly complained about to his parents. In 1910 he married Mary Dabney (1889-1957), the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Gordon Dabney, a longtime Louisville physician, and started his own paint company, two blocks from Peaslee & Gaulbert Co., on Main Street in Louisville. He and his wife had three children, Gordon (1911-1941), Francis (1914-2007), Louise (1916-2008), and Elizabeth (1928-2017).
- 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 George E. Woodruff family papers (dated 1890-1957, bulk 1904-1908; 1.8 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprise correspondence, genealogy papers, and two photographs that document business, social life, education, and travel at the turn of the twentieth century. The correspondence is primarily written to George between 1904 and 1908, from his parents, siblings, wife, and children. The family genealogy details the Woodruff family back to the early 1600s.
- The George E. Woodruff papers 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
Elizabeth "Betty" Woodruff, circa 1946
Katherine Gaulbert, 1888
William Gaulbert, Sr., 1876
Commencement program, correspondence, Yale tuition receipt, 1896 - 1903
Photographs, undated
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.
