Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Alfred McQuate letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Alfred McQuate letters
- Date
- 1916-1918 (inclusive)
- Creator
- McQuate, Alfred
- Extent
- 0.03 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Military life.
- Family.
- Health
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0799: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Alfred McQuate letters, 1916-1918, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Alfred G. McQuate (1895-1962) was born in Pennsylvania to Jacob McQuate (1871-1915) and Flora Greenwood (1873-1958). McQuate served in the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1914 to 1917, where he was a musician with the rank of corporal. While serving in the National Guard his regiment was sent to El Paso to defend the area during the Mexican Border War. Following his return from the Mexican border, McQuate was called up for service in the army in early 1918 as a musician, went overseas from July 1918 to May 1919, and was discharged from service in June 1919. In 1924, he married Florence Shenk (1904-1986), however by 1940 the couple had divorced. McQuate worked at the Bledsoe Shoe Company factory and remained in Pennsylvania his entire life.
- 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 Alfred McQuate letters (dated 1916-1918; 0.03 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises letters sent from Alfred McQuate to his mother that document his experiences serving with the Pennsylvania National Guard in El Paso, Texas during the Mexican Border War. In the letters, he discusses the hot weather, sand storms, union strikes in El Paso, crossing the border in to Mexico, going through inspections, drills participated in, a botched execution he witnessed, playing concerts for events, his health, other National Guard units arriving and leaving before them, and his thoughts on being called up for service in the US Army. His final letter in the collection is sent just before he goes overseas to Europe to serve in the army during World War I.
- The Alfred McQuate letters collection is 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
- 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
Alfred McQuate to Flora McQuate, 1916-1918
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.
