Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Myrtle Linn family letters

Title

Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Myrtle Linn family letters

Date

1910-1966, undated (inclusive)

Creator

Linn, Myrtle Fern, 1890-1977

Extent

2.7 Cubic Feet

Subjects

Correspondence.

Depressions -- 1929 -- Ohio

Diseases.

Great Depression

Influenza.

Medical care

World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged alphabetically by name. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.

Finding Aid Author

Andrew Biggs

Preferred Citation

2009ms132.0266: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Myrtle Linn family letters, 1910-1966, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.

Repository

University of Kentucky

Biography / History

Myrtle Fern Linn (1890-1977) was born in Bucyrus, Ohio to Charles Theodore Linn (1859-1940) and Elizabeth Ann Linn (1858-1937). She was the oldest of six children; Rollie Charles Linn (1892-1984), Bertha Ann Deerwester (1894-1979), Dewey E Linn (1898-1988), Nellie Mabel McLaughlin (1896-1999), and Mary May Beller (1900-1994). Myrtle's family were farmers in Ohio and her brother Dewey and her nephew Stanley McLaughlin both served in the military during the Second World War. Myrtle never married and lived in Ohio her 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 Myrtle Linn family letters (dated 1910-1966, undated; 2.7 cubic feet; 6 boxes) comprise letters, cards, and notices that document the Linn family in and around Bucyrus, Ohio throughout the twentieth century. The letters are primarily from Myrtle's sisters Bertha, Nellie, and Mary. Bertha Deerwester and Nellie McLaughlin wrote about sewing, decorating, housework, education, sunday school, gardening, the health of family members, and their travels to see friends and the other sisters. Mary May Beller, who worked as a typist for the Hadfield Penfield Steel Company, wrote about her work transcribing and also talked extensively about the effects of the Great Depression on her job including layoffs and cutting wages. Myrtle's friend Juanita Waitley writes about her father's antique shop and the effects of influenza around Ohio. Myrtle's brother Dewey Earl Linn and nephew Stanley McLaughlin both wrote about their time serving in World War II. Additionally, there are a few political advertisements and delivery notices and two one dollar silver certificates from 1939 and 1940.

The Myrtle Linn family 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.

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.