Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Hollingsworth family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Hollingsworth family letters
- Date
- 1887-1893, undated (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.035 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Correspondence.
- Family.
- Frontier and pioneer life.
- Moving, Household
- Farm life
- Cash crops.
- Livestock.
- Health
- Death
- Parent and child.
- Child care.
- Education
- Agriculture -- Kansas
- Religion
- Flour mills.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0537: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Hollingsworth family letters, 1887-1893, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Hollingsworth family of Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, and Oklahoma included Henry Hollingsworth (1837-1917), his wife Mary F. White (1839-1891), and their ten children: John M. (b. 1862), Laura (1863-1955), William S. (1865-1937), Charles A. (1869-1890), Eddie E. (b. 1870), Frank W. (1872-1935), Frederick H. (1874-1948), Harvey L. (1877-1947, Rosa (1878-1893), and Grace (1880-1977). Henry was born in Indiana and was a pioneer settler of Appanoose county, Iowa, living there between 1860 and 1890. In those years, Henry married his wife and they had all ten of their children in Iowa before moving to Springfield, Colorado, then Hunnewell, Kansas, and finally settling in Oklahoma. The family participated in the Cherokee Strip Land Run in 1893; however, it is unclear whether they were successful in getting a claim before living in Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Henry and the family operated a farm with crops and livestock, later opening a large flour mill in Oklahoma.
- 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 Hollingsworth family letters (dated 1887-1893, undated; 0.035 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises letters from the Hollingsworth family to their eldest daughter, Laura Vinzant, that document pioneer settler life in Colorado and Kansas during the late nineteenth century. In the letters, the family writes about moving to Colorado and Kansas, the settlement runs in Oklahoma in the 1890s, the quality of the crops they are growing, how the West is a "land of plenty" with abundant resources and good prices for their crops. The mother writes about missing her children and grandchildren who are living in Iowa, her fears for the health of her sons Charles and John, marriage gossip on family and friends, and requests for Laura and her family to come visit. The youngest children also write on the letters, mostly talking about attending school, helping around the farm, and spending time with friends. Three of the letters inform Laura on the death of her mother and two of her siblings.
- The Hollingsworth 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.
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.
