Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Sylvester Zellers letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Sylvester Zellers letters
- Date
- 1910-1919 (inclusive)
- 1918-1919 (bulk)
- Creator
- Zellers, Sylvester, 1897-1980
- Extent
- 0.21 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Military training camps.
- Racism -- United States -- Public opinion
- Soldiers -- Correspondence
- World War, 1914-1918.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0038: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Sylvester Zellers letters, 1910-1919, bulk 1918-1919, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Sylvester Zellers was born on January 14, 1897 to Sylvester Zellers (1861-1948) and Emma Reynolds (b. 1861) in Cleveland, Ohio. He had two younger siblings, Stanley (1904-1956) and Elizabeth (1908-1996). In 1918, Sylvester was drafted into service during World War I, spending time in Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio and Camp Jesup in Fulton County, Georgia; he was not deployed overseas. The following year Zellers was discharged from the Amy. On November 27, 1924 Zellers married Helen Merrick (1903-1993). He passed away in January 1980.
- 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 Sylvester Zellers letters (dated 1910-1919, bulk 1918-1919; 0.21 cubic feet; 10 folders) comprise correspondence that primarily documents life in military training camps during World War I. The majority of the letters describe the relationships between the men in the camps along with pranks and rumors. There are also racial and anti-Semitic comments in his letters and in a letter to him from a girlfriend, Ruth. The collection also includes a photograph of Zellers.
- The Sylvester Zellers letters 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
Sylvester Zellers letters, 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.
