Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Dummer family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Dummer family letters
- Date
- 1914-1939, undated (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.04 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Agriculture -- United States.
- Depressions -- 1929
- Family farms
- Farmers.
- Farm produce
- Great Depression
- Letters.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0195: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Dummer family letters, 1914-1939, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Charles Albert Dummer (1875-1940) was born in Germany to John August Dummer (1838-1915) and Frederika Dreaves (1838-1886). The family immigrated to the United States in 1882, and by 1894, Charles was a naturalized US citizen. In 1906, Charles married Mabel Foster (1883-1952) and together they had one son, Emerson (1910-1963). Charles worked as a farmer on his own place in Monroe Center, Illinois and the family sold the fruit that they raised in their orchards.
- 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 Dummer family letters (dated 1914-1939, undated; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise eleven letters from friends and relatives of the Dummer family that document farming and life in Illinois and California during the Great Depression. The letters are primarily sent to Mabel Dummer, from her family a friends, and they discuss farming, crop harvest, health of family members, scarcity of work, and migrant workers. There are also two letters from Emerson to his mother, Mabel, that discuss work, selling livestock/goods, and the weather where they travelled.
- The Dummer family 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.
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.
