Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Gift, 2000.
Collection is arranged by format. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
William Madison Leftwich (1828-1901) was born in Staunton City, Virginia to Thomas Leftwich and Patsey Martha Malvina Stratton. In 1851, Leftwich married Mary Malinda Smith (1831-1916). Together the couple had five children: Lily (1859-1916), Alice (1861-1935), Harry (1863-1916), William Jr. (1865-1946), and Mary (1871-1948). Leftwich was a minister in the Methodist church, practicing in the southern United States for 48 years.
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
2009ms132.0654: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Reverend William M. Leftwich diary, 1866, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
The Reverend William M. Leftwich diary (dated 1866; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one diary that documents the life and religious work of Methodist reverend William Leftwich in St Joseph, Missouri in 1866. In the diary, Leftwich writes about his day-to-day activities, preparing and giving sermons, making social calls, traveling with his wife and family, attending church conferences and meetings, participating in relief efforts, and his personal and mental health.
The Reverend William M. Leftwich diary 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.
The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.