Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Gift, 2000.
Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
No biographical information available on J.M. Mcarthy.
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
2009ms132.0979: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: J.M. McCarthy diaries, 1872-1886, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
The J.M. McCarthy diaries (dated 1872-1886; 0.12 cubic feet; 3 folders) comprises three diaries that document the life of J.M. McCarthy and his family in Alabama in the late nineteenth century. The diaries include entries on McCarthy's work as telegraph repairman and supervisor, building new lines, ensuring existing lines are in good condition, traveling across northern Alabama for work, and tracking budgets and accounts for purchases made for the company. Other entries include the daily weather, personal health, and after the death of McCarthy, his wife takes over writing in the diaries. She details the household budgets and accounts, visits with friends and family, personal health, missing her husband, completing chores on her property and inside the home, and trips she takes.
The J.M. McCarthy diaries 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.