Additional Resources Added to ExploreUK

Online and open access to archival resources is more important now than ever in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest across the United States and beyond. With that in mind, SCRC is happy to announce the following collections are available on ExploreUK.

Norman Family papers

The Norman family papers (dated 1787, 1877-1899; 0.2 cubic feet; 2 folders) consist of a mathematics copybook written by Reuben Norman for his son Caleb Norman. The copybook contains significant handwritten marginalia from Caleb as well as many others. The collection also includes several letters from the late nineteenth century, including one written by L.C. Norman, president of the Old McBrayer Distilling Company in 1899.

Cassius M. Clay journal

The Cassius M. Clay journal and papers (dated 1826-1941, undated; 0.25 cubic feet; 1 box, 2 folders) primarily comprises a journal kept by abolitionist Cassius M. Clay to document financial and business transactions.

Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records bulletins and newspapers

The Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records (dated 1939-2015, bulk 1977-2011; 6.07 cubic feet and 13.7 gigabytes; 11 boxes, 2 items, and 14,228 digital files) contain administrative records, publications, bulletins, financial records, photographs, meeting minutes, committee records, ledger books, and digital files documenting the community events, activities, and operation of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass. The bulletins and newspapers have been digitized

Richard B. Isenhour architectural drawings

The Richard B. Isenhour architectural drawings (dated 1952-1989; 4 cubic feet; 14 folders) comprise design drawings for 80 residences and one medical building designed by architect Richard B. Isenhour, with most of the properties in Lexington, Kentucky, but also including structures in South Carolina, Florida, and North Carolina from 1952 to 1989.

Kentucky Negro Education Association journals

The Kentucky Negro Education Association journals (dated 1916-1952, 68 volumes) include proceedings of the organization's meetings and official publications. The organization was formed when State Superintendent of Public Instruction H. A. Henderson in 1877 when he gathered 45 Negro educators and trustees to form the State Association of Colored Teachers. In 1913 it was renamed the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA). This representative body of Kentucky's Negro educators was an influential lobbying group for education issues. Annual conferences were held in Louisville, KY. In response to desegregation, the organization was renamed the Kentucky Teachers Association, though it was still referred to in general conversation as KNEA. In 1956, KNEA was subsumed into the formerly all white Kentucky Education Association. KNEA was the predecessor to present day organizations such as the Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education. 

(Description from the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database.)

Laura Clay papers

The Laura Clay papers (dated 1819-1959, bulk 1906-1920; 13.63 cubic feet; 34 boxes, 2 folders, 3 items) consists of correspondence, pamphlets, periodicals, organizational records, petitions, scrapbooks, broadsides, programs, legal documents, and suffrage pins and ribbons, which document the career of Kentucky suffragist Laura Clay. These are in addition to the Laura Clay photographs. 

WAVE television Louisville, Kentucky busing films

WAVE-TV Louisville news coverage of the 1975 federal court order to racially integrate the Jefferson County Public Schools through busing. This court order was supported and protested through a number of public demonstrations and rallies on both sides of the debate. These are the edited news footage packages that were shown during the nightly reporting of the events and issues around desegregation of the Louisville, Kentucky public school system beginning in July and running through December of 1975.

Newly Digitized Wade Hall Collections!

A selection of new collections from the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters project have been digitized and made available online! New collections include topics such as religion, romance, war, family, education, and veterinary healthcare! These collections, along with many others, were digitized as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant, entitled "P.S. Write Again Soon": Revealing 200 years of the American Mosaic through the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters. All digitized and published Wade Hall collections can be found on ExploreUK!

F.L. Speiden to Harriet Pettus, 1900

Pettus-Speiden family papers, 2009ms132.0126 - The Pettus-Speiden family papers (dated 1891-1928, bulk 1904-1917; 1.4 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprise letters and short writings that document the experiences of an upper class family in Louisville, Kentucky during the last decade of the nineteenth century through World War I.

Florence Weigel letters, 2009ms132.0134 - The Florence Weigel letters (dated 1898-1899; 0.08 cubic feet; 2 folders) comprises thirteen letters that document the relationship between Florence Weigel and Lester Pomeroy in Pennsylvania and New York.

Henry Heyburn postcard to parents, 1943

Henry Heyburn family letters, 2009ms132.0284 - The Henry Heyburn family letters (dated 1908-1992, bulk 1938-1948; 1.8 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprise letters, papers, and clippings that document the life of Henry Heyburn as a soldier and his family in Louisville, Kentucky during and post-World War II.

Ivan Heft to his mother, 1911

Ivan Heft papers, 2009ms132.0303 - The Ivan Heft papers (dated 1903-1961, undated; 0.9 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprise letters, essays, and notebooks that primarily documents the education and early pastoral career of Ivan Heft in New Jersey, Ohio, Montana, Colorado, New York, and Kentucky in the first half of the twentieth century.

Grand Army of the Republic records, 2009ms132.0358 - The Grand Army of the Republic records (dated 1895-1896; 1.03 cubic feet; 1 box, 4 items) primarily consist of letters, telegram notes, and other correspondence kept and organized by William Cornwell Jr., General Secretary of the citizens committee of the Grand Army of the Republic's 29th National Encampment in Louisville, Kentucky.

Zoology project by Winston A. Thompson

Winston A. Thompson papers, 2009ms132.0547 - The Winston A. Thompson papers (dated 1943-1964, undated; 0.22 cubic feet; 11 folders) comprise printed materials, publications, school records and assignments, and a memory book that document the life of Winston Thompson while attending Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1950s.

Letter to Monna detailing a friend's second assault, 1942

Monna Rogers letters, 2009ms132.0560 - The Monna Rogers letters (dated 1910-1955, undated; 0.27 cubic feet; 6 folders) comprise letters that document the personal and religious life of Monna Rogers and other family members in Ohio in the first half of the twentieth century.

Equine veterinarian log book, 2009ms132.0568 - The Equine veterinarian log book (dated 1900; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises a log book of veterinarian Dr. Plaskett and his two voyages transporting horses from Montreal, Canada to Port Elizabeth, South Africa for the British during the Boer War.

German soldier to parents, 1941

German World War II soldiers letters, 2009ms132.0573 - The German World War II soldiers letters (dated 1941-19444; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise nine letters from German soldiers to their families while serving during World War II.

New collection guides added to Wade Hall!

Envelope of letter from Union soldier Lyman Hoagland to his mother, Amanda Willis

Over 100 new collection guides have been added to ExploreUK, all processed as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant, entitled "P.S. Write Again Soon": Revealing 200 years of the American Mosaic through the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters. These new collections cover women in education, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, religion, agriculture, entertainment, personal relationships, and much more. A selection of collection guides is highlighted below. The full list of published Wade Hall collection guides can be found here!


Luella Gail Pratt papers, 2009ms132.0326
The Luella Gail Pratt papers (dated 1932-1945, undated; 1.19 cubic feet; 2 boxes, 1 flat box) comprise letters, diaries, and a scrapbook that document the life of Pratt while in college, the early years of her marriage, and the experiences of her husband Bob Ireland while serving in the military in Ohio in the 1930s and 1940s.

Margaret Briscoe letters, 2009ms132.0332
The Margaret Briscoe letters (dated 1920-1925; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 box) consit of letters that document the relationships held by Margaret Briscoe, from Morganfield, Kentucky.

Copeland family papers, 2009ms132.0333
The Copeland family papers (dated 1929-1934, 0.15 cubic feet; 30 items) primarily comprise letters that document domestic life, economic hardships, and family events in the Copeland family of Illinois.

Saunders family letters, 2009ms132.0411
The Saunders family letters (dated 1929-1945; 0.02 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters that document the divorce and child support agreement between Louanna and Oscar A. Saunders in the mid-twentieth century in Colorado and Kentucky.

Oscar A. Saunders to ex-wife Louanna concerning charges filed against him, 1938

Margaret L. Terry letters, 2009ms132.0416
The Margaret L. Terry letters (dated 1921-1923, undated; 0.02 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters to Margaret from her parents in Louisville, Kentucky while she attended college in Seattle, Washington in the 1920's.

Campbell family letters, 2009ms132.0342
The Campbell family letters (dated 1912-1966, undated; 0.2 cubic feet; 8 folders) comprise letters written to Eugene and Marjorie Campbell of La Grange, Illinois during the twentieth century.

Cicero Coleman family papers, 2009ms132.0345
The Cicero Coleman family papers (dated 1850-1972, undated; 5.44 cubic feet; 12 boxes) comprise letters, legal documents, personal papers and newspaper clippings that document the Coleman family of Fayette County, Kentucky and the relatives in Colorado, Missouri, and Texas from 1850 to the mid-1970s.

Lewis H. Fassett letters, 2009ms132.0350
The Lewis H. Fassett letters (dated 1858-1866, undated; 0.014 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters to and from Lewis Fassett that document his life and military service just prior to and during the Civil War in New York and Pennsylvania.

Academy Awards production records, 2009ms132.0372
The Academy Awards production records (dated 1952-1953; 0.19 cubic feet; 14 folders) comprise notes, scripts, clippings, correspondence, and sheet music that document the production and planning for the 25th Academy Awards presentation.

Bob Hope accepting invitation to host 25th annual Academy Awards, 1953

George and Annie Haw letters, 2009ms132.0356
The George and Annie Haw letters (dated 1861-1864, undated; 0.1 cubic feet; 7 folders) comprise letters between George and Annie that document their courtship and marriage during the Civil War while George served in the military and Annie lived in Wisconsin.

Lyman Hoagland letters, 2009ms132.0361
The Lyman Hoagland letters (dated 1862; 0.02 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters from Hoagland to his mother, Amanda Willis, that document his experience as a soldier in the Union army near Corinth, Mississippi in 1862.

Ezra and Lydia Woodring letters, 2009ms132.0364
The Ezra and Lydia Woodring letters (dated 1862-1863, undated; 0.02 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters from Lydia to Ezra that document the life of a family working to make ends meet in Indiana while Ezra served in the military during the Civil War.

Ralph and Eileen Mannott letters, 2009ms132.0374
The Ralph and Eileen Mannott letters (dated 1943-1945; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) comprise letters that document the long-distance relationship between Ralph and Eileen while he was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii and she was in Chicago, Illinois during World War II.

Kemmerer Orphans Home to Mannott family thanking them for taking in a child for the holidays, 1947

Reverend Albert N. Wolff papers, 2009ms132.0368
The Reverend Albert N. Wolff papers (dated 1929-1973, undated; 1.16 cubic feet; 5 boxes) comprise writings, research, correspondence, personal papers, and photographs that document the life and work of Presbyterian minister Albert Wolff in Colorado, Texas, and Kentucky in the twentieth century.

Charles L. Shontz letters, 2009ms132.0370
The Charles L. Shontz letters (dated 1918-1919, undated; 0.11 cubic feet; 5 folders) comprise letters that document the work of Charles Shontz and the YMCA in France during World War I.

Mabel McEvoy letters, 2009ms132.0382
The Mabel McEvoy letters (dated 1895-1917, undated; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) comprise letters sent to Mabel from her suitor and friends that document the life of young women and men in Kentucky and Wisconsin at the turn of the twentieth century.

Betty Furness and Johnny Green letters, 2009ms132.0393
The Betty Furness and Johnny Green letters (dated 1936-1987, undated; 0.4 cubic feet; 20 folders) comprise letters that document the relationship between Furness and Green after their divorce and their joint custody of their daughter in California and New York in the latter half of the twentieth century. 

Barbara Green to her father, Johnny Green, 1944

Martin O'Sullivan papers, 2009ms132.0401
The Martin O'Sullivan papers (dated 1917-1919, undated; 0.1 cubic feet; 4 folders) comprise letters, papers, and photographs that document the experiences of O'Sullivan's friends and family while he is serving in the US Army during World War I.

Arthur C. Wolf letter, 2009ms132.0410
The Arthur C. Wolf letters (dated 1911-1918, 1951, undated; 0.03 cubic feet; 2 folders) comprise letters from Arthur Wolf to his family members that document his military experience in Lexington, Kentucky during World War I.

Sadie Grauman letters, 2009ms132.0429
The Sadie Grauman letters (dated 1933-1948; 0.03 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters to Sadie from her tenants that document the struggle of affording housing costs in Kentucky during the Great Depression.

Tenant to Sadie Grauman, 1934

New Wade Hall collections digitized!

Interested in reading about travel to Europe and the Western United States? How about the experiences of soldiers and civilians during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II? Maybe you would prefer to read about personal efforts in education, employment, or love. In the newest additions of digitized Wade Hall collections you can read about all of that and more! These collections, along with many others, were digitized as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant, entitled "P.S. Write Again Soon": Revealing 200 years of the American Mosaic through the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters. All digitized and published Wade Hall collections can be found on ExploreUK!


2009ms132.0074: Crittenden H.C. Anderson letters - The Crittenden H.C. Anderson letters (dated 1883-1983, bulk 1900-1910; 1.35 cubic feet; 3 boxes) comprise letters between Crittenden Anderson and family members and customers that discuss the sale of livestock, business, family life, and military affairs.

2009ms132.0118: Mary Elizabeth Burgoon letters - The Mary Elizabeth Burgoon letters (dated 1915-1963, bulk 1915-1963; 1.75 cubic feet; 5 boxes) comprise letters from Burgoon's friends and family that document medical practices, travel, and family life in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia during the first half of the twentieth century.

Catherine to Elizabeth Burgoon, 1925

2009ms132.0144: Carey Lewis letters - The Carey Lewis letters (dated 1902-1919; 0.23 cubic feet; 2 folders) comprise letters that document the life of Carey Lewis while in school in Danville, Kentucky at the beginning of the twentieth century.


2009ms132.0158: Stanley Lawson letters - The Stanley Lawson letters (dated 1905-1912, undated; 0.18 cubic feet; 5 folders) comprise letters that document the courtship activities of young men and women in Wisconsin during the early twentieth century.

Eunise to Stanley, 1912

Eunise to Stanley, 1912, interior

2009ms132.0159: Averitt family letters - The Averitt family letters (dated 1911; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise nine letters that document the relationship between Erwin and his parents in Kentucky in the beginning of the twentieth century.


2009ms132.0165: Clarence J. Rogier letters - The Clarence J. Rogier letters (dated 1942-1945, 1970; 0.35 cubic feet; 1 box) comprise letters between Clarence Rogier and his family that document his experience as a soldier overseas in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe during World War II.

Clarence to family, 1944

2009ms132.0166: Thomas R. Atwood letters - The Thomas R. Atwood letters (dated 1935-1959, undated; 0.35 cubic feet; 1 box) comprise letters that document the military experience of Thomas Atwood in the US Army during World War II.

2009ms132.0172: Ada Jane Lunden letters - The Ada Jane Lunden letters (dated 1870-1888; 0.22 cubic feet; 14 folders) comprise letters that document the lives of Ada and her brother, James (Jimmy) and George (Georgie), while attending school at the National Soldier's Orphan Homestead in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the 1870s and 1880s.


2009ms132.0173: Love C. Calbert papers - The Love C. Calbert papers (dated 1923-1965; 0.13 cubic feet; 8 folders) comprise letters, school reports, and programs and certificates that document the personal and professional life of Love Calbert in Kentucky and Florida in the mid-twentieth century.

George Johnson to Love Calbert, 1927

2009ms132.0189: Paul Leland Ballard papers - The Paul Leland Ballard papers (dated 1913-1933, undated; 0.11 cubic feet; 7 folders) comprises licenses, receipts, medicine labels, drawings, documents, and photographs that document the Da-Ka-Ta Medicine Company and Paul Ballard in Ohio and Indiana during the early twentieth century.


2009ms132.0190: University of Chicago academic letters - The University of Chicago academic letters (dated 1951-1965; 0.14 cubic feet; 9 folders) comprise letters from prospective foreign students to the Registrar, and from former or current foreign colleagues of professors at the University of Chicago during the 1950s.

S.K.G. Ofosu to University of Chicago Director of Admissions, 1955

2009ms132.0193: Emma Christiansen travel diary - The Emma Christiansen travel diary (dated 1926; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises a diary by Emma Christiansen that documents her travels to Norway and Denmark in the summer of 1926.


2009ms132.0194: Ebenezer Thresher papers - The Ebenezer Thresher papers (dated 1824-1864, undated; 0.09 cubic feet; 4 folders) comprise a diary, bank notes, photographs, and letters that document the life and religious work of Ebenezer Thresher II in New England and Ohio during the mid-nineteenth century.

Thomas Thresher to Ebenezer Thresher, 1850

2009ms132.0195: Dummer family letters - 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.

2009ms132.0199: Frances Coleman travel diary - The Frances Coleman travel diary (dated 1925-1927, undated; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises a diary and two letters that document Frances's travels across Europe in the mid-1920s.

2009ms132.0200: Robert Beck WWI diary - The Robert Beck World War I diary (dated 1918-1919; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) consists of one diary that documents Robert Beck's experiences serving in the US Army stateside and overseas during World War I.


2009ms132.0202: Unidentified woman western travel diaries - The Unidentified woman western travel diaries (dated 1928; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises two diaries that document the experiences of an unidentified Pennsylvania woman's first railway trip west in 1928, that she titled Glimpses from the Observation End.

Cover of volume one of travel diary, Glimpses from the Observation End

2009ms132.0218: Sherman Addison Chubbuck diary - The Sherman Addison Chubbuck diary (dated 1861-1865; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one diary that documents the life and work of Methodist minister Sherman Chubbuck in Minnesota during the Civil War.

2009ms132.0220: Diary of Paris, Kentucky woman - The Diary of Paris, Kentucky woman (dated 1867; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one diary that documents the day to day life of a woman living in Paris, Kentucky after the Civil War.

2009ms132.0301: Eva Wellman papers - The Eva Wellman papers (dated 1867-1910, bulk 1870-1874; 0.29 cubic feet; 13 folders) comprise letters, receipts, and legal papers that document the life of Eva Wellman and friends and family in Indiana and Ohio in the second half of the nineteenth century.


2009ms132.0313: Agnes H. Miller letters - The Agnes H. Miller letters (dated 1933-1938; 0.1 cubic feet; 3 folders) comprise letters sent to Agnes H. Miller from her sister and lover throughout the 1930s.

Letter to Agnes from a lover, 1937

2009ms132.0317: William Kenzer letters - The William Kenzer letters (dated 1908-1912; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters sent to William during the early 1900s from his fianceé Emma C. Kenzer while she was living in Evansville, Indiana and he lived in Louisville, Kentucky.