Special Collections: African American Studies Research Guide (OLD)

Manuscripts and Archival Collections:  refer to a wide range of unpublished materials, such as handwritten and typed letters, documents, photographs, drawings, rough drafts, or maps that are of personal, historical, political and cultural importance to individuals or families.
Archival Collections: refer to an historical records of primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of that person or organization.

The Manuscript and Archival Collection contains rare historical documents pertaining to African Americans, including slave bills of sale, plantation inventory lists, manumission papers, and wills which contain information concerning slaves. Copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and The Thirteenth Amendment can be located in the Lincoln Collection. In addition, researchers interested in contemporary issues of civil rights, Black Nationalism, integration, and racial justice, will find an abundance of material in The American Propaganda Collection, The Chris Oakley Collection of Alterative Press, The Delaware Desegregation Archives, and The Sir Joseph Gold Political and Miscellaneous Ephemera Collection. Moreover, the manuscript and archival collection contains the literary papers of writers Charles Johnson, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Ishmael Reed.

This research guide is not exhaustive and is not intended to be a complete finding aid to the collections. Instead it serves as a guided introduction and preliminary research tool. It provides a brief description of holdings with basic information on size, inclusive dates, types of records, and a brief description of the materials. Complete finding aids are available in print and electronic format. Web links to available electronic finding aids are provided with this guide. This research guide will be updated periodically.
https://library.udel.edu/special/findaids/

In general, University of Delaware manuscript finding aids include biographical notes, scope and content notes, series outlines, series descriptions, and container lists. All complete finding aids, including container lists, are available in the repository. In addition to the unpublished finding aids and inventories, Special Collections maintains a database of literary and historical correspondence and manuscripts.

A selected listing of these sources is included below, along with their manuscript collection numbers. For assistance of any kind, please contact a Librarian in Special Collections.

MSS 097 Diaries, Journals, Ships Logs Collection

Item 53 James M. Morton Diary, 1859-1861, 1 volume. In his diary Morton mentions the sale of slaves, others leaving for military service, the capture of Fort Sumter, and traveling in the South in 1859-1861.

MSS 097, (item 0028)  Abolitionist Diary of Fisher, Milton M. (Milton Metcalf). This journal chronicles abolitionist Milton M. Fisher's 1834 journey from his home in Franklin, Massachusetts, to Virginia, and back. The trip, taken for both health reasons and as an information gathering expedition for anti-slavery efforts, took Fisher through numerous northern states, the Mid-Atlantic region (including Maryland and Delaware,) and Washington, D.C., to Virginia. Along the way he commented on the various towns, cities, and institutions he visited and recorded conversations with locals including both free and enslaved African Americans.

MSS 0097, (F119)  Billing, Louis fl. 1865-1866. Louis Billing Travel Diary. This diary documents the 1865 journey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, resident Louis Billing to England, where he visited relatives. He stayed with the family of his cousin William Mansell and other Billing relatives. Short trips were taken to other destinations in the United Kingdom and two months were spent in France. Billing commented on his relatives and ancestral history, described architecture and cathedrals, and made strongly patriotic comparisons between England and America. Billing served in the Union Army and mentioned English interest in the politics of abolition.  

MSS 98 Miscellaneous Delaware Literary and Historical Manuscripts

F17 Caleb Cox, 1832, 1 item.  Bill of Sale for a Negro slave boy named Caleb Cox.

F95 William R. Jones Papers, 1858 – 1863, 3 items. Includes a copy of William R. Jones’s will, which emancipated his slaves upon his death. The will states that the slaves are to seek relocation to Liberia.

MSS 99 Miscellaneous Literary and Historical Manuscripts

F580 Nancy Cunard and Hugh Ford Letters to David Garnett, 1928 – 1970, 8 items

The eight letters in this small collection are together as a result of Hugh Ford’s 1968 volume Nancy Cunard: Brave Poet, Indomitable Rebel. Cunard’s letters span from the early days of her friendship with David Garnett in 1928 until just before her death in 1965. Cunard befriended many of the Harlem Renaissance writers and unashamedly expressed her affinity for African Americans and African American culture. As demonstrated by these letters, Cunard maintain close ties with the African American community throughout her life.

MSS 099,  Ford, Arnold Josiah, 1877-1935,

Born in Barbados, Arnold Josiah Ford was one of the first black rabbis in the United States and an early leader of black Judaism in America. He was also the founder of the Beth B'nai Abraham Congregation at 29 West 131st Street in Harlem, New York City. Ford was a musical director of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association and he wrote many of the pieces in The Universal Ethiopian Hymnal.

MSS 099, (F0868) Harlem Cavalcade: Story and Screen Play. Lew Lipton (1893-1961) writer/producer. Worked on this typescript for Harlem Cavalcade from 1935-1961, when Lipton died. Follows the story of African American life from 1626-1930s. 154 pages long.

MSS 099 (F0705) Langston Hughes Ephemera Collection: programs and advertising materials for personal appearances of American author Langston Hughes and for dramatic production of his works (1932-1967). Langston Hughes Mimeographed typescript of playscript, Tambourines to Glory by Langston Hughes. 132 pages. 

MSS 099  Paul Laurence Dunbar’s letters to Reginald Wright Kauffman, associate editor of the Saturday Evening Post.  Two letters, Oct/Nov 1905.

MSS 099 (F1003) Kenneth A. McClane Letter to James Baldwin. One letter from McClane accompanied by a book.

MSS 099 (F936) Noble Sissle, 1889-1975. Swingtime at the Savoy: Good Time No. 1: Radio Transcript. Noble Sissle was the moderator, and Langston Hughes the primary author, of this radio transcript for the debut installment of the National Broadcasting Company program, "Swingtime at the Savoy." The half-hour program "Swingtime At The Savoy" was broadcast on NBC radio Wednesday evenings as a 13-week replacement show during the summer of 1948. It was a sustaining program, which meant it had no sponsor and was cancelled by the fall. The program was hosted by early Jazz legend Noble Sissle and took place at The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem
 
MSS 099 (0938) Modern Editions Press Pamphlet Series One Collection. The Modern Editions Press published two series of pamphlets under the editorship of Kathleen Tankersley Young in 1932 and 1933.  The first series consists of six pamphlets which included short stories, poems and a statement. The six contributors were Dudley Fitts, John Kemmerer, Kay Boyle, Kathleen Tankersley Young, Raymond Ellsworth Larsson and Albert Halper.

MSS 099 (F913) For Clarence Major: Poem. African American novelist and poet Gayl Jones wrote this poem, "For Clarence Major
 after meeting Major at Connecticut College in 1970.

MSS 100-500  Manuscript and Archival Collections

MSS 104 Desegregation of Delaware Archives, 1960 – 1982 (bulk dates 1974-1976), 6 linear ft.

The collection consists of reports, articles, and other papers related to desegregation which were collected as resource files by Abigail Covelli. The collection contains information on desegregation in Delaware as well as in other states.

MSS 113 Alice Nelson Dunbar Papers, 7.8 linear ft and 120 volumes

The Alice Dunbar-Nelson Papers consist of the literary, professional, and personal papers of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, renowned poet and former wife of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The papers include an extensive collection of her incoming correspondence. Of particular note is her correspondence (1895-1904) from Paul Laurence Dunbar, which also includes her letters to Dunbar. The Alice Dunbar-Nelson Papers also include a comprehensive collection of manuscripts of her writing, including novels, stories, poetry, drama, and essays. Dunbar-Nelson maintained a daily diary for most of her adult life and the extent portions of her diaries are present in her papers. The Alice Dunbar-Nelson papers also include significant collections of family papers, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and memorabilia.

MSS 130 Lewis Family Papers, 1700- 1931, 3 linear ft.

The Lewis family were residents of Delaware. Most of the family made their home in Newark. This collection includes business and personal papers such as daybooks, farming records, legal documents, and literary works. Documents pertaining to African Americans can be found among the Albert G. Lewis papers. Box 1, F5 contains slave indentures and bills of sale; Box 2 F 22 contains a runaway slave notice; Box 7 contains family Bible of C.A. Lewis. A list of "colored" births and deaths can be found in the back pages of the Bible.

MSS 143 Charles Johnson Papers, 1974 – 1976, .33 linear ft.

The Charles Johnson Papers consist of letters and manuscripts sent to Johnson's former professor, John Gardner, in the late 1970s. The letters, some decorated with sketches and caricatures, detail Johnson's nascent ideas for several unwritten novels and stories. Other letters share personal anecdotes and describe Johnson's university classes, experiences with publishers, and employment opportunities. The letters also contain dense philosophical meditations on literature, the nature of the artist and writer, and on Black experience. With many of his letters, Johnson included manuscripts of articles and novels for Gardner to peruse and critique. The collection thus provides an intimate and revealing glance into Johnson's publications, his methodology, and beliefs.

MSS 171 Peter Strickland Papers, 1857-1912, 1 linear ft.

This collection contains the dairies and letter books of Peter Strickland, a shipmaster, merchant, and U.S. consul in the French colony of Senegal. The collection includes thirteen bound volumes and several newspapers from the period 1857 – 1912. The Strickland papers will be of particular interest to researchers interested in West African trading by Europeans and Americans.

MSS 207  University Place Book Shop Papers. A collection of correspondence and several manuscripts gathered by Bill French, who was proprietor of University Place Book Shop in New York. This shop was a source of material written by Afro-American, African, Caribbean authors. 

MSS 218 Edward A. Fulton Papers, 1860 – 1877, 43 items

This collection contains the letters of Edward Fulton, a Union solider from Wilmington, Delaware. Fulton makes several references to African Americans in his letters. F4 – Letter dated March 9, 1862 references the abandonment of slaves by southern slave owners upon the arrival of federal troops; letter dated March 15, 1862 provides details concerning slaves seeking refuge in Union camps and of a slave owners attempt to retrieve his slave. F7 – Letter dated March 15, 1862 makes short reference to Black soldiers.

MSS 240 Samuel Meredith Papers, 1730 – 1823 (bulk 1764-1823), 2 linear ft.

Samuel Meredith was a prominent Philadelphia, appointed by George Washington as the first United States Treasurer. The Samuel Meredith Papers consist of correspondence, receipts, bills, cancelled checks, a deed, and account books. Meredith makes numerous references relating to services he had performed on behalf of his "Negro servants," such as having shoes or coats repaired. See F1, F2, F3, F5, F8, F12, and F27.

MSS 250 Dodd, Mead & Company Archives, 1896 – 1974, 2 linear ft.

The Dodd, Mead and Company Archive consists of two linear feet of material, spanning the dates 1896-1974. The archive is comprised of correspondence, contracts, photographs, wills, probate documents, biographies, drafts, notes, copyright documents, poems, printed programs, ephemera, and clippings. This selection of the company files details the business arrangements between the publisher and various African American authors including Paul Laurence Dunbar, Benjamin Brawley, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps and others.

MSS 254 American Propaganda Collection, 1924 – 1961, 1 linear ft.

This collection contains various publications from 1924 - 1961 which advocate extremist political opinions. The bulk of the publications spans the years 1950 – 1959 and express anti-integration sentiments underscored by the slogan "Integration is Tyranny." The publications feature opinions from religious and civil organizations, ordinary citizens, and members of Congress. These publications highlight the predominate fear of integration which was miscegenation.

MSS 256 Pauline Young Collection, 1924 – 1988, 1 linear ft.

The Pauline A. Young Collection includes material either gathered or written by the Delaware educator and activist Pauline A. Young (1900-1991), much of which relates to prominent poets Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) and Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935). The collection itself consists of one linear foot of material comprising correspondence, periodical clippings and photocopies, photographs, brochures, programs, and ephemera.

MSS 265 Kim Rogers Burdrick Papers related to Delaware Folklife, 1982 – 1991, 13 items

The papers include Burdick’s 1985 lecture, " Delaware Blue and Gray Ghosts," which focuses on Civil War ghost stories told in Delaware, especially stories sympathetic to African Americans and Confederate soldiers. Historical information about slavery in Delaware is also provided.

MSS 331 Willard Saulsbury, Jr. Papers, 1716 – 1943, 70 linear ft.

Willard Saulsbury, Sr., was a U. S. Senator from Delaware during the Civil War, who protested limitations on states' rights, but remained loyal to the Union. Series V includes material from the period 1859 to 1865 regarding slavery and military affairs. Willard Saulsbury, Jr., was a prominent leader of the Democratic Party and his management of Woodrow Wilson's first presidential campaign led to his own election to the U.S. Senate. This collection contains campaign materials and voter analysis which reflects the racial politics of the day.

MSS 342 Papers of Dr. Allston Morris related to Southbridge Medical Advisory Council and Activities Center , 1968 - 1980 (bulk dates 1968 - 1974), 1.2 linear ft.

Dr. Morris's papers document the creation and early existence of the Southbridge Medical Activities Center in the Wilmington, Delaware. His papers begin with "A Proposal for the Delivery of Health Service in South Wilmington, 1968" and continue through a program celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Southbridge Center in 1980. With its fifteen volunteer doctors and seventeen pharmacists, Southbridge Medical Activities Center was the first privately-funded community health center in Delaware.

MSS 354 Beadle and Adams Archives, 1848 – 1920, .3 linear ft.

The collection includes letters written in 1864 by Benjamin Beadle regarding his Vicksburg, Mississippi, cotton plantation, the conscription of horses by the "Rebs," the use of Negroes, and thoughts on Lincoln and the War.

MSS 336 Margaret Rose Henry Speeches, 1994 – 1995, .2 linear ft.

This collection of speeches by the Honorable Margaret Rose Henry, elected in 1994 as the Delaware State Senator for the 2nd Senatorial District, comprise eighteen short political addresses delivered between 1994 and 1995 by the Delaware Senator to various constituent groups, primarily in Wilmington. These speeches clearly reflect Senator Henry's attention to issues of equity, civil rights, crime prevention, social services, and education for minority populations. Henry's speeches also reveal her strong understanding of and commitment to Black history and heritage. In addition to these typescript manuscripts the collection includes a folder of memoranda, articles, clippings, and programs; all of which are related to Margaret Rose Henry or her speeches. F10 mentions speeches concerning the National Council of Negro Women. The articles and clippings found in F19 chronicle aspects of Senator Henry's work in the Delaware State Senate, as well as providing material for speeches, such as poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes or information on the inner city.

MSS 377 Wilbur T. Wilson Map Collection, 1886 – 1941, 4 linear ft and ca 500 maps

The Wilbur T. Wilson Map Collection concerns the work of the prominent Newark, Delaware, engineer and surveyor Wilbur T. Wilson (1856-1942). The collection comprises four linear feet of notebooks and files, and approximately 500 maps. There are maps, plans, and cross-sections; blue prints and Van Dykes; graphite and ink on linen, paper, and tracing paper. Racial segregation is reflected in Map 58, the Newark Board of Education's "Plan of Colored School Site" (1920) and Survey Notebook volume 67 (Folder 109) in a "Description of Colored School property conveyed from Delaware School Auxiliary."

MSS 398 Ishmael Reed Papers, 1964 – 1995, 65 linear ft.

The Ishmael Reed Papers is a substantial collection of the manuscripts, correspondence, business and publishing records, printed and multimedia productions, and other materials which document the multi-faceted career of Ishmael Reed. Using the materials in this collection, it will be possible for scholars to discover Reed's prolific and productive life of involvement in arts, letters, and politics. All of Reed's many activities are represented in this collection, which takes its basic organizational form and order from his works, activities, and achievements. In addition, the collection provides detailed documentation of Reed's creative and professional work on individual projects with extensive holdings in manuscripts, project records, paste-ups and galley proofs, audio and videotapes, calendars, travel records, and planning notes. Literary and professional correspondence, legal and publishing correspondence, and additional personal correspondence provide a framework for tracing the influence of personal and professional relationships throughout his career, as well as the ways in which Reed's multiple roles and projects are related.

MSS 402 Waples Family Papers, 1753 – 1864, .6 linear ft.

The Waples Family Papers, spanning the dates 1753-1864, contains correspondence, wills, deeds and surveys, financial and legal documents, speeches, wills, manumissions, a broadside, a newspaper clipping, an announcement, and invitations. F1 contains a list of bill of goods taken by Sarah Waples, a resident of Sussex County, Delaware. The list includes "a black girl; a black boy." F4 contains a 1834 manumission document; F28 contains an anti-abolition broadside; F32, F36, F40 contains family wills which mention slaves; F37 contains two 1832 manumission documents and a slave bill of sale.

MSS 465 The Lincoln Collection

The Lincoln Collection contains over two thousand books and pamphlets, photographs, artwork, sculpture, artifacts, historic documents, and miscellaneous material pertaining to the life and career of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the sixteenth President of the United States. Among the most significant items in the collection are copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment signed by Lincoln.

MSS 471 Chris Oakley Collection of Alternative Press, 1968 – 1992, 1.5 linear ft.

The Chris Oakley Collection of Alternative Press includes a fragmented collection of a variety of alternative newspapers and community newsletters, mostly from New Castle County, Delaware. The papers focus on issues of social justice, racism, and civil rights. Newspapers such as The Black Panther Community News and The National Black Monitor feature articles pertaining to African Americans on a local, national, and international scale. Also included in the collection is an original charcoal portrait of Pauline Young, niece of Alice Dunbar- Nelson.

MSS 472 Sir Joseph Gold Political and Miscellaneous Ephemera Collection, 1960s – 1990s, 1 linear ft. The Sir Joseph Gold Political and Miscellaneous Ephemera Collection comprises flyer banknotes, correspondences, letterhead, newsletters, pamphlets, posters, postcards, and reviews. Series 1 contains political ephemera on topics such as Black Power, and issues of racism, civil and human rights, community building efforts, and issues pertaining to economic justice and equality.

MSS 489 Virden Family Papers, 1783 - 1901 (bulk dates 1820s - 1960s), 36 items

The Virden family papers, spanning the years 1783-1901, consist of thirty-six letters, receipts, deeds, accounts, and other documents, mostly relating to the family of Samuel Virden of Kent County, Delaware. F1 contains an account book by an unidentified author, 1783-1787, which records many transactions with "negroes." F4 contains a letter from Edwin Virden to "Father," a Methodist priest in Frederica, Delaware, 24 Sep 1865. Edwin is living on a plantation in Jackson, Mississippi, with this brother, Samuel Virden, Jr., and his sisters Anna and Ruth. He offers commentary on the post-Civil War South and broad condemnation of the "indolent," "stealing" former slaves.

MSS 508 Richard Hoffman Lorraine Hansberry Collection. Richard Hoffman, Brooklyn-based theater collector and bookdealer, collected American playwrights over many years. The Richard Hoffman Lorainne Hansberry Collection spans the dates 1959-1986 and comprises of 17 items, including photographs, playbills, programs, and screenplay for A Raisin in the Sun.

MSS 511 Rowell Family Papers 1846-1894. In 1850 the United States was involved in a passionate debate concerning the future of slavery.  The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to avoid the secession of the southern states, which was a real threat if California entered the Union as a free state.  In an attempt to appease the southern states, one of the measures proposed by the Compromise was a stronger fugitive slave law.  The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a victory for southern slave owners and slave-catchers, and it was a source of new aggravation for abolitionists.  The measures in the Compromise of 1850 caused a more intense antislavery impulse from the northern states.

MSS 587  Delaware Academy of Science. Iron Hill Museum. The Iron Hill Museum oral history collection consists of 37 interviews (recorded on 59 audio cassettes) documenting the history of the Iron Hill School #112C, which was one of the African American schools built in Delaware with funds provided by Pierre S. du Pont. Additional interviews in this collection document life in the Iron Hill community and nearby Pleasant Valley, as well as education provided in a few other Delaware schools in Hockessin, Milton, and Claymont. 

MSS 570 William Henry Williams Papers 1907-2006. The William H. Williams Papers, spanning the dates 1907–2006, comprise 11.6 linear feet of manuscripts, academic papers, correspondence, photographs, teaching materials, and academic research relating to the areas of study and publications of Williams, a prominent Delaware historian based in Sussex County, Delaware. The collection is divided into six series, with series III. through VI. corresponding to major subject areas studied by Williams.  Series IV. contains material related to slavery, civil rights, and race relations in Delaware. It includes academic research, news articles, census records, teaching materials, and drafts of Williams's book Slavery and Freedom in Delaware, 1639-1865. The aforementioned materials relate to the topics of slave ownership in Delaware, plantation life, and the population of slaves and free blacks prior to the American Civil War. The materials also concern the fate of blacks in Delaware after emancipation, race relations in Delaware, and the Civil Rights movement in the state. There are two drafts of Williams's book, one with annotations, and material related to the production of the book, such as image requests, reviews, and notes. Also included are a grant proposal, teaching packet, and video cassette of a 1997 WHYY television series, "Freedom's Edge: African-Americans in Delaware, 1639-1865," on the history of slavery in Delaware. The series was created with the help of Williams and University of Delaware professors Carol Marks and James Newton, and features a roundtable discussion in which Williams participates.

MSS 629, Mitchell, Littleton P. (Littleton Purnell), 1918-2009. Littleton and Jane Papers. The Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers document the life and career of the Delaware-based civil rights activist and educator Littleton P. Mitchell (1918-2004) and his wife Jane E. Mitchell (1921-2004). The collection contains material relating to his education, activities as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, his three decades-long leadership of the Delaware NAACP, his career as a teacher and counselor at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City, and his involvement in a number of organizations. The collection also highlights the career of Jane Mitchell, one of Delaware's first African-American nurses and former director of nursing at the Delaware State Hospital. 

MSS 684,  Shipley-Bringhurst-Hargraves Family Papers (1660-1978). Shipley, Bringhurst, and Hargraves are the family names associated with Rockwood, a Victorian Rural Gothic Revival mansion and estate that was built in north Wilmington, Delaware, between 1851 and 1854. The Hargraves were the last family to privately own Rockwood before its donation to New Castle County in the mid-1970s as a historic house museum and public park. The Shipley-Bringhurst-Hargraves family papers document the personal and professional lives, as well as the ancestry and legacy, of several generations of Delawareans associated with Rockwood. Correspondence between Solomon Bayley (also Bailey), was a former slave and author of the 1825 autobiography A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America. Bayley's letters to Bringhurst reflected the former's time as a freedman living in Liberia with his wife, probably in partnership with the American Colonization Society, a Quaker-founded society focused on repatriation in Africa.