Stanford, Kentucky, Methodist Episcopal Church South records now online

We're pleased to announce that the Stanford, Kentucky, Methodist Episcopal Church South records, 1867-1941 have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.


Abstract: The Stanford, Kentucky Methodist Episcopal Church South records (1867-1941; 0.5 cubic feet; 5 volumes) consist of digital scans for the churches membership lists; elders quarterly conference minutes; and records of baptisms, marriages, and confirmations. The records document the history of the church dating from reconstruction until the early 1940s.

 

New finding aids on ExploreUK

We are pleased to announce the following finding aids are now available on ExploreUK.

Frances Jewell McVey papers, 1858-1953 (0000ua003)

The Frances Jewell McVey papers (dated 1858-1953; 13.5 cubic feet; 38 boxes, 3 wrapped packages) include her personal and professional correspondence, manuscripts and research notes, diaries, address books, notebooks, documents, recipes, photographs, and scrapbooks. Also included are materials relating to Frank LeRond McVey, such as correspondence, speeches, notes, documents, and a scrapbook devoted to the memory of Frances Jewell McVey.

Sherman Cook roll book, 1911-1913 (60m118)

The Sherman Cook roll book (dated 1911-1913; 0.1 cubic feet; 1 item) contains a handwritten list of names of children who attended school in Spears, Kentucky, and documents education in rural Kentucky schools in the late 19th century.

Sallie Lyttle Hatton letters to Henry Harvey Fuson, Bulk, 1916-1922 (1997ms141)

The Sallie Lyttle Hatton letters to Henry Harvey Fuson (dated 1916-1934, bulk 1916-1922; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 item) primarily comprise correspondence, including poems and pencil sketches, written by Sallie Lyttle Hatton and sent to Harlan County educator Henry Harvey Fuson (1876-1964) between 1916-1922.

Marie Campbell papers, 1939-1962 (1997ms359)

The Marie Campbell papers (dated 1939-1962; 1.35 cubic feet) primarily comprises correspondence and manuscripts that document the publication of four books by folklore scholar Marie Campbell.

Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Albert J. Worst letters, 1931-1932 (2009ms132.0008)

The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Albert J. Worst letters comprises 55 letters written to Albert J. Worst primarily from his brother Eugene Gene Worst in Cincinnati, Ohio, when Albert was at Columbia University in New York City during the 1931-1932 university year.

Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Elizabeth Smith diary, 1930-1934 (2009ms132.0009)

The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Elizabeth Smith diary (dated 1930-1934; 0.22 cubic feet; 1 item) contains entries written by Elizabeth Smith of Indianapolis, dated June 6, 1930 to December 31, 1934.

Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Penrod-Bell Family Papers, 1916-1961 (2009ms132.0069)

The Penrod Family Papers (1916-1962; 10.35 cubic feet; 1,500 letters) of the Wade Hall American Letters Collection primarily consists of letters sent to Gladys Bell Penrod, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, from her mother, Emma Bell; sisters, Gayl Bell Harkleroad, Oda Bell, and Mildred Bell; brother, Kenneth Bell; sister-in-laws Doris W. Bell and Ruth Bell; and various friends. The letters document family life, including parent-child relationships, especially abusive situations; gender roles and relationships; women’s involvement in politics; and women’s friendship in the early- and mid-twentieth century.

Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Civil War soldier letters, Bulk, 1854-1915 (2009ms132.0088)

The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Civil War soldier letters (1798-1986, bulk 1854-1915; 1.66 cubic feet) comprise correspondence, newspapers and newspaper clippings, photographs, journals, military records, affidavits and pension claims, poems and songs, other manuscripts, and realia of Civil War soldiers and their friends and families.

Midway Woman's Club records, 1922-2011 (2011ms041)

The Midway Woman’s Club records (dated 1922-2011; 2.48 cubic feet) consists of bound ledgers, history scrapbooks, clippings, and yearbooks documenting club membership, officers, civic and social activities; meeting minutes and committee reports; and treasury accounts.

Jewell family papers, 1814-1984 (2011ms063)

The Jewell family papers (1814-1984; 14.5 cubic feet, 30 document boxes, 3 flat boxes) consist of correspondence, school-related papers, and ephemera and artifacts relating to Frances Jewell McVey and her family, the Jewell family of Lexington, Ky., Jessamine County, Ky., and Berry, Ky. Frances Jewell McVey was a teacher, the University of Kentucky's Dean of Women, and the wife of UK president Frank LeRond McVey.

Rudd family papers, 1842-1866 (2012ms456)

Captain James Rudd (1789-1867) was an influential business man and statesman from Louisville, Kentucky. The Rudd family papers include personal, financial, and legal documents of James Rudd; his son, James C. Rudd of Owensboro, Kentucky; and youngest daughter, Anna Rudd.

Modern Dance/Kentucky Records, 1971-1985 (2012ms520)

The Modern Dance/Kentucky records (dated 1971-1985; 10.25 cubic feet; 4 document boxes, 1 flat box) comprise correspondence, financial material, office files (including reports), and publicity (posters, event programs, postcards, and newspaper clippings) documenting the activities of this Lexington, Ky.-based modern dance troupe.

Monday Club records, 1981-2012 (2013ms0255)

The Monday Club Records ( dated 1981-2012; 0.88 cubic feet; 3 boxes) comprises incoming correspondence to club presidents, including Ann Asbury (1989-2011); club records (membership lists, club histories, and lists of papers given (1981-2012); and papers presented at the meetings (1990s-2000s).

Angela Raisch collection on Rogers C.B. Morton, 1975-1976 (2013ms0440)

The Angela Raisch collection on Rogers C.B. Morton (1975-1976; 1.01 cubic feet; 3 boxes) ) comprises photographs, address lists, a datebook, and a drawing that document Rogers C.B. Morton's career as Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, and manager of President Ford's Re-election Committee.

William Jones Chambliss collection on the Bagby-Rogers-Wood-Fishback family papers, 1978-1998 (2013ms0105)

The William Jones Chambliss collection on the Bagby-Rogers-Wood-Fishback family papers (dated 1978-1998; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 slim box) comprises research notes, family cemetery locations, and item-by-item descriptions by William Chambliss, Jr., of the Bagby-Rogers-Wood-Fishback family papers.

Josephine Geritz collection on John Jacob Niles, 1937-1952 (2013ms0849)

The Josephine Geritz collection on John Jacob Niles (dated 1937-1952, 0.3 cubic feet; 21 items) comprises sheet music in handwritten and facsimile form that document folk music from the Appalachian Region adapted by composer John Jacob Niles. All material, except two, is the work of John Jacob Niles.

Sesquicentennial Stories: The Promise of UK #79

Herman Lee Donovan served as President of the University of Kentucky for fifteen years, from 1941 until 1956. Donovan, an educator by training and profession, guided the University through the crises of racial integration and of World War II and its aftermath. Like his predecessors, he fought vigorously to extend faculty rights and to improve salaries for his professors. He also sought to enhance the status and image of the University by recruiting exceptional young talent and increasing the number of Extension services offered in the Central Kentucky region.

Herman and Nell Donovan

Donovan was born in 1887, in Mason County, Kentucky. Graduating from Western Kentucky State Normal School (now Western Kentucky University) in 1908, he married Nell James Stuart of Pembroke, Kentucky in 1909. He earned an A.B. degree from State University (University of Kentucky) in 1914, an M.A.in 1920 from Columbia Teachers College (later, Columbia University), and in 1925 a Ph.D. from George Peabody College for Teachers, in Nashville. In 1921 Donovan took a professorial position at Eastern Kentucky State Normal School (later, Eastern Kentucky University) and in 1928 became president of that institution. Upon the retirement of President Frank McVey, he was selected as the University of Kentucky's fourth president in 1941.

The first problem confronting the Donovan administration was the effect on the campus of the Second World War, which the United States entered late in the new president's inaugural year. The U.S. declaration of war against the Axis powers resulted in the departure of male students from the campus and a general decrease in the enrollment of men. To alleviate the demographic pressures created by this situation, the University made available early graduate programs to R.O.T.C. enlistees and to students drafted into the armed forces. It directly assisted the war effort by placing its facilities at the disposal of the Army Specialized Training Program, which provided for the training of officers serving in the Army Corps of Engineers.

Aerial view of Coopertown, Veterans' housing project at the University of Kentucky, 1947

The conclusion of the war brought a massive influx of veterans onto the campus, who qualified for the higher education benefit of the General Issue (G.I.) Bill. To provide for badly needed student housing, Donovan procured funds from the federal government for the purchase of prefabricated student living quarters, resulting in the construction of the residential "village" of Cooperstown to house the veterans and their families.

Donovan staunchly defended the principle of academic freedom, opposing attempts in 1951 to bring the University under the control of the State Department of Education in curricular matters, as well as proposals by legislators and religious leaders a year later to require a loyalty oath on the part of University employees.

Lyman Johnson, right, and Kentucky State University President R. B. Atwood, leave federal district court in Lexington, after the court ruled in favor of Johnson's admission to the University of Kentucky, 1949

The year 1949 witnessed the beginnings of the successful racial integration of the University of Kentucky. Lyman T. Johnson's application for admission to the Graduate School, at first denied on the basis of Kentucky's segregationist Day Law, was subsequently ordered approved by court action and Johnson was admitted, albeit off-campus, to the graduate program in history that year. With the matriculation of the first "class" of African-Americans in the fall of 1954, the official academic segregation of the campus was effectively ended. Donovan's approach to the issue, essentially cautious and low-key throughout, resulted in a continuance for years to come, of a de facto separation of the races in classrooms and campus social situations.

Positive developments on the campus were evidenced in a number of other areas. The President encouraged faculty members to communicate with and establish professional relationships with their academic counterparts in other institutions of higher learning. In order to attract new students, he pushed for the opening in 1955 of a northern Extension center in Covington. Moreover, a new Department of Geography and a College of Pharmacy were established in 1944 and 1957, respectively, and impetus was given the preliminary development of a Medical School in 1955.

Celebration dinner after UK victory over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, New Year's Day, 1951; pictured from right, Charles Grenrod, Ab Kirwan, Betty Kirwan, Governor A. B. Chandler, Athletics Director Bernie Shively, Mrs. Chandler, UK President Herman Donovan; others are unidentified; photographer: Leon Price Picture Service, 1951

Major team sports flourished during this time. The hiring of Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1946 as football coach resulted in a string of lucrative winning seasons. Basketball, however, maintained its dominance and produced a number of championship teams, despite setbacks to its reputation occasioned in 1951 by the emergence of a point-shaving scandal implicating several of the 1948-49 players.

Cars parked in front of Donovan Hall. Donovan Hall was named after former University of Kentucky President Herman L. Donovan. On May 30, 1955, the dedication occurred, 1957

In 1956 Donovan stepped down as president of the institution he had led through a world war and into a post-war period of unprecedented growth and affluence. For him retirement brought a variety of avocational pursuits. Always a prolific essayist and pamphleteer, he continued writing articles and produced a book, Keeping the University Free and Growing (1959). Donovan served as director of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, and the Kentucky Home Mutual Life Insurance Company. He died in Lexington on November 21, 1964.