Collection #

M 0070

 

 

GEORGE n. REDD
COLLECTION, 1895–1950 (bULK 1915–1930)

 

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by

Wilma L. Gibbs
17 January 1996

Updated by
Emily Scott
17 January 2007

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

 

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF
COLLECTION:

1 manuscript box, 1 photograph box

COLLECTION
DATES:

Inclusive 1895–1950; Bulk 1915–1930

PROVENANCE:

Fred W. Skytte, Indianapolis, Indiana, 14 November 1995.

RESTRICTIONS:

None

COPYRIGHT:

 

REPRODUCTION
RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE
FORMATS:

None

RELATED
HOLDINGS:

None

ACCESSION
NUMBER:

1996.0127

NOTES:

The materials, purchased at a garage sale in Seymour, Indiana, were given to the donor. It is not certain how and if all of the collection parts are related.

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

The George N. Redd family including Daisy, Dandridge, Ruth, and Georgia lived at 836 W. Pratt Street (later W. 9th Street) in Indianapolis. Earlier family addresses included 924 and 930 N. Paca Street, also in Indianapolis. George Redd (4 March 1874–8 October 1942) was a 33rd degree Mason. He operated a shoe shine parlor at 437 Indiana Avenue. Mr. Redd is buried in Section 49, Lot 9 at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

James E. Richardson was an African Methodist Episcopal minister in Louisville, Kentucky. He received a pastoral certificate from the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1898.

Sources:

Materials in the collection

13th Census of the United States: 1910—Population

Indianapolis City Directory (Film F534 .I 55 A 18) for 1911–12, 1913–14, 1921, and 1925

Telephone interview, (conducted by Wilma L. Gibbs), with Wayne Sanford, Crown Hill Cemetery, 16 January 1996.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection was purchased at a garage sale in Seymour, Indiana and given to the donor in 1995. Most of the identifiable items appear to relate to the Redd family: George N., Daisy, Dandridge, Ruth, and Georgia. The Redd family materials are contained in folders 1–8. There are personal papers including correspondence, a business card, an insurance book, and school papers prepared by Dandridge and Ruth Redd. The collection has two small books: Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas Carol, the latter inscribed, "From Minnie, To Mrs. Redd." Items pertaining to James E. Richardson, an African Methodist Episcopal minister in Kentucky are in folders 9–11. They include an 1898 pastoral certificate; a letter written by Richardson in 1917; and a small scrapbook. The scrapbook contains news clippings, receipts, song lyrics, and poems. Although the physical evidence linking the Redds to Richardson is not obvious within the collection materials, their nativity suggests there may have been a connection between the families. George N. Redd, his wife Daisy, and his stepdaughter Dandridge Loving Redd (probably the daughter of Daisy), were born in Kentucky, as were their parents.

Numerous miscellaneous items are contained in folders 12 and 13. There are several letters and postcards, many of the latter addressed to Cora Voiers who appears to have lived in Indianapolis and Greenwood during the first two decades of the 20th century. In folder 13, there is a Defense Stamp Album signed "Hattie McDaniel" and dated 30 August 1942. There are images in the Bass Photographic Collection and the Foster Photographic Collection at the Indiana Historical Society depicting the actress in Indianapolis during the World War II era suggesting that the signature could be authentic.

Folder 17 contains the parts of what appears to be a Bible game. There are several small pieces labeled with the names of biblical characters. Also, there is a handwritten invitation, cleverly incorporating the names of many of the 66 books in the Bible. The generic format of the invitation suggests that it may have been used by a club or organization to encourage members to sponsor meetings at their homes, perhaps to play the Bible game.

The visual materials in the collection, date mostly from 1895–1945. Manuscript Folders 14 and 18 contain several mechanically reproduced postcards, mostly in color and from various locations throughout the United States. There are also photographs made in Lafayette, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky of African American adults and children. Most of the images are unidentified. Some of the more interesting photographs include two men playing pool inside a billiards hall, a man on a motorcycle, and two military men aboard the USS Scorpion in Turkey. There is a group photograph of three women identified as Ruth, Girtie, and Delores, standing next to an automobile. The photograph is dated Easter Sunday, 13 April 1941. "Ruth" appears to be mid-thirties, corresponding with the age of Ruth Redd, who was listed as five years old in the 1910 United States Population Census.

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Redd Family Correspondence, 1913–1926

Box 1, Folder 1

Redd Family Correspondence, 1930–1942, n.d.

Box 1, Folder 2

George N. Redd Business Card

Box 1, Folder 3

Redd Family Insurance Book, 1936–1938

Box 1, Folder 4

Redd Family School Papers

Box 1, Folder 5

Newsclippings (George N. Redd)

Box 1, Folder 6

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Box 1, Folder 7

Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Box 1, Folder 8

James E. Richardson Pastoral Credential, 1898

Box 1, Folder 9

James E. Richardson Correspondence, 1917

Box 1, Folder 10

James E. Richardson Scrapbook

Box 1, Folder 11

Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1904–1950, n.d.

Box 1, Folder 12

Miscellaneous Items, 1941–1942, n.d.

Box 1, Folder 13

Postcards
Thirty-five postcards mostly from George Washington’s home and New York City.

Box 1, Folder 14

News clippings
One article titled, “Lt. Hicks Sent to Huachuca.”

Box 1, Folder 15

African Methodist Episcopal Hymnals

Box 1, Folder 16

Bible Game

Box 1, Folder 17

Fold-Out Postcards
Four postcards from Florida and the East Coast.

Box 1, Folder 18

Photographs – Men
Mostly studio portraits of individual men.  One postcard photograph of a man on an upside down bicycle advertising Wal S. Wolever, artistic photographer in Lafayette, Indiana, circa 1895.

Photographs
Box 1, Folder 1

Photographs – Men
Various images of African American men – inside billiards hall, aboard USS Scorpion, and on a motorcycle, circa 1895–1930

Photographs
Box 1, Folder 2

Photographs – Women
Several poses of one unidentified woman on a porch, 1915.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 3

Photographs – Women
Mostly individual poses of various women. Also a 1941 group photograph of three women; 2 photographs of a woman and baby; photograph of two women outside—one with a sports racket, 1910–1941.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 4

Photographs – Children
One image of a young boy holding an infant girl who is standing in a high chair, circa 1920.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 5

Photographs – Babies
Studio photographs of babies propped against pillows in wicker chairs, circa 1920.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 6

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1.      Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog:  http://opac.indianahistory.org/

2.      Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3.      Select  "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4.      Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M0070).

5.      When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.