Collection #

M 510

 

 

Walter H. Maddux
Collection, 1915–1985

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Series Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by:

Wilma L. Gibbs
24 February 1994

Updated by:
Emily Scott
19 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:

Manuscript Materials: 3 boxes
Visual Materials: 1 box of photographs, 1 OVA photograph,
2 120 mm color negatives

COLLECTION
DATES:

Inclusive 1915–1985

PROVENANCE:

Hertha W. Taylor, Indianapolis, Indiana, 9 December 1985

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:

1986.0578

NOTES:

 

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

Walter Henry Maddux (ca. 1892–1978), a native of Kansas City, Kansas, was a physician who spent his last 35 years in Indianapolis. A World War I Army veteran, Maddux received degrees from the University of Kansas at Lawrence and the University of Chicago. He began his medical career in a branch of a Kansas City, Missouri hospital. As an intern, he became acting superintendent for several months. From 1930–1933, he was medical director at Provident Hospital in Chicago. Later employed by the United States Children Bureau, under the auspices of the Federal Services Administration, Maddux conducted clinics on maternal health and child care throughout the South. In the early 1940s, he came to Flanner House, a social service agency in Indianapolis, where he helped found the Herman G. Morgan Health Center.

Before coming to Indianapolis, Maddux had taught at Meharry Medical College and the Howard University School of Medicine. He also is attributed with helping to found Slossfiel Health Center for children in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1975, Walter Maddux was honored by the Indiana State Medical Association for outstanding service to the community. He was a member of the National Medical Association, Aesculapian Society, and Chi Delta Mu fraternity.

According to a newspaper obituary, Maddux, survived by his longtime wife, Willa, was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.

Sources:

Materials in the collection

Indianapolis News, 17 August 1978, page 36, column 5. (obituary)

Indianapolis Recorder, 26 August 1978, page 9 (obituary)

 

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Walter H. Maddux collection (1915–1985) consists of three series: Series 1: Personal and General Correspondence; Series 2: Health Center and Social Services; Series 3: Medical advertisements and publications. Overall, the collection gives a limited view of an individual, a physician by training, who spent his last 35 years in Indianapolis.

General and personal correspondence, found in Series 1 includes letters exchanged between Maddux and his wife, Willa Mack Maddux; as well as letters and postcards written to his mother, Dora Maddux Younger. There are also a few letters from family members and friends. Additionally, folder 3 contains general correspondence related to his medical career. The collection contains numerous photographs of Maddux and his wife and mother. Maddux attended the University of Chicago. There are several photographs of the campus, along with images of Harvard University and nearby Boston. There are photographs of individuals and groups, both identified and unidentified. Also included in the collection are photographs taken in Ashburn, Georgia, possibly the home of his grandparents. Much about Maddux's career as a physician can be ascertained from his tax records, 1940–1957.

Walter Maddux helped establish the Herman G. Morgan Health Center, an institution affiliated with Flanner House. Materials associated with the health center and the social service agency are in Series 2. Lecture notes and case studies, along with records pertaining to other organizations complete the box.

Series 3 contains medical advertisements and publications and newspaper clippings. Willa Maddux was trained as a nurse. The last two folders in the box include information about the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, Inc. and reports and publications pertaining to black nurses.

 

 

 

series CONTENTS

Series 1: Personal and General Correspondence

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Personal Correspondence, 1915–1941

Box 1, Folder 1

Personal Correspondence, 1941–1985

Box 1, Folder 2

General Correspondence

Box 1, Folder 3

Portraits of Walter Maddux

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 1

Walter Maddux with other people, 1912–1937, n.d.
Includes military photographs and photographs taken in San Francisco.

Photographs
Box 1, Folder 2

Family Memorabilia (cards, recipes, etc.)
Most of the postcards are from New Orleans

Box 1, Folder 4

Willa Maddux

OVA Photographs:
Folder 1

Willa Maddux
Various photographs of Willa Maddux, some candid.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 3

Dora Maddux
Contains both portraits and groups photographs of Dora.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 4

Willa and Dora Maddux
One photograph from 1927, the other with no date.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 5

University Campuses
Photographs from the University of Chicago and Harvard.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 6

Groups and Individuals – Identified

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 7

Individuals – Unidentified
Includes both men and women.  Some photographs of men in uniform, a pastor, and a child at the beach.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 8

Groups – Unidentified
One photograph of large group of children in front of a school, include photographs of groups of mostly three or four people.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 9

Buildings and Landscapes
Photograph of the USV Hospital, a car in front of a house, an arch near the University of California, landscape of Muskoka Lake in Ontario, and an unidentified building.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 10

Ashburn, Georgia, 1926, n.d.
Mostly landscape shots of Ashburn, a school house, and a photograph of the location where a house burned down.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 11

Boston, Massachusetts
Photographs of buildings.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 12

Financial Records

Box 1, Folder 5

Medical bills, Receipts, and Reports

Box 1, Folder 6

Tax Records, 1940–1945

Box 1, Folder 7

Tax Records, 1946–1957

Box 1, Folder 8

Automobile Records

Box 1, Folder 9

Programs, 1911–1970

Box 1, Folder 10

Series 2: Lecture Notes, Case Studies, Flanner House, Other Organizations, City of Indianapolis

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Lecture Notes 1–13

Box 2, Folder 1

Lecture Notes 14–20

Box 2, Folder 2

Lecture Notebook

Box 2, Folder 3

Lecture Notebook

Box 2, Folder 4

Lecture Notebook

Box 2, Folder 5

Case Studies

Box 2, Folder 6

Flanner House History

Box 2, Folder 7

Flanner House Meetings

Box 2, Folder 8

Flanner House – The Indianapolis Study

Box 2, Folder 9

Flanner House Financial Records

Box 2, Folder 10

Flanner House Clippings

Box 2, Folder 11

Flanner House Groups

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 13

Flanner House: Group of 3 men and 3 women in front of building [ca. 1940].

120 mm Color Acetate Negatives: [1], [2]

Herman G. Morgan Health Center

Box 1, Folder 14

Herman G. Morgan Health Center Correspondence

Box 2, Folder 13

Herman G. Morgan Health Center Multiple Screening Project

Box 2, Folder 14

Herman G. Morgan Health Center
Dr. Maddux examining patients and pictures of the building.

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 14

Board for Fundamental Education

Box 2, Folder 15

Hoosier Medical Association

Box 2, Folder 16

Optimistic Club

Box 2, Folder 17

Indianapolis African American City Employees, 1937

Box 2, Folder 18

Indianapolis Federation of Settlements Exploratory Committee

Box 2, Folder 19

Series 3: Medical Advertisements and Writings; Black Nurses

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Maternal and Child Health

Box 3, Folder 1

Medical Advertisements

Box 3, Folder 2

Health Leaflets and Pamphlets

Box 3, Folder 3

Medical Newspapers and Magazines, 1927–1957

Box 3, Folder 4

Medical Newspapers and Magazines, 1959–1968, n.d.

Box 3, Folder 5

Miscellaneous Publications, 1930–1944, n.d.

Box 3, Folder 6

Newspaper Clippings

Box 3, Folder 7

National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, Inc.

Box 3, Folder 8

Publications and Reports Pertaining to Black Nurses

Box 3, Folder 9

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, M 0510).

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