Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Historical Background
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Listing
Cataloging Information
Processed by:
Wilma L. Gibbs
16 May 1995
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 box
COLLECTION DATES: Inclusive 1891-1985; Bulk 1958-1984
PROVENANCE: Ruth Temoney, Kokomo, Indiana.
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION NUMBER: 95.0002X
NOTES: The Ruth Temoney Collection was donated during the Black Women in the Middle West Project. The Black Women in the Middle West Project was a collecting effort to gather primary source materials of African-American women in Illinois and Indiana. The project, spearheaded by Darlene Clark Hine and Patrick Bidelman at Purdue University, was conducted in three phases from 1977-1985. Project records are located at five repositories within the two states including the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) [also houses the project's administrative records], Calumet Regional Archives, and the Northern Indiana Historical Society in Indiana and the Chicago Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society in Illinois. (Although the implementation phase of the project was from 1984-1985, several of the collections were donated to IHS in 1986).
Additional information about the project is contained in The Black Women in the Middle West Project: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, Illinois and Indiana (E185.6 .B53 1986), edited by Hine and Bidelman, et. al. and Wilma L. Gibbs's article "In Retrospect: The Black Women in the Middle West Project at the Indiana Historical Society," in Indiana's African-American Heritage: Essays from Black History News & Notes (E185.93 .I4 B52 1993).
Ruth Marie Temoney was the Kokomo, Indiana coordinator for the Black Women in the Middle West Project (See page 1). Temoney moved to Kokomo in 1972. She worked as a teacher with the Kokomo Center Schools and joined the Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church. As project coordinator, Temoney was responsible for gathering materials to document the experiences and accomplishments of Black women in Kokomo. The Kokomo contribution to the project included biographical information pertaining to 18 local women and their club, church, and organizational activities. Most of the women were cited in their biographical sketches as being active in several organizations including the Young Women's Christian Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Howard County Parent Teacher Association. Common organizational affiliations included the Interracial Friendship Club, Progressive Club, Siete Amigas Club, and the Woman's Improvement Club.
Sources: Materials in the collection; The Black Women in the Middle West Project: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, Illinois and Indiana (E185.6 .B53 1986).
The collection is comprised of the materials gathered in Kokomo, Indiana by Ruth Temoney on behalf of the Black Women in the Middle West Project. The one manuscript box collection spans 1891-1985, with the bulk of the material dated 1958-1984.
The first several folders contain biographical information related to black women activists in the Kokomo community. Folder 6 includes a transcription of an interview of Theodore Clarke. Dr. Clarke discusses two sisters, Drs. Maggie Gaskin and Ella Willardson.
In addition to the biographical data, the collection includes materials related to clubs, churches, and other organizations. In folder 20, there is a history of the Siete Amigas Club and several clippings pertaining to its activities. The Order of Eastern Star information (folder 21) contains fragments of meeting programs. Of the church material in the collection, Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church is the best documented with numerous Sunday service bulletins and special events programs (folder 22). Records for Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church (folder 23) include a brief history of the institution, an 11th year anniversary program, and an 1891 Sunday school lesson book. Other church bulletins in folder 24 include First Congregational Christian Church of Kokomo; First Friends Church of Richmond; and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Indianapolis. General programs and clippings related to the Kokomo area are in folders 25 and 26.
BOX 1: Kokomo Individuals; Kokomo Organizations; Kokomo Churches; General Programs and Clippings
FOLDER
1: Inez Alsup
2: Janice Alsup
3: Louise Bradley
4: Judi Brown
5: (Rev.) Marguerite Bush
6: Theodore Clarke (Interview regarding Maggie Gaskin and Ella Willardson)
7: Sallie W. Davidson
8: Frances Davis
9: Hazel Duggard Dunigan
10: Kokomo High School yearbook, 1917
11: Merle Stokes Dunston
12: Juanita Jarrett
13: Charlotte Ray King
14: Goldie May Madry
15: Dorothy Malone
16: Alice Moore
17: Wanda Perkins
18: Merle Rush
19: Lodie Vaughn
20: Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church
21: Order of Eastern Star--Golden Link Chapter #34
22: Siete Amigas Club
23: Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
24: Other Churches
25: Programs, 1937-1983
26: Clippings
MAIN ENTRY: Temoney, Ruth Marie, 1947--collector
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Kokomo High School (Ind.)--Students--Yearbooks
Black Women in the Middle West Project
Afro-American women--Indiana--Kokomo
Women--Indiana--Kokomo
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Kokomo--Social life and customs
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Kokomo--Societies, etc.
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Kokomo--Religion
Afro-American churches--Indiana--Kokomo
Church bulletins--Indiana--Kokomo
Kokomo (Ind.)
END