Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Historical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Cataloguing Information
Processed by:
Wilma L. Gibbs
7 June 1994
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 4 folders
COLLECTION DATES: 1971-1985
PROVENANCE: Vivian Potter, Indianapolis, Indiana, 28 May 1985
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing
from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: None
ACCESSION: 85.0510
William Alexander Chambers was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on 4 April 1898. He died in Indianapolis on 28 April 1985. He was the son of Jesse W. and Nancy Violet (Graves) Chambers.
After serving in World War I, Chambers settled in Indianapolis. He worked for Ferguson Printing Company and during his fifty years newspaper experience, he served as an editor for three black weeklies. Though the majority of his time was spent with the Indianapolis Recorder, he also was managing editor of the Freeman and the Indianapolis Ledger. He also worked as a writer for the Indiana Herald.
During the 1920s, Chambers wrote stories about the Ku Klux Klan. His most visible newspaper accomplishment was his work on the Indianapolis Recorder's Victory Progress edition, a 92-page special issue published 7 July 1945 in celebration of the end of World War II, while Chambers was the managing editor. The edition was cited in the Congressional Record.
An aspiring fiction writer during his later life, Chambers had at least one manuscript accepted for publication. He spent time during his final years developing two fiction works entitled "A Summer of Uncommon Retrospects" and "Rotterham Lodge Tales."
Sources: Materials in the collection.
The William A. Chambers Collection consists of four folders. Folders 1 and 2 contain biographical notes, as well as obituaries pertaining to Chambers. Chambers wrote "A Summer of Uncommon Retrospect; folder 3 contains material related to the manuscript. A newspaper man for over 50 years, Chambers wrote on many subjects. Folder 4 contains biographical information written by Chambers about the Eli Lilly family.
MAIN ENTRY: Chambers, William A., 1898-1985
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Chambers, William A., 1898-1985--Biography
Lilly, Eli, 1885-1977--Family
Afro-American journalists--Indiana--Indianapolis
Afro-American press--Indiana--Indianapolis
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Indianapolis
END