Charlene Hodges Byrd collection-representative-image
This collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Collection processed, arranged, and described by Adam Fielding in 2012. This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Charlene Hodges Byrd collection, circa 1750-2009. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
The Charlene Hodges Byrd collection was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by Herbert S. Garten, co-personal representative of the Estate of Charlene H. Byrd, in 2010.
Series 1. Papers related to biographical and family histories of the Byrd, Cummings, Davage, Dews, Hodges, Shimm, Spruill, and Thomas families. Material includes family trees; school diplomas and certificates; programs; awards; marriage and divorce papers; funeral documents; and obituaries.
Series 2: Chiefly letters from family and friends regarding family news, financial matters, school, work, neighborhood affairs, church events, travel and the weather. The majority of the letters are addressed to Charlene Hodges Byrd, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Ida R. Cummings, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Erminie F. Shimm, Sarah A. Shimm, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. Other correspondence includes letters from Booker T. Washington, Bessye Beardon, Charlotte Davage, Amelia Douglass, and Harrell S. Spruill. There are also a number of greeting cards, postcards, and empty envelopes.
Series 3. Writings include essays, speeches, papers written for school, teacher's notebooks, and a diary of Erminie F. Shimm, 1903. Topics include education, Frederick Douglass, religion, race, Africa, and the temperance movement.
Series 4. Subject files on Charlene Hodges Byrd's involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia, a women's book club organized in 1923; Church Women United radio program; and The Links, Inc., a volunteer service organization. The papers on Liberia relate to missionary work, and were probably gathered by Erminie F. Shimm; and the Shimm-Thomas Collection are papers related to the deposit and later return of family items housed as a collection at Morgan State College.
Series 5. The financial and legal records include invoices and receipts, bank books, real estate tax assessments, deeds, and wills. There is also material related to the estate of Erminie F. Shimm.
Series 6. Printed materials includes books, pamphlets, newspapers, newsletters, clippings, invitations and programs. The books and pamphlets are chiefly school yearbooks and newspapers and other texts related to religion, politics, music, and poetry. Also included is a copy of Frederick Douglass's autobiography and a printed copy of his speech "The Race Problem." The clippings include obituaries, articles about Charlene Hodges Byrd and her husband Charles R. Byrd, essays by Sarah A. Shimm under the name Faith Lichen, and articles on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The invitations and programs are primarily for school graduations, weddings, social events, and funerals. Other printed material includes newsletters; business cards; calling cards; postage stamps, chiefly from Liberia; and blank postcards. The binder on Frederick Douglass was prepared by Byrd and her goddaughter for the West Virginia School Studies Fair, and includes copies of Byrd family artifacts.
Series 7. Autograph books, guest books, and scrapbooks. The autograph book of Grace E. Shimm Cummings includes autographs from Amelia Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, Charles R. Douglass, W. H. Clair, and Francis J. Grimke. The scrapbook of Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm consists primarily of clippings, and was assembled from an old teacher's book with a student registration and punishment pages still intact at the back.
Series 8. Miscellaneous items in the collection including artwork, a coin purse, a piece of handwoven cloth belonging to Catherine Nelson's great grandmother, and leather hair curlers.
Series 9: The textiles are chiefly christening gowns, children's garments, and an apron. Several garments belonged to Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Charlene Hodges Byrd, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. There is also a doll that belonged to Amelia Douglass's niece, Kitty Cromwell.
Series 10. Photographs include pictures of Charlene Hodges Byrd, Joyce Ethel Hodges Cummings, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Charles Gilmor Cummings, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Erminie F. Shimm, and other friends and relatives of the Byrd, Hodges, Cummings, Douglass, and Shimm families. Subjects are primarily portraits and candids, along with some wedding, baby, and school pictures. While some of the photographs are annotated, many of the individuals are unidentified. Included are vintage photographs, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visites, tintypes, daguerreotypes, and negatives.
The Shimm, Thomas, Cummings, Hodges, Davage, and related African American families chiefly lived in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Numerous family members worked as teachers, barbers, or in the service industry. They were active in local churches and service organizations, and had established friendships with local church leaders as well as with Frederick Douglass and his family.
The Shimm and Thomas families were located in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Thomas family can be traced back to Philip Nelson, who owned property in Leesburg, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Family genealogical papers list Nelson as a descendent of British Admiral Horatio Nelson. This lineage, however, is not supported in publically available family histories of Horatio Nelson. Philip Nelson and his wife Araminta had five children: Catherine (b. 1805?), William, Levi (b. 1820?), Henrietta, and Grayson.
Catherine Nelson married Elias E. Thomas (b. 1816?) of Virginia in 1840. They wed in Philadelphia and had five children: Levi Nelson (b. 1841), Sarah (1843-1885), Edward (b. 1844), Elizabeth (1848-1932), and Charles (b. 1851).
Sarah Thomas married William Y. Shimm (b. 1841), a barber in Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1863. They had 2 daughters, Erminie (1867-1936) and Grace (1865-1910). The Shimms lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but had moved to Washington, D.C., around 1871. Sarah was a teacher and a writer who published under the name "Faith Lichen." Her writings, primarily essays and commentaries about race and politics, were printed in several newspapers including
Sarah's sister Elizabeth was also a teacher in Maryland. Her brother Charles was a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and a graduate of the first class at Howard University's law school.
Erminie and Grace Shimm became teachers in the Washington, D.C., public school system. Erminie was active in her church and supportive of missionary work in Liberia. Grace married Charles Gilmor Cummings, a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 9, 1902. They had one daughter, Joyce Ethel (1903-1971), and second child in 1905 who died in infancy. Grace died in 1910 of heart failure. After her death, Grace's sister Erminie and Charles's family helped raise Joyce Ethel in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges graduated from Morgan College in 1924, and received her master's degree from Howard University in 1931. She taught at Douglass High School in Baltimore from 1924-1964. Joyce Ethel married Charles E. Hodges (1900--975) in 1927 and they divorced in 1953. The couple had one daughter, Charlene (1929-2009).
Charlene Hodges Byrd grew up in Washington, D.C., but attended the Northfield School for Girls in East Northfield, Massachusetts, for high school, graduating in 1946. She received her bachelor's degree from Connecticut College in 1950, and her master's degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago in 1951. She married Charles R. Byrd (1919-2004) in 1952. They had one son in 1954, but he died four days after birth. Byrd soon began a career as a teacher and education administrator, eventually working for Kanawha County Schools in Charleston, West Virginia. She was also active in her local community as a member of the Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia; Church Women United; and The Links, Inc.
Charles E. Hodges was born Bridgewater, Virginia, where his father was a minister. He graduated from Morgan College in 1923 and received his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943. He was a teacher and served as principal of the North Street School in Hagerstown, Maryland. After he and Joyce Ethel divorced in 1953, he married Elizabeth Dews (1913-1999) in 1955.
Elizabeth Dews Hodges, born Elizabeth Virginia Waumbeeka, was adopted by James Edward (1889-1954) and Sarah Virginia Dews (1888?-1964) in Washington, D.C., in 1920. She graduated from Miner Teachers College in 1939, and worked as a teacher in Annapolis, Maryland, at Wiley H. Bates High School for 34 years. She was awarded a medal for her work there by the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge in 1959. Elizabeth was active in local organizations in Maryland and Washington, D.C., including the SE/NE Friends of the Capitol View Branch Library; Eastern Star Chapter 4; Mount Ephraim Baptist Church; National Museum of Women in the Arts; National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples; and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
The Davage family is descended from Sidney Hall (b. 1818?) and Charles Davage (b. 1815?). Sidney was a former slave at the Perry Hall mansion in Baltimore, and was manumitted by 1840. She married Charles, a coachman, on April 12, 1842. They had five children: Eliza Jane (1843-1913), Sophia (b. 1847), Charlotte (b. 1849), Charles (b. 1854), and Hester (b. 1845). Their daughter Eliza Jane married Henry Cummings (b. 1830?). They had seven children: Harry Sythe (1866-1917), Charles Gilmor (1870-1924), William (b. 1882), Ida R. (1868-1958), Estelle (1874-1944), Carroll (b. 1875), Francis (b. 1872), and Aaron (1864?-1932).
Harry Sythe Cummings, a lawyer in Baltimore, became the city's first African American City Council member. He was first elected in 1890 and served intermittently until his death in 1917, often working on issues related to education. Cummings also delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in 1904 seconding the presidential nomination of Theodore Roosevelt. He married Blanche Conklin in 1899, and they had three children: Harry S. Jr. (b. 1905), Lucille (d. 1906), and Louise.
Charles Gilmor Cummings graduated from Drew Theological Seminary in 1898, and was a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia and elsewhere. After the death of his wife Grace in 1910, he married Rosa Catherine Bearden, grandmother of artist Romare Bearden, in 1912.
Ida R. Cummings graduated from Morgan College in 1922, and was the first African American kindergarten teacher in Baltimore. She was also active in local organizations, and was president of the Colored Fresh Air and Empty Stocking Circle; chairman of the Woman's Section Council of Defense in Baltimore during the World War, 1914-1918; and president of the Woman's Campaign Bureau of the Colored Republican Voters' League of Maryland.
Access to collection requires appointment.
Alphabetical by last name.
Papers related to biographical and family histories of the Byrd, Cummings, Davage, Dews, Hodges, Shimm, Spruill, and Thomas families. Material includes family trees; school diplomas and certificates; programs; awards; marriage and divorce papers; funeral documents; and obituaries.
Notes and family trees.
Includes birth certificate and papers from Charlene and Charles's 50th wedding anniversary.
Oversize item housed in OV 2
Includes programs from the Northfield School for Girls, Connecticut College, and the University of Chicago.
Primarily grades.
Includes passport and travel itinerary from SITA Adventure Trails.
Includes teaching appointments.
Grades from Syracuse University.
Includes church and funeral programs; family history notes; and photocopies and clippings of obituaries.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 1
Diplomas and certificates are for the Public Schools of the District of Columbia, 1874, 1878, and 1881; Miner Normal School, 1884, circa 1885.
Certificate from Miner Normal School, circa 1885 is in fragile condition. Please consult archivist for more information.
Oversize items are housed in OV 1, folder 2; OV 2; OV 26
Includes photocopies of biographical material.
Includes photocopies and clippings of her obituary; financial card of Trinity Chapter No. 5; and a business card from the Colored Republican Voters' League.
Includes marriage page from family bible; notes on family history; program from testimonial dinner for Charlotte Davage and Mary F. Handy; photocopy of manumission certificate for Sidney Hall.
Includes marriage and death certificates; memorial books; family reunion and funeral programs; and cemetary plot information.
Includes church and funeral programs; a eulogy; and copies of clippings of his obituary.
Includes clipping of his obituary ,school certificates, and grades.
Oversize items housed in OV 1, folder 2; OV 3
Includes copies of adoption papers; programs; marriage certificates; and cemetary plot information.
Includes clippings, program, and obituary.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Notebook
Notes on her life, career, and accomplishments.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews:
Includes handwritten notes and a copy of "The Voice" which contains biographical information about Elizabeth Dews Hodges.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings
Includes marriage and divorce certificates; funeral program; and testimonial.
Diplomas for Morgan College and Howard University are in fragile condition. Please consult archivist for more information.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 2; OV 25; OV 26
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings: Student Papers
Includes grades, letters of recommendation, and commencement materials for Howard University, Morgan College, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings: Teaching Career
Includes teaching contracts and change tickets.
Shimm and Thomas Families
Includes will of Philip Nelson, 1850; will of Elias E. Thomas, 1899; wedding invitations; Navy pension voucher for Elias E. Thomas; obituary clippings; and copies of engravings of Horatio and Philip Nelson.
Oversize item is housed in OV1, folder 7
Diplomas and certificates for Public Colored Schools of the District of Columbia, 1881, 1884; Miner Normal School, circa 1884, 1886.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 2; OV 2; OV 26
Shimm, Sarah A.
Includes Graceland Cemetary certificate of ownership; Public Schools of Washington County teaching appointments, 1874; District of Columbia public school documents; copy of poem written by Sarah A. Shimm and transcribed by Charlene Hodges Byrd; and clippings of her obituary.
Shimm, William and Sarah A.: Marriage Certificate
Spruill Family
Includes wedding and family reunion materials.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 2
Thomas, Elizabeth N.
Includes two handwritten obituaries.
9 subseries arranged alphabetically by last name. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically by year.
Chiefly letters from family and friends regarding family news, financial matters, school, work, neighborhood affairs, church events, travel and the weather. The majority of the letters are addressed to Charlene Hodges Byrd, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Ida R. Cummings, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Erminie F. Shimm, Sarah A. Shimm, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. Other correspondence includes letters from Booker T. Washington, Bessye Beardon, Charlotte Davage, Amelia Douglass, and Harrell S. Spruill. There are also a number of greeting cards, postcards, and empty envelopes.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance with the following items of correspondence: Byrd, Charlene Hodges: General Correspondence, 1946 May 15; 1946 July.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm: Cummings, Charles Gilmor, 1907 May 13; 1907 May 20; John W, 1890 July 28.
Shimm, Sarah A: General Correspondence, 1881 May 6.
Other Correspondence: William P. Ryder, 1877.
Chiefly letters from Byrd's husband, Charles R. Byrd, written while they were apart because of school. The letters discuss his school, work, and social life. Other correspondence includes letters from friends and relatives; Byrd's father, Charles E. Hodges, written to her while she was traveling in Europe, 1950; a letter from Marian Anderson's secretary thanking Byrd for her letter and poem, 1940; scattered letters regarding Northfield School for Girls, Connecticut College, and other schools; Kanawha County Schools; a letter from Romare Bearden regarding Byrd's mother's death, 1971; and numerous greeting cards.
Byrd, Charles R.
Byrd, Charles R.
Byrd, Charles R.
Byrd, Charles R.
Byrd, Charles R.
Byrd, Charles R.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
Please seek assistance with the following letters: 1946 May 15; 1946 July.
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
Greeting Cards
Scattered letters, chiefly from Charles Gilmor Cummings, Carroll Cummings, Ida R. Cummings, Francis J. Grimke, and Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges. The letters primarily concern family news, illnesses, Christianity, and Grace's marriage to Charles Gilmor Cummings.
Please seek assistance with the following letters: Charles Gilmor Cummings, 1907 May 13 and 1907 May 20; John W., 1890 July 28.
Cummings, Charles Gilmor
Grimke, Francis J.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings
General Correspondence
Envelopes
The bulk of the correspondence are letters from Grace E. Shimm Cummings. Topics include family illnesses, the declining health and death of Carroll [Cummings?], the weather, and religion. Other letters include a fragment of a letter from her friend Cattie, and a telegram announcing Cattie's death in 1925. Also Included are letters probably written to her friend Annie Crockett discussing the death of her niece Lucille Theresa, family news, travel plans, The Woman's Home Missionary Society, and her work as an educator.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
[Crockett?], Annie
General Correspondence
Scattered letters to Hodges from former students; relative Iris Hodges Reese regarding a family death; the Spruill family; a note from Charlene Hodges Byrd; and numerous greeting cards.
General Correspondence
Greeting Cards
Please seek assistance with the following letters: Charlene Hodges Byrd, 1949 November 10, 1950 July 9, 1951 December 3.
Primarily letters received from Charlene Hodges Byrd and Charles E. Hodges. Letters from Byrd discuss student life at the Northfield School for Girls, 1944-1946; student life at Connecticut College, 1947-1950; her travels in Europe, 1950; graduate student life at the University of Chicago, 1950; student teaching in Institute, West Virgina; her marriage to Charles R. Byrd, 1952; her experiences as a teacher; married life; social news; the weather; and financial issues. Letters from her husband Charles E. Hodges include those written while they were dating, 1922-1925; and while he was in graduate school, 1935-1939.
Other correspondence includes letters from Grace Crockett with news from Hawaii; Robert P. Johnson and George C. Gertman regarding the conveyance of the deed of her property to the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, 1958; Erminie F. Shimm discussing family news and concern for Hodges's health; Hattie B. Sprague regarding Erminie F. Shimm's death, and her relationship with Hodges's family and the Douglass family, 1936; letters regarding employment as a schoolteacher, 1924; family news; thank you letters; various postcards; and numerous greeting cards.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
Crockett, Annie
Crockett, Grace
Crockett, Grace
Gertman, George C.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Charles E.
Hodges, Charles E.
Johnson, Robert P.
"Mamma"
Author might be Rosa Catherine Bearden Cummings.
Shimm, Erminie F.
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
Greeting Cards
Empty Envelopes
Chiefly letters regarding family and social news, illnesses, deaths, and travel. Other letters include correspondence with United States Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia regarding sidewalk tax assessments, 1932; M.W. Clair, Fannie T. Hays, Isaiah B. Scott discussing missionary work in Monrovia, Liberia with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1907-1910, 1921; correspondence with Alphonso Morris about Shimm loaning him money, and his non-payment of the debt, 1907, 1911; and letters from her sister Grace E. Shimm Cummings discuss family news, descriptions of attending a conference in Atlanta, Georgia, 1902 August 10, and her declining health in 1910.
Capper, Arthur
Correspondence with United States Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas, chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia, regarding sidewalk tax assessments in Washington, D.C.
Clair, M. W.
Letters discussing missionary work by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Monrovia, Liberia.
Commissioners of the District of Columbia
Correspondence regarding tax assessments for sidewalk repairs in Washington, D.C.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
Douglass, Amelia
Letters regarding Douglass not being able to come and visit Shimm, along with family news.
Douglass, Lewis H.
Letter wishing Shimm a happy new year.
Grimke, Francis J.
Hays, Fannie T.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings
Morris, Alphonso
Scott, Isaiah B.
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
Empty Envelopes
Sarah A. Shimm
Letters to Sarah A. Shimm include her brother Charles N. Thomas discussing his money and employment problems, and a telegram announcing her promotion from acting to full principal and a pay increase.
Please seek assistance with the following letter: 1881 May 6.
General Correspondence
Elizabeth N. Thomas
Please seek assistance with the following letters: Grace E. Shimm Cummings, 1899 September 7; General Correspondence, 1889 September 11.
Letters chiefly discussing family news, financial matters, neighborhood affairs, church events, and the weather. The letters include two from the Freedmen's Bureau concerning a teaching position and in Williamsport, Maryland, 1869-1870; guests declining to attend the wedding of Grace E. Shimm and Charles Gilmor Cummings in 1902; a Christmas card from Amelia Douglass, 1921; and a letter regarding Erminie F. Shimm's power of attorney for Thomas for financial matters, 1913.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
Cummings, Joyce Ethel Hodges
Shimm, Erminie F.
Thomas, Charles N.
United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
General Correspondence
Empty Envelopes
Please seek assistance with the following letter: William P. Ryder, 1877.
Crockett, Grace
Primarily letters from Catherine Smith discussing travel and family news.
Cummings, Charles Gilmor
Includes a letter received from the president of Drew Theological Seminary regarding the gift of an oil painting of Bishop Francis Asbury to the seminary, 1890; a note of congratulations to Hiram Watty on his re-election to city council, 1901; and a letter from Grace E. Shimm Cummings regarding family news, 1908.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm and Erminie F. Shimm
One letter addressed to Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm regarding the death of their mother, Sarah A. Shimm, 1885; along with a christmas card and postcard.
Davage, Charles W.
Includes correspondence regarding employment as a "Bell-man" in a hotel.
Douglass, Charles R. to Emma Patterson
Letter is listed on back as "Copy of Second Extraordinary Literary Effort of Secretary of County School Board for 1872, Inscribed to Miss Emma Patterson."
Hodges, Charles E.
Chiefly letters from Hodges's mother and his wife, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges.
Washington, Booker T. to Lewis H. Douglass
A thank you letter from Booker T. Washington to Lewis H. Douglass, regarding Washington's speech in Chicago, Illinois on October 16.
Miscellaneous Letters
Includes letters sent from and received by Bessye Bearden, Amelia Lewis, Charlotte Davage, and Harrell S. Spruill. Many of the letters have no envelope or are signed without a surname. One envelope, addressed to "Miss Yearling" contains two locks of hair, but no letter.
Some items are fragile and in need of conservation treatment prior to use. Please seek assistance with the following letter: William P. Ryder, 1877.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance with the following writings: Cummings, Grace E Shimm: "Birth" 1883, "Refinement" 1883 November 28, "The Infant Repblic" 1884, "Education circa 1881 - circa 1900, "Fractions" circa 1881 - circa 1900, "In a Family Dispute Which Should Stop First?" circa 1881 - circa 1900, "The Leper" circa 1881 - circa 1900, "The Study of the Catechism" circa 1881 - circa 1900.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings: "The Attitude Toward the Medieval Romance During the Renaissance" circa 1930, "The Vogue of the Bevis of Hampton Romance in the 16th Century" circa 1930, student writings, 1910-1953.
Shimm, Erminie F.: "The Voices of Fiction" circa 1880 - circa 1910, "Liberia" circa 1910 - circa 1920.
Writings include essays, speeches, papers written for school, teacher's notebooks, and a diary of Erminie F. Shimm, 1903. Topics include education, Frederick Douglass, religion, race, Africa, and the temperance movement.
8 subseries arranged alphabetically by author's last name. Each subseries is arranged chronologically by year.
Student speeches from junior high school and Connecticut College. Byrd's writings are chiefly regarding school-related activities.
Writings on a variety of subjects, including essays on Liberia, education, the temperance movement, and religion; poetry; school subjects such as math and history; and teacher's books.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Two drafts with some differences.
One item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Copy of exerpt of "The Leper" by Nathanial Parker Willis.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
School notebook.
Sketchbook with enclosures.
Chiefly notes for a 50th marriage celebration for a fellow member of the Columbia Lighthouse organization and the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.
Writings chiefly academic papers along with several speeches.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Writings include essays on Liberia and Frederick Douglass; a daily diary, 1903; and teaching notebooks and sketchbooks
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Note written on back of document states
Oversize item housed in OV 20.
School notebook.
Teaching notebook with enclosure.
School notebook with enclosure.
Teaching notebook with lesson plans and class exercises.
Sketchbook with enclosure.
Includes essays and fragments of essays Shimm wrote under the name Faith Lichen that were published in several Washington D.C. area newspapers.
Includes essays and fragments of essays Shimm wrote under the name Faith LIchen that were published in several Washington (D.C.) area newspapers.
Writings and fragments with no identifiable author. Includes writings on race and religion.
Contains several drafts.
Oversize item house in OV 1, folder 3
6 subseries arranged alphabetically by subject.
Subject files on Charlene Hodges Byrd's involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia, a women's book club organized in 1923; Church Women United radio program; and The Links, Inc., a volunteer service organization. The papers on Liberia relate to missionary work, and were probably gathered by Erminie F. Shimm; and the Shimm-Thomas Collection are papers related to the deposit and later return of family items housed as a collection at Morgan State College.
A program, form letters, and newsletter material for an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority luncheon that also honored educator Ruth Stephenson Norman.
Chiefly programs, notes, letters, clippings, and a histotorical sketch of the Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia, a women's book club organized in 1923.
Oversize item housed in OV 8, folder 1
Notes, memos, and radio scripts on educational topics for the Church Women United radio program.
This subseries contains letters and writings regarding missionary work in Monrovia, Liberia. The letters, chiefly from A. P. Campher to F. M. North, discuss the progress of their missionary work and the need for more funds and staff. The writings, many of which are authored by Campher, consist of memos, reports, and newsletters regarding the missionary work. The reports contain discussions and assessments of financial information; Liberian culture and religion; educational efforts; missionary objectives; and missionary conference proceedings.
Chiefly administrative papers and new member applications and form letters for The Links, Inc., a volunteer service organization of which Charlene Hodges Byrd was a member.
Chiefly correspondence between Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges and Morgan State College regarding the deposit and later return of family items that comprised the Shimm-Thomas Collection. The collection was exhibited and made available for research in the school's library. Included are itemized lists of the collection material.
The financial and legal documents include invoices and receipts, bank books, real estate tax assessments, deeds, and wills. There is also material related to the estate of Erminie F. Shimm.
Alphabetical by type and chronological in order
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance with the following folders: Deeds, 1863-1876, Deeds, 1888-1889, Estate of Erminie F. Shimm, 1932-1937 probate records.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 4
Chiefly letters to Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, the administrator of the estate; Erminie F. Shimm's will; and an itemized list of her estate being sold at auction.
Probate records in OV 25 are in fragile condition. Please consult archivist for more information.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 5; OV 25
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 6
Oversize items housed in OV 1, folder 7
Printed materials includes books, pamphlets, newspapers, newsletters, clippings, invitations and programs.
The books and pamphlets are chiefly school yearbooks and newspapers and other texts related to religion, politics, music, and poetry. Also included is a copy of Frederick Douglass's autobiography and a printed copy of his speech "The Race Problem."
The clippings include obituaries, articles about Charlene Hodges Byrd and her husband Charles R. Byrd, essays by
Sarah A. Shimm under the name
The invitations and programs are primarily for school graduations, weddings, social events, and funerals.
Other printed material includes newsletters; business cards; calling cards; postage stamps, chiefly from Liberia; and blank postcards. The binder on Frederick Douglass was prepared by Byrd and her goddaughter for the West Virginia School Studies Fair, and includes copies of Byrd family artifacts.
Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals are arranged chronological by format.
Clippings are arranged chronological by subject.
Invitations and Programs are arranged chronological by subject.
Other Printed Material are arranged by subject.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance with the following: Periodical: Northfield Alumnae Chronicle, 1946 August; Program: Howard University,1895.
Chronological by format.
Chiefly school yearbooks and newspapers; books and pamphlets on religion, politics, and poetry; and a printed copy of Frederick Douglass's speech
Annotated with notes and inscriptions.
Item is housed in OV 37.
Item is housed in OV 36.
Item is housed in OV 38.
Charles Gilmor Cummings is listed as a graduate.
Item is housed in OV 40.
Enclosure.
Amanda Bradley:
Temperance meeting program, 1890 December 7;
Maltbie D. Babcock:
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 9
Oversize items housed in OV 1, folder 9
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 9
Oversize items housed in OV 1, folder 8
Item is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance.
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 9
Oversize item housed in OV 1, folder 10
Chronological by subject.
Includes clippings of obituaries, articles about Charlene Hodges Byrd and her husband Charles R. Byrd, essays by Sarah A. Shimm under the name
Oversize items housed in OV 8, folder 2 and OV 24.
Oversize materials housed in OV 8, folder 3.
Oversize items housed in OV 8, folder 4.
Oversize item housed in OV 8, Folder 2.
Oversize items housed in OV 8, folder 5.
Clippings of Sarah Shimm's essays that appeared under the name
Oversize items housed in OV 8, folder 6 and OV 24.
Oversize item housed in OV 8, folder 1.
Alphabetical by subject.
Chiefly invitations and programs related to school graduations, weddings, social events, and funerals.
Program, 1895 is in fragile condition. Please contact archivist for assistance with this item.
Programs and invitations for Dartmouth College, Howard University, Drew Theological Seminary, Saint Andrew's Priory, Lincoln University, Northfield School for Girls, and North Street High School.
Alphabetical by subject.
Includes newsletters; business cards; calling cards; postage stamps, chiefly from Liberia; and blank postcards. The binder on Frederick Douglass was prepared by a goddaughter of Byrd for the West Virginia School Studies Fair, and includes copies of Byrd family artifacts.
Student presentation on Frederic Douglass for the West Virginia School Studes Fair prepared by a goddaughter of Byrd. She allowed copies of several personal family artifacts to be included. A list of newspapers and a 20th century copy of a Frederick Douglass
Oversize item is housed in OV 9
Includes some postage stamps from Liberia.
Oversize item housed in OV 2; OV 8, folder 7
Alphabetical by type.
Autograph books, guest books, and scrapbooks. The autograph book of Grace E. Shimm Cummings includes autographs from Amelia Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, Charles R. Douglass, W. H. Clair, and Francis J. Grimke. The scrapbook of Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm consists primarily of clippings, and was assembled from an old teacher's book with a student registration and punishment pages still intact at the back.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance for the following: Scrapbook, 1930s; Scrapbook: Clippings, 1881 - circa 1900.
Includes autographs from Amelia Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, Charles R. Douglass, W. H. Clair, Annie Sprague, E. E. Parks, Ira Briggs, and Francis J. Grimke.
Oversize item is housed in OV 7
Item is in fragile condition. Please ask for assistance when handling.
Scrapbook of Charlene Hodges Byrd titled
Some items are fragile and in need of conservation treatment prior to use.
Oversize item housed in OV 6
Scrapbook of Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm. The scrapbook was made out of a teacher's book, circa 1870s, with a student register and notes on students who were punished at the back. 2 enclosures.
Item is housed in OV 4.
Miscellaneous items in the collection including artwork, a coin purse, a piece of handwoven cloth belonging to Catherine Nelson's great grandmother, and leather hair curlers.
Alphabetical.
Some items are in fragile condition. Please seek assistance with the following items: Painting, circa 1930s - circa 1940s.
Coin purse with the name Mrs. John Simpson on card attached inside. Enclosed is a round pin with photograph of a woman on front. Coin purse is 3 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.; pin is 1 in.
Item is housed in OV 10.
Fish knife, metal and plastic. 5 x 1 in.
Item is housed in OV 34.
Item housed in OV 35.
Eagle Pencil No. E 740 fountain pen nibs and box. Box, 1 7/8 x 2 6/8 in.
For Charlene Hodges Byrd's graduation from Connecticut College.
Item is housed in OV 13.
9 leather hair curlers, all approximately 5 1/2 in.
Tan handwoven cloth made by Catherine Thomas's great grandmother.
Possible broach, pendant, or hat pin missing faster. Possibly made of brass-plated copper.
Plastic letter opener with rose at top. 4 2/8 x 1 in.
Watercolor print of a house and tree in broken wood frame with glass. 4 x 8 in.
Oversize item is housed in OV 8, folder 9
Color painting of a woman hugging a man dressed in United States Army clothes. Signed "To Charlene with love. From, Bunny P." 17. 5/8 x 24 in.
Item is in fragile condition. Please consult archivist for more information.
Item is housed in OV 25
Watercolor painting of sea life. 17 7/8 x 23 6/8 in.
Print in wood frame. The text states:
Oversize item is housed in OV 12
De Long hook Hook and Eye No. 3 sewing hooks on cardboard package cared. 2 6/8 x 4 6/8 in.
22 trading cards with descriptions of bird breeds. 2 5/8 x 3 7/8 in.
Wooden washboard with ridged metal piece. 3 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.
Oversize item is housed in OV 14
Alphabetical by textile type.
The textiles are chiefly christening gowns, children's garments, and an apron. Several garments belonged to Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Charlene Hodges Byrd, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. There is also a doll that belonged to Amelia Douglass's niece, Kitty Cromwell.
Apron, blue and white. Made by Elizabeth N. Thomas. 20 x 27 2/8 in.
Item is housed in OV 30.
Gray baby shoes with laces. 5 2/8 x 2 5/8 in.
Item is housed in OV 27.
Pink bonnet. 7 1/2 x 4 in.
Item is housed in OV 28
Child's garment, white. 14 7/8 x 20 1/2 in.
Item is housed in OV 31.
Child's garment, white. 19 9/16 x 18 2/8 in.
Item is housed in OV 31.
Child's garment, white. 26 5/16 x 25 5/16 in.
Item is housed in OV 32.
White christening cap and cape. Cap: 3 10/16 x 7 3/8 in. Cape: 11 1/16 x 19 1/8 in.
Items are housed in OV 29.
White christening gown of Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges. 36 7/8 x 32 4/8 in.
Item is housed in OV 30.
Cristening gown, white, 18 7/8 x 23 1/2 in. Bonnet, white, 8 in. diameter with 14 in. ties.
Items are housed in OV 30.
Doll that belonged to Amelia Douglass's niece, Kitty Cromwell. 30 1/2 x 12 13/16 in.
Note with doll:
Item is housed in OV 33.
Foundation garment, white. Made by Elizabeth N. Thomas. 20 in x 28 in.
Item is housed in OV 30.
Foundational garment, white. 26 2/8 x 26 5/16 in.
Item is housed in OV 32.
Photographs include pictures of Charlene Hodges Byrd, Joyce Ethel Hodges Cummings, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Charles Gilmor Cummings, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Erminie F. Shimm, and other friends and relatives of the Byrd, Hodges, Cummings, Douglass, and Shimm families. Subjects are primarily portraits and candids, along with some wedding, baby, and school pictures. While some of the photographs are annotated, many of the individuals are unidentified. Included are vintage photographs, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visites, tintypes, daguerreotypes, and negatives.
Alphabetical by last name then by subject
Bearden Family
1 black and white vintage photograph and 1 black and white postcard. Picture of Rosa Kennedy, Rosa Catherine Bearden Cummings, Harry Bearden, and Romare Bearden; and picture of Rosa Catherine Bearden Cummings.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
48 black and white photographs and 38 negatives. Primarily candid pictures of Byrd as a baby and young girl.
17 black and white photographs and 3 negatives. Primarily candids and a few pictures from Byrd's high school graduation.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
4 photographs; 3 black and white and 1 color print. Pictures of Byrd in a graduation cap; a group picture, likely with fellow teachers; and Byrd teaching.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
24 photographs; 22 black and white and 2 color prints. Primarily pictures from social and business functions; candids taken at home; and one classroom picture.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges
6 color photographs. Primarily candids, some with her husband Charles, at dinner functions.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Candids with Friends
14 black and white photographs. Pictures of Byrd with friends in front of a house and at a barn.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Connecticut College
14 black and white photographs and 37 negatives. Primarily candid pictures of Byrd and her friends at Connecticut College.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Friends and Family
4 black and white photographs and 3 negatives. Primarily candids of Byrd's friends and family.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Friends and Family
14 black and white photographs. Candids and portraits of friends, including one of her friend Carl Johnson in a military uniform.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Friends and Family
26 photographs; 21 black and white and 5 color prints. Primarily candids of Byrd's friends and family, including some of her students and classmates.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Friends and Family
34 color photographs. Primarily candids of Byrd's friends and family. She and Elizabeth Dews Hodges are in some of the photographs.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Friends and Family
14 color photographs. Primarily candids of Byrd's friends and family.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Group Portrait with Maya Angelou
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: House
12 photographs. Pictures of Byrd's home in Nitro, West Virginia.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Miscellaneous
13 black and white photographs. Pictures of Byrd's dogs; an organ; and a television screen with Martin Luther King, Jr. on the program "Face the Nation."
Black and white picture booth photograph in metal frame of Byrd and unidentifed woman.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Portraits
14 black and white photographs.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Portraits
33 black and white photographs.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Slides
3 color slides of Byrd, likely at work.
Byrd, Charlene Hodges: Wedding
3 black and white photographs. Byrd with flowers; Byrd with two women; and a fountain.
Cummings Family
19 vintage photographs, cartes-de-visites, cabinet cards, and photographs; 17 black and white and 2 color prints. Primarily portraits and candids of Ida R. Cummings, Estelle Cummings, Harry S. Cummings, Lucille Cummings, Carol Cummings, Lula Cummings, Louisa Cummings, and John Dorcas.
Cummings, Aaron
3 black and white cabinet cards and photographs. Portraits.
Cummings, Charles Gilmor
4 black and white cabinet cards and vintage photographs; 1 tintype. Portraits.
Cummings, Charles Gilmor with Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges
2 black and white vintage photographs of a family portrait, and another copy in a wood frame, 10.5in x 8.375in.
Oversize item housed in OV 15
Cummings, Eliza Jane Davage
2 black and white cabinet cards. Both pictures are of same portrait.
Cummings, Grace E. Shimm
2 black and white vintage photographs of same portrait, and one carte-de-visite of Cummings as a child.
Cummings, Ida R.
8 black and white cabinet cards and vintage photographs. Portraits and one photograph of a house owned by Cummings in Baltimore, Maryland.
Davage, Charlotte
2 black and white vintage photographs. Both pictures are of same portrait.
Davage. Sidney
3 black and white cabinet cards. All pictures are of same portrait.
Dews, Gerald
5 color photographs. Pictures of Gerard Dews as a boxing coach.
Douglass Family
7 black and white cartes-de-visites and cabinet cards. Portraits of Charles Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, and Joseph H. Douglass; Amelia Douglass; Lewis B. Douglass; and an unnamed daughter of Rosetta Douglass Sprague and Nathan Sprague.
Douglass, Frederick
2 black and white cartes-de-visites. 2 portraits; on verso of one image it is inscribed "To Grace and Erminie Shimm. From Fred. Douglass."
1 black and white cabinet card. Portrait of Frederick Douglass seated with his grandson Joseph H. Douglass holding a violin. Inscription on verso incorrectly identifies Frederick Douglass as Charles Douglass.
Gray Family
7 color photographs. Pictures of Elizabeth Dews Hodges's cousin Thomas Gray and his family.
Hodges, Charles E.
4 black and white photographs. Portraits.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: AARP Chapter 100
6 color photographs. Candids from an AARP chapter trip.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Dunbar High School Class of '32 Reunion
22 photographs; 2 black and white and 20 color prints. Candids and group portraits.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Friends and Family
12 color photographs. Primarily candids of Hodges along with friends and family.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Friends and Family
27 color photographs. Primarily candids of Hodges with friends and family.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Friends and Family
16 color photographs. Primarily candids of Hodges with friends and family.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Miner Teachers College
5 black and white photographs. Pictures of students at Miner Teachers College.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Miscellaneous
17 color photographs. Candids of the interior of a house and her cat.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Portraits
Oversize items housed in OV 8, folder 8
12 color photographs. 2 sets of portraits.
Hodges, Elizabeth Dews: Weddings
2 black and white photographs. Pictures of her first wedding in the 1940s, and her second one in 1955.
Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings
26 black and white vintage photographs and prints; 8 negatives. Primarily portraits, candids, and pictures of her with Charlene Hodges Byrd as a baby.
Shimm, Erminie F.
9 black and white carte-de-visites, vintage photographs, and photographs; 1 negative. Chiefly portraits, a baby picture, and candids.
Shimm, William and Unidentified Men in Front of Store
1 black and white vintage photograph.
Shimm House
2 black and white photographs of the Shimm house in Washington, D.C.
Simpson, Sophia Davage
2 black and white photographs. Both pictures are of the same portrait.
Spruill Family
Oversize item housed in OV 21
61 color photographs. Portraits and candids that include birthdays, graduations, and baby pictures.
Spruill family: Wedding
25 color photographs. Pictures from the wedding and reception for Kecia Spruill and Otis Johnson.
Thomas, Elizabeth N.
2 black and white cartes-de-visites. Portraits.
Cartes-de-visites Portraits
6 black and white cartes-de-visites. Portraits of of John Brown, Horace Greely, H.D.G. Carroll, Victoria Jones, and two unidentifed individuals. One of the unidentifed could be William Shimm.
Oversize item housed in OV 16
Daguerreotype image of a man with two children. The case has a clasp, and is in 2 pieces. 3 1/4 x 3 3/4in.
Oversize item is housed in OV 19
Black and white cabinet card of unidentifed man in picture frame. Frame is purple velvet with gold trim; 6 x 8in.
Black and white photographic print of a portrait of an unidentifed woman in an oval metal frame. 11 1/4 x 14in.
Oversize item is housed in OV 17
Friends and Family
18 black and white vintage photographs and cabinet cards. Primarily portraits of unidentifed individuals.
Friends and Family
12 black and white photographs. Portraits and candids of primarily unidentified individuals.
Friends and Family
46 black and white photographs; 30 negatives. Candids of primarily unidentifed individuals.
Miscellaneous
9 black and white photographs; 17 negatives. Primarily pictures of cars, outdoor scenes, and houses.
Photograph album of Elizabeth Dews Hodges.
Item is housed in OV 39.
Oversize item housed in OV 5
Photograph album, primarily images of Charlene Hodges Byrd as a chid, and a woman that is probably her mother, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges.
Tintype image of unidentifed man in union case. 2 5/8 x 3in.
Oversize item is housed in OV 18
Tintype Portraits
7 tintypes. Unidentifed portraits.