National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Finding Aid Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers, 1854-1970 (bulk dates 1900-1935) CATALOG NO. MAWA 99 (COLLECTION) MAGGIE L. WALKER NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Richmond, Virginia MAGGIE LENA WALKER NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE RICHMOND, VIRGINIA FINDING AID FOR MAGGIE LENA WALKER FAMILY PAPERS, 1854-1970 (BULK DATES 1900-1935) CATALOG NUMBER MAWA 99 PREPARED BY JENNIFER H. QUINN FEBRUARY 1999 REVISED BY ETHAN BULLARD MARGARET WELCH FEBRUARY 2016 Northeast MUSEUM SERVICES CENTER Cover illustration: Maggie Lena Walker sitting in customized wheel chair outside of brick buildings. Possibly Bethune-Cookeman College. Companion wearing glasses sits behind Walker, c. 1930, finished by I.X.L, Newark, NJ. Individual catalog no. MAWA 839. iv – Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers CONTENTS Restrictions ................................................................................................................................... v Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Part 1: Collection Description ..................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Content Note ....................................................................................... 5 Subcollection Descriptions ................................................................................. 11 Series Descriptions ............................................................................................. 16 Part 2: Biographical Notes ......................................................................................................... 19 Part 3: Collection Listing........................................................................................................... 29 I. Maggie Lena Walker Papers .................................................................... 31 II. Elizabeth Mitchell Papers ........................................................................ 53 III. Armstead Walker, Jr. Papers .................................................................... 53 IV. Russell E.T. Walker Papers ..................................................................... 53 V. Hattie N.F. Walker Papers ....................................................................... 54 VI. Melvin D. Walker Papers ......................................................................... 57 VII. Ethel R. Walker Papers ............................................................................ 59 VIII. Maggie Laura Walker Papers ................................................................... 59 IX. Armstead Walker Papers .......................................................................... 75 X. Mamie E. Walker Papers ......................................................................... 75 XI. Polly Payne Papers ................................................................................... 75 XII. Independent Order of St. Luke Records .................................................. 77 XIII. Unassociated Materials ............................................................................ 89 XIV. Sheet Music Collection ............................................................................ 94 XV. Photographs ............................................................................................ 125 XVI. Items Removed from Books .................................................................. 125 XVII. Oversize Materials ................................................................................. 130 Appendix A: Index by Archival Number ................................................................................. 147 Appendix B: Photographs......................................................................................................... 297 Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers – v vi – Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers RESTRICTIONS The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups and corporations. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group or corporation. 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Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers – vii Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers – 1 INTRODUCTION The Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers is an archival collection that was found at the Walker family home, 110 ½ East Leigh Street, Richmond, Virginia. The home was purchased by the National Park Service in 1979 and is now the Maggie Lena Walker National Historic Site (MAWA). These papers, along with the records of the Independent Order of Saint Luke, Right Worthy Grand Council of Virginia, the organization which Walker led, form the core of the Site’s historic archives. In late spring of 1998, Jennifer Quinn, a Museum Technician for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities working through a cooperative agreement with the Northeast Museum Services Center (NMSC), processed the bulk (20.5 linear feet) of the family papers. The papers were organized according to family members with further subdivisions such as diaries and correspondence. The collection was then rehoused in acid-free folders and archives boxes with metal fasteners were removed. Particularly acidic materials were separated from other materials in a folder with acid-free paper, and oversize items were flattened and removed to oversize archival boxes with separation sheets indicating the original location. Staff members at the Site subsequently identified approximately three linear feet of Maggie Walker Family papers not processed in the original project. In addition, staff had identified the subjects of the over five hundred unprocessed photographs. In late 2015 and early 2016, NMSC Archivist Margaret Welch cataloged the remaining papers and updated the corresponding catalog records in the National Park Service’s collection management system to include the photographs and other new items. MAWA Curator Ethan Bullard contributed the text for the updated biographical information and photographic descriptions. This finding aid updates the original and retains the three parts and one appendix as follows: - Part 1: Collection Description: - a scope and content note (or brief synopsis of the collection), - an outline showing the organization of the collection, and - descriptions of the various subcollections and series into which the collection is organized. - Part 2: Biographical Notes: - brief biographical summaries for each of the members of the Walker family members represented in the collection. - Part 3: Collection Listing: - a box, folder, and item listing of the collection and of the items removed from the collection due to size. Items are listed with their archival inventory numbers as assigned by park staff. “---” in place of an archives inventory number indicates that the item was not given an archives number. - Appendix A: Index by Archival Number: - An index of each item included in this collection according to the park’s initial archival item numbering system. Includes a 2 – Maggie Lena Walker Family Papers short description of each item, the subcollection it is arranged under, and the box and folder number where it can be found. Unnumbered items are at the end. - Appendix B: Photographs Subcollection. - List of the individual photographs including location, title, creator, date, individual MAWA catalog