Kroman, Edna

Literary Manuscripts, circa 1920s

(AR 628)

Edna Kroman moved to Birmingham with her parents and siblings in 1897. As an adult, Kroman worked as a stenographer and later as a reporter for the Birmingham News. In 1953, she opened the Junior Shop in Homewood and later operated Edmans Shoes in Mountain Brook before returning to writing for the Birmingham News. This collection largely consists of rough drafts and typescripts of articles, stories, and plays by Kroman, written in the 1920s and 1960s. Several of the folders contain rejection slips from Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, and The Saturday Evening Post. Kroman's works often concern social issues such as the education of women, the role of women in society, and anti-Semitism.

Size: 1 box

League of American Pen Women. Birmingham Branch

Records, 1936-1980

(AR 224)

This collection contains organizational files, yearbooks, correspondence and other records.

Size: 1 box

London, Edith Ward and Family

Papers, 1881-1961

(AR 96)

Born in Birmingham in 1881, Edith Ward London was the daughter of Thomas Ward, an early Birmingham industrialist. London was an avid reader and writer, and in her papers she chronicles her childhood, family life, her poor health, social activities, literary aspirations, religious beliefs, her travels in the United States and abroad, her opinions on literature and the events of her day. Edith Ward grew up near the Birmingham Rolling Mill where her father was a manager. After marrying John London in 1901, Edith resided briefly in Ensley, but most of her life was spent in the Southside neighborhood of Birmingham. The Londons had one child, John London III (Jack). In addition to pursuing her interest in writing, Edith was a member of the Nineteenth Century Club, the Birmingham Camera Club and the Birmingham Amateur Movie Association, for which she wrote movie scripts. Edith London died in Birmingham in 1933. In addition to correspondence this collection includes examples of Edith Ward London’s poetry, short stories, religious writings, essays, and scrapbooks. The scrapbooks are typical of the kind kept by women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and include photographs, clippings, dance cards, calling cards, poetry, pencil drawings, dried flowers, letters, and greeting cards. The collection also includes material relating to Edith’s husband and son, including correspondence, newspaper clippings, educational records, photographs, and material relating to the Birmingham Amateur Movie Association. The two volumes of Edith’s diaries included in this collection are extensive typed excerpts that provide a detailed chronicle of the life of an upper middle class girl and woman. The location of the original diaries is not known. The bulk of the material in this collection covers the 1880s to the 1930s.

Size: 14 boxes

National Poetry Week

Scrapbook, undated

(AR 470)

This Scrapbook, compiled by the Birmingham Poetry Club, contains undated newspaper clippings and radio schedules relating to the celebration of National Poetry Week in Birmingham.

Size: 1 reel microfilm

Newman, Henry H. “Zipp”

Papers, 1920-1976

(AR 388)

Henry “Zipp” Newman was a sports writer and editor for the Birmingham News and author of the books The House of Barons: Record of the barons since 1900 (1948), 50 Years of Professional Baseball in Alabama (1950) and The Impact of Southern Football (1969). This collection includes correspondence, newspaper articles, photographs and other material relating to Newman and sports in Alabama.

Size: 4 boxes

Owen, Evelyn Wood

Scrapbook on Alabama Writers

(AR 467)

Size: 1 reel microfilm

Patrick, Luther

Papers, 1932-1957

(AR 230)

Luther Patrick represented the Birmingham area as a member of Congress from 1937 to 1943 and from 1945 to 1947. He attended Louisiana State University, Purdue University, and in 1918 received a law degree from the University of Alabama. Patrick was a radio commentator, musician, poet and author of three books, Hope You’re Livin’ an’ Doin’ Well (1931) Friends, Nabors, Kinfolks (1947) and Goosepocket (1955). He served a City Attorney for the City of Fairfield and Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama. Luther Patrick died May 26, 1957. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, voting records, magazine publications, a scrapbook, photographs, and other material.

Size: 1 reel microfilm

Penney, Kate Speake and Penney Family

Papers, 1891-1947

(AR 222)

Kate Mayhew Speake Penney was born on a plantation in Lawrence County, Alabama, in 1864. Penney spent her childhood in Huntsville, Alabama, and was educated at the Huntsville Female Seminary. She married James Edwin Penney in 1893 and the couple moved to Birmingham. In the course of her literary career, Penney published several novels, short stories, and poems. Her books include a temperance reform novel entitled A Common Lot (1898, republished in Canada in 1905 as A Woman's Problem); Land Poor, and Six Shorter Stories concerning Southern agricultural conditions (1928); Us dealing with the Spanish American War and the yellow fever epidemic (1934); Cross Currents, a novel about the Civil War (1938); and My Daughter (1946). Penney served as national vice-president of the League of American Pen Women and was one of the organizers of the Birmingham Chapter of League of American Pen Women. She was also an active member of the Birmingham Writers Club, the Quest Club, and the Alabama Writers Conclave. Penney died in Birmingham in August 1947. The bulk of this collection consists of letters, both incoming and outgoing, which document the lives of Penney family members. Among these letters, the largest percentage is either from or to Kate Speake Penney. The papers of this Birmingham family also include biographical information on Kate Penney and newspaper clippings and press releases concerning Penney's books A Common Lot and Land Poor.

Size: 1 box

Poetry Society of Alabama

Minute Book, 1929-1935 and Historian’s Book 1929-1930

(AR 1304)

Size: 1 box

Poetry Society of Alabama

Scrapbook, 1935-1941

(AR 429)

This scrapbook contains minutes of meetings, officer’s reports, correspondence and newspaper clippings.

Size: 1 box

Prewitt, Perkins John and Family Papers

(AR 207)

Prewitt served as City Editor of The Birmingham News from 1919-1925, taught journalism at Howard College, and was Director of the Birmingham Safety Council from 1925 until 1933. After 1933, the Birmingham Safety Council became a part of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Prewitt also served on the Chamber of Commerce in the Convention and Tourism Division as well as the Safety Council Division until 1946. This extensive collection contains the personal correspondence of four generations of Prewitt’s family. The correspondence begins in 1892 with his maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather and ends with the correspondence of his daughter Penelope Prewitt Cunningham. The early letters are a good description of everyday life in Birmingham and Mentone, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, and Mississippi at the turn of the century. There are files from Prewitt’s work on The Birmingham Safety Council. The diaries from 1919 – 1925 primarily list journalism assignments while Prewitt worked at The Birmingham News as City Editor.

Size: 11 boxes

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