%eadnotat; ]> 5262chta Finding aid for American Friends Service Committee Coal Relief Papers, 1931-1941 Finding Aid Prepared by FHL staff Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 2007 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by FHL Staff, 2007 ENG Finding aid for American Friends Service Committee Coal Relief Papers, 1931-1941 FHL staff Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 2007 Descriptive Summary American Friends Service Committee Coal Relief Papers 1931-1941 (bulk 1931-1933) RG5/262 Charles M. Tatum (Charles Maris), 1903-1984 2 boxes; 1 linear feet Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081-1399 U.S.A.
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. The collection documents the work of the American Friends Service Committee child relief team in the bituminous coal fields of West Virginia and Kentucky, 1931-1933. Of particular interest are (carbon) letters sent regularly to the American Friends Service Committee Coal Committee headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., recounting almost daily the activities of the team from February-May 1932 as well as the hardships and political unrest. The first year of the program concentrated on feeding and clothing; thereafter, the administration for relief was gradually transferred to local government and was focused on social and economic reconstruction.

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399

Phone: (610) 328-8496 FAX: (610) 690-5728

 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTE

The President’s Committee on Unemployment Relief and the Federal Children’s Bureau requested that the American Friends Service Committee provide relief for the children of unemployed mine workers in the poverty stricken bituminous coal fields in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and West Virginia during the winter of 1931-1932. The mining industry was particularly hard hit during the Depression when mines closed and other fuels gained market share. The following winter, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation worked through county agencies in most areas, but the AFSC continued to administer some programs in W. Virginia and Kentucky. By 1933-1934, the emphasis had shifted from relief to education and social reconstruction.

Charles Maris Tatum worked in West Virginia and Kentucky for the AFSC Coal Relief mission from 1931-1933. He was the son Mary Biddle McCollin Tatum and Oliver Parry Tatum. His mother was a doctor and worked in Warsaw for several years after World War I. Charles Tatum was born in 1903 and married Margaret O. Garrett at Lansdowne Monthly Meeting in 1939. An engineer, he was a graduate of Haverford College and member of Radnor Monthly Meeting. He died February 1984. The supervisor of the coal mission team in W. Virginia and Kentucky was Mary Kelsey, a Quaker social worker and pacifist who had worked with the American Friends Reconstruction Unit after WWI. She was born June 15, 1877, in St. Louis, Missouri, and became a member of Germantown Monthly Meeting in 1920. She died March 23, 1948.

SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE RECORDS

The collection documents the work of the American Friends Service Committee child relief team in the bituminous coal fields of West Virginia and Kentucky, 1931-1933. Of particular interest are (carbon) letters sent regularly to the American Friends Service Committee Coal Committee headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., recounting almost daily the activities of the team from February-May 1932 as well as the hardships and political unrest. The first year of the program concentrated on feeding and clothing; thereafter, the administration for relief was gradually transferred to local government and was focused on social and economic reconstruction.

Organized into five series:

Organization: Correspondence Casebooks and reports Publications Clippings Miscellaneous ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Accession information

Donor: Charles M. Tatum, Jr., 2003 (Accession number: 2003-025

 Access

Collection is open for research.

 Use Restrictions

Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

 Preferred Citation

[Indicate the cited item or series here], American Friends Service Committee Coal Relief Papers, RG5/262, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

 Processing information

The papers were preserved by Charles M. Tatum and his mother, Dr. Mary Biddle McCollin Tatum, and were not sorted when received. The bulk of the papers document the American Friends Service Committee’s relief efforts in mining areas of W. Virginia and Kentucky. A small amount of papers concerning Dr. Tatum’s work with the AFSC in Poland after WWI were removed and catalogued as a Small Collection. The Mining Relief Papers were sorted into series and processed. A small photo album (not labeled) and loose photographs have been removed to FHL Picture Collection, PA 140.

Swarthmore College Peace Collection: Mary Kelsey collection, 1914-1919. CDG-A

See also the Archives of the American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, Pa.

 SELECTED SEARCH TERMS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Friends Historical Library (TRIPOD). Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings:

American Friends Service Committee. Coal Relief Society of Friends -- Charities Social service -- Religious aspects -- Society of Friends Coal mines and mining Depressions -- 1929 -- United States -- West Virginia Depressions -- 1929 -- United States -- Kentucky American Friends Service Committee. Coal Relief Kelsey, Mary, 1877-1948 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below:

 Ser. 1: Correspondence Correspondence between Mary Kelsey and Robert C. Dexter, American Unitarian Assoc., Boston Nov.-Dec. 1931 1 folder 1-2

He visited Williamson, W. Va., and wants to help. Her letter describes some of the hardships there.

 Correspondence with James Myers, Federal Council of Churches Dec. 1931 1 folder 1-2

Kelsey describes how school feeding programs have been organized.

 Correspondence concerning Florence Mahon and the Florence Crittenton Home for unwed mothers Dec. 1931 – March 1932. 1 folder 1-2

Mary Kelsey helped find placement for Mahon whose child was stillborn. She died shortly after the birth as well.

 Mary Kelsey correspondence (carbons) with the American Red Cross, Mingo Co., Williamson, W. Virginia Jan. 1932 1 folder 1-2

Details need in school for basic clothing

 Mary Kelsey correspondence with William Edgar Jan. 1932. 1 folder 1-2

Describing desperate conditions

 Mary Kelsey correspondence (carbons) with the AFSC Coal Committee Jan. – March 1932 1 folder 1-2

She was the supervisor of the AFSC relief service in Mingo and McDowell Co., W. Virginia and Floyd Co., Kentucky, working with Charles Tatum and others. Her letters, most to Bernard D. Waring, Chairman of the Committee, record in detail the activities and projects of the group. The copies in this collection are the extra carbons that Charles asked Mary to make in order to send a copy to his mother, some with an additional short handwritten note.

 Mary Kelsey correspondence (carbons) with the AFSC Coal Committee April 1932 1 folder 1-2

She was the director of the AFSC relief service in Mingo and McDowell Co., W. Virginia and Floyd Co., Kentucky, working with Charles Tatum and others. Her letters, most to Bernard D. Waring, Chairman of the Committee, record in detail the activities and projects of the group. These copies are the extra carbons that Charles asked Mary to make in order to send a copy to his mother, some with an additional short handwritten note.

 Mary Kelsey correspondence (carbons) with the AFSC Coal Committee May1932 1 folder 1-2

. She was the director of the AFSC relief service in Mingo and McDowell Co., W. Virginia and Floyd Co., Kentucky, working with Charles Tatum and others. Her letters, most to Bernard D. Waring, Chairman of the Committee, record in detail the activities and projects of the group. These copies are the extra carbons that Charles asked Mary to make in order to send a copy to his mother, some with an additional short handwritten note.

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia Nov. -Dec. 1931 1 folder 1-2

Mary Kelsey arrived in W. Va., in early November to set up child feeding program, and Charles Tatum soon followed. Priorities were clothing for children and food supplies. Eleanore Stabler Clarke was the chair of the Clothing Committee.

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia Jan. 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern sending supplies.

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia Feb. 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern sending supplies. Bank closing.

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia March 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern sending supplies.

Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia April-May 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern sending supplies, finances

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia Nov. -Dec. 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern finances, supplies

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia Jan.-March 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern finances, supplies

 Correspondence sent from AFSC, Philadelphia April-June 1932 1 folder 1-2

Most concern finances, supplies.

 Letter from Mary Kelsey, Three Forks, W. Va., to Esther Fisher Smith, Kentucky Feb. 1933 1 folder 1-2

Her interest in mountain ballads.

 Ser. 2: Casebooks and reports Casebook – Notes on families 1931 1 folder 1-2 American Friends Service Committee, notes on schools, needs, meals, food orders 1931 1 folder 1-2 Collective Feeding Reports 1931-1933 1 folder 1-2 Ser. 3: Publications, newsletters, and reports Field Notes, AFSC Coal Relief Section, I – VII Oct. 1931 – Feb. 1932 1 folder 1-2 Field Notes, AFSC Coal Relief Section, VII –XII Feb. 1931 – May 1932 1 folder 1-2 Gossip Sheet, succeeded by Chatterbox,”\ Typed carbons 1932-1933 1 folder 1-2

Informal newsletter of people and activities, circulated from AFSC headquarters, Philadelphia

 AFSC minutes, with many gaps Oct. 1931 – Jan. 1933 1 folder 1-2 Miscellaneous AFSC newsletters, form letters Feb.-Mar. 1932 1 folder 1-2

Includes aid solicitation letter from Haverford Monthly Meeting, Pa., where Charles Tatum was an attender.

 Agenda, minutes of Field Conference Coal Relief Workers, Williamson, W. Va. April 1932 1 folder 1-2 AFSC Annual Reports 1933-1934, 1938-1939, 1941 1 folder 1-2 Articles on coal industry and relief 1932-1933 1 folder 1-2 Ser. 4: Clippings Newspaper clippings concerning AFSC coal relief 1931-1932 1 folder 1-2 Newspapers - original issues with related articles 1932-1933 1 folder 1-2 Newspapers and articles Apr. 1932 – Mar. 1933 1 folder 1-2 Ser. 5: Miscellaneous Photo album, landscape, mining operations, housing n.d. 1 folder 1-2

Also loose photographs. Stored in PA 140.

 Douglas n.d. 1 folder 1-2

Notes on a proposed documentary movie on coalminers, using actual locals and AFSC staff as the actors.

 Miscellaneous articles on unemployment relief 1931 – 1932 1 folder 1-2 Maps of McDowell and Floyd Counties 1 folder 1-2