Charles Grayson Summersell Papers

An extensive collection of papers by and relating to this long-time University of Alabama history professor, including personal and professional correspondence, research notes, departmental and teaching materials. The papers are organized in six series: Research and Writing, Correspondence, University of Alabama, Department of History, Historical Associations, and Personal. Some correspondence and student papers are to be found throughout the different series. Explanatory notes by Mrs. Frances Summersell are appended to many of the files. The papers follow Dr. Summersell’s original arrangement as closely as possible. His folder titles, where clear and legible, were used. Summersell’s general groupings of materials (writing, historical associations, films) have also been maintained. Where annotation further to explain a folder’s content was necessary, the notations were added in [brackets]. Series descriptions: Research and writing: This series consists of several subseries: Alabama: A History for Schools, Gazetteer, Maritime History of the Gulf, Mobile, Project 201 (Rivers of Alabama), Semmes Material, Ships of the American Gulf Coast, Tennessee-Tombigbee Surveys, and Other Writings. A large portion of the research pertains to more than one topic. Portions of Project 201 (Rivers of Alabama) and Mobile may be found within Maritime History. “Semmes Material” includes Cruise of the C.S.S. Sumter, the Journal of George Townley Fullam, and C.S.S. Alabama: Builder, Captain and Plans. Different versions of Summersell’s dissertation and thesis (on the C.S.S. Sumter) are found here as well. Student papers, correspondence and note cards are found within the several subseries. Of special significance are the note cards which contain bibliographic information on Alabama: A History for Schools, Ships of the American Gulf Coast, and Colonial Mobile as well as Southern and Maritime History. The series is alphabetically arranged by project. Correspondence: This series includes both incoming and outgoing letters. Most of the correspondence is professional (UA Department of History), though some is personal. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, though incoming and outgoing letters are mixed. Frances Summersell’s correspondence is arranged incoming by sender and then chronologically. University of Alabama: This series contains material and information relating to the University of Alabama, but not the Department of History. It includes committees, documentation created by self-study groups, internal studies, and project funding materials. Also included are commencement and honor society related items, as well as materials relating to an aborted visit by activist Abbie Hoffman. History Department: This series concerns History Department and Summersell’s role as instructor, researcher and chair. Includes schedules, some correspondence, requisitions and an abundance of student papers. Most of this information deals with Summersell’s role as department chair from 1954-1959. The Series is divided into three major subseries, Departmental Operations, Student Papers, and Latin America. Student papers are the research projects kept by Summersell over the years in which he apparently took special interest. Latin America is composed mainly of magazines and newspapers subscribed to in an effort to build the Department’s Central and Spanish American History programs. Historical Organizations: These materials relate to associations which Summersell belonged to or was involved in. This series is organized into four subseries: Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Historical Commission, American Association for State and Local History, and Other Associations. For both the Alabama Historical Association and the Alabama Historical Commission files were often arranged by Summersell simply as they arrived. There is little topical division: all are chronological. The American Association for State and Local History subseries mostly contains information about awards presented annually by the organization. Organizations on which there is little material are grouped together at the end of the series in “Sundry Associations”. The organizations are in alphabetical order, the materials within each subseries is arranged chronologically. Personal: This series includes materials relative to filmstrip projects and Summersell’s World War Two-era radio shows, as well as financial and income tax information materials. The series is made up of five subseries: Film Projects, Financial, Weekly Radio War Report, Christian Science, Publications, and Miscellany. Film Projects contains materials related to the Alabama, California, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania filmstrips, including camera-ready, hand-colored boards by Frances Summersell, draft scripts, hand-drawn maps, and charts and graphs. Christian Science contains issues of the Christian Science Monitor, as well as study notes. Miscellany and Publications consist primarily of newspaper articles, magazines, and clippings.