Charles Grayson Summersell Papers
Collection
Identifier: MSS-1370
Scope and Contents note
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.
Dates
- 1894-1996
Biographical/Historical note
Charles Grayson Summersell was born in Mobile, Alabama on February 25, 1908. He received his BA (1929) and MA (1930) from the University of Alabama, and his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1940. He married Frances Sharpley in 1934 and joined the History Department of The University of Alabama in 1935. During his career he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses, and directed many masters theses and doctoral dissertations.
Between 1941 and 1943, in addition to his teaching duties, Summersell hosted a news radio show heard in Tuscaloosa and Selma. A member of the Naval Reserve, he left the university for active service in 1942 as a lieutenant (j.g.), becoming a member of the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet. He returned to the university after World War II, but was recalled during the Korean conflict, eventually reaching the rank of Commander. After the Korean War, Summersell again returned to the University of Alabama, where he taught until 1971, serving as chair of the department 1954-59.
Dr. Summersell’s interest in Southern history and naval affairs led to the publication of several books: Mobile: History of a Seaport City (1949), The Cruise of the C.S.S. Sumter (1965), Alabama: A History for Schools (1957 and subsequent editions), and C.S.S. Alabama: Builder, Captain and Plans (1985). He also edited the journal of George Townley Fullam (1973) and the Bicentennial edition of Peter Hamilton’s Colonial Mobile. With the aid of his wife, Summersell also produced numerous filmstrips on the history of Alabama, California, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Summersell’s greatest research project “A Maritime History of the Gulf of Mexico” was never completed.
He was also involved in many historical organizations, including the Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Hall of Fame, and the American Association for State and Local History. Summersell served as president of the Alabama Historical Association in 1956 and performed duties as president, vice-president or executive committee member in many other organizations.
Summersell retired in 1978, but continued his research projects until he died on October 9, 1987.
Extent
43.25 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
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.
Physical Location
These materials are stored at our off-site Archival Facility (AF) and may require up to two business days for retrieval and delivery for use in our Hoole Library reading room. Please email archives@ua.edu or call 205-348-0500 for more information.
Provenance
Gift of Mrs. Frances S. Summersell, 1988-1999 ; transfer from History Department, 1989
General
To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.
Processed by
unknown
- Title
- Guide to the Charles Grayson Summersell Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- February 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository