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By Katy Davis, Dr. Christiana Taylor
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Dr. Thomas H. Appleton, Jr. started regularly collecting historical Kentucky materials after he started working at the Kentucky Historical Society in the 1980s. The collection he continues to build consists of materials such as correspondence, ephemera, publications, legal documents and other items, which span over 200 years of Kentucky history. Some notable figures mentioned in the correspondence include Henry Clay, Charles S. Morehead, A.B. 'Happy' Chandler, Phyllis George Brown, Alben Barkley, Barbara Bush, and many more. Materials contain information about politics, religion, pop culture, death, slavery, the military and more. The collection is state-wide in scope; however, most materials are from central Kentucky. The collection continues to grow thanks to a generous endowment funded by Dr. Appleton.
Collection Historical Note
Thomas H. Appleton Jr. (Tom) was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950. After graduating from the University of Memphis in 1971, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky to pursue a doctorate in American history. At UK he was fortunate to study under two of the eminent scholars in that field, Charles P. Roland and Holman Hamilton. In 1979, he joined the publications department of the Kentucky Historical Society, where he rose from assistant editor to editor in chief in 1990. His work at the KHS nurtured his desire to collect historical materials, which he had begun in elementary school. In 2000, he became professor of history at Eastern Kentucky University; in 2015 he was named Foundation Professor. As he approached retirement (2018), he decided that the archives and special collections department at EKU's Crabbe Library would be the logical repository for his collection. At the same time he established an endowment that would permit the purchase of additional materials to augment the collection. He hopes to inspire other patrons to donate their materials as well.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives
Acquisition Source:
Appleton, Thomas H., Jr.
Box and Folder Listing
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- Box 5
- Barcode: 31234014140220
- Folder 1: Bob Conley from Bernard Heckman, 29 Aug 1947
- Heckman, University of Louisville basketball coach during this time, writes to Conley about the recruitment of two Paintsville "boys."
- Folder 2: "Rules of the Democratic Party" Pamphlet, 08 Jun 1948
- Rules adopted by the Democratic State Convention in Kentucky that explains the duties and rules of elected Democratic officials.
- Folder 3-12: Donnie Crase Correspondence, 1950-1959
- This is a collection of letters and greeting cards addressed to Donny Gene Crase, of Letcher Co., during the periods of his military service. Letters specifically from 1950, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959. While letters are of a personal nature, they provide insight into period's popular culture, medical care, and reaction to current events such as 1958 Floyd County bus accident. The letters also chronicle the course of a " teen marriage".
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