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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 7
- Barcode: 31234014140253
- Folder 1: Various Campaign Items
- Various campaign materials primarily produced by KY Democratic Party, 1990s-early 2000s, mainly national and state offices
- Folder 2-4: Various Political Pins
- Political campaign pins - 1890-early 2000s, majority 1970s-1990s, gubernatorial and congressional candidates predominate.
- Folder 5: Political Ephemera
- Presidential campaign items, primarily bumper stickers and a few pamphlets from presidential campaigns of Kennedy, George Wallace, Mitt Romney, Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Also promotional piece for debate between KY gubernatorial candidates, Conway and Bevin, 2016.
- Folder 6: Robertson County Miscellaneous Items, Various
- Items include newspaper clippings of poems and personal notices, souvenir photos of Ray R. Meyers (armless musician), program for play "Peg of My Heart" Lyric Theater Cincinnati, souvenir postcards of Maysville KY, advertising cards. and small floral greeting cards. There are also two programs for Robertson County High School graduation ceremonies - 1922 and 1924.
- Folder 7: Robertson County, Kentucky Postcards
- Item 1: Real Photo Post Card
- Unknown man in WWI uniform sitting in chair
- Item 2: Real Photo Post Card
- Unknown man in WWI uniform standing at attention
- Item 3: Real Photo Post Card
- Three unknown men. The older man is sitting in a chair in front of the two younger ones. Appears circa early 1900s.
- Item 4: Real Photo Post Card
- Unknown man in WWI period uniform, seated.
- Item 5: Post Card
- Unknown girl posing -postcard entitled "Childhood"
- Folder 8: Robertson County, Kentucky Photographs
- Item 1: Tin Photograph
- Unknown man standing next to a chair with a hat in it.
- Item 2: Tin Photograph
- Unknown man riding in open buggy.
- Item 3: Tin Photograph
- Unknown man leaning against a rocking chair.
- Item 4: Photograph of Unknown Men on Horses
- Four unidentified men on horseback.
- Folder 9: Robertson County, Kentucky Photographs
- Item 1: Portrait of an Unknown Couple
- Item 2: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 3: Unknown Family Portrait
- Item 4: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 5: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 6: Portrait of an Unknown Elderly Man
- Item 7: Portrait of an Unknown Young Woman
- Item 8: Portrait of an Unknown Child
- Item 9: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 10: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 11: Portrait of an Unknown Man
- Item 12: Portrait of an Unknown Couple
- Item 13: Portrait of an Unknown Young Man
- Item 14: Unknown Family Portrait
- Item 15: Portrait of an Unknown Little Boy
- Item 16: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 17: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 18: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 19: Portrait of an Unknown Elderly Woman
- Item 20: Portrait of an Unknown Little Boy
- Item 21: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 22: Portrait of an Unknown Young Man
- Item 23: Portrait of an Unknown Young Woman
- Item 24: Portrait of an Unknown Child
- Item 25: Portrait of an Unknown Young Woman
- Item 26: Portrait of an Unknown Young Man
- Item 27: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 28: Portrait of an Unknown Young Man
- Folder 10: Robertson County, Kentucky Photographs
- Photos in this folder are rural and appear primarily from mid 1930s.
- Item 1: Photograph of Pigs
- Item 2: Photograph of an Unknown Man
- Item 3: Photograph of an Unknown Group of Children
- Item 4: Photograph of Piglets Eating
- Item 5: Photograph of a Child and a Dog
- Item 6: Photograph of an Unknown Group of Children
- Item 7: Photograph of an Unknown Elderly Man
- Item 8: Photograph of an Unknown Woman
- Item 9: Photograph of Two Unknown Elderly Couples
- Item 10: Photograph of an Unknown Group of People
- Item 11: Photograph of an Unknown Group of Woman and a Child
- Item 12: Photograph of Two Unknown Women
- Item 13: Photgraph of an Unknown Child
- Standing in a tobacco field.
- Item 14: Photograph of an Unknown Woman
- Item 15: Photograph of an Unknown Child
- Item 16: Photograph of an Unknown Group of Children
- Item 17: Photograph of an Unknown Young Woman
- Sitting on a wagon.
- Item 18: Photograph of an Unknown Young Woman
- Standing next to a horse and its colt.
- Folder 11: Robertson County, Kentucky Photographs
- The majority of these photos were taken in the 1890s
- Item 1: "Bernice and Bonnie", 25 Oct 1913
- A little girl with a horse.
- Item 2: Photograph of Unknown Men on Horses
- Three men standing around a house in winter.
- Item 3: Photograph of an Unknown Couple
- A couple standing outside of a house next to a horse.
- Item 4: Photograph of an Unknown Couple
- A couple standing outside of a house, this time, without a horse.
- Item 5: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 6: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
- Item 7: Portrait of an Unknown Young Couple
- Item 8: Portrait of an Unknown Man
- Sitting in a chair.
- Item 9: Portrait of an Unknown Little Girl
- Item 10: Photograph of an Unknown Man Leading a Wagon
- Item 11: Photograph of an Unknown Elderly Couple
- Item 12: Photograph of an Unknown Man on a Horse and Buggy
- Item 13: Photograph of Unknown People
- Standing on the porch of a house.
- Item 14: Photograph of an Unknown Group of Men
- The group is standing outside of a tobacco barn and seems to be stripping tobacco.
- Item 15: Photograph of an Unknown Couple
- Leaning against the fence in front of a house.
- Folder 12: Thanksgiving in July: An Insider's Story of the Holly Hill Inn
- Folder 13: Lexington Singers: Bringing it all back home, 2015-2016
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