East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia
Box 70295
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614
E-mail: archives@etsu.edu
Telephone: (423) 439-4338
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Title: |
The Lewis Family Papers |
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Collection Number: |
Accession No. 325 |
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Physical Description: |
6 File Folders |
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Creator: |
Lewis Family |
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Repository: |
Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University |
Provenance: The Lewis Family Papers were donated to the Archives of Appalachia by Richard Lewis on July 1, 1988. Several documents were photocopied by the archives' staff and then returned to the donor later that month. A VHS videotape containing the images of the three Lewis family homes was compiled by Richard Lewis and then donated to the archives on July 11, 1989.
Access: The papers are open for research.
Processing Information: A.Kilgore, J.Clark, Chris Bailey, Melissa Garant and Scott Schwartz completed processing, and the collection was opened to researchers on November 28, 1991.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Stephen Lewis was born in 1799, and by 1820 he had purchased some property and built a log cabin near what was once referred to as Carter's Furnace, a small Carter County, Tennessee community within the Stoney Creek Valley. He married a Dicie Lewis and had five children; his oldest son was James F. M. Lewis, the great-grandfather of Richard Lewis. Stephen Lewis' life was spent farming and operating a cobbler's shop out of a portion of the family's cabin. By the 1880s, a second house had been built for James F. M. Lewis' family, and the cabin was eventually converted into a cobbler's shop and general store for the Farmers and Laborers Union, a cooperative agricultural organization that was associated with the 19th-century Farmer's Alliance movement. Stephen Lewis continued operating the cobbler's shop and general store with James F. M. Lewis until his death in 1899.
Richard Lewis was born on January 4, 1947 in Carter County, Tennessee, and was graduated from Unaka High School. Between 1964 and 1965 he attended the Elizabethton Business College and for the next two years Lewis worked making polyester yarn at Beaunit, an East Tennessee manufacturer of rayon. In 1967 he attended Milligan College and East Tennessee State University. After being graduated from Milligan College in 1970, Lewis began teaching at Unaka Elementary School, a position he held until 1978, when he began teaching at the Unaka Vocational School. In 1973 Richard Lewis purchased the James F. M. Lewis homestead and refurbished the second house before selling it to Walter and Betty Hardin. The original log cabin and surrounding property currently are owned by Richard Lewis.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Lewis Family Papers contain correspondence, photocopies of an account book, a newsclipping, and an enumeration of the scholastic population of the 10th District, Carter County schools. Also included in this collection are 59 black and white photographs and a VHS videocassette tape containing images of the Lewis homestead and a family history narrated by Richard Lewis. The materials document the general business activities and operation of the family's general store and cobbler shop between c. 1890 and 1895. The account book also contains a listing of accounts for members of the community's Farmers and Laborers Union.
Organization: The Lewis Family Papers are divided into three series; Series I, Personal Papers, Records and Family History, 1890-1973; Series II, Enumeration of Scholastic Population, 10th District, Carter County, 1905 and 1916-1918; and Series III, Lewis Family and Miscellaneous Photographs, c. 1888-c. 1989.
Important subjects covered in this collection include:
Carter County (Tenn.)--History
Farmers and Laborers Union
Lewis, Clarence
Lewis family
Lewis, James F. M.
Lewis, Stant
Lewis, Stephen
School enrollment--Tennessee--Carter County
Stoney Creek Baptist Church (Carter County, Tenn.)
Virginia and Southwestern Railway Company
Series I, PERSONAL PAPERS, RECORDS AND FAMILY HISTORY, 1890-1973, Box 1.
Series I contains correspondence, photocopied account book, photocopied newsclipping, greeting cards and a videotape documenting the personal and business activities of the Lewis family and their family genealogy. The account book includes late 19th-century customers' accounts that document the daily purchases from the Lewis family general store and a list of local Farmers and Laborers Union members and their dues. The correspondence and greeting cards illustrate the general activities and personal interests of the Lewis family; one letter refers to W. H. Lewis' work with the Virginia and Southwestern Railway Company and his promotion from fireman to engineer. The newsclipping and videotape includes descriptions of Lewis family history and images of the Lewis homestead. Series I is arranged alphabetically by document type.
Series II, ENUMERATION OF SCHOLASTIC POPULATION, CARTER COUNTY, 10TH DISTRICT, 1905 and 1916-1918, Box 1.Series II contains a 1916-1918 enumeration of Carter County, Tennessee school populations and a monthly enumeration report of the 10th District that is dated 1905. The records include the names of the school children and their parents, the children's ages, and identifies whether they can read and write. The records have been placed in a single file folder and are arranged numerically by page number. The 1905 report precedes the enumeration records.
Series III, LEWIS FAMILY AND MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS, c. 1888-c. 1989, Box 1.Series III contains Lewis family photographs and miscellaneous unidentified photographs that date between c. 1888 and c. 1989. The photographs include images of the Lewis family, their homestead and burial plot, and miscellaneous agricultural scenes, portraits, and buildings. The photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series I, PERSONAL PAPERS, RECORDS AND FAMILY HISTORY, 1890-1973, Box 1.
Box 1
1. Account Book: General Store (photocopy), 1890-1895.
2. Calling Cards, Greeting Cards, Postcards, 1923-1984.
3. Correspondence, 1903-1949.
4. Miscellaneous, 1910, 1917.
5. Newsclipping, 1973.*Videotape-Lewis Family History, c. 1989.
Series II, ENUMERATION OF SCHOLASTIC POPULATION, CARTER COUNTY, 10TH DISTRICT, 1905 and 1916-1918, Box 1 .
Box 1
6. Enumeration of Scholastic Population, 10th District, Carter County, 1905, 1916-1918.
*The videotape has been placed in the audio-visual collection.
Series III, LEWIS FAMILY AND MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS, c. 1888-c. 1989, Box 1.
Box 1
7. Entertainment Photographs, ND.
8. Funeral Photograph, c. 1912.
9. Lewis Family Burial Plots, c. 1989.
10. Lewis Family Portraits and Candids, c. 1988-c.1940.
11. Lewis Homestead, c. 1987.
12. Miscellaneous Unidentified Portraits, Part 1, ND.
13. Miscellaneous Unidentified Portraits, Part 2, c. 1903.
14. Miscellaneous Still Life, ND.
15. Postcards, c. 1907.
16. Unidentified Buildings, ND.
Architecture, Early: 1-5, 1-11, videotape
Ballard and Ballard: 1-8.
Beland, Millie: 1-8.
B. F. Goodrich: 1-4.
Bristol VA-TN: 1-4.Buckles, Kate: 1-5.
Carter County, Tennessee-History: 1-1, 1-6; videotape
Carter's Furnace: 1-5.
Crow, Eliza: 1-16.
Elliot, Ray: 1-5.Emerson, Lewis A.:
Farmer and Laborers Union: 1-1.
Ferguson, Eugene: 1-2.
Garland, Calvin: 1-1.
Harden, Betty: 1-5, videotapeHarmon, Charles 1-13.
Hinkle, Fred: 1-2, 1-13.
Keokee Coke Company: 1-4.
Lee, Evelyn Thelma: 1-2.
Lewis, Clarence: 1-5, 1-10.Lewis, Edward J.: 1-10.
Lewis, Erne: 1-10.
Lewis, James F. M.: 1-3, 1-5, 1-9, 1-10.
Lewis, John: 1-10.
Lewis, Lula May: 1-10.Lewis, Ola Nidiffer: 1-10.
Lewis, Richard: 1-5, 1-10.
Lewis, Sam W.: 1-10.
Lewis, Stant: 1-2, 1-5, 1-6.
Lewis, Stephen: 1-5.Lewis, Wary Adeline: 1-10.
Lewis, W. H.: 1-3.
Lewis, W. J.: 1-9.
Martin Lynch Company, Bristol VA-TN: 1-4.
Nidiffer, James: 1-13.Nidiffer, Liza: 1-13.
Norton Coal Company: 1-4.
Orders, John: 1-13.
Peters, Henry: 1-5.
Ratcliffe, William: 1-13.Ritchie, John: 1-5.
School Population, Carter County, 10th District: 1-6.
Slimp, Louise: 1-2.
Stoney Creek Baptist Church: 1-5.
Virginia and Southwestern Railway Company: 1-3.Woodward, Joseph: 1-16
MTC 05/01