Series 1: Biographical Material
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Legal Files
Series 4: Printed Materials
Series 5: Photographs
Biographical / Historical:
William Fractious was born in Virginia around 1827. He and his wife Lucy were likely part of the 40,000 formerly enslaved African American refugees who came to Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. A carpenter by profession, William acquired lot 7 of section 3 of a new development, Barry Farm. The settlement was created by the Freedmen's Bureau who sold building lots to the newly freed men and women.
Robert "Bobbie" Fractious (1920 – 1996) was the son of William II and Mary V. Fractious. He had two sisters, Bessie (1918) and Lillian (1915) and one brother, Preston "Bootsie" (1922). He attended elementary school and one year of high school before joining the Civilian Conservation Corps. Robert served in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania in 1939 and Camp Ellis, Illinois in 1940. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1941 as a corporal in Croft, South Carolina and eventually moved up in rank to Staff Sargent. During his service in World War II, he was assigned to the Quartermasters Corps in the Pacific Theater, in Australia. After the war, Robert continued serving in the army for over 20 years.
Blanche Lucille Queen (1923 – 2001) married Robert Fractious on December 2, 1945. She was the daughter of Robert H. and Louise E. Queen. Blanche had two sisters, Thelma (1923 – 2005) and Roberta "Diddie" (1924 – 2013). Blanche graduated from Shaw Junior High in 1938 and Armstrong High School in 1941. After marriage, Robert and Blanche settled on Shannon Place in Southeast, D.C., and the couple had two children, Deborah Camille (1952 – 1995) and Rene Emil (1954 – 2017). She worked for the State Department then at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for 30 years.
A fifth generation Fractious, Rene Emil Fractious was a proud descendant of the original Barry farm settlers. He spoke at the 2009 Washington Historical Studies Conference about his family legacy and the strong postbellum African American community.
Provenance:
The Fractious Family papers were donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on February 1, 2017, by Kristina Leszczak and Rene Fracticious.
Rights:
The Fractious Family papers are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
Topic:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Murray, Daniel Alexander Payne, 1852-1925 Search this
Tibbs, Thurlow Evans, Jr., (1952-1997) Search this
Extent:
25.54 Linear feet (46 boxes; 3 cabinet drawers)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Sheet music
Letters (correspondence)
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Oberlin (Ohio)
Date:
circa 1850-1997
Biographical/Historical note:
The Evans-Tibbs collection form part of the family papers acquired from the Evans-Tibbs Collection museum, which closed in 1996, and centers around the life of Lillian Evans Tibbs. The museum was formerly the home of Evans, the first African American woman to sing opera with an organized European company. She was born in Washington, DC to a cultured, well-educated, middle-class family. Her mother was Annie Lillian Evans, a music teacher in the DC public school system, and her father was Wilson Bruce Evans, organizer and first principal of Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, DC. Hiram Revels, the first black U.S. senator, was her great-uncle and two other family members are credited with taking part in John Borwn's raid on Harper's Ferry. She married Howard University music professor, Roy W. Tibbs in 1918. Her stage name, Madame Evanti, is a combination of her last name and her husband's. Evans had one child, Thurlow Tibbs Sr., and two grandchildren, Diane Elizabeth and Thurlow Evans Tibbs. Thurlow Jr., operated the Evans-Tibbs Collection museum until 1996, a year before his death.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Patterson, Frederick D. (Frederick Douglass), 1901-1988 Search this
Patterson, Wilhelmina Bessie, 1888-1962 Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet (9 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Programs
Clippings
Correspondence
Ephemera
Postcards
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1866 - 1990.
Summary:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 2010 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892.
Scope and Contents note:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 1990 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892. The collection is comprised of correspondence, photographs, clippings, and ephemera.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in four series:
Series 1: Dale-Patterson Family papers
Series 2: Charles Qualls papers
Series 3: Community Organizations
Series 4: Subject Files
Biographical/Historical note:
The Dale family came to Washington, DC in 1886 when John Henry Dale, Sr., a gifted self-taught man, obtained a position as clerk in the newly contracted Pension Bureau building at 5th and G Streets, NW. First they lived near 13th Street and Florida Avenue, NW, then moved to Howard Road in Anacostia. Dale built a house at 2619 Nichols Avenue, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, drawing the plans and supervising the construction. The Dales and only one other family lived in this solidly built house for 100 years before it was sold to a church group and demolished.
General Note:
Finding Aid Note: This finding aid is associated with a MARC collection-level record.361883
Provenance:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on April 07, 2013.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
43 Linear feet (35 document boxes and 39 oversize boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
circa 1750-2009
bulk 1880-1960
Summary:
The Charlene Hodges Byrd collection measures 43 linear feet, and dates from circa 1750-2009, with the bulk of the material dating from 1880-1960. The collection documents the personal life and professional career of Charlene Hodges Byrd, an African American teacher from Washington, D.C., along with material for several related families from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Family members prominently represented include Sarah A. Shimm, teacher and essayist under the name Faith Lichen; her daughters Erminie F. Shimm and Grace E. Shimm Cummings, both teachers; and Byrd's mother, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, also a teacher. Correspondence and writings chiefly discuss family life, religion, race, education, and the relationship with Frederick Douglass and his family. The collection is arranged in 10 series: Biographical Material, Correspondence, Writings, Subject Files, Financial and Legal Records, Printed Material, Volumes, Memorabilia, Textiles, and Photographs.
Scope and Contents:
Series 1. Papers related to biographical and family histories of the Byrd, Cummings, Davage, Dews, Hodges, Shimm, Spruill, and Thomas families. Material includes family trees; school diplomas and certificates; programs; awards; marriage and divorce papers; funeral documents; and obituaries.
Series 2: Chiefly letters from family and friends regarding family news, financial matters, school, work, neighborhood affairs, church events, travel and the weather. The majority of the letters are addressed to Charlene Hodges Byrd, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Ida R. Cummings, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Erminie F. Shimm, Sarah A. Shimm, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. Other correspondence includes letters from Booker T. Washington, Bessye Beardon, Charlotte Davage, Amelia Douglass, and Harrell S. Spruill. There are also a number of greeting cards, postcards, and empty envelopes.
Series 3. Writings include essays, speeches, papers written for school, teacher's notebooks, and a diary of Erminie F. Shimm, 1903. Topics include education, Frederick Douglass, religion, race, Africa, and the temperance movement.
Series 4. Subject files on Charlene Hodges Byrd's involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia, a women's book club organized in 1923; Church Women United radio program; and The Links, Inc., a volunteer service organization. The papers on Liberia relate to missionary work, and were probably gathered by Erminie F. Shimm; and the Shimm-Thomas Collection are papers related to the deposit and later return of family items housed as a collection at Morgan State College.
Series 5. The financial and legal records include invoices and receipts, bank books, real estate tax assessments, deeds, and wills. There is also material related to the estate of Erminie F. Shimm.
Series 6. Printed materials includes books, pamphlets, newspapers, newsletters, clippings, invitations and programs. The books and pamphlets are chiefly school yearbooks and newspapers and other texts related to religion, politics, music, and poetry. Also included is a copy of Frederick Douglass's autobiography and a printed copy of his speech "The Race Problem." The clippings include obituaries, articles about Charlene Hodges Byrd and her husband Charles R. Byrd, essays by Sarah A. Shimm under the name Faith Lichen, and articles on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The invitations and programs are primarily for school graduations, weddings, social events, and funerals. Other printed material includes newsletters; business cards; calling cards; postage stamps, chiefly from Liberia; and blank postcards. The binder on Frederick Douglass was prepared by Byrd and her goddaughter for the West Virginia School Studies Fair, and includes copies of Byrd family artifacts.
Series 7. Autograph books, guest books, and scrapbooks. The autograph book of Grace E. Shimm Cummings includes autographs from Amelia Douglass, Lewis B. Douglass, Charles R. Douglass, W. H. Clair, and Francis J. Grimke. The scrapbook of Grace E. Shimm Cummings and Erminie F. Shimm consists primarily of clippings, and was assembled from an old teacher's book with a student registration and punishment pages still intact at the back.
Series 8. Miscellaneous items in the collection including artwork, a coin purse, a piece of handwoven cloth belonging to Catherine Nelson's great grandmother, and leather hair curlers.
Series 9: The textiles are chiefly christening gowns, children's garments, and an apron. Several garments belonged to Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges, Charlene Hodges Byrd, and Elizabeth N. Thomas. There is also a doll that belonged to Amelia Douglass's niece, Kitty Cromwell.
Series 10. Photographs include pictures of Charlene Hodges Byrd, Joyce Ethel Hodges Cummings, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Dews Hodges, Charles Gilmor Cummings, Grace E. Shimm Cummings, Erminie F. Shimm, and other friends and relatives of the Byrd, Hodges, Cummings, Douglass, and Shimm families. Subjects are primarily portraits and candids, along with some wedding, baby, and school pictures. While some of the photographs are annotated, many of the individuals are unidentified. Included are vintage photographs, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visites, tintypes, daguerreotypes, and negatives.
Biographical / Historical:
The Shimm, Thomas, Cummings, Hodges, Davage, and related African American families chiefly lived in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Numerous family members worked as teachers, barbers, or in the service industry. They were active in local churches and service organizations, and had established friendships with local church leaders as well as with Frederick Douglass and his family.
The Shimm and Thomas families were located in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Thomas family can be traced back to Philip Nelson, who owned property in Leesburg, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Family genealogical papers list Nelson as a descendent of British Admiral Horatio Nelson. This lineage, however, is not supported in publically available family histories of Horatio Nelson. Philip Nelson and his wife Araminta had five children: Catherine (b. 1805?), William, Levi (b. 1820?), Henrietta, and Grayson.
Catherine Nelson married Elias E. Thomas (b. 1816?) of Virginia in 1840. They wed in Philadelphia and had five children: Levi Nelson (b. 1841), Sarah (1843-1885), Edward (b. 1844), Elizabeth (1848-1932), and Charles (b. 1851).
Sarah Thomas married William Y. Shimm (b. 1841), a barber in Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1863. They had 2 daughters, Erminie (1867-1936) and Grace (1865-1910). The Shimms lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but had moved to Washington, D.C., around 1871. Sarah was a teacher and a writer who published under the name "Faith Lichen." Her writings, primarily essays and commentaries about race and politics, were printed in several newspapers including The National Republican, The Celtic Weekly, The People's Advocate, and The Sunday Morning Gazette.
Sarah's sister Elizabeth was also a teacher in Maryland. Her brother Charles was a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and a graduate of the first class at Howard University's law school.
Erminie and Grace Shimm became teachers in the Washington, D.C., public school system. Erminie was active in her church and supportive of missionary work in Liberia. Grace married Charles Gilmor Cummings, a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 9, 1902. They had one daughter, Joyce Ethel (1903-1971), and second child in 1905 who died in infancy. Grace died in 1910 of heart failure. After her death, Grace's sister Erminie and Charles's family helped raise Joyce Ethel in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
Joyce Ethel Cummings Hodges graduated from Morgan College in 1924, and received her master's degree from Howard University in 1931. She taught at Douglass High School in Baltimore from 1924-1964. Joyce Ethel married Charles E. Hodges (1900--975) in 1927 and they divorced in 1953. The couple had one daughter, Charlene (1929-2009).
Charlene Hodges Byrd grew up in Washington, D.C., but attended the Northfield School for Girls in East Northfield, Massachusetts, for high school, graduating in 1946. She received her bachelor's degree from Connecticut College in 1950, and her master's degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago in 1951. She married Charles R. Byrd (1919-2004) in 1952. They had one son in 1954, but he died four days after birth. Byrd soon began a career as a teacher and education administrator, eventually working for Kanawha County Schools in Charleston, West Virginia. She was also active in her local community as a member of the Book Lovers of Charleston, West Virginia; Church Women United; and The Links, Inc.
Charles E. Hodges was born Bridgewater, Virginia, where his father was a minister. He graduated from Morgan College in 1923 and received his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943. He was a teacher and served as principal of the North Street School in Hagerstown, Maryland. After he and Joyce Ethel divorced in 1953, he married Elizabeth Dews (1913-1999) in 1955.
Elizabeth Dews Hodges, born Elizabeth Virginia Waumbeeka, was adopted by James Edward (1889-1954) and Sarah Virginia Dews (1888?-1964) in Washington, D.C., in 1920. She graduated from Miner Teachers College in 1939, and worked as a teacher in Annapolis, Maryland, at Wiley H. Bates High School for 34 years. She was awarded a medal for her work there by the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge in 1959. Elizabeth was active in local organizations in Maryland and Washington, D.C., including the SE/NE Friends of the Capitol View Branch Library; Eastern Star Chapter 4; Mount Ephraim Baptist Church; National Museum of Women in the Arts; National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples; and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.
The Davage family is descended from Sidney Hall (b. 1818?) and Charles Davage (b. 1815?). Sidney was a former slave at the Perry Hall mansion in Baltimore, and was manumitted by 1840. She married Charles, a coachman, on April 12, 1842. They had five children: Eliza Jane (1843-1913), Sophia (b. 1847), Charlotte (b. 1849), Charles (b. 1854), and Hester (b. 1845).
Their daughter Eliza Jane married Henry Cummings (b. 1830?). They had seven children: Harry Sythe (1866-1917), Charles Gilmor (1870-1924), William (b. 1882), Ida R. (1868-1958), Estelle (1874-1944), Carroll (b. 1875), Francis (b. 1872), and Aaron (1864?-1932).
Harry Sythe Cummings, a lawyer in Baltimore, became the city's first African American City Council member. He was first elected in 1890 and served intermittently until his death in 1917, often working on issues related to education. Cummings also delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in 1904 seconding the presidential nomination of Theodore Roosevelt. He married Blanche Conklin in 1899, and they had three children: Harry S. Jr. (b. 1905), Lucille (d. 1906), and Louise.
Charles Gilmor Cummings graduated from Drew Theological Seminary in 1898, and was a pastor in Alexandria, Virginia and elsewhere. After the death of his wife Grace in 1910, he married Rosa Catherine Bearden, grandmother of artist Romare Bearden, in 1912.
Ida R. Cummings graduated from Morgan College in 1922, and was the first African American kindergarten teacher in Baltimore. She was also active in local organizations, and was president of the Colored Fresh Air and Empty Stocking Circle; chairman of the Woman's Section Council of Defense in Baltimore during the World War, 1914-1918; and president of the Woman's Campaign Bureau of the Colored Republican Voters' League of Maryland.
Provenance:
The Charlene Hodges Byrd collection was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by Herbert S. Garten, co-personal representative of the Estate of Charlene H. Byrd, in 2010.
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Citation:
Charlene Hodges Byrd collection, circa 1750-2009. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The Henson Family papers, which date from 1818 to 1943 and measure 0.18 linear feet, document the activities of Tobias Henson and his descendants. The papers are comprised of booklets, correspondence, legal documents, and receipts.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the activities of Tobias Henson and his descendants between 1818 and 1943. It contains materials related to the Hensons' financial and legal activities. Included in the collection are booklets, correspondence, deeds and titles, legal documents, and receipts.
Arrangement
The papers are organized into four series. The content of each series is arranged alphabetically. The series are arranged as follows:
Series I: Financial Records
Series II: Legal Records
Series III: Printed Materials
Series IV: Miscellaneous
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged by series: 1) Financial Records, 2) Legal Records, 3) Printed Materials, 4) Miscellaneous.
Biographical/Historical note:
The history of the Hensons begins with the family's patriarch, Tobias Henson. Mr. Henson was a slave in the Washington, DC area during the 18th and 19th centuries and, given his family's history, it is apparent that he was a man with an ambitious mission: to attain the American dream. He had two tasks to accomplish if he were to see his dream realized. First he had to gain freedom for himself and his family. Second he had to purchase property upon which he could build a home, and from which he could earn a living.
He took the first step in 1813 when he purchased himself from his slave master, thus gaining his freedom. Next he purchased his wife, Elizabeth. In April of 1832 Mr. Henson purchased his daughter Matlinda Smith and her three children. In May of the following year he purchased his second daughter Mary Anderson.
With these purchases, Tobias Henson became a slaveholder, with his wife and children his slaves. Ever resourceful, Mr. Henson used this to his advantage; he rented out his daughters for income and used them as collateral for loans. With the income he generated, he purchased the freedom of his other family members. In fact, he used his daughters, Matlinda and Mary, as collateral for a loan he acquired to purchase Mary's freedom.
In addition to purchasing his freedom in 1813, Tobias Henson entered into an agreement to buy land in the Anacostia section of Washington, DC. The land, named the Ridge, consisted of twenty-four acres located in the Congress Heights section of Anacostia. He made payments on the Ridge until 1826, at which time he made the final payment and became the legal owner. Initially Mr. Henson farmed the land, but as his family grew he subdivided the acreage so that the members of his family could experience their own American dream.
Over the subsequent decades members of the Henson family continued to purchase land in the area surrounding the Ridge; at one point they were one of the largest landowners in the Anacostia section of Washington, DC. The family maintained residence on various parts of the land from the time of its purchase until the middle of the 20th century. Title records filed with the District of Columbia show that, in 1931, the portion of the Ridge that Tobias Henson gave to his grandson, Richard Smith, was still in possession of his descendants. But that was the exception. Most of the Henson family's real estate was either sold or "taken" by the government under the auspices of eminent domain. Just a decade after this title was filed, the federal government made plans to take what remained of the Ridge.
The family did all they could to save the legacy of Tobias Henson. They contacted local and federal government officials in an attempt to stave off what would amount to the destruction of an important piece of black history dating from antebellum Washington, DC. When they had exhausted all of the possibilities, they made a last ditch appeal to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In a 1943 letter they pleaded,
At the present there are some thirteen or fourteen families living on this land, which is still designated as the Ridge, and with only one or two exceptions, these families are the direct descendants of Tobian [sic] Henson…we do not feel that taking our homes will aid in the War Effort or in the Ideals of Democracy.
Unfortunately, their plea went unanswered; the land was taken by the government and the houses thereon where razed.
Related Materials:
Anacostia Historical Society Records.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
The collection, which dates from circa 1902 to 1990 and measures .53 linear feet, documents the personal and professional lives of James William Lucus and Ethel Minns Lucus. The collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, postcards, newspaper clippings, diplomas, awards, pamphlets, leaflets, programs, and vital statistics records.
Scope and Contents:
The collection, which dates from 1902 to 1990, documents the activities of James and Ethel Lucus. It contains material related to Mr. Lucus's education, military service, and his teaching career with the Public Schools of Chicago. Additionally, the collection documents Ethel Minns Lucus's education and her involvement in various Chicago area theatrical activities. Included in the collection are awards, certificates, correspondence, diplomas, military records, and photographic prints.
Arrangement:
The papers are organized into three series one of which has been further arranged into subseries. The contents of each series and subseries are arranged alphabetically. There are oversize materials in the Awards and Citations and Education subseries, as well as in the Photographs series. The series and subseries are arranged as follows:
Series I: Biographical
Subseries 1.1: Awards and Citations
Subseries 1.2: Education
Subseries 1.3: General
Series II: Correspondence
Series III: Photographs
Biographical / Historical:
James William Lucus was born in Abbeville, GA on 26 December 1895 to Jack and Hattie Dean Lucus. Despite the fact that both his father and mother worked - a railroad laborer and domestic servant, respectively --the family still struggled to maintain their simple existence. In one of his earliest recollections, Mr. Lucus describes his childhood home as, "…a one-room house of uncertain pedigree…" Yet the family persevered. In addition to her work as a domestic, his mother worked in the cotton and corn fields during planting and harvest seasons. As for his father, if local railroad work became sparse, Jack Lucus travelled to other parts of the state to find work.
Given these circumstances it is not surprising that James did not enter school until fourth grade. Shortly after he was enrolled, he was withdrawn so that he could work with his father cutting wood for railroad ties. This action was taken at the behest of the family's doctor, who felt that James needed to build his strength and bulk. A few years later, a stronger and older James William Lucus re-entered fourth grade. However, he could only attend school in the spring because he had to work the rest of the year. It was at this time that his parents separated and, since his mother's income was not sufficient to support the household, James had to step in to fill the financial void left by his father. His early education came to a temporary halt in 1911, when he graduated from eighth grade at the age of fifteen.
After graduation, James spent a year earning income as a railroad worker and cotton-picker; and to some extent he accepted these occupations as his lot in life. That all changed when family friend Charlie Jefferson suggested that he and James move to Waycross, GA to find better employment opportunities. They left in the spring of 1912 and both found jobs immediately. Buoyed by this initial success, Mr. Jefferson encouraged James to attend trade school at Tuskegee Institute.
James Lucus entered Tuskegee in 1913 and, as it was with his early education, he worked while attending school. He performed various jobs around the school during the day and took classes at night. In 1915 he earned his high school academic diploma and in 1916 he earned his applied electricity diploma.
The skills he acquired at Tuskegee Institute enabled him to serve in the U.S. Army's C.O. Company "F" 317th Engineers during World War I. In June 1918 his unit was deployed to France for nine months. Their primary mission was to dig trenches and dugouts in the battle zones. His unit returned on 31 March 1919 and Mr. Lucus was honorably discharged on18 April 1919.
Once he left the military in 1919 he moved to Chicago, IL, where he attended Lewis Institute. He earned a Bachelor of Science in 1923 and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1924. Unfortunately, his two degrees were not enough to secure an engineering job, so he decided to become a teacher. He completed his course work at the Chicago Normal School in 1925. The kid whose initial education experience was a sporadic four-year stint in a country grammar school would go on to have a 36-year teaching career with the Public Schools of Chicago.
A year after starting his employment as a teacher James Lucus married Ethel E. Minns, a dramatist. Mrs. Lucus was born in 1903. She studied theatre at the Chicago Conservatory from where she earned a diploma in 1935 and a Bachelor of Dramatic Art in 1940. Thereafter, she acted, danced, and sang her way through the Chicago arts scene. Later Mrs. Lucus established the E. M. L. Creative Theatre which presented performances in the Chicago area. The performances ranged from dramas to large scale musicals. The Theatre also offered a variety of classes for actors of all ages. Given her extensive involvement in Chicago's cultural life, she received awards and other recognition for her contributions.
James and Ethel Lucus remained married for sixty years. They had one child, Hildred, who followed in her father's footsteps, becoming a teacher with the Chicago Public Schools. Mr. Lucus died on 5 September 1986 as a result of injuries he sustained in two separated muggings. Mrs. Lucus died three years later in the early spring of 1990.
Rights:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
