The collection, which dates from 1895 to 1972 and measures 23.97 linear feet, documents the career and travels of Professor Lorenzo Dow Turner. The collection is comprised of correspondence, academic papers, research materials, books, newspaper and journal articles, sound recordings, and photographs.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Biographical
Series 2: Academic Career
Series 3: Writings
Series 4: Research
Series 5: Photographs
Series 6: Sound Recordings
Series 7: Printed Materials
Biographical/Historical note:
Lorenzo Dow Turner was born in Elizabeth City, N.C. in 1895. He earned his B.A. in 1914 from Howard University; in 1917, he received an M.A. in English from Harvard University. He received his doctorate in English from the University of Chicago in 1926 while simultaneously serving as chairman and professor of the Department of English at Howard from 1917 to 1928. He held the same positions at Fisk University in Nashville from 1929 to 1946. In 1946 he accepted a professorship in the English department at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he remained as professor of English and lecturer in African Cultures until his retirement in 1970. Turner was professor emeritus at Roosevelt until his death at age 77 in 1972. Turner's professional and academic interests encompassed both English and linguistics. A noted scholar of African languages and linguistics, he learned numerous West African languages, mastering five of them. He was a noted authority on Gullah, a Creole language spoken in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia.
Related Archival Materials note:
Lorenzo Dow Turner Papers at Northwestern University Library
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
1.8 Cubic feet (consisting of 1 box and 3 oversized flat boxes.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Clippings
Programs
Portraits
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Correspondence
Marriage certificates
Date:
1895-1999
bulk 1930-1970
Summary:
This collection, which dates from circa 1895-1999, contains the personal papers of Geneva Townes Turner and documents her family and her life with Dr. Lorenzo Dow Turner. Materials include clippings, correspondence, marriage certificates, photographs, portraits, programs and scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Geneva Townes Turner measure 1.8 cubic feet and date from 1895 to 1999 with the bulk of material dating from 1930 to 1970. Included are biographical files, writings, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, and monographs and booklets.
Biographical files include records from Townes Turner's life and records of her family members. These include vital documents and related correspondence, scrapbooks, family member lists, and awards. Scrapbooks feature photographs and texts that are related to Townes Turner's relatives and herself.
Writings include miscellaneous handwritten material in a journal that includes allegories and myths. The original journal is in fragile condition. Use photocopies of some pages are present.
Correspondence includes personal and professional cards and letters. Correspondents include Townes Turner's father Edlow Townes, and letters to Townes Turner's nephew Eugene, and unspecified correspondence from Lyon, Roache and Horan Title Settlements Incorporated.
Photographs feature personal snapshots of individuals and groups, plus one image of a wedding. Individuals in the photographs are not identified.
Monographs and booklets consist of the publication Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect by Lorenzo Dow Turner that Geneva Townes Turner assisted in researching, and small booklets of writings by Silas N. Berry.
Arrangement note:
The Geneva Townes Turner Papers are arranged in 5 series.
Series 1: Biographical Files
Series 2: Writings
Series 3: Correspondence
Series 4: Photographs
Series 5: Monographs and Booklets
Biographical/Historical note:
Geneva Calcier Townes Turner was born August 13, 1893 in Warren, Virginia to Edlow Anderson Townes and Letitia Polina Coleman Townes.
She moved to Washington D.C. in 1902. She graduated from Myrtilla Miner Normal School in 1916 after receiving training to teach and later took additional graduate courses in teaching methodology at Howard University. She was appointed to the Washington D.C. Public School System in September 1916 at the Garfield School and taught elementary school students.
In 1919, she married former Howard University classmate Lorenzo Dow Turner, who was an academic and linguist. Lorenzo Turner's work included groundbreaking research on the Gullah language of coastal South Carolina, Georgia, and the Sea Islands. Geneva Townes Turner assisted in making recordings of the Gullah dialect, and served as her husband's associate and scribe during this time. She took phonetics courses to prepare for the research. The pair separated with the intention of divorcing in 1938. Townes Turner returned to Washington D.C.
In 1941, Townes Turner collaborated with Elise P. Derricotte and Jessie H. Roy in writing a book titled Word Pictures of the Great and was later revised in 1961 to Word Pictures of Great Negroes. She also co-authored a book titled Pioneers of Long Ago in 1953. Additionally, Townes Turner was instrumental in establishing the Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression.
Geneva Townes Turner died in 1983 at the age of 89.
Related Archival Materials note:
Lorenzo Dow Turner papers in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Provenance:
Donated by Eugene Townes in 2010.
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.
Genre/Form:
Clippings
Programs
Portraits
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Correspondence
Marriage certificates
Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Includes copies of vital documents and correspondence related to birth, employment, marriage, and divorce as well as a copy of Townes Turner's passport. Vital documents related to the marriage and divorce of her sister Justine Townes Maloney have been filed separately.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Autobiographical narrative about Geneva Townes Turner's life including information about her early life, education, and marriage. Includes Townes Turner's list of relatives and a drawing of her family tree. Material also includes transcribed and printed recreations of the family tree and photocopies of original documents.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Award certificates from the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated for outstanding service to Zeta and to the Washington D.C. community.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Contains handwritten material written by Geneva Townes Turner. Includes an original journal labeled "Essays" and photocopies. Writings include allegories and myths.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Includes Christmas card, unspecified correspondence from Lyon, Roache and Horan Title Settlements Incorporated related to a claim statement, correspondence to Geneva Townes Turner's nephew Eugene, and correspondence from Townes Turner to her father.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Includes images of individuals or groups outside of houses, standing on lawns, standing beside landmarks, and one image of a wedding. Individuals are not identified.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Collected books and small independent publications. Includes writings of Silas N. Berry, and the publication Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect by Lorenzo Dow Turner that Geneva Townes Turner assisted in researching.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Two birth record affadavits issued by the Notary Public for the District of Columbia attesting that Letitia P. Townes is the mother of Geneva Townes Turner and Justine Townes Maloney.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Correspondence and document copies related to Geneva Townes Turner's divorce from Lorenzo Dow Turner. Includes Appearance on Proof of Will and Waiver of Interest in Estate related to the estate of Lorenzo Dow Turner following his death, and Release of Dower related to subdivision lots. Correspondence between the attorney Julian B. Wilkins and Geneva Townes Turner address a missing divorce decree. Townes Turner describes how Lorenzo Down Turner filed for divorce in Nashville, Tennessee in 1937 however in 1967 she discovered that the decree had not been completed. In lieu of a divorce decree copy, Townes Turner provided the Proof of Will and Waiver of Interest in Estate.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Includes correspondence related to Justine Townes Maloney's divorce from Charles Franklin Maloney and changing her last name back to her maiden name, and a copy of the divorce decree.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Certificate of Marriage issued to Geneva Townes Turner and Lorenzo Dow Turner.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Marriage certificate of Justine Townes' marriage to James H. Fletcher issued in Stafford, Virginia.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Passport of Geneva Townes Turner, issued in 1937. Note accompanying passport informs that the passport is not valid for travel in Spain.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Contains application and approval for retirement from the Board of Education of the District of Columbia as well as listed beneficiaries provided to the Public Schools of the District of Columbia.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Written accounts of the life of Geneva Townes Turner. Most accounts are autobiographical. One item features a sketch portrait and short biographical note about Townes Turner published by the Associated Publishers for an unknown project.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Lists of family members, sketches of family trees, and a typed transcription of a family tree.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Use photocopies of select pages from Townes Turner's journal labeled "Essays."
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Townes Turner's original journal labeled "Essays." Journal is in fragile condition.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Geneva Townes Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Eugene Townes.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
