Collections in Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Moorish Science Temple of America, is an U.S. religious movement founded in Newark, N.J., in 1913 by Timothy Drew (1886–1929), known to followers as Noble Drew Ali and also as the Prophet. Drew Ali taught that all Blacks were of Moorish origins but had their Muslim identity taken away from them through slavery and racial segregation. He advocated that they should "return" to the Islam of their Moorish forefathers, redeeming themselves from racial oppression by reclaiming their historical spiritual heritage. He also encouraged use of the term "Moor" rather than "Black" in self-identification. Many of the group's formal practices were derived from Muslim observances. This collection consists of materials collected by Allen Ahmed Bey for his research on the Moorish Science Temple in the United States. Included in the collection are legal briefs on the status of Moorish Nation Nationals (citizens) which contain a public declaration of national constitutional immunity. Also included are a number of documents on the history of the Moorish Nation and instructional manuals (lessons) for members. less

Max Bissainthe, born December 11, 1911, was an historian and archivist of Haitian literature. Bissainthe served as Haiti's Director of Libraries during the 1940s and early 1950s. In 1951, he published the Dictionnaire de bibliographie Haitienne, the first bibliography of Haitian literature. Four years later, Bissainthe was forced out of his position, and subsequently out of Haiti, by Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He immigrated to the United States in 1955. He died in Jamaica, Queens, New York, in April 1978. The Max Bissainthe research collection consists of indices of the names of Haitian and Dominican Republic journalists and authors, articles, and book titles used to create the Dictionnaire de bibliographie Haitienne. The collection also includes an alphabetical index of titles, subjects, and materials, and a partial bibliographic subject list ranging from the 1800s to the 1950s. less

Collection of photographs, original documents and correspondence related to the Horne family, assembled by Gail Lumet Buckley during the research and writing of her book "The Hornes: An American Family" (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.) Included are articles, programs, awards, memorabilia, business correspondence and papers, financial data, and other printed material dealing with the careers of singer Lena Horne, her uncle, Frank S. Horne, a member of the Roosevelt "black cabinet" and poet, and other members of the Hornes and their extended family. less

The Butler family papers relate to two Pennsylvania families: the Butlers of Washington County, specifically, William N. Butler, a graduate of Geneva College and a practicing lawyer, and his son William F. Butler, a graduate of Geneva College and Howard University Law School; and the Carters of Beaver County. The elder Butler worked as recording secretary of the Civilian Defense Department, and he was a probation officer for the Beaver County courts. In 1964 and 1969, he was appointed to the Probation and Parole Board and was designated its acting chairman in 1974. Butler died in 1977. The Butler family papers include letters written by William N. Butler to his son, William F., while the latter was a student at Howard Law School, 1930-1931. Many of these Depression-era letters discuss the loss of jobs and bank closures in the family's hometown of Washington, Pennsylvania, as well as his own financial difficulties; Butler, Sr., gives advice to his son as well as relates family news. A file containing letters to William F. Butler signed "Aunty" speak of family matters. Additionally, the collection contains a notebook of a clergyman named Peters from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, with notes taken from the Bible, 1847. Printed material includes ephemera (1917-1920) and news clippings (1954-1996) related to the Butler and Carter families. less

Clergyman, teacher, missionary. Letters addressesd to Crummell discussing personal and religious interests and Crummell's missionary work as an Episcopalian in Liberia in the 1850s through 1860s. Bulk of the collection consists of numerous sermons preached in Washington, D.C. and other American cities, England, and Liberia. Sermons, in addition to discussing religious matters, concern his work in Liberia, the role of the family, and other subjects. less

Writings and research files, along with personal papers, and corrrespondence documenting Davis' multifaceted career, 1923-1972. Includes material on the AMERICAN NEGRO REFERENCE BOOK, 1966, edited by Davis; papers relating to Frederick Douglass, including letters to Douglass from his sons, Lewis and Frederick; historical novel about a frontier family in Louisville, Kentucky; compilation of biographies of black athletes called "Jump High;" short stories and poetry; and manuscript about Liberia entitled "Bitter Canaan," by Charles S. Johnson. Correspondents include Mary M. Bethune, Ralph J. Bunche, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. less

James Reese Europe was an accomplished musician, composer, conductor, organizer, and recording artist. The collection primarily consists of photocopied secondary sources, newspaper clippings, and programs collected by James R. Europe, Jr. to document his father's accomplishments. less

Kurt Fisher was an archaeologist and authority on Haitian history and culture whose life-long interest in collecting included these source materials relating to Haiti. The bulk of this collection consists of the archives of the General Prosecutor's office for the city of Jérémie. less

The Green family letters comprise correspondence of the Green family, namely between Charlotte Green and her husband Frisby Green, who worked as a waiter, coachman and valet and moved around either with his employer or on his own while Charlotte remained behind. Included are letters to and from their daughter Drusilla, who also corresponded with an aunt in New Haven, Connecticut, and cousins in New York City and New Haven. less

A catholic clergyman, abolitionist, and statesman, Henri Grégoire was a founding member of the anti-slavery Société des Amis des Noirs, and played an active role in the politics of France from the opening of the General Estates in 1789 to the restoration of the monarchy. Grégoire went to the National Assembly as a representative of the clergy, but soon sided with the Third Estate and became one of its more radical and outspoken leaders. He fought for universal suffrage and the abolition of all privileges, and was one of the first priests to take the oath of loyalty to the new Constitution. He became both president of the Assembly and Constitutional Bishop of Blois in 1791. Elected to the National Convention in 1792, he played a major role in the abolition of slavery in France's colonies and in the granting of civil and political rights to French Jews. Grégoire was also a member of the Conseil des Cinq-Cents. Elected senator under Napoléon and to the Chamber of Deputies under Louis XVIII, he led the opposition in parliament for the return to democracy and the republican constitution. He was the author of "An Inquiry Concerning the Intellectual and Moral Faculties and Literature of Negroes," "An Essay on the Physical, Moral and Political Reformation of the Jews," and "A History of Religious Cults." The Henri Grégoire Papers consist of miscellaneous religious writings and annotations, and draft letters and notes sent by Grégoire to his editor and colleagues, many of them recorded on the back of incoming letters. Included are several handwritten quotations from the religious writings of the French philosopher and economist Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and an excerpt from a Declaration by Toussaint-Louverture on the religion of the blacks in Saint-Domingue. The writings deal predominantly with issues of Catholic dogma, the infallibility of the Pope, problems of jurisdiction between the Vatican and Catholic bishops, comparative religion, and the exegesis of various biblical texts. less

The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections (HAJMTC) were formed by over two hundred file-folder level collections (one-three file folders per personality or event). The collections contain information dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, and they document early dramatic actors, minstrel shows, vaudeville, musical revues, Broadway productions, and protest dramas, among others. In addition to actors, playwrights, singers, musicians, and dancers and the productions in which they appeared, there are collections for poets and visual artists. less

Maternal family of Arthuro Alfonso Schomburg, a renown bibliophile and collector of books on the black experience worldwide. Schomburg's mother, Mary Joseph, was born in St. Croix (V.I.) in 1837. She migrated to Puerto Rico before his birth and worked as a midwife or laundress. Schomburg and his sister Dolores Diaz spent most of their childhood in St. Croix. Their maternal grandfather and great-grandfather, Nicholas and Nathaniel Joseph, lived in St. Croix in the town of Christianted where they owned a house and lot. Certificate of baptism for Mary Joseph, Arthuro Alfonso Schomburg's mother; deeds of a house and lot purchased by Nicholas Joseph in 1835 and bequeathed to his son Nathaniel in 1860; and a contract for repairs to be performed to the family home. less

Photocopies of material collected by Kobler in the early 1960s for an unfinished biography of Toussaint Louverture. Documents focus on the socio-economic conditions of the French colony of Saint Domingue and the political activities of Touissaint as Governor of the colony between 1791 and 1802. Photocopies in the collection as well as a few postcards and illustration show various historic sites and clothing of late 18th century France and Saint Domingue. Collection provides general background information on the lives of blacks in Saint Domingue, and material on the history and diplomatic relations between Haiti and the United States, including papers referring to Touissaint, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Charles Leclerc, Pauline Leclerc, and Donatien Rochambeau. Material includes information about the history of Saint Domingue from 1791 to 1804, descriptions of the Haitian war of independence, narrative describing the captivity and death of Touissaint in France, correspondence between Touissaint and the French agent Philippe Roume, and correspondence between Charles Leclerc and Rochambeau. less

Collection consists of 240 volumes of diplomatic correspondence between Haiti and various countries, especially France, Great Britain, the United States, Spain, Germany, and the Dominican Republic. Correspondence and documents between various foreign affairs officials, resident ministers, charge dáffaires, and presidents of Haiti and equivalent officials in other nations regarding trade, foreign relations, debt payments, lost families, public opinion, and other matters. Individuals represented are Ernest Roumain, Etienne L. Salomon, Stephen Preston, Tertulien Guilbeaux, John Mercer Langston, Demesvar Delorme, Frederick Douglass, Henry Smythe, Charles Haentjens, Anteńor Firmin, Jacques Nicholas Léger, Louis Price-Mars, Louis Joseph Janvier, Thomas Madiou, Solon Ménos, Dantès Bellegarde, Hannibal Price, Massillon Coicou, Elie DuBois, and Louis Etienne Félicité Lysius Salomon. less

The Nautilus Insurance Company (predecessor of the New York Life Insurance Company) was one of several insurance companies that sold policies to slaveholders to insure their slaves against damages or death. The company sold these policies for approximately two and a half years from 1845 until 1848, at which time the board of trustees voted to end the sale of such policies. The Nautilus Insurance Company slavery era ledgers consist of a total of eight volumes: four policy registers; a death claim book; a volume listing losses for death benefits paid; as well as two indices containing names of all insurance applicants. The policy registers contain names of persons, including slaves, who were insured between 1845 and 1848. There are also lists prepared in 2001 and 2002, one of which is a printout from a database developed by the California Department of Insurance entitled "Slavery Era Insurance Policies Registry," that contains information from documents submitted by the New York Life Insurance company as well as other insurance companies that had insured slaves. less

The New-York State Colonization Society was organized in 1829 to aid the American Colonization Society to colonize free blacks in Africa; subsequently the New-York State Colonization Society was reorganized and assisted those who offered to emigrate to Liberia. The records of the New-York Colonization Society reflect the goals and projects funded by the society as well as its daily operations. less

The ancestors of the Polk Family, Jim and Amey, their daughter, Judah, and her husband, Kit, along with their children, upon reaching the age of twenty-one), were emancipated in 1840. This occurred one and one-half years after the death of their master, plantation owner Thomas Smelly, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The newly-freed Smelly family left Virginia that same year, according to the law prohibiting freed slaves to remain in the state more than one year, and migrated to New Jersey. At some point the family changed their name from Smelly to Smiley. In New Jersey, the Smiley family met another freed family from Maryland, the Polks, and the two families intermarried. By 1993, Amey and Jim Smiley had over one hundred descendants. The Smiley-Polk family documents consist of nine holograph 19th-century documents relating to the emancipation of the ancestors of the Smiley-Polk family of New Jersey, and other items concerning the genealogy of this family. less

Théodore Étienne de Saint-Léger was provost of the Special Court Provostale investigating the slave uprising in Martinique in February of 1831. This collection consists of sixty-five manuscripts relating to the 1831 slave rebellion including correspondence from the Governor of Martinique, French settlers, and police precincts on the island; register of official correspondence of Saint-Léger, the "Prévôt" (Magistrate), 1831; police reports; warrants issued by Saint-Léger for fugitive slaves suspected of arson and poisoning; court records related to the burning of the Ducasse, Lamentin, and Grande Case plantations; and biographical notes of Saint-Léger dated 1913. less

The Miscellaneous Afro-Latin American collection consists of a mix of official, private, and family papers from colonial Spanish American territories: Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The documents are all from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, except for a chronology of the history of blacks in Uruguay from 1680-1990. less

Papers reflecting Schomburg's endeavors as a writer and researcher, and collector and curator of books and manuscripts documenting black history and culture. Personal and professional papers, including correspondence and writings, and writings of others. Includes material relating to Schomburg's position as curator of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th St. branch of the New York Public Library, and to black literature, art, and history. Correspondents include John E. Bruce, Henrietta Buckmaster, W.E.B. Du Bois, Nicolás Guillén, W.C. Handy, Langston Hughes, Charles S. Johnson, James W. Johnson, Claude McKay, J.A. Rogers, Albert A. Smith, Sténio Vincent (President of Haiti), Walter White, and Carter G. Woodson. Other papers include programs, news clippings, invitations, announcements, and minutes of a variety of organizations, such as the New York Urban League, New York Public Library, Young Men's Christian Association, and several black cultural and educational groups. Also, transcriptions of eighteenth and nineteenth century historical documents pertaining to black history and culture. less

A collection of bills of sale, deeds, passes, certificates of registry, manumission papers, wills, and speeches. Also, letters relating to slavery-related court cases, including the Amistad slave ship revolt. Also includes letters by prominent abolitionists William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, and William Lloyd Garrison with their views and comments on the abolition movement. less

The records of the Second African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia are divided into seven series: Church Minutes; Legal Documents; Church Rolls, Minute Books and Annual Reports; Financial Records; Sunday School Records, Church Organizations' Minutes; and Church History, Printed Matter, Miscellaneous. less

This talisman was prepared as a healing prayer for a man called Wolde Selassie against demons and the evil eye that cause disease. Prayers are made to St. Mary, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the apostles. The name of an Ethiopian saint Bishop Petros is also invoked. The prayer begins "In the name of the Father, the Son, Holy Spirit, One God." It ends with a prayer "In the name of Jesus Christ to protect and heal your servant Wolde Selassi...". less

This collection consists of personal and professional material related to both William Henry and Sadie Winslow. The material contains biograpical papers, such as resumes, personal correspondence, and obituaries; professional correspondence; documents, including printed matter and research material, related to the couple's involvement in various community and political affiliations; and in the case of Henry Winslow, some writing. The bulk of the collection relates to the couple's community affiliations. less