Middleton "Spike" Harris papers, 1929-1977.

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Middleton "Spike" Harris papers, 1929-1977.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122455464

Papers primarily consist of research files created by Harris and the Negro History Associates (NHA) document the contributions of blacks in the U.S., and business and organizational records of NHA. Harris family papers pertain to family history and contain copies of manumission papers, financial and legal documents. Personal papers of Harris consist of correspondence, financial records, and certificates documenting his career as a parole officer and his personal affairs. Research correspondence demonstrates the effects of the Civil Rights era on the publication of information regarding African Americana. Correspondence with Random House related to the publication of "The Black Book," 1974, which Harris was primarily responsible for compiling. Included are correspondence files of the NHA, 1963-1975, and extensive subject files comprised of research notes, clippings, and photocopies of original documents. Among topics covered are soldiers from the Revolutionary War era through the Vietnam Conflict; black seamen; scientists and inventors; states; and individuals including Matthew Henson, Pierre Toussaint, Granville T. Woods, and George T. Downing; slavery; and benevolent societies. Material pertaining to Lewis H. Latimer consists of correspondence, military papers, patents, poems, and autobiographical notes, as well as minutes and correspondence of the Edison Pioneers. Also includes newspapers associated with the collection.

18.2 lin. ft.

New York State Historical Documents Inventory

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6719001

New York State Historical Documents Inventory

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Random House (Firm)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69d0td2 (corporateBody)

Negro History Associates

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hx6dm3 (corporateBody)

Latimer, Lewis Howard, 1848-1928

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j96dzp (person)

Lewis Howard Latimer (b. Sept. 4, 1848, Chelsea, MA-d. Dec. 11, 1928, Queens, NY) was the the youngest child of Rebecca and George Latimer. Lewis joined the U.S. Navy in 1863. He married Mary Wilson Lewis in 1873 and had two daughters, Emma Jeanette and Louise Rebecca. He began working as an office boy at a patent law firm in 1865 and soon began sketching patent drawings. In 1874, he co-patented (with Charles W. Brown) an improved toilet system for railroad cars called the Water Closet for Rail...

Woods, Granville, 1856-1910

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j20s91 (person)

Granville Woods (b. April 23, 1856, Columbus, OH–d. Jan. 30, 1910, New York City, NY) was an African American inventor known for his over 50 patents, mostly related to trains and streetcars. He attended school through age 10 and then apprenticed in a machine shop. In 1872, Woods began working for railroads and on a steam ship. In 1880, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and established his business as an electrical engineer and an inventor and eventually moved his business, Woods Electric Co, to New Y...

Harris family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65z17c7 (family)

Edison Pioneers

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t777vf (corporateBody)

Harris, M. A., 1908-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6931x40 (person)

Author, historian, collector and dealer of African Americana. Middleton Alexander "Spike" Harris (1908-1977) was founder of the Negro History Associates in 1964, an organization which collected and disseminated information about African Americans. From the description of Middleton "Spike" Harris papers, 1929-1977. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122455464 From the description of Middleton "Spike" Harris slavery and abolition collection, 1718-1876. (New York Public Library). W...

Henson, Matthew Alexander, 1866-1955

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q52xs9 (person)

Matthew Alexander Henson (b. August 8, 1866, Nanjemoy, MD, – d. March 9, 1955, The Bronx, New York) was the first African-American Arctic explorer and an associate of Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years. Henson served as a navigator and craftsman, traded with Inuit and learned their language, and was known as Peary's "first man" for these arduous travels. During the 1909 expedition to Greenland, Henson accompanied Peary in the small party, including four Inuit men, ...

Toussaint, Pierre, 1766-1853

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n59qqz (person)

Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853?) was born a slave in Haiti (then Saint Domingue) and came to New York City in 1787 with the family of Pierre Berard. After becoming a successful hairdresser, Toussaint supported the Berard family and bought the freedom of many slaves. A devout Roman Catholic, Toussaint contributed to Catholic schools and orphanages, was a founding member of the first French Catholic Church in New York City, and helped poor black youths and the victims of yellow fever. In 1951 a petit...