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Wuanda M. T. Walls family papers

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Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
3532
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
2.07 linear feet (4 boxes, 10 volumes, 3 flat file items)
Language:
English
Date:
c.1860-2007
Creator:
Walls, Wuanda M. T.
Abstract:
Wuanda M. T. Walls is a writer who was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, but raised in nearby Delaware County. She graduated from Chester High School in 1961 and Lincoln University in 1980. The Walls family was one of the core families of Hinsonville, Pennsylvania, a small African American community in Chester County that became the site of Lincoln University, the oldest black college in the United States. The collection documents the history of the Wallses and related families, Hinsonville, and Lincoln University Village. It includes family photos, correspondence, clippings, legal papers, diplomas and yearbooks, ephemera, an oral history audiocassette and transcript, a published essay (by Wuanda Walls) and two books on the history of Hinsonville, and other items. There is also some of Walls's own memorabilia, such as autographed photographs and programs, airplane tickets, and a program from the 1966 Newport Jazz festival.

Wuanda M. T. Walls (1943- ) is a writer who was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, but raised in nearby Delaware County. She graduated from Chester High School in 1961 and Lincoln University in 1980. As an adult, she moved to Colorado, but traveled frequently to Europe, Africa, Central and South America, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Her writing frequently deals with travel, but she also writes about art, food and cooking, aging, and family history.

The Walls family was one of the core families of Hinsonville, Pennsylvania, a small African American community in Chester County that became the site of Lincoln University, the oldest black college in the United States. The development of Hinsonville began when Edward Wall (1793-1880) sold land to many of his African American relatives, encouraging them to settle in the same area in Chester County. The town was named for Emory Hinson (1792-1852), possibly because he bought a great quantity of land in the area. In 1843, Hinsonville established its first church, the Hossana Meeting House, on land deeded for this purpose by Edward Wall. During the Civil War, the Hosanna Meeting House was a refuge for fugitive slaves and a stop on the Underground Railroad. Sometime after the Civil War, the church was given its current name: the Hosanna African Union Methodist Protestant (AUMP) Church.

Lincoln University's history begins in 1854, when Reverend John Miller Dickey built a seminar school to train black men as preachers and missionaries for the Presbyterian Colonization Society in Liberia, Africa. He purchased land in Hinsonville and established the Ashman Institute, which was renamed to Lincoln University in 1866.

Russo, Mariane H. and Paul A. Russo. Hinsonville, a Community at the Crossroads: The Story of a Nineteenth-Century African-American Village. Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 2005. Walls, Wuanda. "Grandfather's Stories, Freedom and Hosanna Church." Chester County Town and Country Living, Spring 2001.

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Albert M. Greenfield papers, 1921-1967 (1959)

Leon Gardiner Collection, 1822-1979 (0008B)

Samuel D. Holmes papers, 1932-1976 (D0141)

William J. Moore papers, 1871-1952 (MSS121)

Henry C. Patterson papers, 1929-1972 (MSS004)

Henry C. Patterson photographs, ca. 1940-1968 (PG054)

Also see the subject guide for African American collections: http://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/african-american-collections

At other institutions:

Lincoln University's Digital Collections (available online) http://www.lincoln.edu/library/specialcollections/digitalcollections.html

Lincoln University Collection at the Lincoln University Library's Special Collections https://bluetigerportal.lincolnu.edu/web/browse-our-collections/collection

Subject
Place

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Sarah Newhouse
Finding Aid Date
March 12, 2012
Sponsor
This collection was processed during the Digital Center for Americana Project Phase II, which was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Collection Inventory

World War II ration stamp book, July 1944.
Box 1 Folder 1
Correspondence, 1959, 1991, 1993, 2002.
Box 1 Folder 2
Chester High School diploma, 1961 June 6.
Box 3
Chester High School yearbook, 1961.
Volume 1
Commencement memorabilia from Chester High School and Lincoln University, 1961, 1980.
Box 1 Folder 3
Newport Jazz Festival program, 1966.
Box 1 Folder 4
Travel, 1968, 1975-1975, undated.
Box 1 Folder 5
Rosalind Cash memorabilia and press clippings, 1973-1995.
Box 1 Folder 6
Autographs, 1977, 1978, 1991, 1996, undated.
Box 1 Folder 7
Lincoln University diploma, 1980 May 4.
Box 4
Cards received upon graduating from Lincoln University, 1980.
Box 1 Folder 8
Lincoln University yearbook, 1980.
Volume 2
Rosalind Cash letters written to Wuanda Walls, 1986-1989.
Box 1 Folder 9
Season of Adventure: Traveling Tales and Outdoor Journeys of Women Over 50: Contains "Doves," an essay by Wuanda Walls, 1996.
Volume 3
Age Ain't Nothing But a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife: Contains "The Dance of Life," an essay by Wuanda Walls, 2005.
Volume 4

Edward Walls: Mortgage and other documents relating to the "First Colored Methodist Protestant Church" (photocopies), 1835, 1887.
Box 1 Folder 10
Hosanna Church members photograph (photocopy), c. 1850s.
Box 1 Folder 11
Albert Walls: Military records (photocopies), 1863.
Oversize 1
Isaac Fields: Military records (photocopies), 1864.
Box 1 Folder 12
George Walls: Newspaper clippings (photocopies), 1886-1966.
Box 1 Folder 13
Obituaries, 1895, 1927, 1941-2007.
Box 1 Folder 14
George Steele: West Grove Building and Loan dispute, 1911 August-1912 November.
Box 1 Folder 15
George Steele: Will and estate, 1921 June.
Box 1 Folder 16
Harold Walls: Knights of Pythias membership certificate, 1924.
Oversize 2
"My Calendar of Memory," unknown owner, 1935.
Box 1 Folder 17
Harold Walls Sr.: The Boy Scouts of America's Handbook for Boys, 1937.
Volume 5
Harold Walls Sr.: Oxford High School yearbook, 1941.
Volume 6
Newspaper clippings about Lincoln University residents, 1940s, 1963, undated.
Box 2 Folder 1
Reba R. Walls: Funeral guestbook, 1956 September 13.
Box 2 Folder 2
Reba R. Walls: Obituary, removed from funeral guestbook, 1956 September .
Box 2 Folder 3
Harold and Adelle Walls: Car ownership documents, 1963, 1981, 2000.
Box 2 Folder 4
Harold Walls Sr.: Funeral guestbook, 1965 February 15.
Volume 7
Harold and Adelle Walls: Letters from Muriel James, 1968-1983.
Box 2 Folder 5
Harold Walls Jr.: Funeral guestbook, 1977 March 29.
Volume 8
Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray: Correspondence with Wuanda Walls about Hinsonville and Hosanna Church, 1977-1981.
Box 2 Folder 6
Freeda Isabella Agatha Walls Ashton: Letters to Wuanda Walls, 1977-1996.
Box 2 Folder 7
Carrie Mabel Hardy: Audiocassette and transcript of oral history interview conducted by Wuanda Walls, 1978 June 14.
Box 2 Folder 8
Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family by Pauli Murray, 1978.
Volume 9
"Paul Russo Hinsonville typescript:" Includes notations by Wuanda Walls, 1981 February.
Box 2 Folder 9
Chester County Town and Country Living article about Hinsonville and Hosanna Church written by Wuanda Walls, 2001.
Box 2 Folder 10
Hinsonville, A Community at the Crossroads: The Story of a Nineteenth-Century African-American Village, by Paul and Marianne Russo, 2005.
Volume 10
Hosanna Church framed print, undated.
Box 2 Folder 11
Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 2 Folder 12
Sympathy cards from floral arrangements, undated.
Box 2 Folder 13
Wuanda M. T. Walls family tree, undated.
Oversize 3

"Members of Hosanna Meeting House", c. 1860.
Box 2 Folder 14
Walls family, 1890s-1940s.
Box 2 Folder 15
"Residents of Lincoln University, Pennslyvania", c. 1900.
Box 2 Folder 16
"Freeda Walls Ashton's photos", 1939, 1946, 1950, 1969, undated.
Box 2 Folder 17
Tittle family, 1930s, undated.
Box 2 Folder 18
Baltimore, Maryland: Includes photographs of family graves, 1977.
Box 2 Folder 19
Miscellaneous, c. 1977, undated.
Box 2 Folder 20
Rosalind Cash, 1987 April, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 21
Wuanda Walls with celebrities, 1988, 2005.
Box 2 Folder 22
Negatives: Rosalind Cash, 1987.
Box 2 Folder 23

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