Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Tibbs Family Papers
Date(s)
- 1936 - 1962 (Creation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The bulk of the collection consists of letters to Mrs. Mamie Tibbs and four of her children from family and friends, the majority written from 1939-1945. Letters from one family member to another are filed in the folder of the recipient; letters in each folder are arranged chronologically. There are no letters to or from James or Shirley. There are a number of letters from Albert to various family members filed in the recipients’ folders. Other papers include a variety of personal and family cards, announcements, invitations, etc.
The papers were left in the family’s house at 712 Elm Street when they moved and were retrieved by Grinnell College students when some letters blew out of the abandoned house into the neighborhood. This is not a complete family record and does not give a complete accounting of the family history. The letters do give some insight into the everyday life and concerns of a black family living in a white community during the 1940s and 1950s and of blacks in the armed forces during and after World War II.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Donated to the Archives by Grinnell College students who collected them.
Immediate source of acquisition
Donation
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Grinnell College (Subject)
- Tibbs family (Subject)