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William Blanks Diaries

 Collection
Identifier: MC 317

Scope and Content Note

Diaries (positive photocopies) of William Blanks, December 1917 - April 1919 and April 1919 - January 1920. Topics include weather, work (at a store, an undertaker or funeral home, and at Hamburg Bank), and day-to-day life in Hamburg, Ashley County, Arkansas; agriculture, particularly cotton crops and livestock; the 1919 influenza epidemic; and President Woodrow Wilson's cancelled Little Rock speech. Persons mentioned include J.B. Callaway, Leroy Lane, Murphy Jones, Walter Johnner, Gaster Walch, Howard Blanks, H.L. Sanderlin, and Wheelis Cook.

Also included is a document created by Blanks' great-granddaughter, Susan Park Esche, that includes photographs, transcriptions, and a date index of the notebooks.

Dates

  • 1917-1920

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

William Lane Blanks (1864-1925) was a storekeeper, automobile dealer, and bank president (of Hamburg Bank) in Ashley County, Arkansas.

Extent

0.26 Linear Feet (1 box and 2 folders)

266 Megabytes (1 file)

Arrangement of the Papers

Collection is arranged chronologically.

Acquisition Information

The William Blanks Diaries were lent to Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries for photocopying in 1978 by Blanks' granddaughter, Caroline Blanks Park of Cabot, Arkansas, through Margaret Bolsterli.

In 2022, Blanks’ great-granddaughter, Susan Park Esche, created a document that included photographs, transcriptions, and a date index of the notebooks. She donated a digital file and a hard copy of her work to Special Collections in January 2023.

Processing Information

Nan Lawler; completed in March 1988. Updated by Katrina Windon in January 2023 to incorporate an additional donation of materials (Box 1).

Creator

Source

Title
William Blanks Diaries
Status
Completed
Author
Nan Lawler
Date
March 1988
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444