Federal Writers' Project Papers

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CONTENT WARNING: Some of these texts contain offensive and racist language used by the creators of these documents.

W. T. Couch (1901), a white publisher and editor, was also a part-time official of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, as assistant and associate director for North Carolina, 1936-1937, and as director for the southern region, 1938-1939. These papers include his correspondence relating to the project and narratives (called "life histories") of about 1,200 individuals, written by about 60 members of the project after one or more oral history interviews with the subjects. Persons interviewed, many of them African Americans, described life in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

03709_0148: Turnips Today, Turnips Tomorrow

03709_0148: Turnips Today, Turnips Tomorrow

George Carter, 1842, Virginia, Black, formerly enslaved, Savannah, 17 January 1939

Collaboration is restricted.

15 pages: 13% complete (33% corrected, 20% needs review)
03709_0151: From around the World to a Georgia Farm

03709_0151: From around the World to a Georgia Farm

Ernest Gerber, circa 1883, Langnou, Switzerland, white farmer, Marietta, 25 February and 25 May 1939

34 pages: 5% complete (100% corrected, 94% needs review)
03709_0152: From around the World to a Georgia Farm (another version)

03709_0152: From around the World to a Georgia Farm (another version)

Ernest Gerber, circa 1883, Langnou, Switzerland, white farmer, Marietta, 25 February and 25 May 1939

41 pages: 0% complete (98% corrected, 98% needs review)
03709_0153: The Relief Lady

03709_0153: The Relief Lady

Nell Pentecost, no date given, no place given, white, county relief director, Carrolton, 1 July 1939

23 pages: 0% complete (100% corrected, 100% needs review)
03709_0154: Right Livin'

03709_0154: Right Livin'

Evie Louvenia Robinson, circa 1881, Oglethorpe County, white, practical nurse WPA Housekeepers Project, Athens, 1 November and 22 November 1939

8 pages: 0% complete (100% corrected, 100% needs review)
03709_0157: A Self Made Man

03709_0157: A Self Made Man

L. L. Jordan, no date given, Mecklenburg County, N.C., white, painter, Athens, 13 and 29 September 1939

12 pages: 16% complete (100% corrected, 83% needs review)
03709_0161: Papa

03709_0161: Papa

Nathan Wild, [1897?], Yvey, Poland, Jewish, grocer, Savannah, 16 January 1939

13 pages: 7% complete (100% corrected, 92% needs review)
03709_0163: A Visit to the Country

03709_0163: A Visit to the Country

Fannie Busbin, circa 1849, no place given, white, farmer, Winterville, 9, 14 September 1939

13 pages: 0% complete (100% corrected, 100% needs review)
03709_0164: "I've Took in Sewing Fifty Years"

03709_0164: "I've Took in Sewing Fifty Years"

Sarah Frances Fellows, [1863?], no place given, white, seamstress, Athens, 7, 11, and 26 July 1939

22 pages: 86% complete (100% corrected, 14% needs review)
03709_0165: Life of a Retired Mill Worker

03709_0165: Life of a Retired Mill Worker

James Herring, 1871, no place given, white, retired mill operator, Athens, 10 January 1939

19 pages: 15% complete (95% corrected, 79% needs review)
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