LeEtta S. King papers, 1915-1919.

0.21 linear feet (1 box)

English

Purchased from William Reese Co. (Swann sale, 2019 March 9, lot 400 and 2019 March 28, lot 330) on the Frederick W. and Carrie S. Beinecke Fund for Western Americana, 2019.

Arranged chronologically.

This material is open for research.

LeEtta Sanders King (1893-1978) was an African-American woman who lived in Seattle, Washington, where she was a secretary for an African-American attorney, circa 1915, a nurse for the American Red Cross, circa 1917, and later a music teacher. She married George Winfield King in 1919.

Papers documenting the life of LeEtta Sanders King in Washington during and after World War I, 1915-1919. Includes her diary, 1915, describing her life in Seattle, work as a legal secretary, and social life. King describes her experiences with racism, including incidents at the YWCA and a movie theater, and a meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People she attended. Other papers include 2 letters to King from Merl A. McGee, an African-American soldier stationed in France, 1919, 4 photographs of King in a Red Cross nursing uniform, 1917, and a pamphlet about the United States civil service examination, 1918. Accompanied by photocopies of biographical and genealogical material relating to King, including census records, a copy of her wedding certificate, and excerpts from an oral history documented in Seven Stars and Orion: Reflections of the Past by Esther Hall Mumford (Seattle, Anase Press, 1986).

Archives or Manuscripts / Images

August 28, 2019

LeEtta S. King Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

LeEtta S. King Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Photographs.

Soldiers United States 20th century.