Dorothy Howard collection – Special Collections

Overview

Title:	Dorothy Howard collection
Call Number:	Coll121
Creator:	Howard Dorothy 1902-1996
Dates:	circa 1890-1999
Size:	14 boxes (6 linear feet)
Abstract:	This collection includes fieldwork materials collected by folklorist Dorothy Howard and her students at Frostburg State University (circa 1940-1990), including personal correspondence; publications (drafts and final copies authored by Howard); Howard’s research at the Swan Meadow School in Garrett County, MD; materials on play-party songs, children’s folklore, herblore, and other folklife documented in Mountain Maryland; and quilting samples.
Language:	English
Citation:	Dorothy Howard collection, Maryland Traditions Archives, Collection 121, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)

Administrative/Biographical Note

Dorothy Howard (1902-1996) was a pioneering scholar of children’s folklore. She graduated from North Texas State Teachers College (1923) and utilized folklore in public schools as a teacher and principal. She received a PhD in Education in 1938 with a dissertation on children’s folklore that combined both Victorian collection methods with ethnographic fieldwork. As a professor in the English Department at Frostburg State University (1944-1967), she brought her students out to document regional folklife, focusing on occupational traditions of coal miners and canal workers, folk narrative, belief, and customs. She and her students at Frostburg amassed a considerable body of fieldwork, which Dr. Howard donated to the Maryland State Arts Council in the 1970s. She published extensively, including in the Journal of American Folklore, and authored two major works: Dorothy’s World: Childhood in Sabine Bottom, 1902-1910 (1977), and Pedro of Tonalá (1989). The American Folklore Society named an award in her honor, the Dorothy Howard Award for Excellence in Folklore.

Provenance Information

The collection was originally donated by Dr. Howard to the Maryland Folklife Program under George Carey. It was then donated to UMBC by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2014 as part of a larger accession, MSS 2014-02.

Upon arrival, materials had been partially arranged and described and came with an inventory. Maryland Traditions contract archivist Hannah Rogers arranged the collection in June 2014. Paper tabs acting as dividers for index cards were removed and replaced with archival board. Materials were separated by format into format-specific boxes, and housing was created for autograph books. Larger papers retain their original order in archival folders. Index cards also retain original order, and are divided into 7 boxes. The cards are separated into groups based on collector or theme. Additional processing was completed in Spring 2015 by Special Collections graduate assistant Jessica Pantazis and Maryland Traditions contract archivist Nichole Procopenko.

Access & Use

No restrictions.

Reproductions allowed for research purposes. Copyright maintained by the creator.

Subject Headings

Folklore Maryland
Maryland, Western Social life and customs
Children’s songs
Howard, Dorothy, 1902- Archives

Series Description & Container List

Expand all | Collapse all

Series I. Files

Title	Date	Box	Folder	Info
Correspondence, Cirriculum Vitae	1978-1986
Correspondence – 1 of 4	circa 1937-1945
Correspondence – 2 of 4	1945-1955
Correspondence – 3 of 4 Children’s Rhymes/ Letter to Dorothy Howard	circa 1945
Correspondence – 4 of 4	circa 1950
Hilleary Rockwell [?] – The Legend of Louise L-	circa 1945-1955
Miscellaneous – Periodicals, research – childern’s play and Swan Meadow	circa 1980-1985
[Notes – Author Unknown]	circa 1945-1955
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Last name, first name English IIA	circa 1949
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Barringer, Charlotte	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Articles	circa 1981
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Body lore	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Family Relationships	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Food Customs	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Forthcoming in…	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Hand lore	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Household vocabulary	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – House Lore	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Place Names and Histories	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Recipes	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Sayings and Tongue Twisters	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Stories + Tales	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Superstitions collected by William L. Fazenbaker	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Vocabulary	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Weather Lore	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Tombstone Epitaphs	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Schulte, Norma	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Hidden Treasure	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Soundings Exhibit	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Gilpin, Curtis	undated
Fieldwork – Maryland Children’s Playlore – Mount Savage, MD, Richard B. Arnold	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Worksheets (1 of 2)	circa 1983-1985
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Worksheets (2 of 2)	circa 1983-1985
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Compositions, typed (1 of 2)	circa 1983-1985
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Compositions, typed (2 of 2)	circa 1983-1985
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Correspondence	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – H. Swartzentruber	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Games, Compositions	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Autograph Albums	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Summer Vacation, Work and play	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Correspondence, Clara Mae Petersheim and Dr. Howard	circa 1985
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Holidays	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Games, Compositions	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Folk Tales	circa Fall 1967
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Hi Buried Alive	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Kroll, William, Tall Tales	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Duplicate Sheets, Eastern Shore	circa Fall 1967
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Local Eccentrics	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow School – Yoder, Swan Meadow	circa 1958
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow/Yoder 1 of 3	circa 1960
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow/Yoder 2 of 3	circa 1960
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow/Yoder 3 of 3	circa 1960
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, MD Folklore Archives, Garrett Co.	circa 1960s
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, SquaredanceNew Torker, Elisha Keeler	Feb. 1957
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Molly McGuires	Feb. 1957
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Animal and Plant Lore	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Autographs	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Folk Customs	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Folk Tales and Tall Tales	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Games Played	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Hand Lore	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Lamp Lore	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Maps and Publications	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Newspaper Clippings and Articles	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Personal Stories, Histories, and Dreams	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Place Names	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Recipes	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Sayings, Rhymes, and Proverbs	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Vocabulary	undated
Fieldwork – Swan Meadow, Handmade Bound Album	undated
Fieldwork – Misc. MD Folklore collected by Frostburg St. College students	circa 1950s-1960s
Fieldwork – Misc. MD Folklore collected by Frostburg St. College students	circa 1950s-1960s
Fieldwork – Misc., Tour of Fold Cultural Sites	undated
Cultural Artifacts – Cash Book	1953

Series II. Index Cards and smaller format records

Title	Date	Box	Folder	Info
Western MD Sayings	circa 1945-1955
Western MD Superstitions, Medicine	circa 1945-1955
Ed O’Rourke – Proverbs	circa 1945-1955
Pierce – May- June 1950	1950
Roberta Elias – Children/Babies	circa 1945-1955
Folk, (Elvie, Phyllis) – Children	circa 1945-1955
Anna Logsdon – Babies/Medicine	circa 1945-1955
A. Baker – Beliefs, Recipes – Cumberland, Laconing	circa 1945-1955
R. L. Holler – Proverbs, Allegany Co.	circa 1945-1955
Eugene M. Flinn – Cumberland	circa 1945-1955
R. Jane Geis – Proverbs – Allegany Co., Jokes, Superstitions	circa 1945-1955
Weather/Medicine – Cumberland	circa 1945-1955
Amy G. Meek – Frostburg – Sayings	circa 1945-1955
Jacqueline Browning – Customs, Beliefs – Cumberland 1951	1951
Charles Slick – Proverbs, Superstitions – Allegany Co., Washington Co.	circa 1945-1955
Charles Slick – Proverbs, Superstitions – Allegany Co., Washington Co.	circa 1945-1955
Proverbs, Beliefs – Death, Dreams, Food, Luck, Weather, Weddings	circa 1945-1955
Betty Miller – Proverbs, Beliefs – Westernport 1954	1954
Ann Shireman – Proverbs – Cumberland 1950	1950
Bonnie Blue Loughrie – Proverbs – Cumberland, 1950	1950
Amy G. Meek – Proverbs, 1950	1950
Christine Smith – Proverbs – Piney Plaine – 1950	1950
Jane Harrison – Proverbs – 1950	1950
Richard L. Holler – Proverbs – Allegany Co.	circa 1945-1955
Richard L. Holler – Proverbs – Allegany Co.	circa 1945-1955
Elaine Miller – Proverbs – Cumberland 1950	circa 1945-1955
Charlotte Barringer – Proverbs – Cumberland 1950	1950
Augustine Diaz – Proverbs – W. MD 1950	circa 1945-1955
James G. Nielson – Proverbs – 1950	1950
Mary Susan Passarelli – Proverbs – Frostburg 1950	1950
William Kildow – Proverb – Frostburg 1950	1950
Jim Steele – Proberbs 1950	1950
Wilma Robertson – Proverbs 1950	1950
Roy E. Pepper – Proverbs – WV, Allegany Co. 1950	1950
Charlotte Barringer – Proverbs – Cumberland 1950	1950
Jas. W. Spiznas – Proverbs – Frostburg 1950	1950
Lois Mackay – Proverbs – Frostburg 1953	1953
Rose Ann Willison – Proverbs – Twiggtown, MD 1950	1950
Billie S. Hounshell – Proverb 1950	1950
Bertha Creek – Proverbs – Hancock 1950	circa 1945-1955
Rosemary Weimer – Proverbs – Frostburg, Mt. Savage	circa 1945-1955
Patricia Warehime – Proverbs – Frostburg 1950	1950
Lois Mackay – Old Sayings – Lonaconing, Midland MD	1953
Price	circa 1945-1955
Unknown – Proverb – Lonaconing 1953	1953
Allen Williams – Proverb – Cumberland	circa 1945-1955
Miscellaneous Proverbs	circa 1945-1955
Charles McCormick – Proverbs – Frostburg, Cumberland 1950	1950
Billie S. Hounshell – Proverbs – Frostburg 1950	circa 1945-1955
Alice Baker – Proverbs 1950	1950
Price	circa 1945-1955
Josh Carter – Proverbs 1950	1950
G.A. Hanna – Proverbs – Martinsburg WV, Allegany Co., Franklin	circa 1945-1955
Unknown – Rhyme – Christiansburg, VA	circa 1945-1955
Josh Carter – Proverbs	circa 1945-1955
Mary Campbell – Proverbs	circa 1945-1955
Josh Carter – Weather	circa 1945-1955
Wilma Robertson – Proverbs – Grantsville 1950	1950
William L. Fazenbaker – Proverbs 1950	1950
Jordan Hovatter – Sayings, Omens – Frostburg, Cumberland 1952	1952
George A. Hanna – Proverbs – Allegany Co.	circa 1945-1955
Babara Flinn – Proverbs – Red House, MD 1950	1950
Jane Rickard – Proverbs – Oakland, MD 1950	1950
Peggy Carter – Proverbs – Brunswick, MD 1950	1950
Miscellaneous	1950
Jane Rickard – Proverbs – Oakland, MD 1950	1950
Martha Leese – Proverbs – Accident, MD	circa 1945-1955
Miscelleaneous	circa 1945-1955
Miscelleaneous	circa 1945-1955
Sarah Slick – Morbids of F.S.T.C.	circa 1945-1955
Autograph – Frostburg	circa 1945-1955
Riddles, Wisdom, Taunts, Counting Out – Frostburg	circa 1945-1955
Maryland Folklore Collected 1947-1967 Frostburg State College	circa 1947-1967
Folk Medicine	circa 1947-1967
Domestic Pursuits	circa 1947-1967
Plants & Flowers	circa 1947-1967
Visitors	circa 1947-1967
Miscellaneous	circa 1947-1967
Animals	circa 1947-1967
Games/Rhymes	circa 1947-1967
Good & Bad Luck	circa 1947-1967
Weather	circa 1947-1967
Plant Husbandry	circa 1947-1967
Miscellaneous	circa 1947-1967
Trades and Professions	circa 1947-1967
Human Body	circa 1947-1967
Animal Husbandry	circa 1947-1967
Deaths and Funerals	circa 1947-1967
Human behavior	circa 1947-1967
Social Relationships	circa 1947-1967
Holidays	circa 1947-1967
Definitions	circa 1947-1967
[Weather]	circa 1947-1967
Folk Advice	circa 1947-1967
Signs of Good and Bad Luck	circa 1947-1967
Dreams and Wishes	circa 1947-1967
Children’s Games and Rhymes	circa 1945-1955
Folklore: Maryland All Sections	circa 1945-1955
Children’s Rhymes	circa 1938-1955
Maryland Miscellaneous	circa 1937-1955
Autograph Verses	circa 1945-1955
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Norma Hicks	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John Lizer	1952
Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV – Tom Downs	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John Kesner, Jr.	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – William R. Williams	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – James Goldsworthy	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Allen Myers	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – George A. Hanna	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John C. Metzger	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John Bryan	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John C. Harvey	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John R. Snyder	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John Diggs	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – L. H. Chambers	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – R. Poffenberger	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – John Lynch	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – William Birmingham	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Raymond Chaney, Thomas Funlaw, Thomas Moran, John H. Biggs, Joseph McDaniel, Elaine Weimer, Jo Ann Fisher, Phyllis Folk	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Juanita Arburgast	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Glen Harvey Jones	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Betty Arbogast	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Dorothy Kuhn	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Nina Lohr	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Sam Lisanti	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Dorothy Brown	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Anna Nelson	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Roberta Elias	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Dolores Bean	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Tracy Riggins, Jr.	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Joe Spearman	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Francis Ruffo	1952
[Rhymes Collected in 1952, Recalled from Childhood in W. MD, WV] – Jim Hess	1952
Tricks	1950
Children’s Literature/Rhymes	circa 1952
Chidren’s Games	circa 1959
Chidhood Games – Ann Riggleman	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – R. Ruffo	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Barbara Henry	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Norma Nelson	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Jean Kreissing	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Phyllis Campbell	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Carol Conrad	circa 1945-1959
Chidhood Games – Thomas Faherty	circa 1945-1959
Childhood Games – Joanne Farrell	circa 1945-1959
Childhood Games – Eleanor L. Whetsell	circa 1945-1959
Childhood Games – Gladys Wensel	circa 1945-1959
Childhood Games – Wilda Winterberg	circa 1945-1959
Childhood Games – Eleanor Smith	circa 1945-1959
Sayings	circa 1945-1967
Autograph Rhymes Through the Ages – Beverly Reynolds	circa 1945-1959
American Folk Literature – June Busk	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Dolores Jean Ross	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Robert Gray	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Leatrice Schrock	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Benjamin Elkins	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Barbara Henry	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Mary Lee Pence	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Helen Borrer	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Carol Conrad	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Dolores Ross	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Jean Kreissing	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Gladys Wensel	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Thomas Faherty	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Phyllis Campbell	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Robert Ambrose	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Wilda Winterberg	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Robert Gray	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – M. Buskey	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Play/Games – Ann Shireman	1950
Proverbs, Jokes	circa 1945-1959
Autograph, Games/Rhymes	circa 1945-1959
Rhymes, Counting Out, Autograph	circa 1945-1959
Rhymes, Games – M. Buskey	circa 1945-1959
Games – Shirley Durst	circa 1945-1959
Children’s Literature – Mary Ann Spence	circa 1945-1959
19th Century Autograph Book	undated
19th Century Autograph Book	undated

Series III. Cultural artifacts

Title	Date	Box	Folder	Info
Quilting Squares, Allegany and Garrett County	circa 1950s
Quilting Squares, Allegany and Garrett County	circa 1950s
Round Quilting Sample	circa 1950s
Patchwork Quilt	circa 1890