{"id":4190,"date":"2026-08-05T20:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll121\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T20:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:40:55","slug":"coll121","status":"publish","type":"finding_aid","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll121\/","title":{"rendered":"Dorothy Howard collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/h2>
Title:<\/strong><\/td>Dorothy Howard collection<\/td><\/tr>
Call Number:<\/strong><\/td>Coll121<\/td><\/tr>
Creator:<\/strong><\/td>Howard Dorothy 1902-1996<\/td><\/tr>
Dates:<\/strong><\/td>circa 1890-1999<\/td><\/tr>
Size:<\/strong><\/td>14 boxes (6 linear feet)<\/td><\/tr>
Abstract:<\/strong><\/td>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\u2019s folklore, herblore, and other folklife documented in Mountain Maryland; and quilting samples.<\/td><\/tr>
Language:<\/strong><\/td>English<\/td><\/tr>
Citation:<\/strong><\/td>Dorothy Howard collection, Maryland Traditions Archives, Collection 121, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

Administrative\/Biographical Note<\/h2>

Dorothy Howard (1902-1996) was a pioneering scholar of children\u2019s 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\u2019s 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 Tonal\u00e1 (1989). The American Folklore Society named an award in her honor, the Dorothy Howard Award for Excellence in Folklore.<\/p>

Provenance Information<\/h2>

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.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

Access & Use<\/h2>

No restrictions.<\/p>

Reproductions allowed for research purposes. Copyright maintained by the creator.<\/p>

Subject Headings<\/h2>