SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Spence Family Collection consists of 100 boxes and is comprised of 9 series: Genealogy; Correspondence; Writings; Miscellaneous Family Materials, Documents, and Important Papers; Financial Records; Family Memorabilia; Photographs; Fisk Related Materials; and Collection. The corresponding years are 1812-1961 and incorporate data coverage of the Spence family migrating to America from Scotland and extended family data on the Chase, Mackie, Ross, Bennett and McDonald families. The focal point of the collection is Adam K. Spence, the first academic dean of FiskUniversity and his daughter Mary Elizabeth Spence. Mary Spence is the principle collector of the series because it is clear that she consciously collected and preserved the respective collection contents. Quite conceivably the collection could have been separated into three, or four distinct collections, but the contents herein represent multiple families with particular emphasis on the correlation with Fisk University.
Series I: Genealogy
TheGenealogy section consists of charts and data regarding the immediate Spence Family and that of extended family clans including Chase, Ross and Mackie. Each contains biographical information developed and retained by the family members themselves.
Series II: Correspondence
The Correspondenceseries contains 19 subseries: Adam K. Spence (Surgeon); Elizabeth Ross-Spence; Thomas Spence; Mrs. Thomas Spence; Elizabeth Spence; Adam K. Spence; Catherine Spence; Mary Elizabeth Spence; James Spence; Georgia Spence; Edwin Spence; Julia Spence; Frederick Chase; Mabel Chase; Stanley Chase; Cleveland Chase; The Mackie Family; The Ross Family; Fisk Related; and Unidentified. The correspondence series are arranged chronologically, where the patriarch Adam Spence (surgeon) appears first, followed by his wife, their offspring, and subsequently respective extended family members according to their birth dates as well. Within each series, all correspondence is arranged alphabetically. The Fisk Related portion applies to correspondence that clearly was centered on FiskUniversity endeavors. The Unidentified section reflects obvious correspondence, but is not identifiable by name. The majority of all the correspondence reflects inter-family communication and provides considerable insight into issues of the times and how close-knit the family was.
Racial attitudes centered on the Civil War years are represented from Union and Confederate perspectives as correspondence covers the immediate Spence family as well as extended families. Considerable information regarding the social fabric of post-reconstruction America runs through the collection too. Work of the American Missionary Association, its correlation with the Congregational Church, the establishment of freedom schools in such towns as Murfreesboro, Tennessee and attitudes towards missionary zeal that helped African-Americans educate themselves in towns like Trenton, Tennessee all are gleaned from the collection. Extensive national and international missionary travel and work are detailed through copious correspondence from within family ranks and from non-family correspondence alike. Reverend A.P. Miller, a former slave and Fisk student who worked as a missionary in Sierra Leone, West Africa and Henrietta Matson, whose assignments took her to Africa, Europe, and the CaribbeanIslands both are prominent subjects throughout. Miller is attributed with launching the Fisk motto “Her Sons and Daughters Are Ever On the Altar.”
The collection extends slightly beyond the middle of the twentieth century and subsequently offers substantial information covering Fisk related affairs. Many letters from Mary E. Spence’s cousins Mabel, Stanley and Cleveland Chase are critical because their father, Frederick Chase was another pioneer on the Fisk campus. Mary’s correspondence with her cousins provides lenses through which early Jubilee songs, black lyrics and musical scores can be interpreted. Mary’s correspondence is valuable for the researcher interested in the conditions that existed on campus. Leadership development, student enrollment, opinions of trustees, campus facilities, appointments and difficulties of presidents, the significance of the Fisk Alumni Fund and exchange among faculty members all are captured.
Series III: Writings
The Writings series consist of addresses, essays, notes, poems and speeches of various Spence family members. This series has 8 subseries: Elizabeth Ross-Spence; Adam K. Spence; Catherine Spence; Edwin Spence; Julia Spence; Mary Spence; George McDonald; and Family. The majority of all writings are from the collection’s principle subjects Adam K. Spence and his daughter Mary Elizabeth Spence. Classroom materials in the early classics of English, French, and Latin are abundantly rich. As the institution’s first academic dean, Adam K. Spence’s writings are extremely critical to the overall growth of Fisk. The writings of Mary Elizabeth Spence are important also. In addition to poems and essays, the collection contains twenty-two biographical profiles that appear to be a project she was compiling. Although it is not clear if she wrote each entry, it is clear that she was overseeing and orchestrating their usage.
Series IV: Miscellaneous Family Materials, Documents and Important Papers
The Miscellaneous Family Materials, Documents and Important Papers series contains such documents as naturalization papers, a minister’s license and family records including condolences, funeral arrangements and wills.
Series V: Financial Records- Accounts, Bills and Receipts
The Financial Records series contain various local and out-of-state business records. Important land deeds are included as well.
Series VI: Family Memorabilia
The Family Memorabilia series is rich in collectable family material including holiday and birthday information. Of further significance is currency from the Civil War and stamps of the era.
Series VII: Photographs
The Photographs series consist of two subseries; immediate family and extended family respectively.
Series VIII: Fisk Related Materials
The Fisk Related Materials series is abundant in clippings and data on most notably the Jubilee Singers, including leaflets, programs and translations of critiques from their 1877 Berlin, Germany experience. Information pertaining to W.E.B. DuBois, Charles S. Johnson and John Work, II is included along with data on the administration, alumni, faculty and staff and students. Photographs of respective groupings appear at the end of the series.
Series IX: Collection
The Collection series consists of eight subseries: Art Prints; Books; Brochures, Leaflets and Pamphlets; Clippings; Free Papers, Maps, Newspapers, Obituaries and Periodicals; Photographs- Miscellaneous and Unidentified; Printed Matter, Programs and Sheet Music; and Writings/Notes by Others. This series consist of mostly loose items collected and maintained by Mary Elizabeth Spence. It is in this series that a copy of freedom papers in the case of Regan vs. Mahan, January 1860, and important writings on the establishment of public education and free schools in the south appear.