Inventory of the Mattie Underwood Russell
Papers,
1949 - 1988
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Descriptive Summary
Title
Mattie Underwood Russell Papers,
1949 - 1988.
Creator
Russell, Mattie U.
Extent
5 Linear Feet,
2000
Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke University
Abstract
Mattie Underwood Russell (1915-1988) was
Curator of the Duke University Manuscripts Department from 1952 to 1985. During these years,
Russell became a nationally-recognized archivist, and increased the number of collections,
implemented a cataloging system, and encouraged researchers to use the materials in the Manuscripts
Department. The Mattie Underwood Russell Papers include correspondence, reports, writings, subject
files, memoranda, and other materials related to Russell's career at Duke University. Major
subjects include archival administration, archival education, American history, southern history,
the Duke University administration, and the Nixon presidential library controversy at Duke
University.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing
from the office of origin and the University Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five
years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University
Archivist.
In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke
University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of
personally identifiable information from education records.
Records, such as search committee files or others pertaining to employment where
individuals are identified, are closed for 70 years.
Portions of these materials are restricted by donor request.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other
copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated
by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Mattie Underwood Russell Papers, University Archives, Duke
University.
Provenance
The Mattie Underwood Russell Papers were received by the University Archives as gifts in
1985, 1988, and 1989.
Processing Information
Processed by Mattie Underwood Russell in 1988 and 1989, prior to donating her papers to
the University Archives. This order has been maintained. The collection was described by Valerie
Gillispie in October 2004.
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, October 26, 2004
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Mattie Underwood Russell was born on May 14, 1915, in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. She
grew up on her parents' farm, the youngest of 12 children. She attended the University of
Mississippi, earning a bachelor's degree in 1939 and a master's degree in 1940, both in history.
Russell worked from 1937 to 1943 teaching high school in rural Mississippi, earning her academic
degrees during the summer. In 1943, she moved to Durham to attend a summer session for teachers at
Duke University, then moved to Mars Hill, North Carolina to teach as a faculty member at Mars Hill
College. In 1946 she returned to Durham as a fulltime Ph.D. student and worked in the library at
the circulation desk.
While she completed her Ph.D., Russell became Assistant Curator of the Manuscript
Department in 1948, and in 1952 she became Curator. In 1956, she completed her Ph.D. degree in
history, with a disseration on William Holland Thomas, a white chief of the Cherokee tribe, but it
was archives and manuscripts to which she devoted her life's work. As Curator, a position she held
until 1985, she improved the scope of the collections exponentially. During her tenure the
Manuscript Department grew from approximately 1 million items to over 7 million items. Russell
encouraged her staff to provide better access to the collections for researchers through the
implementation of a cataloging system. She also mentored new members of the profession through her
work at Duke and her teaching. From 1969 to 1978, Russell taught a course on archives and
manuscripts at the School of Library Science at the University of North Carolina.
Russell was a member of many professional organizations, including the American Library
Association, the Society of American Archivists, the Historical Society of North Carolina, the
Southern Historical Association, and the South Atlantic Archives and Records Conference. She served
as a representative of the Southern Historical Association on the National Archives Advisory
Council from 1977 to 1983. She was named a fellow in the Society of American Archivists in 1979. In
1981, Russell was the only non-faculty member appointed to the Academic Council's committee to
study the possibility of locating Richard Nixon's presidential library on the Duke campus. In
addition to her professional and university committments, Russell also published many articles in
history and library journals.
Upon her retirement in 1985, her colleagues donated money to create the Mattie Underwood
Russell Endowment Fund, used to purchase manuscript collections pertaining to the history and
culture of the Americas, particularly the United States. Following her death on May 4, 1988, a
bequest from Russell's estate to the Endowment was one of the largest contributions Duke has ever
received from an employee.
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Collection Overview
The Mattie Underwood Russell Papers include correspondence, reports, writings, subject
files, memoranda, and other materials related to Russell's career at Duke University. The
collection is divided into five series. The first series,
Correspondence, includes both personal and professional materials.
In arranging the correspondence, Russell included genealogy, printed material, and other material
she felt were pertinent to the correspondence. The series is arranged chronologically. The second
series,
Subjects, is arranged alphabetically, and includes information about
Russell's professional interests as well as biographical and other personal information.
Course Materials, the next series, includes information collected
during Russell's teaching career in the School of Library Science at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. The materials are arranged alphabetically by subject. The fourth series,
Writings, includes addresses, articles, and other pieces written by
Russell. The series is divided into "Addresses and Lectures" and "Writings," and materials are
arranged alphabetically into these categories. The last series is the
Nixon Presidential Library series, which includes a proposal,
correspondence, reports, and committee materials.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the
Duke University Libraries online catalog.
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Related Material
Committee Against the Nixon-Duke Library (CANDL) Records
Duke University Archives
Library Administration Records
Duke University Archives
Nixon Library Controversy Collection
Duke University Archives
Photograph Collection
Duke University Archives
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence,
1949-1988
On the first folder of this series, Mattie Russell noted, "In 1969 I decided to go
through the small amount of personal correspondence I had saved and decide what I should like to
have become part of a collection in the Manuscript Department of Perkins Library under the title,
Mattie Underwood Russell Papers. To this correspondence, I added genealogy, miscellany, clippings,
and printed material. My plan is to add to this file consistently during the remainder of my
life."
Box 1
1949-1953
1954-1956
1957-1958
1959-1962
1963-1964
1965
1966-1968
1969
January 1970-June 1970
July 1970-December 1970
January 1971-June 1971
July 1971-December 1971
January 1972-June 1972
July 1972-December 1972
January 1973-June 1973
July 1973-December 1973
January 1974-June 1974
July 1974-December 1974
January 1975-June 1975
July 1975-December 1975
January 1976-June 1976
July 1976-December 1976
January 1977-June 1977
July 1977-December 1977
January 1978-June 1978
July 1978-December 1978
January 1979-December 1979
April 1979-August 1979 (Received after my
surgery on April 10, 1979)
Box 2
January 1980-December 1980
1981
January 1982-December 1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
Subjects,
circa 1968-1987
Box 2
Art
Automobile, Volare Premier, 1978 model, purchased January 2,
1980
Book Reviewing
Capital Campaign, Faculty/Staff Committee,
1985
Certificates
Canada papers, 1966-1970
Duke University Land Use Policy,
March 1987
Duke University Retiree Association
Endowment, Mattie Underwood Russell Endowment Fund,
1985, May 14-
Endowments, Duke University Library
Robert H. Woody Festschrift
Bibliography of Robert H. Woody and Biographical Data
Biographical Sketch of Robert Hilliard Woody for the Festschrift compiled
in his honor and published in the
South Atlantic Quarterly, Winter 1974
issue
Dissertations written under the direction of Dr. Robert H.
Woody
Replies to letter of June 25, 1970, in honor of Dr. Robert Hilliard
Woody
Friends of the Library, Duke University
(2 folders)
Fringe Benefits, Faculty and Staff
Historical Society of N.C. Constitution, etc. (the other records I
accumulated as president I sent to Carolyn Wallace on 4-27-77 to be used by her and then placed in
the archives of the Society)
LC
Manuscript Department Communications
Memberships and Subscriptions
Membership cards and certificates
National Archives Advisory Council,
1977, May 12-14 Meeting--Membership Lists and
Code of NARS
Recommendations
Recommendations are restricted.
Recommendations, Manuscript Dept
Recommendations are restricted.
Retirement
Russell, Mattie Underwood
Bibliography and Biographical Data
Biographical Material
Certificates (see also MC 8)
Clippings
(3 folders)
Diplomas (MC 8)
Genealogy
Library Endowment Fund
Memorial Services (including audio cassette tape)
Memory Book
Miscellany
Printed Material
Retirement Records, 1985 (retired 5-31-85)
Salary Notices
Southern Historical Association Program Committee for
1973
Tobacco History Corporation, Inc.
UNC Report of Dean of School of L.S.,
1968-1969
Woody, Robert Hilliard - History of his Family
Course Materials
Box 3
The American Archivist
American Association for State and Local History
American Records Management Association
American Revolution Bicentennial
Andrews, Evelyn G.
Architecture
Archives and Private Papers: Outlines of the Archival Management Lectures
given by Schellenberg in Atlanta, April 8-10,
1959
Archives
Ancient
Arts and Architecture
Careers in
Church
Church - Sandra McAninch,
"Preliminary Study for the Development of a Guide to
Manuscript Collections Related to Southern Religion as Held by Southeastern
Repositories"
College and University
Confederate States of America
Federal
Film
Foundation
General
Germany
Indian
International
Islamic
Jewish
Latin America and the Caribbean
Labor (also Historical MSS.)
Local (County and Municipal)
Music
Performing Arts
Political Parties
Popular Culture ("Pop Cult")
Professions
Publishing Houses
Regional
Science and Technology
Indian
State
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Maine
North Carolina
(2 folders)
Ohio
South Carolina
Virginia
Women
Archivist's Code
Audio-Visual Materials
Autographs
Automation
Bibliography for LS 344
Bibliographies - Mine
Biographies
Blacks, materials about
Book reviewing
British Manuscripts
British Records Association
Cataloging Manuscripts
Classified Documents
Collecting Manuscripts
Course Term Project,
1970-
Data Processing and Retrieval
Diplomatic
Editing, Historical
Grade Books
Grade Books are restricted.
Writings
Addresses and Lectures
Box 3
Addresses
"Preservation of Our Library Heritage,"
address
delivered by M.U.R. at the Annual dinner of the Friends of the Library at Campbell College,
April 7, 1978
"The Relationship Between the Records Administrator and the
Historian"
"Starting a Local Archives or Historical Society,"
address given on
November 20, 1975, at the Archives and Records
Workshop of the Society of Georgia Archivists
"What Has Happened to History in the Archival
Profession?"
Lecture, Georgia Archives Institute,
August 10, 1971
Writings
"Benjamin Edward Powell"
"The Influence of Historians on the Archival Profession of
the United States"
"Land Speculation in Tippah County, 1836-1861"
(M.A.
Thesis)
Sketches for the
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography
(13)
Student Writings
Woody, Robert Hilliard
Writings (Miscellaneous)
Writings (Published Copies)
Nixon Presidential Library,
1981-1982
The donor has placed a restriction on these materials. Please contact the University
Archives about using these records.
Box 4
Confidential Presidential Library Proposal and Notes,
1981
Correspondence and Documents,
1981-1982
Dr. Mattie Russell Files,
1981, undated
Reports, Correspondence and Other Information,
1981-1982
Sub-Committee of the Selct Committee on the Nixon Presidential Library,
1981, undated
Sub-Committee on Library Relations, Correspondence and Reports,
September 1981-October 1981
