Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4244
DON YODER PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Don Yoder, musician, folklorist, and professor of
religion at Franklin and Marshall College and the
University of Pennsylvania.
Correspondence, writings, notes, sheet music,
open-reel tapes (FT 5504-5510) and other materials
chiefly relating to the collection of texts of German
and Pennsylvania Dutch hymns for his book,
Pennsylvania Spirituals (1962). Also included are
materials about Yoder's other chief interest, the
Evangelical United Brethren Church, and other items of
general interest to folklorists.
Online Catalog Terms:
Evangelical United Brethren Church.
Evangelicalism--Pennsylvania.
Folklore--Pennsylvania.
Folksongs, Pennsylvania German.
Music--Religious aspects.
Pennsylvania Dutch--Songs and music.
Yoder, Don, 1921-
Size: About 1,300 items (3.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Don Yoder of Devon, Pa., in 1980 and
September 1990.
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Biographical Note
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. Writings
Series 3. Notes
Series 4. Sheet Music
Series 5. Other Papers
Series 6. Pictures
Shelf List
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Don Yoder is a musician and folklorist. In the 1950s, he was
on the faculty of Franklin and Marshall College. In the 1960s,
he moved to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was
initially on the faculty of the Department of Religious Thought
and later in the Department of Folklore and Folklife
Yoder is the author of several books, many of them having to
do with the lives of German immigrants in Pennsylvania. One of
his prime research interests is the Evangelical United Brethren
Church. Yoder's works include: Songs Along the Mahantongo:
Pennsylvania Dutch Folk-Songs (with Walter E. Boyer and Albert F.
Buffington, 1951); Pennsylvania Spirituals (1962); American
Folklife (ed., 1976); Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786
(1980); Rhineland Emigrants: Lists of German Settlers in Colonial
America (ed., 1981); Decorated Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley
(essay contributed, 1987); Discovering American Folklife: Studies
in Ethnic, Religious, and Regional Culture (1990). SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1948-1981 and undated. About 350 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Professional correspondence of Don Yoder, chiefly with other
folklorists and with members of local history associations and
churches, particularly in areas heavily influenced by
Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Many of the letters relate to
gathering information for several of Yoder's books, especially
Pennsylvania Spirituals (1962).
Folder 1 1948-1951
2 1952
3 1954-1955
4 1956-1958
5 1960-1961
6 1962-1966
7 1967-1968
8 1969
9 1970-1981
10 Undated
Series 2. Writings
Undated. About 60 items.
Miscellaneous writings, many on Pennsylvania Dutch hymns, but
also reviews of works on folklore by others and symposium papers
on various topics. Included are corrected galley proofs of
several of Yoder's publications.
Folders 11-25
Series 3. Notes
Undated. About 500 items.
Handwritten and typed notes relating to various folklore
topics, including a group of notes documenting research on the
lyrics to specific Pennsylvania Dutch songs. Also included are
several bibliographies on various aspects of folklore study.
Folder 26-37
Series 4. Sheet Music
Undated. About 100 items.
Printed and handwritten sheet music, chiefly of Pennsylvania
Dutch songs.
Folders 38-42
Series 5. Other Papers
1890s-1990. About 300 items.
Writings by others on folklore topics, clippings and
newsletters from various organizations, and other materials
relating to folklore, folksongs, and other of Yoder's research
interests.
Folder 43-47 Writings by others
48-50 Clippings and newsletters
51-53 Miscellaneous
Series 6. Pictures
3 items
P-4244/1 East Indian drummers in performance at unknown
site, August 1967.
/2 Yoruba dancers at festival in San Fernando,
California, undated.
/3 Portrait of unknown black man.
Series 7. Open-Reel Tapes
7 items
FT 5504-5510 Reels featuring Pennsylvania Dutch hymns and
spirituals relating to preparation of Yoder's
Pennsylvania Spirituals (1962).
SHELF LIST
Box 1 Series 1. Correspondence (folders 1-10)
Series 2. Writings (folders 11-25)
Series 3. Notes (folders 26-33)
Box 2 Series 3. Notes (folders 34-37)
Series 4. Sheet Music (folders 38-42)
Series 5. Other Items (folders 43-53)
Items separated:
Series 6. Pictures
Series 7. FT 5504-5510 (Southern Folklife Collection)