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Collection Number: 04244

Collection Title: Don Yoder Papers, 1890s-1990

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 3.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1300 items)
Abstract 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 5505-5510), and other materials, chiefly relating to the collection of texts of German and Pennsylvania Dutch hymns for Yoder's 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.
Creator Yoder, Don.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
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], in the Don Yoder papers #4244, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Don Yoder of Devon, Pa., in 1980 and September 1990.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Anne von Storch, April 1986; Roslyn Holdzkom with the assistance of Joy Barfield and Patricia Townsend December 1990

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

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).

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Correspondence, writings, notes, sheet music, open-reel tapes (FT 5505-5510), and other materials, chiefly relating to the collection of texts of German and Pennsylvania Dutch hymns for Yoder's 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.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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

Folder 2

1952

Folder 3

1954-1955

Folder 4

1956-1958

Folder 5

1960-1961

Folder 6

1962-1966

Folder 7

1967-1968

Folder 8

1969

Folder 9

1970-1981

Folder 10

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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.

Folder 11-25

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

Folder 18

Folder 19

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Folder 23

Folder 24

Folder 25

Writings, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Folder 29

Folder 30

Folder 31

Folder 32

Folder 33

Folder 34

Folder 35

Folder 36

Folder 37

Notes, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Sheet Music, Undated.

About 100 items.

Printed and handwritten sheet music, chiefly of Pennsylvania Dutch songs.

Folder 38-42

Folder 38

Folder 39

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 42

Sheet music, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse 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

Folder 43

Folder 44

Folder 45

Folder 46

Folder 47

Writings by others

Folder 48-50

Folder 48

Folder 49

Folder 50

Clippings and newsletters

Folder 51-53

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Miscellaneous

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. Pictures.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 7. Open-Reel Tapes.

7 items
FT-4244/5504-5510

FT-4244/5504

FT-4244/5505

FT-4244/5506

FT-4244/5507

FT-4244/5508

FT-4244/5509

FT-4244/5510

Reels featuring Pennsylvania Dutch hymns and spirituals relating to preparation of Yoder's Pennsylvania Spirituals (1962).

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