Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 1.42 linear feet (2 boxes)

Summary

1. The Doris Thompson Papers reflect a few aspects of Thompson's life and that of her third husband, Andrew Robinson. Thompson maintained a correspondence with several individuals and organizations including William Lloyd Imes, pastor of Harlem's St. James Presbyterian Church; Manet Harrison Fowler, founder/director of the Mwalimu School, who featured Thompson in recital (1938) in one of the New York chapter's programs; and actress Vinie Burrows, whom Thompson met during Burrow's childhood.
2. Thompson (1894-2001) was president of the New York Chapter of Lincoln University's Ladies Auxiliary while married to Andrew Robinson (class of 1891). Her files contain correspondence with Horace Mann Bond (1940s), president of the University, and programs for various activities sponsored by the auxiliary, some held at St. James Presbyterian Church. Lincoln University files include a 1955 speech given by the dean, H. F. Grim. Thompson's file relating to Arthur A. Schomburg contains a typescript of his review of the play The Kingdom of God and a few articles. There is also a folder containing letters from Jean Blackwell Hutson, chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 1948 to 1980. Hutson's letters discuss personal matters and Thompson's gifts of material to the Schomburg Center in 1957, and 1976-1987, including a painting of Thompson by William E. Braxton. A scrapbook includes news clippings (1929-1936) of noteworthy events in Haiti and Liberia.
3. Several folders pertain to her husband, Andrew M. Robinson, who was one of the founders of the St. James Presbyterian Church and president of its Thompkins Memorial Association. His files include correspondence and programs regarding Church events.

Donor/Sponsor

1. Home to Harlem Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Subject

1. Thompson, Doris M., 1894-2001
2. Robinson, Andrew M.
3. Imes, William Lloyd, 1889-1986
4. Bond, Horace Mann, 1904-1972
5. Grim, H. F. (Harold Fetter)
6. Hutson, Jean Blackwell, 1914-1998
7. Schomburg, Arthur Alfonso, 1874-1938
8. Burrows, Vinie
9. Lincoln University (Pa.)
10. Lincoln University (Pa.). Ladies Auxiliary
11. St. James Presbyterian Church (Harlem, New York, N.Y.)
12. Mwalimu School for the Development of African Music and Creative Art
13. African American women
14. African Americans -- Correspondence
15. Civic leaders -- United States
16. African Americans -- Social life and customs

Genre/Form

1. Scrapbooks.

Call number

1. Sc MG 745

Language

1. English

Access (note)

1. Some collections held by the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. To request access to materials in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, please visit

Cite as (note)

1. [Item], Doris Thompson papers, Sc MG 745, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library

Source (note)

1. Doris Thompson

Biography (note)

1. Doris Thompson moved in social and cultural circles in Chicago and Harlem where she met and became friends with many African-American artists, writers and professionals, among them the artist William Edouard Scott, newspaper editor Wendell Dabney, Manet Harrison Fowler, founder of the Mwalimu School in Chicago, and bibliophiles Arthur A. Schomburg and Henry P. Slaughter. She was married four times; her third husband was Andrew Robinson, a graduate of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania). According to one source, she was a professional dressmaker, and in the 1940s during her marriage to Andrew Robinson, she was an active member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Lincoln University.

Indexes/finding aids (note)

1. Finding aid available.

Local note

1. Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
2. Two paintings and a medallion transferred to Art and Artifact Division.
3. Books and magazines transferred to General Research and Reference Division.

Author

1. Thompson, Doris M., 1894-2001.

Access

1. Some collections held by the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. To request access to materials in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, please visit: http://archives.nypl.org/divisions/scm/request_access

Connect to:

1. Finding Aid