Fern Gayden Collection
Creator: Gayden, Fern, 1905-1986
Date: 1936 - 1940
Level of Description: Coll./Record Group
Material Type:
Call Number:
Fern Gayden Collection
Unit ID: 228376
Biographical sketch: Fern Gayden was born in Dunlap, Kan., on September 29, 1905. Her mother, Frances Johnson, left Tennessee and migrated to Kansas during the Reconstruction period. Her father, Andrew Gayden, left Mississippi in the same period, joining the migration led by “Pap” Singleton. Along with her two brothers and two sisters, Fern Gayden attended Dunlap’s all-black elementary school. She graduated from Dunlap High School, which was integrated. Gayden went on to attend Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia and taught school for one year. Fern Gayden moved to Chicago at the age of 23. She had a 50-year career as a social worker, but became best known as a literary, fine arts and political activist. A founding member of the South Side Writers Group in the 1930s, Fern Gayden’s long and diverse career included leadership roles in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the South Side Community Art Center. During World War II, she co-published Negro Story magazine with Alice Browning.
Summary: Six stories relating to Fern Gayden's family and Dunlap, Kansas. The titles of the stories are: Andrew Gayden, 1872-1934; Columbus M. Johnson, December 15, 1824-October 17, 1894; Dunlap And Its People; Frances Jane Johnson Gayden, April 9, 1874-December, 1951; Josephine Braham Johnson, June 18, 1838-April 6, 1910; and The Settlement And The Colony. Copies of mortgages and deeds for land owned and purchased by Frances and Andrew Gayden; a Gayden family tree; marriage certificate for Andrew Gayden and Frances Johnson, October 1, 1903; and a grade card for Frances Gayden, 1941-42.
Space Required/Quantity: 1 CD containing documents and photographs
Title (Main title): Fern Gayden Collection
Scope and Content
Locators:
| Locator | Contents |
|---|---|
| 101-07-03-15 |
Related Records or Collections
Related materials: Photographs: Andrew Gayden (unit 228660), Columbus Johnson (unit 228661), Dunlap Elementary School (units 228668-228670), Dunlap High School boy's basketball team (unit 228671), Dunlap High School boys football team (units 228672-228674), Dunlap High School girl's basketball team (unit 228675), Dunlap Methodist Episcopal Church (unit 228676), Fern, Clark & Nell Gayden (unit 228677), Fern Gayden (units 228678-228679), Floyd Gayden (unit 228680), Frances Jean Gayden (unit 228681), Frances Johnson Gayen & Virginia (unit 228682); Frances Johnson Gayden (units 228684-228685), Andrew Gayden farm and house (unit 228686), Josephine Johnson (unit 228687), Nellie Gayden (unit 228688)
Index Terms
Subjects
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Dunlap (Kan.) -- History
Gayden, Andrew
Gayden, Fern, 1905-1986
Gayden, Frances Jane Johnson
Johnson, Columbus M.
Johnson, Josephine Braham
African American authors -- Illinois -- Chicago
African American women civil rights workers -- Illinois -- Chicago
African American women -- Illinois -- Chicago
Creators and Contributors
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Gayden, Fern, 1905-1986
