{"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+State+University\u0026page=1372\u0026view=compact","prev":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+State+University\u0026page=1371\u0026view=compact","next":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+State+University\u0026page=1373\u0026view=compact","last":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Brepository%5D%5B%5D=Virginia+State+University\u0026page=1412\u0026view=compact"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1372,"next_page":1373,"prev_page":1371,"total_pages":1412,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":13710,"total_count":14112,"first_page?":false,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89","type":"Subseries","attributes":{"title":"Watts, Robert","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89"],"id":"vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00001","_root_":"vipets_vipets00001","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00001_c05","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00001_c05","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00001","vipets_vipets00001_c05"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00001","vipets_vipets00001_c05"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935","Photographs \n n.d."],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935","Photographs \n n.d."],"text":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935","Photographs \n n.d.","Watts, Robert","Box-folder \n 9:266"],"title_filing_ssi":"Watts, Robert","title_ssm":["Watts, Robert"],"title_tesim":["Watts, Robert"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Watts, Robert"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Subseries"],"level_ssim":["Subseries"],"sort_isi":275,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 9:266"],"_nest_path_":"/components#4/components#88","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00001","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00001","_root_":"vipets_vipets00001","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00001","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00001.xml","title_ssm":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"title_tesim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1957-3"],"text":["1957-3","Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935","There are no restrictions.","Series I: Correspondence: Family,\n Personal, Business, and Military \n Container: 1 \n Container: 2 \n Letters, postcards and telegrams arranged\n chronologically. 1884-1935","Series II: Financial and legal \n Container: 3 \n Teaching contracts, receipts, agreements, certificates,\n and military discharge. Arranged by type","Series III: Speeches and Writings \n Containers: 4-7 \n Four boxes of handwritten and several printed speeches\n and articles. Included is an autobiography. A list of\n Publications.","Series IV: Photographs \n Containers: 8-14 \n Seven boxes, family, friends work and church scenes. In\n box 12 are the photos of the 6th Virginia United States\n Colored Volunteers.","Series V: Printed (Memorabilia) \n Container: 15 \n Announcements, Commencement programs, Broadsides,\n Programs, Invitations, Pamphlets. Two very interesting items:\n A Restaurant Menu from his father-in-law's business on Bank\n Street, and the first invitation to the \"Ugly Club\" 1886.","Series VI: Scrapbooks \n Containers: 16-19 \n Some of everything. Programs, cards, photographs and\n some correspondence.","Series VII: Artifacts \n Containers: 20-25 \n Household articles, toys and games. Two boxes of\n military items. There are also two military footlockers and\n the sheath for a dress saber.","Series VIII: Oversize \n Container: \n Maps and Photos","In 1935 the highest-ranking black officer in the disbanded\n 6th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Spanish American War, died.\n Few Virginians have ever heard of the 6th Virginia, let alone\n their commander, Major William Henry Johnson.","His story is unique, also, because he was one of the most\n successful post-bellum blacks in Petersburg who was not a\n descendant of the antebellum free black population. (There\n were around 3,200 free blacks in 1860). Major Johnson was from\n the slave population (which numbered around 5,000 in 1860).\n Free blacks had a slight advantage over the larger slave\n population, although they themselves were not truly free. They\n did have a bit more freedom of movement than their slave\n brethren did. In addition, some had some property that could\n be sold or borrowed upon to finance to own or accumulate\n property; therefore at emancipation they were truly\n penniless.","Major Johnson's father, Henry Johnson, was born a slave\n around 1835 in Ettrick on Fleets Farm, what is now Virginia\n State University, and he grew up in the old plantation house.\n He remained a slave until the Union Army moved through Ettrick\n following Robert E. Lee in April of 1865.","William Henry Johnson's mother, Malinda, was also a slave;\n she resided in Petersburg. October 1, 1858, her only child was\n born on Old Street (which is now Grove Avenue). In fact, in\n 1865 when Ulysses S. Grant entered Petersburg, her owner,\n Major P. Branch, fled to Danville taking Malinda and her\n six-year old son with him. William Henry's early years were\n spent in several places in Petersburg. At one time he lived on\n Old Street near Market, opposite Dunlop's Tobacco Factory.\n Another home was on the site of the old Titus Foundry. He also\n lived for some time on High Street and South Sycamore\n Street.","After General Lee's surrender, his mother and father were\n reunited. Later in the year his father brought a piece of\n property in the old field area in the vicinity of what is now\n Rome Street. Here his father built a small house, which is\n still standing, at what is now 1151 Rome Street. The family\n moved in at Christmas 1865.","Henry Johnson for 45 years was a teamster, driving his own\n horse and wagon. For a brief time he was a partner in an\n oyster house near the corner of Union and Oak Streets.","Then, as today, many blacks connected upward mobility with\n one's level of education. William Henry Johnson's parents were\n of that opinion and began his schooling at home. His first\n teacher, other than his mother, was a Mrs. Addie Berry who\n taught school at her home on Perry Street. Next, was Mr.\n Collier Tabb who taught school at \"East Hill\" on Lombard\n Street. His next mover was to the basement of the Gillfield\n Baptist Church under a Mr. Bates. After spending some time\n there he was enrolled in another private school. A former\n Confederate Army officer, Major Giles B. Cooke, taught this\n one. This school was located in the same building as the old\n First Baptist church near Garrison and Filmore Streets. He was\n graduated in 1874 (the first graduating class).","During the summer and early fall months when school was not\n in session, William Henry prepared for a trade. He chose to\n become a cooper (one who makes barrels). He secured summer\n employment at a barrel company in Richmond where he remained\n for two summers. Here he learned the early stages of barrel\n construction, called \"slack work\". Upon mastering \"slack work\"\n he apprenticed himself to a Mr. Wilson Goodwyn who had a shop\n on Union Street, to learn \"tight work\". During the next two\n years (1874-1886) he became a master cooper, making barrels\n for Myers Whiskey Distillery in Blandford, flour and hogshead\n and tierces for Ropers Tobacco Factory on Halifax Street.","After he completed his apprenticeship, his mother and\n father decided that he should go to college. The three of them\n met with Rev. Mr. Henry Williams, their pastor, and together\n agreed upon Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute. Despite\n the necessity of constant employment, after two years of study\n he was graduated from Hampton with a normal degree in 1878. In\n addition to his degree he also attended several summer\n teaching institutes at what is now Virginia State\n University.","After graduating from Hampton, Johnson returned home to\n Petersburg and began trying to locate a teaching position.\n That October he was offered a position in Surry County, about\n three miles from the courthouse. His new job involved teaching\n night school and paid $20 per month plus room and board and\n lodging. His students were both young and old, eager to learn,\n and he was an enthusiastic teacher.","He worked in Surry for five months. Later the following\n fall, quite by chance, on a walk through lower Chesterfield\n County he encountered a Captain Blankenship who was the County\n School Superintendent. A conference was held and the\n superintendent then offered a position at a new school that\n was under construction near what is now Virginia State\n University. He accepted the position and taught at that\n school, which was later called the \"Old Brickyard School\" on\n Dupuy Road in Ettrick.","Major Johnson taught at this school for seven years, seven\n months a year at $30 per month. In 1886 he was offered the\n principalship of Lombard Street School in Petersburg , with a\n nine-month school year and a record-breaking wage of $40 per\n month. He accepted right away. This was not just a raise of\n $150 per year, this also made it possible for him to give up\n making barrels in the evenings from March through August. This\n job as a cooper paid $3 - $4 per day and was used to\n supplement his teaching salary. He remained at Lombard Street\n School for two years until a new position at the Jones Street\n School was offered and accepted. Here he remained as principal\n for 31 years until the building was razed and the new\n Peabody-Williams Building was erected as a combination\n elementary and high school in 1919. He opposed this combined\n school because he felt the two levels should be in separate\n buildings. Nevertheless, he became principal of the elementary\n division until he retired in 1929. After 43 years of teaching\n in the city of Petersburg and more than 50 years in the state\n of Virginia.","In 1887 William Henry Johnson married Miss Nannie Brewer.\n The new Mrs. Johnson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John\n Brewer, who were very highly respected citizens of Petersburg.\n Mr. John Brewer's father was born a slave and belonged to\n James Nicholas. As a slave, Mr. Brewer was allowed to \"hire\n out,\" that is, he was allowed to engage in some type of extra\n work where a part of the money went to the owner and the rest\n was pocketed by the slave. By late 1864, Brewer had managed to\n pay his owner a $1000 and was allowed to purchase himself from\n his owner. His self-purchase was within four months of the end\n of the Confederacy when all slaves were automatically free. In\n the early years, he was a painter. Later he owned and operated\n on of the most popular restaurants in Petersburg. His place\n was located at 10 Bank Street.","Nannie Brewer Johnson was educated in Petersburg and\n attended the 1888 Normal for Teachers, an institute held at\n what is now Virginia State University. Mrs. Johnson was active\n in community and church work. She was a faithful member of\n Gillfield Baptist Church. Major and Mrs. Johnson were married\n for 48 years.","During the era of black slavery, one of the greater fears\n of the white community was that of an armed rebellion of\n blacks. When the Civil War began, many free blacks in the\n south volunteered to take up arms for the Confederacy. This\n was true even in Petersburg. However, the state of Virginia\n was not prepared to accept armed black men, even volunteers.\n This policy remained until 1871 when Virginia reorganized the\n state Militia and allowed the formation of volunteer companies\n black and white.","The first black volunteer company in Petersburg came into\n existence in June of 1873. They were the Petersburg Guards,\n organized and captained by John H. Hill. For five years the\n Guards were the only black volunteer company in Petersburg. In\n 1878, however, Lieutenant Peyton L. Farley of the Guards\n resigned and organized the Petersburg Blues, which he also\n captained. William Henry Johnson joined the Blues in 1878 as a\n private. The Blues began complying a notable record in\n competition with other companies throughout the state. In 1881\n they were invited to participate in the inaugural parade of\n President James A. Garfield. In 1888 Johnson, now a captain,\n led the Blues on a very successful trip to Providence, Long\n Island, and Boston, Massachusetts. Between the years\n 1888-1897, Captain Johnson became Major Johnson and assumed\n command of the 2nd Battalion, Virginia Volunteer Infantry. In\n 1897 the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Parade was held in New York\n City and both the first and second Battalions made a fine\n showing for themselves and the state.","When war with Spain was declared in 1898, the two black\n battalions were federalized and became the 6th Virginia U.S.\n Volunteer Army of the Spanish American War. The men met and\n voted to serve anywhere they were sent and elected to serve\n under their own officers. When this reached the press, an\n uproar evolved over the latter statement. Some whites opposed\n the idea of black officers. The unit, nevertheless, moved to a\n training camp at Camp Poland near Knoxville, Tennessee. There,\n a rumor concerning the ouster of all black officers were\n proven to be true.","All black officers were ordered to take an exam to\n determine whether they would be allowed to keep their ranks.\n The black officers declared that they had all taken exams\n before training their ranks, and what if those exams were good\n enough then, they should be good enough now. When the second\n order was given, nine black officers resigned. White officers\n were immediately selected to fill the vacancies. The men of\n the 6th Virginia were very upset. Their former black officers\n asked them to go on without them. The war, however, ended so\n quickly that the men from Virginia never saw service in Cuba\n or the Philippines. The unit was discharged in Georgia in\n 1899. Virginia disbanded the black Volunteer companies and\n would not accept black again in the State National Guard for\n many years. Major Johnson continued to try and convince the\n governors of the state to allow the reformation of the black\n militia companies, but with no success.","Aside from a purely military function the black companies\n also served as social organs for the black community. Socials\n and picnics were held and enjoyed by all. The wives and\n sweethearts of the men formed various auxiliaries and took it\n upon themselves to help raise funds and to purchase such items\n as ceremonial swords and flags.","Major William Henry Johnson and his wife were members of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church , which has been located on Perry\n Street since 1815. He had been associated with the church\n since birth and was baptized in the year 1886. When the Rev.\n Mr. Henry Williams died in 1900 he became superintendent of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church Sunday School. He also served as\n church clerk and financial secretary, was a vice-president of\n the home mission and president of the Gillfield Baptist Church\n Temperance Society. He served the Bethany Baptist Sunday\n School Convention as president for twenty-five years and\n recording secretary for five years.","Although William Henry spent a considerable amount of time\n in other activities, he still found time to become involved\n with different groups around the city and state. He was\n vice-president of the Negro Organizational Society, which was\n founded in 1912 at Hampton Institute. This was and\n organization dedicated to the improvement of health, education\n and agriculture amongst black people. Johnson was one of the\n founders of a black Chamber of Commerce in Petersburg and\n served as their president in 1924. In 1925 he was elected\n vice-president of the Old Dominion Investment Company, a black\n local bank, and he was connected with the Ideal Investment\n Company and Realty Corporation of Virginia, also a local black\n banking concern.","Last but not least, he was one of the first black feature\n writers for a white southern newspaper. In 1919 the Petersburg\n Progress-Index engaged him to write a serious column about\n black life in the city. The column appeared first as \"Rome\n Street\" and was then renamed \"Subjects of Interest to Colored\n Readers.\" It lasted for 16 years, until 1935.","The papers of Major William Henry Johnson were given to\n Virginia State University around 1957. They reflect the\n accomplishments of a person born a slave of slave parents in\n an uncertain time. There is personal and business\n correspondence dating from 1884. Hundreds of photographs show\n the black population in and around Petersburg frozen in time,\n leaving us a vivid picture of what they considered important\n in their lives. Perhaps the most outstanding series of papers\n is that which concern most of his speeches and writings. These\n cover a variety of topics and gives us an idea of what the\n black elite thought about their own lives an how they viewed\n the issues of their day.","The Johnson papers are one of the most interesting bodies\n of papers left by a post-bellum black of this time period.\n They are a true reflection of a time now gone. These, and\n other items such as these, will help us to understand more\n about this time and the often-neglected role by blacks.","There are no restrictions.","The William Henry Johnson papers\n include correspondence, speeches, photographs and other\n documents. They reflect William Henry Johnson's life as an\n educator, soldier and community leader.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1957-3"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"collection_title_tesim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"collection_ssim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers \n \n 1884-1935"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["The papers of Major William Henry Johnson were given to\n Virginia State University around 1957."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries I:\u003c/emph\u003eCorrespondence: Family,\n Personal, Business, and Military \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainer: 1 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainer: 2 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eLetters, postcards and telegrams arranged\n chronologically. 1884-1935\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries II:\u003c/emph\u003eFinancial and legal \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainer: 3 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eTeaching contracts, receipts, agreements, certificates,\n and military discharge. Arranged by type\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries III:\u003c/emph\u003eSpeeches and Writings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainers: 4-7 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eFour boxes of handwritten and several printed speeches\n and articles. Included is an autobiography. A list of\n Publications.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries IV:\u003c/emph\u003ePhotographs \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainers: 8-14 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeven boxes, family, friends work and church scenes. In\n box 12 are the photos of the 6th Virginia United States\n Colored Volunteers.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries V:\u003c/emph\u003ePrinted (Memorabilia) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainer: 15 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eAnnouncements, Commencement programs, Broadsides,\n Programs, Invitations, Pamphlets. Two very interesting items:\n A Restaurant Menu from his father-in-law's business on Bank\n Street, and the first invitation to the \"Ugly Club\" 1886.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries VI:\u003c/emph\u003eScrapbooks \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainers: 16-19 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSome of everything. Programs, cards, photographs and\n some correspondence.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries VII:\u003c/emph\u003eArtifacts \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainers: 20-25 \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eHousehold articles, toys and games. Two boxes of\n military items. There are also two military footlockers and\n the sheath for a dress saber.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u003cemph render=\"bold\"\u003eSeries VIII:\u003c/emph\u003eOversize \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eContainer: \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eMaps and Photos\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Series Description"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I: Correspondence: Family,\n Personal, Business, and Military \n Container: 1 \n Container: 2 \n Letters, postcards and telegrams arranged\n chronologically. 1884-1935","Series II: Financial and legal \n Container: 3 \n Teaching contracts, receipts, agreements, certificates,\n and military discharge. Arranged by type","Series III: Speeches and Writings \n Containers: 4-7 \n Four boxes of handwritten and several printed speeches\n and articles. Included is an autobiography. A list of\n Publications.","Series IV: Photographs \n Containers: 8-14 \n Seven boxes, family, friends work and church scenes. In\n box 12 are the photos of the 6th Virginia United States\n Colored Volunteers.","Series V: Printed (Memorabilia) \n Container: 15 \n Announcements, Commencement programs, Broadsides,\n Programs, Invitations, Pamphlets. Two very interesting items:\n A Restaurant Menu from his father-in-law's business on Bank\n Street, and the first invitation to the \"Ugly Club\" 1886.","Series VI: Scrapbooks \n Containers: 16-19 \n Some of everything. Programs, cards, photographs and\n some correspondence.","Series VII: Artifacts \n Containers: 20-25 \n Household articles, toys and games. Two boxes of\n military items. There are also two military footlockers and\n the sheath for a dress saber.","Series VIII: Oversize \n Container: \n Maps and Photos"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn 1935 the highest-ranking black officer in the disbanded\n 6th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Spanish American War, died.\n Few Virginians have ever heard of the 6th Virginia, let alone\n their commander, Major William Henry Johnson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHis story is unique, also, because he was one of the most\n successful post-bellum blacks in Petersburg who was not a\n descendant of the antebellum free black population. (There\n were around 3,200 free blacks in 1860). Major Johnson was from\n the slave population (which numbered around 5,000 in 1860).\n Free blacks had a slight advantage over the larger slave\n population, although they themselves were not truly free. They\n did have a bit more freedom of movement than their slave\n brethren did. In addition, some had some property that could\n be sold or borrowed upon to finance to own or accumulate\n property; therefore at emancipation they were truly\n penniless.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMajor Johnson's father, Henry Johnson, was born a slave\n around 1835 in Ettrick on Fleets Farm, what is now Virginia\n State University, and he grew up in the old plantation house.\n He remained a slave until the Union Army moved through Ettrick\n following Robert E. Lee in April of 1865.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWilliam Henry Johnson's mother, Malinda, was also a slave;\n she resided in Petersburg. October 1, 1858, her only child was\n born on Old Street (which is now Grove Avenue). In fact, in\n 1865 when Ulysses S. Grant entered Petersburg, her owner,\n Major P. Branch, fled to Danville taking Malinda and her\n six-year old son with him. William Henry's early years were\n spent in several places in Petersburg. At one time he lived on\n Old Street near Market, opposite Dunlop's Tobacco Factory.\n Another home was on the site of the old Titus Foundry. He also\n lived for some time on High Street and South Sycamore\n Street.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAfter General Lee's surrender, his mother and father were\n reunited. Later in the year his father brought a piece of\n property in the old field area in the vicinity of what is now\n Rome Street. Here his father built a small house, which is\n still standing, at what is now 1151 Rome Street. The family\n moved in at Christmas 1865.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHenry Johnson for 45 years was a teamster, driving his own\n horse and wagon. For a brief time he was a partner in an\n oyster house near the corner of Union and Oak Streets.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThen, as today, many blacks connected upward mobility with\n one's level of education. William Henry Johnson's parents were\n of that opinion and began his schooling at home. His first\n teacher, other than his mother, was a Mrs. Addie Berry who\n taught school at her home on Perry Street. Next, was Mr.\n Collier Tabb who taught school at \"East Hill\" on Lombard\n Street. His next mover was to the basement of the Gillfield\n Baptist Church under a Mr. Bates. After spending some time\n there he was enrolled in another private school. A former\n Confederate Army officer, Major Giles B. Cooke, taught this\n one. This school was located in the same building as the old\n First Baptist church near Garrison and Filmore Streets. He was\n graduated in 1874 (the first graduating class).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the summer and early fall months when school was not\n in session, William Henry prepared for a trade. He chose to\n become a cooper (one who makes barrels). He secured summer\n employment at a barrel company in Richmond where he remained\n for two summers. Here he learned the early stages of barrel\n construction, called \"slack work\". Upon mastering \"slack work\"\n he apprenticed himself to a Mr. Wilson Goodwyn who had a shop\n on Union Street, to learn \"tight work\". During the next two\n years (1874-1886) he became a master cooper, making barrels\n for Myers Whiskey Distillery in Blandford, flour and hogshead\n and tierces for Ropers Tobacco Factory on Halifax Street.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAfter he completed his apprenticeship, his mother and\n father decided that he should go to college. The three of them\n met with Rev. Mr. Henry Williams, their pastor, and together\n agreed upon Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute. Despite\n the necessity of constant employment, after two years of study\n he was graduated from Hampton with a normal degree in 1878. In\n addition to his degree he also attended several summer\n teaching institutes at what is now Virginia State\n University.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAfter graduating from Hampton, Johnson returned home to\n Petersburg and began trying to locate a teaching position.\n That October he was offered a position in Surry County, about\n three miles from the courthouse. His new job involved teaching\n night school and paid $20 per month plus room and board and\n lodging. His students were both young and old, eager to learn,\n and he was an enthusiastic teacher.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHe worked in Surry for five months. Later the following\n fall, quite by chance, on a walk through lower Chesterfield\n County he encountered a Captain Blankenship who was the County\n School Superintendent. A conference was held and the\n superintendent then offered a position at a new school that\n was under construction near what is now Virginia State\n University. He accepted the position and taught at that\n school, which was later called the \"Old Brickyard School\" on\n Dupuy Road in Ettrick.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMajor Johnson taught at this school for seven years, seven\n months a year at $30 per month. In 1886 he was offered the\n principalship of Lombard Street School in Petersburg , with a\n nine-month school year and a record-breaking wage of $40 per\n month. He accepted right away. This was not just a raise of\n $150 per year, this also made it possible for him to give up\n making barrels in the evenings from March through August. This\n job as a cooper paid $3 - $4 per day and was used to\n supplement his teaching salary. He remained at Lombard Street\n School for two years until a new position at the Jones Street\n School was offered and accepted. Here he remained as principal\n for 31 years until the building was razed and the new\n Peabody-Williams Building was erected as a combination\n elementary and high school in 1919. He opposed this combined\n school because he felt the two levels should be in separate\n buildings. Nevertheless, he became principal of the elementary\n division until he retired in 1929. After 43 years of teaching\n in the city of Petersburg and more than 50 years in the state\n of Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1887 William Henry Johnson married Miss Nannie Brewer.\n The new Mrs. Johnson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John\n Brewer, who were very highly respected citizens of Petersburg.\n Mr. John Brewer's father was born a slave and belonged to\n James Nicholas. As a slave, Mr. Brewer was allowed to \"hire\n out,\" that is, he was allowed to engage in some type of extra\n work where a part of the money went to the owner and the rest\n was pocketed by the slave. By late 1864, Brewer had managed to\n pay his owner a $1000 and was allowed to purchase himself from\n his owner. His self-purchase was within four months of the end\n of the Confederacy when all slaves were automatically free. In\n the early years, he was a painter. Later he owned and operated\n on of the most popular restaurants in Petersburg. His place\n was located at 10 Bank Street.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNannie Brewer Johnson was educated in Petersburg and\n attended the 1888 Normal for Teachers, an institute held at\n what is now Virginia State University. Mrs. Johnson was active\n in community and church work. She was a faithful member of\n Gillfield Baptist Church. Major and Mrs. Johnson were married\n for 48 years.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the era of black slavery, one of the greater fears\n of the white community was that of an armed rebellion of\n blacks. When the Civil War began, many free blacks in the\n south volunteered to take up arms for the Confederacy. This\n was true even in Petersburg. However, the state of Virginia\n was not prepared to accept armed black men, even volunteers.\n This policy remained until 1871 when Virginia reorganized the\n state Militia and allowed the formation of volunteer companies\n black and white.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe first black volunteer company in Petersburg came into\n existence in June of 1873. They were the Petersburg Guards,\n organized and captained by John H. Hill. For five years the\n Guards were the only black volunteer company in Petersburg. In\n 1878, however, Lieutenant Peyton L. Farley of the Guards\n resigned and organized the Petersburg Blues, which he also\n captained. William Henry Johnson joined the Blues in 1878 as a\n private. The Blues began complying a notable record in\n competition with other companies throughout the state. In 1881\n they were invited to participate in the inaugural parade of\n President James A. Garfield. In 1888 Johnson, now a captain,\n led the Blues on a very successful trip to Providence, Long\n Island, and Boston, Massachusetts. Between the years\n 1888-1897, Captain Johnson became Major Johnson and assumed\n command of the 2nd Battalion, Virginia Volunteer Infantry. In\n 1897 the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Parade was held in New York\n City and both the first and second Battalions made a fine\n showing for themselves and the state.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhen war with Spain was declared in 1898, the two black\n battalions were federalized and became the 6th Virginia U.S.\n Volunteer Army of the Spanish American War. The men met and\n voted to serve anywhere they were sent and elected to serve\n under their own officers. When this reached the press, an\n uproar evolved over the latter statement. Some whites opposed\n the idea of black officers. The unit, nevertheless, moved to a\n training camp at Camp Poland near Knoxville, Tennessee. There,\n a rumor concerning the ouster of all black officers were\n proven to be true.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAll black officers were ordered to take an exam to\n determine whether they would be allowed to keep their ranks.\n The black officers declared that they had all taken exams\n before training their ranks, and what if those exams were good\n enough then, they should be good enough now. When the second\n order was given, nine black officers resigned. White officers\n were immediately selected to fill the vacancies. The men of\n the 6th Virginia were very upset. Their former black officers\n asked them to go on without them. The war, however, ended so\n quickly that the men from Virginia never saw service in Cuba\n or the Philippines. The unit was discharged in Georgia in\n 1899. Virginia disbanded the black Volunteer companies and\n would not accept black again in the State National Guard for\n many years. Major Johnson continued to try and convince the\n governors of the state to allow the reformation of the black\n militia companies, but with no success.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAside from a purely military function the black companies\n also served as social organs for the black community. Socials\n and picnics were held and enjoyed by all. The wives and\n sweethearts of the men formed various auxiliaries and took it\n upon themselves to help raise funds and to purchase such items\n as ceremonial swords and flags.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMajor William Henry Johnson and his wife were members of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church , which has been located on Perry\n Street since 1815. He had been associated with the church\n since birth and was baptized in the year 1886. When the Rev.\n Mr. Henry Williams died in 1900 he became superintendent of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church Sunday School. He also served as\n church clerk and financial secretary, was a vice-president of\n the home mission and president of the Gillfield Baptist Church\n Temperance Society. He served the Bethany Baptist Sunday\n School Convention as president for twenty-five years and\n recording secretary for five years.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAlthough William Henry spent a considerable amount of time\n in other activities, he still found time to become involved\n with different groups around the city and state. He was\n vice-president of the Negro Organizational Society, which was\n founded in 1912 at Hampton Institute. This was and\n organization dedicated to the improvement of health, education\n and agriculture amongst black people. Johnson was one of the\n founders of a black Chamber of Commerce in Petersburg and\n served as their president in 1924. In 1925 he was elected\n vice-president of the Old Dominion Investment Company, a black\n local bank, and he was connected with the Ideal Investment\n Company and Realty Corporation of Virginia, also a local black\n banking concern.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLast but not least, he was one of the first black feature\n writers for a white southern newspaper. In 1919 the Petersburg\n Progress-Index engaged him to write a serious column about\n black life in the city. The column appeared first as \"Rome\n Street\" and was then renamed \"Subjects of Interest to Colored\n Readers.\" It lasted for 16 years, until 1935.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["In 1935 the highest-ranking black officer in the disbanded\n 6th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Spanish American War, died.\n Few Virginians have ever heard of the 6th Virginia, let alone\n their commander, Major William Henry Johnson.","His story is unique, also, because he was one of the most\n successful post-bellum blacks in Petersburg who was not a\n descendant of the antebellum free black population. (There\n were around 3,200 free blacks in 1860). Major Johnson was from\n the slave population (which numbered around 5,000 in 1860).\n Free blacks had a slight advantage over the larger slave\n population, although they themselves were not truly free. They\n did have a bit more freedom of movement than their slave\n brethren did. In addition, some had some property that could\n be sold or borrowed upon to finance to own or accumulate\n property; therefore at emancipation they were truly\n penniless.","Major Johnson's father, Henry Johnson, was born a slave\n around 1835 in Ettrick on Fleets Farm, what is now Virginia\n State University, and he grew up in the old plantation house.\n He remained a slave until the Union Army moved through Ettrick\n following Robert E. Lee in April of 1865.","William Henry Johnson's mother, Malinda, was also a slave;\n she resided in Petersburg. October 1, 1858, her only child was\n born on Old Street (which is now Grove Avenue). In fact, in\n 1865 when Ulysses S. Grant entered Petersburg, her owner,\n Major P. Branch, fled to Danville taking Malinda and her\n six-year old son with him. William Henry's early years were\n spent in several places in Petersburg. At one time he lived on\n Old Street near Market, opposite Dunlop's Tobacco Factory.\n Another home was on the site of the old Titus Foundry. He also\n lived for some time on High Street and South Sycamore\n Street.","After General Lee's surrender, his mother and father were\n reunited. Later in the year his father brought a piece of\n property in the old field area in the vicinity of what is now\n Rome Street. Here his father built a small house, which is\n still standing, at what is now 1151 Rome Street. The family\n moved in at Christmas 1865.","Henry Johnson for 45 years was a teamster, driving his own\n horse and wagon. For a brief time he was a partner in an\n oyster house near the corner of Union and Oak Streets.","Then, as today, many blacks connected upward mobility with\n one's level of education. William Henry Johnson's parents were\n of that opinion and began his schooling at home. His first\n teacher, other than his mother, was a Mrs. Addie Berry who\n taught school at her home on Perry Street. Next, was Mr.\n Collier Tabb who taught school at \"East Hill\" on Lombard\n Street. His next mover was to the basement of the Gillfield\n Baptist Church under a Mr. Bates. After spending some time\n there he was enrolled in another private school. A former\n Confederate Army officer, Major Giles B. Cooke, taught this\n one. This school was located in the same building as the old\n First Baptist church near Garrison and Filmore Streets. He was\n graduated in 1874 (the first graduating class).","During the summer and early fall months when school was not\n in session, William Henry prepared for a trade. He chose to\n become a cooper (one who makes barrels). He secured summer\n employment at a barrel company in Richmond where he remained\n for two summers. Here he learned the early stages of barrel\n construction, called \"slack work\". Upon mastering \"slack work\"\n he apprenticed himself to a Mr. Wilson Goodwyn who had a shop\n on Union Street, to learn \"tight work\". During the next two\n years (1874-1886) he became a master cooper, making barrels\n for Myers Whiskey Distillery in Blandford, flour and hogshead\n and tierces for Ropers Tobacco Factory on Halifax Street.","After he completed his apprenticeship, his mother and\n father decided that he should go to college. The three of them\n met with Rev. Mr. Henry Williams, their pastor, and together\n agreed upon Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute. Despite\n the necessity of constant employment, after two years of study\n he was graduated from Hampton with a normal degree in 1878. In\n addition to his degree he also attended several summer\n teaching institutes at what is now Virginia State\n University.","After graduating from Hampton, Johnson returned home to\n Petersburg and began trying to locate a teaching position.\n That October he was offered a position in Surry County, about\n three miles from the courthouse. His new job involved teaching\n night school and paid $20 per month plus room and board and\n lodging. His students were both young and old, eager to learn,\n and he was an enthusiastic teacher.","He worked in Surry for five months. Later the following\n fall, quite by chance, on a walk through lower Chesterfield\n County he encountered a Captain Blankenship who was the County\n School Superintendent. A conference was held and the\n superintendent then offered a position at a new school that\n was under construction near what is now Virginia State\n University. He accepted the position and taught at that\n school, which was later called the \"Old Brickyard School\" on\n Dupuy Road in Ettrick.","Major Johnson taught at this school for seven years, seven\n months a year at $30 per month. In 1886 he was offered the\n principalship of Lombard Street School in Petersburg , with a\n nine-month school year and a record-breaking wage of $40 per\n month. He accepted right away. This was not just a raise of\n $150 per year, this also made it possible for him to give up\n making barrels in the evenings from March through August. This\n job as a cooper paid $3 - $4 per day and was used to\n supplement his teaching salary. He remained at Lombard Street\n School for two years until a new position at the Jones Street\n School was offered and accepted. Here he remained as principal\n for 31 years until the building was razed and the new\n Peabody-Williams Building was erected as a combination\n elementary and high school in 1919. He opposed this combined\n school because he felt the two levels should be in separate\n buildings. Nevertheless, he became principal of the elementary\n division until he retired in 1929. After 43 years of teaching\n in the city of Petersburg and more than 50 years in the state\n of Virginia.","In 1887 William Henry Johnson married Miss Nannie Brewer.\n The new Mrs. Johnson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John\n Brewer, who were very highly respected citizens of Petersburg.\n Mr. John Brewer's father was born a slave and belonged to\n James Nicholas. As a slave, Mr. Brewer was allowed to \"hire\n out,\" that is, he was allowed to engage in some type of extra\n work where a part of the money went to the owner and the rest\n was pocketed by the slave. By late 1864, Brewer had managed to\n pay his owner a $1000 and was allowed to purchase himself from\n his owner. His self-purchase was within four months of the end\n of the Confederacy when all slaves were automatically free. In\n the early years, he was a painter. Later he owned and operated\n on of the most popular restaurants in Petersburg. His place\n was located at 10 Bank Street.","Nannie Brewer Johnson was educated in Petersburg and\n attended the 1888 Normal for Teachers, an institute held at\n what is now Virginia State University. Mrs. Johnson was active\n in community and church work. She was a faithful member of\n Gillfield Baptist Church. Major and Mrs. Johnson were married\n for 48 years.","During the era of black slavery, one of the greater fears\n of the white community was that of an armed rebellion of\n blacks. When the Civil War began, many free blacks in the\n south volunteered to take up arms for the Confederacy. This\n was true even in Petersburg. However, the state of Virginia\n was not prepared to accept armed black men, even volunteers.\n This policy remained until 1871 when Virginia reorganized the\n state Militia and allowed the formation of volunteer companies\n black and white.","The first black volunteer company in Petersburg came into\n existence in June of 1873. They were the Petersburg Guards,\n organized and captained by John H. Hill. For five years the\n Guards were the only black volunteer company in Petersburg. In\n 1878, however, Lieutenant Peyton L. Farley of the Guards\n resigned and organized the Petersburg Blues, which he also\n captained. William Henry Johnson joined the Blues in 1878 as a\n private. The Blues began complying a notable record in\n competition with other companies throughout the state. In 1881\n they were invited to participate in the inaugural parade of\n President James A. Garfield. In 1888 Johnson, now a captain,\n led the Blues on a very successful trip to Providence, Long\n Island, and Boston, Massachusetts. Between the years\n 1888-1897, Captain Johnson became Major Johnson and assumed\n command of the 2nd Battalion, Virginia Volunteer Infantry. In\n 1897 the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Parade was held in New York\n City and both the first and second Battalions made a fine\n showing for themselves and the state.","When war with Spain was declared in 1898, the two black\n battalions were federalized and became the 6th Virginia U.S.\n Volunteer Army of the Spanish American War. The men met and\n voted to serve anywhere they were sent and elected to serve\n under their own officers. When this reached the press, an\n uproar evolved over the latter statement. Some whites opposed\n the idea of black officers. The unit, nevertheless, moved to a\n training camp at Camp Poland near Knoxville, Tennessee. There,\n a rumor concerning the ouster of all black officers were\n proven to be true.","All black officers were ordered to take an exam to\n determine whether they would be allowed to keep their ranks.\n The black officers declared that they had all taken exams\n before training their ranks, and what if those exams were good\n enough then, they should be good enough now. When the second\n order was given, nine black officers resigned. White officers\n were immediately selected to fill the vacancies. The men of\n the 6th Virginia were very upset. Their former black officers\n asked them to go on without them. The war, however, ended so\n quickly that the men from Virginia never saw service in Cuba\n or the Philippines. The unit was discharged in Georgia in\n 1899. Virginia disbanded the black Volunteer companies and\n would not accept black again in the State National Guard for\n many years. Major Johnson continued to try and convince the\n governors of the state to allow the reformation of the black\n militia companies, but with no success.","Aside from a purely military function the black companies\n also served as social organs for the black community. Socials\n and picnics were held and enjoyed by all. The wives and\n sweethearts of the men formed various auxiliaries and took it\n upon themselves to help raise funds and to purchase such items\n as ceremonial swords and flags.","Major William Henry Johnson and his wife were members of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church , which has been located on Perry\n Street since 1815. He had been associated with the church\n since birth and was baptized in the year 1886. When the Rev.\n Mr. Henry Williams died in 1900 he became superintendent of\n the Gillfield Baptist Church Sunday School. He also served as\n church clerk and financial secretary, was a vice-president of\n the home mission and president of the Gillfield Baptist Church\n Temperance Society. He served the Bethany Baptist Sunday\n School Convention as president for twenty-five years and\n recording secretary for five years.","Although William Henry spent a considerable amount of time\n in other activities, he still found time to become involved\n with different groups around the city and state. He was\n vice-president of the Negro Organizational Society, which was\n founded in 1912 at Hampton Institute. This was and\n organization dedicated to the improvement of health, education\n and agriculture amongst black people. Johnson was one of the\n founders of a black Chamber of Commerce in Petersburg and\n served as their president in 1924. In 1925 he was elected\n vice-president of the Old Dominion Investment Company, a black\n local bank, and he was connected with the Ideal Investment\n Company and Realty Corporation of Virginia, also a local black\n banking concern.","Last but not least, he was one of the first black feature\n writers for a white southern newspaper. In 1919 the Petersburg\n Progress-Index engaged him to write a serious column about\n black life in the city. The column appeared first as \"Rome\n Street\" and was then renamed \"Subjects of Interest to Colored\n Readers.\" It lasted for 16 years, until 1935."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMajor William Henry Johnson Papers, Accession #1957-3,\n Johnston Memorial Library, Virginia State University.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Major William Henry Johnson Papers, Accession #1957-3,\n Johnston Memorial Library, Virginia State University."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe papers of Major William Henry Johnson were given to\n Virginia State University around 1957. They reflect the\n accomplishments of a person born a slave of slave parents in\n an uncertain time. There is personal and business\n correspondence dating from 1884. Hundreds of photographs show\n the black population in and around Petersburg frozen in time,\n leaving us a vivid picture of what they considered important\n in their lives. Perhaps the most outstanding series of papers\n is that which concern most of his speeches and writings. These\n cover a variety of topics and gives us an idea of what the\n black elite thought about their own lives an how they viewed\n the issues of their day.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Johnson papers are one of the most interesting bodies\n of papers left by a post-bellum black of this time period.\n They are a true reflection of a time now gone. These, and\n other items such as these, will help us to understand more\n about this time and the often-neglected role by blacks.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The papers of Major William Henry Johnson were given to\n Virginia State University around 1957. They reflect the\n accomplishments of a person born a slave of slave parents in\n an uncertain time. There is personal and business\n correspondence dating from 1884. Hundreds of photographs show\n the black population in and around Petersburg frozen in time,\n leaving us a vivid picture of what they considered important\n in their lives. Perhaps the most outstanding series of papers\n is that which concern most of his speeches and writings. These\n cover a variety of topics and gives us an idea of what the\n black elite thought about their own lives an how they viewed\n the issues of their day.","The Johnson papers are one of the most interesting bodies\n of papers left by a post-bellum black of this time period.\n They are a true reflection of a time now gone. These, and\n other items such as these, will help us to understand more\n about this time and the often-neglected role by blacks."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe William Henry Johnson papers\n include correspondence, speeches, photographs and other\n documents. They reflect William Henry Johnson's life as an\n educator, soldier and community leader.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The William Henry Johnson papers\n include correspondence, speeches, photographs and other\n documents. They reflect William Henry Johnson's life as an\n educator, soldier and community leader."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":381,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00001_c05_c89"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153"],"id":"vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00056","_root_":"vipets_vipets00056","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00056_c02","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00056_c02","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00056","vipets_vipets00056_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00056","vipets_vipets00056_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946","Series II: General\n Correspondence"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946","Series II: General\n Correspondence"],"text":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946","Series II: General\n Correspondence","Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918","Box-folder \n 6:61"],"title_filing_ssi":"Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918","title_ssm":["Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918"],"title_tesim":["Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Watts, Robert \n \n 7/20/1918"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":179,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 6:61"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#152","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:18:36.140Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00056","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00056","_root_":"vipets_vipets00056","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00056","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00056.xml","title_ssm":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"title_tesim":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["VSU RG 2/3"],"text":["VSU RG 2/3","A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946","7 Boxes","There are no restrictions.","John Manuel Gandy was appointed the third president of the\n Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, after the death of\n James Hugo Johnston in 1914. His teaching career began in\n Stone County Mississippi, and he also taught briefly in\n Hanson, Oklahoma before attending Fisk University in\n Nashville, Tennessee. While a student at Fisk he taught at\n various schools in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1898 he was\n appointed to the position of professor of Greek and Latin at\n Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now (Virginia State\n University). When the College program was terminated in 1902\n by the State he continued as professor of education until he\n was appointed president of the University in 1914.","As president he oversaw the schools development which\n included becoming the \"Land Grant College\" for blacks in\n Virginia in 1920. He also worked to have the college\n department returned to the University in 1923. Gandy also saw\n the renaming of the V N and II to Virginia State College for\n Negroes and the establishment of the graduate school 1937. The\n return of the college department in 1923 and the renaming of\n the V.N. and I.I. to Virginia State College for Negroes in1930\n and the establishment of the graduate school in 1937.","While President of the University, John Gandy was very\n active in a number of organizations. A few of the\n organizations Mr. Gandy was involved with are as follows: he\n was President of the Association of Presidents of Negro Land\n Grant Colleges, President of the Virginia State Teachers\n Association, and President of the National Association of\n Teachers in Colored Schools. He was also a member of several\n boards and a member of the Board of Trustees of Virginia Union\n University in Richmond, Virginia, and on the board of the\n \"Negro Organizational.\"","He served as President of Virginia State University until\n he retired in 1943 and as President Emeritus until his death\n in 1947.","Mr. Gandy's correspondence shows just how involved College\n Presidents at this time were in the day to day operation of\n the University. The subjects range from the Governors office\n to individual students and family members.","There are no restrictions.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["VSU RG 2/3"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"collection_title_tesim":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"collection_ssim":["A Guide to the Records of John M.\n Gandy \n \n 1916-1946"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"creator_ssm":["Transfered to the\n Archives"],"creator_ssim":["Transfered to the\n Archives"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["7 Boxes"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eJohn Manuel Gandy was appointed the third president of the\n Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, after the death of\n James Hugo Johnston in 1914. His teaching career began in\n Stone County Mississippi, and he also taught briefly in\n Hanson, Oklahoma before attending Fisk University in\n Nashville, Tennessee. While a student at Fisk he taught at\n various schools in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1898 he was\n appointed to the position of professor of Greek and Latin at\n Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now (Virginia State\n University). When the College program was terminated in 1902\n by the State he continued as professor of education until he\n was appointed president of the University in 1914.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAs president he oversaw the schools development which\n included becoming the \"Land Grant College\" for blacks in\n Virginia in 1920. He also worked to have the college\n department returned to the University in 1923. Gandy also saw\n the renaming of the V N and II to Virginia State College for\n Negroes and the establishment of the graduate school 1937. The\n return of the college department in 1923 and the renaming of\n the V.N. and I.I. to Virginia State College for Negroes in1930\n and the establishment of the graduate school in 1937.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWhile President of the University, John Gandy was very\n active in a number of organizations. A few of the\n organizations Mr. Gandy was involved with are as follows: he\n was President of the Association of Presidents of Negro Land\n Grant Colleges, President of the Virginia State Teachers\n Association, and President of the National Association of\n Teachers in Colored Schools. He was also a member of several\n boards and a member of the Board of Trustees of Virginia Union\n University in Richmond, Virginia, and on the board of the\n \"Negro Organizational.\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHe served as President of Virginia State University until\n he retired in 1943 and as President Emeritus until his death\n in 1947.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["John Manuel Gandy was appointed the third president of the\n Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, after the death of\n James Hugo Johnston in 1914. His teaching career began in\n Stone County Mississippi, and he also taught briefly in\n Hanson, Oklahoma before attending Fisk University in\n Nashville, Tennessee. While a student at Fisk he taught at\n various schools in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1898 he was\n appointed to the position of professor of Greek and Latin at\n Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now (Virginia State\n University). When the College program was terminated in 1902\n by the State he continued as professor of education until he\n was appointed president of the University in 1914.","As president he oversaw the schools development which\n included becoming the \"Land Grant College\" for blacks in\n Virginia in 1920. He also worked to have the college\n department returned to the University in 1923. Gandy also saw\n the renaming of the V N and II to Virginia State College for\n Negroes and the establishment of the graduate school 1937. The\n return of the college department in 1923 and the renaming of\n the V.N. and I.I. to Virginia State College for Negroes in1930\n and the establishment of the graduate school in 1937.","While President of the University, John Gandy was very\n active in a number of organizations. A few of the\n organizations Mr. Gandy was involved with are as follows: he\n was President of the Association of Presidents of Negro Land\n Grant Colleges, President of the Virginia State Teachers\n Association, and President of the National Association of\n Teachers in Colored Schools. He was also a member of several\n boards and a member of the Board of Trustees of Virginia Union\n University in Richmond, Virginia, and on the board of the\n \"Negro Organizational.\"","He served as President of Virginia State University until\n he retired in 1943 and as President Emeritus until his death\n in 1947."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA Guide to the Records of John M. Gandy, Accession #VSU\n RG 2/3, Special Collections and Archives, Johnston Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["A Guide to the Records of John M. Gandy, Accession #VSU\n RG 2/3, Special Collections and Archives, Johnston Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMr. Gandy's correspondence shows just how involved College\n Presidents at this time were in the day to day operation of\n the University. The subjects range from the Governors office\n to individual students and family members.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Mr. Gandy's correspondence shows just how involved College\n Presidents at this time were in the day to day operation of\n the University. The subjects range from the Governors office\n to individual students and family members."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":181,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:18:36.140Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00056_c02_c153"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n \n 1960","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n \n 1960","Box-folder \n 16:233"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n \n 1960","title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1960"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n \n 1960"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1960"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":281,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:233"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#8","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c09"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962","Box-folder \n 16:236"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962","title_ssm":["Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n 1961 or\n 1962"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":284,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:236"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#11","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c12"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n \n 1971","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n \n 1971","Box-folder \n 16:246"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n \n 1971","title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1971"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n \n 1971"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1971"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":294,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:246"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#21","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c22"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n \n 1972","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n \n 1972","Box-folder \n 16:247"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n \n 1972","title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":295,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:247"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#22","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c23"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n \n 1972","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n \n 1972","Box-folder \n 16:248"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n \n 1972","title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":296,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:248"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#23","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c24"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne \n \n 1972","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne \n \n 1972","Box-folder \n 16:250"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne \n \n 1972","title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"title_tesim":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne \n \n 1972"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":298,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:250"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#25","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c26"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75","Box-folder \n 16:255"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75","title_ssm":["Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75"],"title_tesim":["Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne A. Stevens \n \n 3/3/75"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":303,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:255"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#30","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c31"}},{"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11","ref_ssm":["vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11"],"id":"vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005_c07","parent_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vipets_vipets00005","vipets_vipets00005_c07"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE"],"text":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","SERIES VII. PHOTOS -- LOOSE","Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961","Box-folder \n 16:235"],"title_filing_ssi":"Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961","title_ssm":["Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961"],"title_tesim":["Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Wayne, Mike \n \n 1961"],"component_level_isim":[2],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":283,"containers_ssim":["Box-folder \n 16:235"],"_nest_path_":"/components#6/components#10","timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_ssi":"vipets_vipets00005","_root_":"vipets_vipets00005","_nest_parent_":"vipets_vipets00005","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/vsu/vipets00005.xml","title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["1982-20"],"text":["1982-20","Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938","This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces.","The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.","Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints","Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.","The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.","EDIT ME!","The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.","English"],"unitid_tesim":["1982-20"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_title_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"collection_ssim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, \n 1912,\n 1930-1938"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia State University"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia State University"],"acqinfo_ssim":["These papers were given to the V.S.U. Archives/ Special\n Collections Department by decree of Ms. Meredith's Last\n Will and Testament."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["This collection\n contains ca. 5,000 pieces."],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The items in Box 29 are restricted; there are no other\n restrictions in this collection."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSeries I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026amp; REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. General \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. House Committee \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Gillfield Baptist Church \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eSeries IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003e\u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eA. Furniture \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eB. Line Drawings \n \u003clb\u003e\u003c/lb\u003eC. Blueprints\u003c/p\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Organization"],"arrangement_tesim":["Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA (Container 1) \n Series II. CORRESPONDENCE \u0026 REPORTS (Containers 1-9)\n A. Family [1. By Date / 2. By Name] \n B. Personal [1. By Name / 2. By Date] \n C. Business [1. Azurest Syndicate / 2. U. S. Patent\n Office] \n Series III. WORK- V.S.U. (Container 9) \n Series IV. ALUMNI (Containers 10-12) \n A. General \n B. House Committee \n Series V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Container 12) \n A. Dunbar High School Class Reunion \n B. Gillfield Baptist Church \n C. The Virginia Federation of Colored Women's Club \n Series VI. SCRAPBOOKS (Containers 13-15, loose books) \n Series VII. PHOTOGRAPHS (Container 16) \n Series VIII PRINTED MATERIAL (Container 17) \n Series IX. ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS (Containers 18-20) \n A. Furniture \n B. Line Drawings \n C. Blueprints"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMs. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHer career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eShe also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical/Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on\n August 14,1895. She was the daughter of Emma P. Kenny\n (Meredith) and Samuel P. Meredith. She had two sisters and one\n brother; the eldest child , Maude, maintained a life-long\n closeness with Amaza. In 1915, Meredith completed here early\n schooling in Lynchburg, where she graduated at the top of her\n class.","Her First teaching job was at a rural ungraded school\n called Indian Rock, located in Botetourt County, Virginia.\n Here, Meredith organized the Indian Rock Parent- Teacher's\n Association, which worked in conjunction with the Negro\n Organization Society of Virginia to bring improvement to the\n local school system. In 1918, she returned to Lynchburg, where\n she taught elementary school. In 1922, she served as\n Valedictorian for her class at the Virginia Normal and\n Industrial Institute. This was followed by six years of\n teaching mathematics at Dunbar High School in Lynchburg.","Ms. Meredith enrolled in the Teacher's College of Columbia\n University, New York in 1928. It was there where she earned\n both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Fine Arts\n Education.","Her career with Virginia State University began in 1930,\n though she took a leave of absence from 1934-35 to complete\n her Master's degree. In 1935, she advanced to the position of\n Department Char, where she remained until her retirement in\n 1958. Amaza Meredith established the schools of Fine Arts\n department.","Beyond her career at V. S. U., Meredith's life was also\n rich in contributions. Her artistic self spilled over into\n these other facets of her life. She exhibited her art at the\n Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and in galleries in New York and\n North Carolina. Some works were acquired by groups, such as\n the Gillfield Baptist Church, where they are still displayed;\n many others hang in the homes of area residents.","She also developed interior decorating and design skills.\n In the field of business, she coordinated color schemes for\n campus buildings. To provide for new shelving units, she\n created blueprints, which proposed modifications in the art\n department layouts.","This remarkable person also pursued architectural\n interests. Though she had no known formal training, Amaza\n Meredith fully designed her own home - both inside and out,\n and im1939, it was built on Boisseau Street here in Ettrick.\n She named it \"Azurest South.\" In the ensuing decades, Meredith\n laid out the blueprints for several homes, most notably in Sag\n Harbor, Long Island, New York.","In the 1950's Sag Harbor flourished as resort area for\n blacks. Amaza and her sister, Maude, worked together to buy,\n create, and develop the subdivision later called \"Azurest\n North.\" They worked with others to establish the \"Azurest\n Syndicate, Inc.\" Syndicate lots were sold to individual\n investors, who the built summer, or year-round cottages and\n this land. Ms. Meredith designed at least two of these\n residences: 1) Terry Cottage, summer home for her sister,\n Maude Terry: and 2) Edendot, belonging to friends Ed and Dot\n Spaulding.","Additionally, Meredith provided several sets of blueprints\n for the proposed V. S. U. Alumni House in 1949. Once these\n plans fell through, Amaza tried another approach: She willed\n her half of Azurest South to the V. S. U. Alumni Association\n in the hopes that the dream for which she had worked so long\n would become a reality. Joint ownership of Azurest South was\n held with Ms. Edna Colson, another retired faculty member of\n V. S. U. In 1985, the Alumni Association purchased the\n Colson's half of the house, and Azurest South is now the\n official V. S. U. Alumni House.","Meredith was generally active in the Alumni Association.\n She was an honorary member of the Gillfield Baptist Church.\n While she participated in several other organizations and\n committees, the extent of her involvement is not known.","In 1984, Amaza Lee Meredith died."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912, 1930-1930, Accession\n #1982-20, Special Collections Dept., Johnson Memorial\n Library, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAnother group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMeredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eUnquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eFound in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eLastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAmaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSome correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eNews-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eA combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMost of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThis scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Information"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith Papers, 1912-1983, document a slice\n of Virginia's history in the twentieth century. This founder\n of the Fine Arts Department lived a life abundant in\n contributions well beyond her career at Virginia State\n University, while some materials relate directly to her work\n as a faculty member. Her devotion to education spanned over\n four decades; these papers reflect her efforts. Born in 1895,\n Meredith was raised in a period which some consider the lowest\n point in African-American history since the antebellum era. A\n product of such adversity, she adjusted to work and achieve\n during and after a time of legal segregation. This collection\n speaks to her successes in overcoming the \"obstacles\" of both\n race and gender.","Beginning in 1930, Meredith corresponded frequently with\n family, most notably, her sister, Maude Terry. These letters\n reveal the depth of love and loyalty the family cultivated and\n nurtured for lifetime. They demonstrate the difference in\n women's roles between the black and white interdependent\n relationship with men; black women have received greater\n support from their peers in the arena of independence. In this\n vein, Meredith's family gave her nothing short of a full\n endorsement for her outstanding achievements. It is likely\n that such contributed to her ability to surmount societal\n resistance.","Many of Meredith's peers were educators. Her papers include\n correspondence with Helen Edmonds, Anne Crittendon Preston,\n and Jean Murrell Capers (who later made her mark in politics).\n The remaining correspondence comes from people of varied\n backgrounds, also as viable research material.","Another group of personal correspondence related to\n Stafford Evans, a prized students of Ms. Meredith. While there\n is some continuation of correspondence into the 1980s, most of\n these letters were written while Evans served in the navy from\n 1943-45. Included are copies of The Mananan, a WWII Black\n sailors' March and December of 1945. This sub-series lends\n expression to the ambiguity, which black soldiers felt while\n in fighting for a democracy to which they themselves were not\n privy.","Meredith's business records document the origins of the\n Azurest Syndicate in 1953. Ms. Meredith worked with her\n sister, Ms. Terry, to pioneer the development of a Black\n summer resort area known as the Azurest North. The Syndicate\n served to regulate the subdivision's lot sales. The unique\n aspect of this venture are numerous: the development of a\n black resort in this time period, the syndicate, and the\n project's creation and development by two Black women - whose\n careers were unrelated to such a field.","It appears that, from the 1950's through the 1970's some\n homes in Azurest North were designed by Ms. Meredith. Though\n she had no known formal architectural schooling, she created\n countless line and ink drawings as well as blueprints, which\n are also included in this collection. Several of these\n projects succeeded in being built. For many more, the end\n result is as yet undetermined.","Unquestionably, Meredith designed and built her own home,\n known as Azurest South, which she truly reflects her artistic\n gift. Blueprints, line drawings, and sketches of this home are\n available for research.","Found in another series are the plans for the proposed V.\n S. U. Alumni House. Beginning in 1949 and working through the\n next decade, Meredith was active with the Alumni House\n Committee in attempts to produce an Alumni House. She retained\n general Alumni records from as early as 1936 and ending in\n 1969.","Lastly, she created more than a dozen scrapbooks, devoting\n each to a different subject and/or person. They contain\n documents, photos, letters, news clippings, and ephemera,\n which combine to form a rich source of research on their\n topics. The materials cut across all the other sub-series in\n these collections.","Amaza Meredith maintained a life-long friendship with Edna\n Colson, former head of the Education Department at V. S. U.\n They also shared a residence and had mutual friends. Clearly,\n in order to research either person in- depth, it will be\n necessary to study the other. Some further correspondence\n exists in Colson/Hill the sub-series of MS. Colson's personal\n correspondence dating from 1905-79. This includes information\n of the trip to Europe made by Colson and Meredith. Some\n materials, however are restricted (Box 29).","This is a collection of cards and programs.\n Included in this scrapbook is one of several\n telegrams.","This is a photographic record of Azurest South\n during its construction and as the home shared by\n Amaza Meredith and Edna Colson.","Correspondence, number of letters concerning\n Amamza Meredith teaching career in Lynchburg, and her\n being recruited to come to Virginia State by John M.\n Gandy. The other letters are mainly from friends\n concerning a variety of subjects. Included in the\n scrapbook is numerous of news-clippings, programs,\n tickets and other items collected by her long\n life.","Some correspondence, most of the materials consist\n of several programs, which were designed by Miss\n Meredith. Included in this book are also a number of\n speeches most concerning the teaching of or about\n art.","A collection of photographs covering a wide\n area.","This scrapbook includes a number of poems and\n letters written by Amaza Lee Meredith. The Evening\n song and Alma Mater of Virginia State is embodied in\n this scrapbook. Other letters and poems written or\n given to Miss Meredith can also be found. There are\n newspaper-clippings of poems written by Miss Amaza\n and also others that she collected.","Correspondence, photo's and newspaper-clippings\n from some of her former students. Included in this\n scrapbook are: James Gault Chander Flymn, Roderick\n Taylor, Freddrick F. Kersy, Reyenea Perry, Mildred\n Fountain, Huedillard Fitzgerald. Stanford Evens and\n others. There is addition some material about\n Lynchberg Virginia.","Some correspondence, news-clipping, programs most\n of which document the establishment of the Meredith\n Art at Virginia State in 1972 Gallery.","This scrapbook contains some correspondence,\n programs and printed articles about Anne Spencer of\n Lynchburg. Mrs. Spencer was a poet of the Harlem\n Renaissance Period. One of Miss Meredith sisters was\n married to Miss Spencer sons.","A Scrapbook of letters from a wide group of people\n dating from 1941 through 1976.","Some correspondence photographs and cards of\n sympathy about the death of Iris Terry Richards. Dr.\n Richards was Miss Meredith niece.","News-clippings, newsletters and other material\n mostly about Art.","A combination of items includes Miss Meredith's\n High School grades and diploma. There are letters of\n recognition and certificates.","Most of the material document Miss Meredith\n involvement with the Gillfield Baptist Church in\n Petersburg, Va.","This scrapbook document Miss Meredith retirement\n from Virginia State University in 1958. There are\n cards, programs, letters and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eEDIT ME!\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication Rights"],"userestrict_tesim":["EDIT ME!"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Amaza Lee Meredith papers\n contain personal and business documents generated by Ms.\n Meredith which reflect the activities of her lifetime.\n Included are materials related to her career at Virginia State\n University, her participation in the V.S.U. Alumni Association\n the official records of the Azurest North Syndicate, and\n personal correspondence with several prominent blueprints,\n line drawings, and sketches of Ms. Meredith's designs which\n demonstrates her pursuits in architecture."],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":369,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T18:22:00.819Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vipets_vipets00005_c07_c11"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"Virginia State University","value":"Virginia State 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