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Washington State University Libraries
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA
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Cage 41
Florida Virginia Hill James
Papers, 1909-1950


The papers were assembled by Florida's son, Glen James, b. 1937, who donated the material to the Washington State University Library in 1960. They were processed by Lawrence R Stark in October of 1972. A further donation of Arthur J. James' papers was added to this collection in August, 1975.

Number of containers: 4
Linear feet of shelf space: 2
Approximate number of items: 820

BIOGRAPHY

Florida Hill, born in 1896, the daughter of a Palouse, Washington wheat farmer, lived in eastern Washington until 1917 when she and her widowed mother moved to Eugene, Oregon, where Florida enrolled as a student at the University of Oregon. In 1920 both moved to Los Angeles where Florida finished her college work at the University of Southern California and taught in the public schools of Pomona, California. About a year after her marriage to Arthur James (1929) she returned to the Palouse Country.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The papers consist primarily of Florida's intermittent diaries and correspondence from friends and family, which includes her letters to her sister Bess. In addition, photographs of the Hill and James families; memorabilia of the Hill Family; papers of Arthur James concerning his wartime experiences and employment as a railroad brakeman and conductor; correspondence of Marylin James, and photographs of Colfax and Palouse scenes, are included in the collection.

CONTAINER LIST

Container   Description No. of
Items
1Correspondence, 1909-1950.350
2Diaries: 1912 (Colfax); 1918 (Eugene); 1920, 1925 (Los Angeles); 1935 (Palouse); fragments, ca. 1930.9
Memoranda and address books.5
Child's autograph book.1
Culver City, California, real estate papers, ca. 1925-ca. 1940.30
Programs and announcements, commencements and weddings, 1911- ca. 1935.20
Diaries donated in 1974: Unknown rancher, 1889-1890; Besse Hill, Colfax, 1912; Florida Hill, Eugene, 1919.
3Genealogy, deeds and abstracts, grade cards, bank statements, ration books and other memorabilia of the Hill and James families, 1911-ca. 1945.35
Employment and union papers, insurance policies, service records and other papers of Arthur James, ca. 1912-ca. 1922.50
Correspondence of Marylin James, 1946-1947.50
Sketch scripts, poetry and essays by Florida James, n.d. .10
4Photographs of members of the Hill and James families (some identified); of the Palouse farm and the Colfax area; the Los Angeles home; World War I servicemen's snapshots of Arthur James; hop picking crew, ca. 1915; a Ku Klux Klan rally near Colfax, ca. 1925.250
 
Addition, 21 August 1975
James, Arthur J.
   Papers, 1925-1956.120
   Receipt book and miscellaneous invoices, receipts and other papers.