TABLE OF CONTENTS
Guide to the George Swetnam Papers,
1781-1981
Biographical Note
George Swetnam was born in Hicks Station, Ohio in 1904. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, and holds a Ph.D. in Assyriology from the Hartford Seminary Foundation. Swetnam, throughout his long life, has experienced several careers, including several years as a Orthodox Presbyterian clergyman, a professor of English and German at the University of Alabama, ran a photography studio, went on the road as a hobo, and ran weekly newspapers in several cities before coming to Pennsylvania. Swetnam, regarded as one of Pennsylvania's outstanding historians, published several books featuring the history and folklore of the Pittsburgh area. These include Pittsylvania Country and Where Else but Pittsburgh?. In 1943, Swetnam accepted the position as feature writer of the Sunday Magazine for the Pittsburgh Press. For decades, he researched and wrote a weekly series of two page feature articles, documenting not only the history and folklore of Pittsburgh, but focused also on the accomplishments of the city's most notable citizens. In addition, Swetnam wrote many articles on the history of other counties in Pennsylvania.
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Scope and Content Notes
As part of the Swetnam Papers, a group of 3,000 books, mainly documenting the history and folklore of Pennsylvania and collected for the donor's personal use, was also presented to the Library. While most of these volumes are available for circulation, many rare or fragile books are housed in Special Collections. In addition to the books, six boxes of materials were also donated that year. The first six boxes containing the Swetnam Collection consist of various types of materials, correspondence, original Swetnam manuscripts with the author's revisions, manuscripts of other writers used as source materials, photographs, personal memorabilia, and miscellaneous items acquired by Swetnam over a period of thirty years. The Swetnam Collection is a rich store of primary materials for in-depth study of the city of Pittsburgh and its industrial development. In addition, the collection offers a wide range of items including personal diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings, which record the remarkable career of an outstanding journalist and a discriminating collector of rare books.
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The George Swetnam papers are housed in thirteen archival boxes.
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Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University Archives and Special Collections. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the coordinator of the University Archives and Special Collections.
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Controlled Access Terms |
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| These records are indexed under the following terms in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related materials may wish to search under these terms. | ||
| Topics | ||
| Authors, American -- y20th century. | ||
| Historians -- Pennsylvania. | ||
| Corporate Names | ||
| Personal Names | ||
| Swetnam, George | ||
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Administrative Information
The George Swetnam Papers, 1781-1981, MG# 5, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University Archives and Special Collections
Boxes one through six were donated in 1968; boxes seven through twelve were acquired in July 1995
This collection was processed by Special Collections Staff,date unknown. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Special Collections Staff in Spring 2001.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jason Hutchins on October 26, 2001.
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Inventory Listings
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