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Joan Thomas papers, 1893-2014

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Thomas, Joan, 1934-
Title
Joan Thomas papers
Dates
1893-2014 (inclusive)
Quantity
35.75 linear feet, (44 boxes)
Collection Number
ACCN 2595
Summary
The Joan Thomas papers (1893-2014) contain personal materials along with prose and poerty. The collection also contains materials related to her relationship with Ammon Hennacy and their focus on pacifism and workers' rights. Included are numerous drawings created by Thomas.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this Collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Josephine Ann Thomas was born October 1, 1934 in Inglewood, California. She married Hennacy in 1965 and, after the death of Ammon in 1970, Joan moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Thomas was a prolific poet, writer and artist. She is best known for her book The Years of Grief and Laughter: A "Biography" of Ammon Hennacy.

Ammon Ashford Hennacy was born July 24, 1893, in Negley, Ohio. He was a member of the Catholic Worker Movement and a Wobbly. He established the "Joe Hill House of Hospitality" in Salt Lake City, Utah and practiced tax resistance. He studied a year each at Ohio State University, Hiram College in Ohio, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. At the outbreak of WWI Hennacy was imprisoned for 2 years in Atlanta, Georgia for resisting conscription. In 1953 he moved to New York and became editor of the Catholic Worker, moving to Utah in 1961. Hennacy died January 14, 1970, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Content Description

The Joan Thomas papers (1893-2014) contain personal materials along with prose and poerty. The collection also contains materials related to her relationship with Ammon Hennacy and their focus on pacifism and workers' rights. Included are numerous drawings created by Thomas.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following series: 1. Personal and family materials; 2. IWW Organization records; 3. Writings and artwork; 4. Books; and 5. Oversize materials.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Joan Thomas in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2013.

Bulk of the collection donated by Joan Thomas via the University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center in 2011.

Processing Note

Processed by Julia Huddleston.

Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.

Separated Materials

Photographs and audio-visual materials were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Related Materials

See also the Ammon Hennacy papers (MS 0555) in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Anarchists--Archives
  • Employee rights
  • Labor Unions--Archives
  • Labor leaders--Archives
  • Labor movement--United States
  • Pacifism--United States
  • Political activists--Archives
  • Women in the labor movement--Archives
  • Women labor leaders--Archives

Personal Names

  • Billings, Josephine Rudolph
  • Billings, Warren K., 1893-1972
  • Hennacy, Ammon, 1893-1970--Archives
  • Maclean, Leon, 1930-2008--Archives
  • Thomas, Joan, 1934---Archives
  • Thompson, Fred, 1900-1987

Corporate Names

  • Industrial Workers of the World

Form or Genre Terms

  • Autobiographies
  • Biographies
  • Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
  • Diaries
  • Drawings
  • Personal correspondence
  • Poetry

Finding aid created by Betsey Welland.
2022

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