Papers of Leon Washington Condol
Abstract
The Leon Washington Condol collection consists of photographs, family documents, and newsclippings. Also included in the collection, and of particular interest, is a rare, autographed copy of Sketches Old and New (1875), a collection of Mark Twain stories. One of the sketches in the volume is said to be based on the life of Leon Condol's great-grandmother, a woman who endured slavery, family separation and reunion, and who finally worked for Mark Twain. Much of the Condol collection, in fact, centers on the family's history in slavery in Maryland and Virginia, a period long before Leon Washington Condol's birth in 1887. There is, however, some information on Condol's life with his family in upstate New York, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
This collection is open for research.
Papers of Leon Washington Condol, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
Leon Washington Condol was born in 1887, the son of William and Louise Washington Condol in Elmira, New York. The oldest of two sons, Leon's personal history is sketchy. Growing up in Elmira, he later worked in New York City for a representative of a French cloth manufacturing firm (possibly Victor Galaup Inc.). He joined the Navy in 1913, serving throughout the First World War as a cook. From 1924 until 1927 he was employed again in New York City, this time as a valet, cook and general houseman to Mr. Robert Angles. Married and divorced in the 1920s, he moved to Washington, D.C. in the early 1930s. There he married Virginia Lewis Callaway, a graduate of Howard University and great niece of the Baltimorean Banks's, in 1931. In Washington, D.C., he was employed by the Freedman's Hospital as chief storekeeper from the time of his marriage to his retirement some years ago.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Leon Washington Condol Papers are composed of family photographs and materials associated with a rare Mark Twain collection of sketches.
Mr. Condol's heritage is the focus of the collection. With few exceptions, the materials he has collected and donated center around his family's early history as slaves in Maryland and Virginia and their gradual migration north in the late nineteenth century. Apart from Leon and his wife, Virginia, the materials highlight the story of his great-grandmother, Mary Ann Cord.
"Auntie" Cord's life story as a slave, her separation from her children, surprising reunion with her youngest son, and eventual employment with the Samuel L. Clemens family was captured by Clemens in his sketch entitled "A True Story. Related Word For Word As I Heard It." A rare copy of the collection of sketches, entitled Sketches Old and New (1875), autographed by the author, was handed down through the family and is included in the collection.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
The Leon Washington Condol Papers were donated to the University of Maryland Libraries by Mr. and Mrs. Leon Condol in February 1986, after they were made aware of the University's interest in the material through solicitations carried out by Professors Emory Evans and J. Kirkpatrick Flack of the History Department. Dr. Flack donated additional materials in 2001.
Processing Information
Processed by Betsy Parkin, Summer 1986. Edited by Leslie P. May, Winter 1987
The order of the collection was maintained as much as possible as received from Mr. Condol in 1986. All duplicates and materials not directly related to the collection were discarded. Photographs were separated and the remaining material sorted according to type and organized. The collection originally contained a copy of the Centennial issue of the Elmira Star- Gazette and Advertiser, from which relevant articles were clipped. A leather letter case, and picture frames for some of the photographs were discarded. All materials were placed in acid-free folders and labeled, reboxed and the guide was written. The volume of Twain's Sketches was removed from the collection and transferred to the Marylandia and Rare Books Department.
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Jennie A. Levine.
Arrangement of Collection
This collection is organized as six series:
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Family Documents, 1864-1931 (0.25 linear inch)
Includes marriage license, teaching certificate, letter of employment and company card, photocopy of sketch entitled "A True Story. Related Word for Word as I Heard It."
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photocopy of appropriate pages of collection of sketches | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Family documents, 1925, 1927, 1931, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
Series 2: Newspaper clippings, undated (0.75 linear inch)
Includes all clippings associated with the Twain volume and other family announcements. This series also contains an 1865 copy of the New York Herald newspaper.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newspaper clippings, 1955, 1958, 1980, undated | series 2 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| Elmira Star-Gazette and Advertiser, 1964 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| New York Herald, 1965 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
Series 3: Photographs, undated (2 linear inches)
Primarily photographs, tintypes, and negatives of various members of the Condol, Washington, and Callaway families. All photographs have been separated from the collection and placed in the photographic collection. A list and description of these photographs appear in Appendix II.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negatives | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | ||
| unidentified portrait, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1 | |
| unidentified woman (possibly Mary Ann Cord), undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 2 | |
| unidentified woman (possibly Mary Ann Cord), undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 3 | |
| Photographs | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | ||
| unidentified child (young girl) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 1 | |
| unidentified woman (Mary Ann Cord ?) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 2 | |
| Great Grandma Mary Cord , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 3 | |
| H. Crummel Washington , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 4 | |
| Elisa Virginia Lewis Callaway , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 5 | |
| Grandma Jane Condol , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 6 | |
| unidentified man (Leon Condol ?) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 7 | |
| unidentified baby , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 8 | |
| unidentified man (Leon Condol ?) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 9 | |
| Maria Conway Washington , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 10 | |
| 3 unidentified women , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 11 | |
| unidentified baby (same as above) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 12 | |
| Virginia Lewis Callaway , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 13 | |
| Robert Callaway , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 14 | |
| unidentified woman (Mary Ann Cord ?) , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 15 | |
| Leon Washington Condol, WWI , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 16 | |
| unidentified couple , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 2 | item 17 | |
| Photograph (framed) | series 3 | box 1 | folder 3 | ||
| Lex Club, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 3 | item 1 | |
| Stereotypes | series 3 | box 1 | folder 4 | ||
| Leon and Virginia, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 4 | item 1 | |
| Leon, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 4 | item 2 | |
| Virginia, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 4 | item 3 | |
| Tintypes | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | ||
| unidentified woman , undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 1 | |
| unidentified woman, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 2 | |
| unidentified family, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 3 | |
| unidentified family, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 4 | |
| 2 unidentified women, undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 5 | |
| unidentified woman (possibly Mary Ann Cord), undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 5 | item 6 | |
Series 4: Portraits, 19th Century (5.5 linear feet)
Contains three portraits. One, by an anonymous painter, is of an unidentified gentleman and is now displayed in the History Department (Francis Scott Key Hall) at the University of Maryland. Two other portraits, assumed to be of Burwell and Charity Banks and attributed to William Simpson, 19th century Afro-American artist, are presently on display at the Banneker- Douglass Museum at Annapolis.
There is currently no box inventory available for this series. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials.
Series 5: Oral Histories, 1982-1983 and undated (0.25 linear foot)
Contains two 60-minute cassette tapes of oral histories conducted with Leon and Virginia Condol. Transcripts of the tapes are also available. Included is a record of an interview with "Aunty Cord's Granddaughter, Mrs. Louise Washington Condol."
There is currently no box inventory available for this series. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials.
Series 6: Memorabilia, 1809-1944 and undated (1 linear inch)
Consists of coins, medals and tokens from the estate of a relative of Leon Washington Condol. The coins are primarily from the U.S., France and Germany and date from 1809-1944. The tokens are from "D of C Capitol Transit" and are undated. One medal states "To Mrs. Govans for the Best Piece of Worsted Work at the 1st Lit & Artistic Demonstration Among Colored People in Balto. Feb 25, 1850" and the second is to "E. Virginia Lewis, First Honor 1875: Public Colored Schools, Wash and Geo'Town."
There is currently no box inventory available for this series. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials.
Related Material
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.
Selected Search Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the University of Maryland Libraries' Catalog. Researchers desiring related materials about these topics, names, or places may search the Catalog using these headings.
Subjects
- Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography -- Sources
- Slavery -- Maryland -- History -- Sources
- Slavery -- Virginia -- History -- Sources
- Twain, Mark -- 1835-1910 -- Sources