Louis Watson Chappell (1890-1981), Folklorist, Research Papers, Sound Recordings, and Other Material

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

Special access restriction applies.

Part of this collection is stored offsite. Please make an appointment prior to visiting.

Researchers may access digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Louis Watson Chappell (1890-1981), Folklorist, Research Papers, Sound Recordings, and Other Material, A&M 2480, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
29.71 Linear Feet 44 document cases, 5 in. each; 6 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 small collection file folder, 0.25 in.; 7 blue notebooks, 1.5 in. each; 3 ft. 2 in. of acetate discs; 4 pieces of disc recorder equipment, 66.5 in. total; 3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each and 36.7 Gigabytes 160 .wav files
Creator:
Chappell, Louis W. (Louis Watson)
Abstract:
Research papers and sound recordings compiled by Louis Watson Chappell, an English Professor and folklorist at West Virginia University who collected, documented, and preserved West Virginia's folk music and folk traditions. He was born in Belvidere, North Carolina and educated in English Language and Literature at Wake Forest University (B.A.), and the University of Virginia (M.A.). Receiving a faculty appointment at West Virginia University in 1922, Chappell embarked upon a career dedicated to documenting and preserving West Virginia's folk music, which proved to be highly significant.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Louis Watson Chappell (1890-1981), Folklorist, Research Papers, Sound Recordings, and Other Material, A&M 2480, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Initial Acquisition of 1977/03/24:

undated; 3 reels of microfilm; Transcriptions in musical notation of performances recorded and collected by Louis Watson Chappell of West Virginia folk musicians. The recordings from which these transcriptions were derived can be found in the folk music collection of the West Virginia and Regional History Center, in collection numbers 1-88 (see link to collection page in Instances).

Addendum of 1978/07/06: ca. 1930-1950; 9 ft. and disc recorders (14 five in. document cases; 3 ft. 2 in. of acetate discs; three pieces of disc recorder equipment: Triplett Model 321, and two unknown types); 646 aluminum discs and a corresponding set of copies on acetate discs containing original field recordings by Louis Watson Chappell of West Virginia folk musicians. Reformatted masters and user copies can be found in the folk music collection of the West Virginia and Regional History Center, in collection numbers 1-88 (see link to collection page in Instances). The original disc recorder equipment used to make these recordings is also in this addendum.

Addendum of 1987/08/05:

1815-1980; 14 ft. 10 1/2 in. and 9 in. item (30 five in. document cases, 6 three in. flat storage boxes; seven 1 1/2 in. blue notebooks; Meissner Radio Phono Recorder [Model 9-1065]); The papers of Chappell contain correspondence, folk music and folklore research papers, and other material. The Chappell correspondence regards the collection of Appalachian folk music and the publication of his book "Traditional Songs of West Virginia". Folk music research papers include information regarding ballad texts, and transcriptions from field recordings he and others made of West Virginia folk musicians (including transcriptions in music notation of vocal and instrumental performances, and in text of ballad lyrics). Folklore includes superstitions, folk medicine, word origins, proverbs and sayings, place names, children's games and dances, riddles and jokes, folktales; and his research papers (notes and typescripts with handwritten corrections) regarding John Henry, a steel driver at the Big Bend railroad tunnel. Paper copy of folder-level container list for this addendum available in control folder.

Addendum of 2010/03/01:

-1941; 1/4 in. (25 pages in 1 folder); Outgoing letters by Louis Watson Chappell to Fletcher Collins regarding folk song collection and publication.

See also WVRHC oral history collection 319:

319. JEANETTE SHULZ. Hundred, Wetzel County, WV, 27 March 1980.

An interview with Mrs. Shulz, daughter of Scott Phillips, conducted by John A. Cuthbert. Mrs. Shulz's gives her recollections of her father's musical activity -- stringbands, radio performances, and recordings made by L.W. Chappell. One reel (5") 3 3/4 ips, quality good. (R374)

Folk Music Recordings:

In 1937, Chappell purchased a disc recording machine, and over the next eleven years amassed an archive of West Virginia folk music of more than 2000 items, performed by over 90 different people. Of particular interest are the twenty-five discs of the legendary fiddler Edwin "Edden" Hammons, who performed for Chappell in August, 1947.

These recordings have been digitized and may be accessed remotely or in person by appointment.

Biographical / historical:

Louis Watson Chappell was born in Belvidere, North Carolina and educated in English Language and Literature at Wake Forest University (B.A.), and the University of Virginia (M.A.). Subsequent study was undertaken at Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and New York University. Receiving a faculty appointment at West Virginia University in 1922, Chappell embarked upon a career dedicated to documenting and preserving West Virginia's folk music, which proved to be highly significant. He began his study of traditional music a decade or so earlier as a ballad hunter in the North Carolina-Virginia tidewater region in which he had spent his youth. Some years later the results of his collecting in the area were published in a book entitled "Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle" (Morgantown: Ballad Press, 1939). The folklorist's first major contribution to West Virginia folklore was an exhaustive investigation into the controversy surrounding the ballad "John Henry" and its distinction from "John Hardy." In 1933 the publication of a full-length study "John Henry: A Folk-Lore Study" (Jena. Frommansche Verlag) placed the celebrated steel driver at the Big Bend Tunnel in late 19th-century West Virginia. In 1937 Chappell purchased a disc recording machine similar to the one employed at the time by his colleague and friend, John A. Lomax.

Acquisition information:

Acquired from Chappell, Louis Watson, 1977/03/24

Gift of Chappell, Louis Watson, 1978/07/06.

Gift of Chappell, Louis Watson, 1987/08/05.

Gift of Dolive, Louis, 2010/03/01.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard