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Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison papers

 Collection
Identifier: AMN 1032

Collection Overview

The collection consists of personal materials and those documenting Harrison's mother, Anna DeCosta Banks, the Hospital and Training School for Nurses and McClennan-Banks hospital. Personal papers of Evangeline Banks Harrison and her family include her Avery Institute graduation program (1917), a school essay, biographical data, inspirational clippings, photographs, including an unidentified daguerreotype (circa 1850s) and a sporadically kept diary (circa 1937-1940s). Armistead Harrison materials document his membership in the Owls Whist Club and his long time career as a barber at Felder's Barbershop, Charleston, South Carolina. Anna DeCosta Banks materials include photos, biographical data, diplomas, etc. There are early graduation programs from the Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and clippings and notes regarding the history of the segregated hospital founded by Dr. Alonzo McClennan including photocopies of some issues of The Hospital Herald journal he edited. Included are constitutions, bylaws, and charters of that institution and its successor, the McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital. With significant correspondence (1947-1959) regarding the closing of the earlier institution, and the struggle to secure financing to support a hospital to treat African Americans. Those active in the debate included the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, Roper Hospital and Medical Society of South Carolina, the city of Charleston, and the county of Charleston which eventually took responsibility for a new structure. Correspondents include hospital officers, Thomas Carr McFall, Samuel J. Poinsette, building designer Augustus E. Constantine, other architects, a representative of the Society for Preservation of Spirituals, and Harold S. (Dick) Reeves, wanting to hold a Gullah reading to raise money. With some miscellaneous materials regarding hospital staff and their descendants.

Dates

  • Creation: approximately 1850-1985

Creator

Language of Materials

Material is in English

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

Born in Hampton, Virginia in 1898, Helen (often called Evangeline, or Vangi) Banks, the daughter of Issiah and Anna DeCosta Banks, came to Charleston, South Carolina as a child and spent most of her life there. She attended city schools, Avery Normal Institute, and Howard University. In 1922 she married Armistead B. Harrison (1893-1985), son of Charles Alonzo Harrison (1876-1942), rector (1918-1936) of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and long time barber and eventual owner of Felder's Barbershop in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1935, she began working as a clerk in the out patient clinic of Charleston's segregated Hospital and Training School for Nurses, where her mother served as superintendent of nursing for 35 years. Harrison became Medical Records Librarian at McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital, the successor organization to the Hospital and Training School, partly named in honor of her mother. Evangeline Banks Harrison retired in 1966 and continued to serve a number of women's, social and civic organization, including the Charleston Chapter of LINKS, of which she was a charter member. Mrs. Harrison died in 1985 a few months after her husband.

Extent

1.0 linear feet (2 archival boxes)

Abstract

Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison was born in Hampton, Virginia in 1898, to Issiah and Anna DeCosta Banks. Often called Evangeline, or Vangi, she attended city schools in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as Avery Normal Institute, and Howard University. In 1922 she married Armistead B. Harrison and in 1935, she began working as a clerk in the out patient clinic of Charleston's segregated Hospital and Training School for Nurses. Harrison became Medical Records Librarian at McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital, the successor organization to the Hospital and Training School. Evangeline Banks Harrison retired in 1966 and continued to serve a number of women's, social and civic organization, including the Charleston Chapter of LINKS, of which she was a charter member. Mrs. Harrison died in 1985. The collection consists of personal materials and those documenting Harrison's mother, Anna DeCosta Banks, the Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and McClennan-Banks hospital. Personal papers of Evangeline Banks Harrison and her family include her Avery Institute graduation program (1917), biographical data, inspirational clippings, photographs, and a sporadically kept diary (circa 1937-1940s). Armistead Harrison materials document his membership in the Owls Whist Club and his long time career as a barber at Felder's Barbershop, Charleston, South Carolina. Anna DeCosta Banks materials include photos, biographical data, and diplomas. There are early graduation programs from the Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and clippings and notes regarding the history of the segregated hospital founded by Dr. Alonzo McClennan including photocopies of some issues of The Hospital Herald journal he edited. Included are constitutions, bylaws, and charters of that institution and its successor, the McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital. With significant correspondence (1947-1959) regarding the closing of the earlier institution, and the struggle to secure financing to support a hospital to treat African Americans. With some miscellaneous materials regarding hospital staff and their descendants.

Collection Arrangement

1. Personal Papers

2. Hospital and Training School for Nurses Historical Papers

3. Hospital and Training School/McClennan-Banks Administrative Papers

4. Miscellaneous Material

Acquisitions Information

Donated by , Rector, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, April 1990 and by Daniel Messier, Reverend, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, November 2006

Separated Material

1032-OPF/1

Processing Information

Processed by Harlan Greene, November 2006

Encoded by Melissa Bronheim, August 2010

Funding from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation supported the processing of this collection.

Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the collection processing and encoding of this finding aid.

Title
Inventory of the Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison Papers, circa 1850 - 1985
Author
Processed by: Harlan Greene; machine-readable finding aid created by: Melissa Bronheim
Date
© 2010
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English
Sponsor
Funding from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the collection processing and encoding of this finding aid.

Repository Details

Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository

Contact:
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608