Mildred Moore Collection
name: label: Author
content: McPherson, Aimee Semple
label: Author
content: Mack, Connie
label: Author
content: Long, Huey
label: Author
content: Lauder, Harry, Sir
label: Author
content: Pons, Lily, 1898-1976
label: Collector
content: Galloway, Mildred (Mildred Galloway Moore)
label: Author
content: Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
label: Author
content: Ruth, George Herman (Babe)
label: Author
content: Rockefeller, John D.
label: Author
content: Post, Emily
label: Author
content: Sousa, John Philip, 1854-1932
label: Author
content: Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967
label: Author
content: Churchill, Winston, Sir, 1874-1965
label: Creator
content: White, Mary Lou
label: Author
content: Pickford, Mary
label: Author
content: Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946
label: Author
content: Adams, Maude (actress)
label: Author
content: Allen, Gracie
label: Author
content: Cantor, Eddie, 1892-1964
label: Author
content: Addams, Jane
label: Author
content: Baruch, Bernard M.
label: Author
content: Baer, Max (boxer)
label: Author
content: Brendel, El (actor)
label: Author
content: Borglum, Gutzon, 1867-1941
label: Author
content: Burgess, Gelett, 1866-1951
label: Author
content: Chaplin, Charles (actor)
label: Author
content: Coolidge, Grace
label: Author
content: Cobb, Irvin S.
label: Author
content: Curie, Marie
label: Author
content: Crosby, Harry Lillis (Bing)
label: Author
content: Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938
label: Author
content: Disney, Walt, 1901-1966
label: Author
content: Durant, William James
label: Author
content: Durante, Jimmy
label: Author
content: Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937
label: Author
content: Fetchit, Stepin
label: Author
content: Fields, W. C.
label: Collector
content: Galloway, Mildred (Mildred Galloway Moore)
label: Author
content: Garner, John N.
label: Author
content: Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944
label: Author
content: Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
label: Author
content: Grey, Zane
label: Author
content: Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945
label: Author
content: Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 1841-1935
label: Author
content: Hoover, John Edgar
label: Author
content: Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
label: Author
content: Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
label: Author
content: Lardner, Ring
place: label: Place
content: Indiana -- 20th century
title: label: Topic
content: Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies. 1940. (Book)
topic: label: Topic
content: Celebrities -- 1930-1940
label: Topic
content: Poetry
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Charles F. White, 1991, April 26.
creator: label: Author
content: McPherson, Aimee Semple
label: Author
content: Mack, Connie
label: Author
content: Long, Huey
label: Author
content: Lauder, Harry, Sir
label: Author
content: Pons, Lily, 1898-1976
label: Collector
content: Galloway, Mildred (Mildred Galloway Moore)
label: Author
content: Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
label: Author
content: Ruth, George Herman (Babe)
label: Author
content: Rockefeller, John D.
label: Author
content: Post, Emily
label: Author
content: Sousa, John Philip, 1854-1932
label: Author
content: Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967
label: Author
content: Churchill, Winston, Sir, 1874-1965
label: Creator
content: White, Mary Lou
label: Author
content: Pickford, Mary
label: Author
content: Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946
label: Author
content: Adams, Maude (actress)
label: Author
content: Allen, Gracie
label: Author
content: Cantor, Eddie, 1892-1964
label: Author
content: Addams, Jane
label: Author
content: Baruch, Bernard M.
label: Author
content: Baer, Max (boxer)
label: Author
content: Brendel, El (actor)
label: Author
content: Borglum, Gutzon, 1867-1941
label: Author
content: Burgess, Gelett, 1866-1951
label: Author
content: Chaplin, Charles (actor)
label: Author
content: Coolidge, Grace
label: Author
content: Cobb, Irvin S.
label: Author
content: Curie, Marie
label: Author
content: Crosby, Harry Lillis (Bing)
label: Author
content: Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938
label: Author
content: Disney, Walt, 1901-1966
label: Author
content: Durant, William James
label: Author
content: Durante, Jimmy
label: Author
content: Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937
label: Author
content: Fetchit, Stepin
label: Author
content: Fields, W. C.
label: Collector
content: Galloway, Mildred (Mildred Galloway Moore)
label: Author
content: Garner, John N.
label: Author
content: Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944
label: Author
content: Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
label: Author
content: Grey, Zane
label: Author
content: Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945
label: Author
content: Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 1841-1935
label: Author
content: Hoover, John Edgar
label: Author
content: Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
label: Author
content: Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
label: Author
content: Lardner, Ring
setName: label: See more items in
content: Mildred Moore Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection includes over 200 replies (160 of which comprise the book) to Mrs. Moore's letter requesting a quotation or a bit of poetry important to the recipient; a copy of her book, "Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies," and materials relating to the speeches both Mrs. Moore and her daughter gave about this collection of letters, such as notes, clippings, etc.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Mildred Moore, the pen name for Mildred Galloway, later Mrs. Forest L. Moore, was born on a farm outside Cromwell, Indiana.  She read constantly as a child and often wrote verse to express her feelings.  Prior to November 13, 1930, when she began writing a column called "This, That And The Other" for the Cromwell Advance, a Fort Wayne newspaper, and one in Waterloo, Indiana, she had worked for several years as a secretary and bookkeeper for the Fort Wayne YMCA.

In 1931, having become interested in what motivated people and in their philosophies, Mildred Moore began to write to famous people    seemingly selected at random    requesting a quotation or a bit of verse that had been important to them and the development of their philosophy.  The resultant book, Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies, includes 160 responses to over 200 letters to people with some claim to fame during the 1930s.  Interestingly, the rate of response and acquiescence was very high with few refusals.  A few indicated no favorite verse or quotation.

Mildred Moore made speeches about her collection of letters to several hundred groups in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois.  Her daughter, Mary Lou White (Mrs. Charles F. White), also spoke to numerous groups about the letters after her mother's death.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.6 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1925-1975
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The donor, Charles F. White, was the widower of Mary Lou White. He inherited these papers from his wife and mother-in-law.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0409
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Books
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Letters (correspondence)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into four series. 

Series 1: Responses to Mildred Moore's letter to famous personalities

Series 2: Publication developed from responses to letter to famous people (book)

Series 3: Development of speeches by Mary Lou White (notes)

Series 4: Responses to letters to prominent Fort Wayne area residents
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed by Grace Angle, Archives Center volunteer.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Books -- 1940-1950
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection documents a book written by Mildred Moore entitled Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies, published in 1940 by the Bookwalter Ball Greathouse Printing Co., Indianapolis.  The collection encompasses over 200 replies (160 of which are included in the book) to Mrs. Moore's letter requesting a quotation or a bit of poetry important to them.  Also included are a copy of her book, Famous personalities and Their Philosophies, and materials relating to the speeches both Mrs. Moore and her daughter gave about this collection of letters.
 


   2  


Series 1 of the collection, the letters received in response to Mrs. Moore's inquiry, has been classified by occupation of the respondent and then arranged alphabetically by name within that classification.  Apparently selected at random, the people she contacted were drawn from a wide variety of occupations and interests and include actors, athletes, community leaders, physicians, politicians, royalty, and many others.  They are as diverse in background as Babe Ruth and the Prince of Wales, Huey Long and Winston Churchill.  Most of the responses are signed by the individuals to whom Mrs. Moore's letter was addressed.  Some of these have value as autographs, for example, Helen Keller, Marie of Roumania, and Adolph Hitler.

Series 2 is the book itself, arranged alphabetically with a page devoted to each personality.  On each page are brief comments by Mrs. Moore about the person, and his or her favorite quotation and its source.  When a second page has been devoted to an individual it is a reproduction of the handwritten response to Mrs. Moore's request (16 out of 160 entries).  Sources of the quotations range through the centuries from Confucius to several people alive at the time of the book's publication (1940), but most frequently quoted are the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.

The material in series 3 is devoted largely to notes of Mary Lou White (Mrs. Moore's daughter) relating to the many speeches she made to women's clubs, fraternal organizations, and similar groups concerning her mother's collection, her publicity and that of her mother.  There are also a few references to Elizabeth Wenger, who, according to Mary Lou White's notes, was repeating Mildred Moore's endeavor with respect to a later generation.

Series 4 contains replies to a letter requesting a favorite quotation sent to residents of Fort Wayne by Mrs. Moore.  Most of these are dated 1932   1933.  They have been arranged alphabetically by respondent.
label: Scope and Contents
content: The correspondents include Babe Ruth, the Prince of Wales, Winston Churchill, Huey Long, Helen Keller, Marie of Romania, and Adolf Hitler, and others, such as those listed below.