Weldon E. Petz Collection
Scope and Contents
The Weldon Petz Collection was originally organized by the creator. That organization has been generally left intact with the exception of a few photographs which have been grouped in Series IV.
BOX 1
Series I – Manuscripts, Rough Drafts
BOX 2
Series II - Articles and Offprints by the Author and Others
Series III – Correspondence
Series IV – Photographs
Dates
- 1938 - 1988
- Majority of material found within 1948 - 1974
Biographical / Historical
Weldon Petz was born September 11, 1923. He began his career as a trombonist in an orchestra with Jimmy Dorsey and Johnny Long, and worked with many others such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, and Abbott & Costello. Petz even started his own orchestra, the Tommy Weldon Orchestra, which operated from 1947 to 1953. He eventually sought a career in education, but continued to focus on music, and furthered his career as a historian focusing on the presidential history of Lincoln, music, and education. He went to Wayne State University and received his Master’s Thesis in 1951, which is entitled Music and Abraham Lincoln. In 1954 he became involved a legal dispute with John Lair, who he accused lair of having plagiarized for Lair’s book research he had shown him. While the evidence was substantial, nothing came of the lawsuit. Petz received the Lincoln Diploma of Honor in 1972. His publications include In the Presence of Lincoln, published in 1973, and Michigan's monumental tributes to Abraham Lincoln published in 1987. He died April 28, 2011 at the age of 88.
Extent
11.72 Cubic Feet (3 File Boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Weldon was a well-known scholar of Abraham Lincoln and the music he enjoyed. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1923. Petz started as a musician in the Big bands, but went into education in 1953. He published two books and several articles on Lincoln and LMU. He died in 2011.
Content Index
BOX #1 [Range O, Shelf 1.1]
2019.0002.01 – Term paper (2) entitled “Of Lincoln and Music” written for the American Music Course given by Miss Louise W. Conkin. Dated Summer of 1948. 2 copies, one of which is graded with extensive comments. Institution unknown, though it is most likely Wayne State University.
2019.0002.02 First draft of first chapter of Petz Master’s thesis entitled Music and Abraham Lincoln.
2019.0002.03 Hand-written and typed drafts of Petz Master’s thesis entitled Music and Abraham Lincoln.
2019.0002.04 – Rough Drafts of In the presence of Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln Memorial University Cumberland Gap, Harrogate, Tennessee. Printed 1973.
2019.0002.05 – Hand-written inventory of the Lincoln Library, dated 1971. This covers materials held in the Lincoln Room and elsewhere on campus prior to the construction of the Lincoln Museum in 1971. The inventory includes both documents and photographs, along with paintings and sculptures.
Series II Description: Pamphlets and Articles
BOX # 2 [Range O, Shelf 1.2]
2019.0002.06 Pamphlets and articles authored by Weldon Petz.
2019.0002.07 Articles and pamphlets concerning Abraham Lincoln.
Series III Description: Correspondence
BOX #2 [Range O, Shelf 1.2]
2019.0002.08 Correspondence from 1950 to 1982 between Weldon Petz and Gerald McMurtry.
2019.0002.09 Correspondence with Gerald McMurtry dated 1971 concerning the upcoming book about LMU entitled In the Presence of Lincoln.
2019.0002.10 Letter from Arthur Smith, attorney at law, concerning the scroll presented to Tom Starr at the November 1953 meeting of the Abraham Lincoln Civil War Round table of Michigan. Included with the letter is a photograph of the scroll.
2019.0002.11 Correspondence concerning the charge by Weldon Petz that John Lair plagiarized Petz’s research for his book Songs Lincoln Loved. The correspondence dates from 1954 to 1955. The folder contains a copy of John Lair’s book.
2019.0002.12 Notes and draft of an article by Margaret Brandenburg entitled Not Lincoln Pictures. The folder includes a number of photographs where the head of Lincoln has been superimposed upon earlier paintings of earlier presidents or important personages.
Series IV Description: Photographs
BOX #2 [Range O, Shelf 1.2]
2019.0002.13 Two photographs with negatives of the Todd family graves and one photograph with negative of Lincoln’s bed.
2019.0002.14 Three photographs of Lincoln at Antietam. Photographs of originals in a commercial gallery dated 1973. Photograph of Lincoln with a pasted print label on the back. The photograph/label were made sometime between 1877 and 1890. The label reads: To AMERICAN PATRIOTS; who reverence the wisdom and virtue of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the martyred president of a bleeding country. To SOLDIERS OF THE FEDERAL ARMY; who made themselves a breastwork of Defense FOR LIBERTY AND HOME. To CONFEDRATES OF THE SOUTH; who cheer again the eagle that hovers among THIRTY-EIGHT STARS OF A UNITED REPUBLIC.
2019.0002.15 Two photographs of Weldon Petz at Lincoln’s Parents Wedding Temple at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and one photograph of the fort there. Photograph of unidentified box truss bridge, probably in Kentucky. All photographs have associated negatives.
2019.0002.16 Photograph and negative of R. Willoeybly, Brian Kincaid and G. McMurtry. Date unknown, but probably late 1950s or early 1960s.
2019.0002.17 Large scale negatives of Petz family and G. McMurtry at Harrogate, TN in 1950.
Series V Description: Master's Thesis
Box #3 [Range O, Shelf 1.3]
2019.0002.18 Master's Thesis
- Title
- Weldon E. Petz Collection
- Author
- Lawrence V. Mott
- Date
- 2019
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum Repository
Lincoln Memorial Univesity
Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum
6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway
Harrogate Tennessee 37752 United States
archives@lmunet.edu