Hammonds-Morton Family Papers, 1860-2018
Collection held by The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Creator: Hammonds-Morton Family
Title: Papers, 1860-2018
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for this collection, contact the Collections Department at gro.lacirotsihnoslif@hcraeser.
Size of Collection: 1 cubic foot
Location Number: Mss. A H225b
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of documents about the lives of members of the Morton-Hammonds family. Prominent figures are Elmer Johnson Hammonds Sr. (1903-1987), father of Elmer Lucille Allen (b. 1931), and his second wife Thelma Morton-Hammonds (1904-2008). The collection has more specific emphasis on the family of Thelma Morton-Hammonds and her sister Hattie Marie Morton (1919-2018). Most of the material is related to Thelma and Hattie’s family on their mother’s side.
Related collections:
Hammonds-Morton Family Photograph Collection [002PC21].
Biographical Note
Hattie Ann Hampton
Mattie Jones (b.1845) and Franklin Hampton wed on October 26, 1871 in Warren County, Kentucky. Franklin worked as a plasterer and fought in the 109th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War. At some point before his passing in November 1899, Franklin and Mattie had a daughter named Hattie Ann Hampton. Hattie married Charles E. Morton, a cook, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, around 1903.
Charles E. Morton and Hattie Ann Hampton moved during the early 1920s to Louisville, Kentucky. The couple had three children: Thelma Morton Hammonds (1904-2008), Clifford Ivanhoe Morton (1912-1977), and Hattie Marie Morton (1919-2018).
Hattie Marie Morton
Hattie Marie Morton graduated from Central High School in 1936 and got her BA in sociology from Louisville Municipal College in 1940. She was an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and served as the president of the Richmond, Virginia, chapter later in life. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Atlanta University (now known as Clark Atlanta University) and worked as a social worker for the Department of Public Welfare in Richmond, Virginia. She began her career as a case worker and retired in 1985 as senior supervisor in the Service Department. After retirement, Hattie volunteered for both the American Red Cross and the Board of Education in Richmond before moving back to Louisville to live with her older sister, Thelma.
Thelma Morton Hammonds
Thelma Morton Hammonds also graduated from Central High School and the Louisville Municipal College (1937). She pursued a Master of Science degree from Indiana University-Bloomington School of Education and went on to teach at Madison Junior High, a Louisville public school, until her retirement in 1971. In 1959, she married Elmer Johnson Hammonds Sr., father of influential artist and chemist Elmer Lucille Allen. Thelma was a faithful member of the Quinn Chapel AME Church, located at 1901 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., for over 80 years and aided in the church’s historic preservation. After the death of her husband, she lived with her sister Hattie Marie at the Treyton Oaks Towers
Folder List
Roll 1: Central Colored High School (Louisville, Ky.) degree, 1921.
Awarded to Thelma Elizabeth Morton on 16 June 1921.
Roll 2: Teachers’ Certificate for Proficiency in Penmanship, 1923.
Awarded to Thelma E. Morton on 5 February 1923 for efficiency in the Pedagogy and Practicing of Business Writing.
Roll 3: Louisville Colored Normal School (Louisville, Ky.) degree, 1923.
Awarded to Thelma Elizabeth Morton on 8 June 1923.
Roll 4: Louisville Municipal College for Negroes (Louisville, Ky.) Bachelor of Arts degree, 1937.
Awarded to Thelma Elizabeth Morton on 9 June 1937.
Roll 5: Louisville Municipal College for Negroes (Louisville, Ky.) Bachelor of Arts degree, 1940.
Awarded to Hattie Marie Morton on 5 June 1940.
Folder 6: Franklin Hampton (d. 1899) Civil War papers, 1860-1890.
Contains information regarding Franklin Hampton’s life and experiences in the Civil War.
Folder 7: Elmer Johnson Hammonds Sr. (1903-1987) memorandum, 1920-1987.
Contains memorandum regarding his activity in his church, profession, and professional organizations.
Folder 8: Thelma Morton-Hammonds (1904-2008) memorandum and correspondence, 1954-2004.
Contains memorandum and correspondence regarding the life and experiences of Thelma Morton-Hammonds, including education, certificates, and local influences on her community.
Folder 9: Hattie Marie Morton (1919-2018) correspondence and educational records, 1891-1990.
Contains correspondence to and from family and friends as well as school report cards from her youth from grade school and college.
Folder 10: Hattie Marie Morton (1919-2018) volunteer work and church ministry material, 1956-2012.
Contains certificates, memorandum, and correspondence regarding Hattie’s work within the communities she lived in throughout her life.
Folder 11: Central High School (Louisville, Ky.) event programs, 1933-1986.
Contains commencement agendas for the classes of 1933 and 1936 and agendas for class reunions of the class of 1935 1/2 and 1936.
Folder 12: Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (Richmond, Va.) memorandum, 1973-1976.
Contains historic documentation of the Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church, including the history of the Episcopal Church, Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the church’s Centennial and 112th anniversary.
Folder 13: Louisville Municipal College (Louisville, Ky.) material, 1937-2004.
Contains the 1937 commencement agenda for Louisville Municipal College, an article from the U of L Alumni Magazine Winter ’97 regarding LMC, and a typed history Louisville Municipal College from the University of Louisville.
Folder 14: Miscellaneous funeral programs and obituaries, 1961-2018.
Contains obituaries for family and friends of the Hammonds-Morton family: Kevin José Morton (1964-1982), Hattie Ann Morton (1879-1961), Clifford Ivanhoe Morton, Sr. (1912-1977), Charles Henry Hammonds (1897-1961), Ruth Olga Hughes Jeter (1925-2018), Geneva Margaret Howard Bell (1905-2013).
Folder 15: Miscellaneous event programs, poems, and newspaper clippings, 1969-2018.
Contains miscellaneous artist events, a literary piece, and newspaper clippings collected by the Hammons-Morton family.
Folder 16: The Episcopal Church of Our Merciful Saviour (Louisville, Ky.) material, 2015.
Contains the history of the Episcopal Church of Our Merciful Saviour from its founding in 1865 through 2015.
Folder 17: Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Louisville, Ky.) material, 1988-2002.
Contains a 1988 yearbook of Quinn Chapel AME Church detailing its members and groups over the years at its old building at 900 W. Chestnut Street and programs and histories in its new building at 1901 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Subject Headings
African Americans–Religion.
Allen, Elmer Lucille, 1931-
Central High School (Louisville, Ky.)
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Hammonds, Elmer Johnson, Sr., 1903-1987.
Hammonds, Thelma Elizabeth Morton, 1904-2008.
Hampton, Franklin, d. 1899.
Louisville Municipal College (Louisville, Ky.)
Louisville Normal School (Louisville, Ky.)
Madison Street Junior High School (Louisville, Ky.)
Morton, Hattie Marie, 1919-2018.
Quinn Chapel AME Church (Louisville, Ky.)
Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (Richmond, Va.)
The Episcopal Church of Our Merciful Saviour (Louisville, Ky.)
Western School (Louisville, Ky.)
Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work.