Ruth Stokes correspondence, 1941-1951

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Summary

Creator:
Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture, and Stokes, Ruth, 1918-1992
Abstract:
Ruth Stokes (1918-1992) was a Black woman from North Carolina who married Pervis Stokes (1919-2012) in 1942. Pervis Stokes joined the U.S. Navy in 1944. Collection consists of letters from Ruth to Pervis documenting their relationship during and after World War II, particularly their struggles and reconciliation. Frequent topics of discussion include general updates, inquires into when Pervis will return, sexual desires, financial and health struggles, and Ruth's pregnancy and the subsequent birth of their son, Reginald. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture and as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13011

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of correspondence written from Ruth Stokes to her husband Pervis in the 1940s and documents their relationship and personal struggles. Early letters from Ruth express her anger at Pervis for leaving her after a miscarriage and at his perceived infidelity. She also discusses the possibility of divorce. One letter from December 1945 is addressed to Frank Graham, with whom Pervis Stokes was living in New York, and Ruth is writing because she hasn't received any communication from Pervis. She threatens to take their marriage certificate to the Red Cross and have Pervis enlisted in the Army. Correspondence in 1944 and later, particularly after Pervis joins the Navy, is more conciliatory. Ruth writes often to ask Pervis when he will next visit, how much she misses him, her sexual desires, and what they will do when they are together. Several of the letters are sexually explicit. Other topics discussed include money, financial struggles, and the work Ruth is doing to help pay bills, such as picking cotton and chopping firewood. Letters in late 1944 and early 1945 discuss her pregnancy and associated health issues, and after their son Reginald is born, Ruth gives frequent updates about how she and the baby are doing. Letters after the end of World War II are sparse and discuss Ruth's continued health struggles, how she and Reginald are doing, and travel updates.

In a letter dated November 30, 1944, Ruth makes reference to the difficulties Pervis is experiencing as a person of color at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, but she does not go into specific details.

Collection also includes a December 1944 letter from Reginald C. Skeete, another Black man enlisted in the Navy. Skeete discusses the women down in Mexico that the servicemen visit and sleep with, and he describes life and work at the San Diego naval base.

Biographical / historical:

Ruth Stokes (1918-1992) was a Black woman born in North Carolina to June and Mary Hodges. In December 1942 she married Pervis Stokes (1919-2012), a Black man who worked as a painter at the time of their marriage. After suffering from a miscarriage in 1943, the Stokes lived apart, with Ruth in Newport News and Pervis in New York. Pervis Stokes joined the U.S. Navy in 1944. He attended training school in Illinois and was then stationed at Corpus Christi, T.X. While her husband was in in the Navy, Ruth Stokes lived with her mother in Castalia, N.C., and Ruth gave birth to a son, Reginald, in April 1945. After World War II, Ruth, Pervis, and Reginald Stokes lived together in New York City.

Acquisition information:
The Ruth Stokes correspondence was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Caroliniana Rare Books in 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Leah Tams, July 2023.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0091.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ruth Stokes correspondence, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1115t