William Martin collection of photographs of the W. E. B. Du Bois family and others, early 1860s-circa 1914

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Summary

Abstract:
The Du Bois family and the related Gomer family identified as African Americans of mixed-race descent and were based in Massachusetts and Iowa. Collection consists of eleven albumen and early gelatin silver photographs dating from the early 1860s to the early 1910s, featuring portraits of Alfred Du Bois (circa 1833-?), father of African American author, educator, and activist W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963); Nina Gomer Du Bois (circa 1870-1950), wife of W.E.B. Du Bois; and Nina Yolande Du Bois (1900 or 1901-1961), daughter of W.E.B. and Nina Du Bois. Other images are of unidentified women and children, some African American and some of indeterminate race. There are also two group photos: an elementary school class that includes W.E.B. Du Bois as a child; and one of the Carnegie Hall Conference "Committee of Twelve," all African American men, with Booker T. Washington and other men and women. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American Culture and History at Duke University.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Physical description:
Original albumen and early gelatin silver prints are mounted on cardstock. Over time these materials have become fragile; most of the prints and mounts exhibit some form of deterioration and damage.
Language:
English
Collection ID:
RL.11953

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of eleven albumen and early gelatin silver photographs on cardstock mounts, dating from the early 1860s to the early 1910s, featuring portraits of Nina Gomer Du Bois, wife of W.E.B. Du Bois; and Nina Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. and Nina Gomer Du Bois. Another small portrait is said to be of Alfred Du Bois - father of African American author, educator, and activist W.E.B. Du Bois - as a young man; based on his biographical data, the image dates from the early 1860s.

Six other studio portraits are of unidentified women and children, most of whom appear to be African American or mixed-race, and who may be related to the Du Bois or Gomer families. Several of these bear photography studio imprints from Xenia and Ironton, towns in southern Ohio, relatively near Wilberforce University, where W.E.B. Du Bois held an early teaching position, and where Nina Gomer Du Bois studied and may have had relatives living there.

There are also two group photos: one of a Great Barrington, Massachusetts elementary school class that includes W.E.B. Du Bois at about eight years old; and one said to be of the Carnegie Hall Conference "Committee of Twelve," all African American men, with Booker T. Washington and other men and a large group of women. W.E.B. Du Bois, a co-organizer of the first 1904 conference, is not present in this photograph.

Apart from the photographers' imprints, there are no marks or notes on the photographs. Library staff identified known individuals based on comparisons with other online photographs, and estimated image dates based on biographical data, clothing fashions, and photography studio history.

Biographical / historical:

The Du Bois and Gomer families identified as African Americans of mixed-race descent and were based in Massachusetts and Iowa; members include W.E.B. Du Bois, African American author, educator, and activist and social reformer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; Nina Gomer Du Bois, first wife of W.E.B. Du Bois; and Nina Yolande Du Bois, their only daughter.

W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt) was born in 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to mixed-race parents, Alfred Du Bois and Mary Silvina Burghardt Du Bois. He grew up in Great Barrington in his mother's household, his father Alfred having abandoned the family sometime around 1870. In 1896, while teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio, W.E.B. Du Bois married Nina Gomer (circa 1870-1950), also of mixed-race descent, who was raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; they had two children, Burghardt (1897-1899), who died in Atlanta of diptheria, and Yolande "Nina" (1900 or 1901-1961), born a year or two later. W.E.B. Du Bois, who married a second time in 1950 to African American activist Shirley Graham, died in Ghana in 1963.

Acquisition information:
The William Martin collection of photographs of the W. E. B. Du Bois family and others were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2021.
Processing information:

Processed and described by Paula Jeannet, December 2021.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2021-0072.

Arrangement:

Photographs are arranged in rough chronological order.

Physical facet:
11 prints on card mounts
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains fragile materials and is currently in Conservation for treatment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], The William Martin collection of photographs of the W. E. B. Du Bois family and others, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

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