Kenneth Middaugh Scrapbook (MS-542)
Scope and Contents
This scrapbook was created by Middaugh’s wife for his birthday in 1924. It highlights his activities as a jazz musician in the early 1920s. The Middaugh family are from New Paris, Preble County, Ohio. Kenneth played in a jazz orchestra which performed in Dayton at the Greystone Ballroom, Cincinnati, Terre Haute, and other locations. He also was employed at Wilbur Wright Field. There are pictures of the recording studio he used in Indiana, and Wilbur Wright Field and Country Club.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1920-1924
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
The Middaugh family was from New Paris, Preble County, Ohio. Kenneth Middaugh was born December 1, 1901, at New Paris, to Edwin and Pearle (Hinmon) Middaugh. He married Mildred Bartlett on June 25, 1924, in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. Kenneth and Mildred Middaugh had two sons, Richard and James. Kenneth was a jazz musician who played piano and who was a part of Marion McKay’s orchestra, sometimes referred to as the Greystone Orchestra, and he was a part of a few other musical groups that borrowed the names of places they performed at. Kenneth took over management of the Trianon in Terre Haute, after he left Dayton and the Greystone Amusement Company. Kenneth performed in a variety of places such as Canton, Ohio, and Indian Lake. Later in life, Kenneth worked as a traveling salesman. In 1930, he lived in Syracuse, New York, and sold caskets; and in 1940, he lived in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and worked as a salesman for a folding box company. Kenneth died February 3, 1982, in Richmond, Indiana. He was buried in Springlawn Cemetery, New Paris, Ohio.
Extent
0.5 linear feet (1 scrapbook in 1 small flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection consists of a single scrapbook arranged in original order.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The collection is 0.5 linear feet. It resides in a flat box. The scrapbook is a black covered album that is bound with a black string. Inside there are photographs and newspaper clippings. This scrapbook is interleafed with archival paper.
Custodial History
The creator, Kenneth’s wife Mildred, gifted the item to Kenneth for his birthday in 1924. The item then passed to their son, James Middaugh. He donated the item to Starr-Gennett Foundation in Richmond, Indiana. Starr-Gennett thought Wright State University should have it, and therefore James Middaugh and Lynn Johnstone, representative of Starr-Gennett, donated it to WSU.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The scrapbook was donated to Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, by James Middaugh, son of Kenneth Middaugh, in October 2016.
Existence and Location of Copies
Prior to donation, the scrapbook was digitized by Rafael Rivera of Richmond, Indiana; however, a digital copy is not currently in possession of Special Collections and Archives.
donor
- Middaugh, James Douglas, 1929- (Person)
Subject
- Middaugh, Kenneth, 1901-1982 (Person)
- McKay, Marion (Person)
- Lange, Henry (Person)
- Greystone Orchestra (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
- Title
- Guide to the Kenneth Middaugh Scrapbook (MS-542)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2019 Sept 23
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
