Abrams, William Amos

Abstract

The Margaret Ray Folger Folk Ballads Collection is a collection of original and copied ballads, songs, and poetry (circa 1900) of southern Appalachia, along with correspondence with and 1976 presentation notes, audiovisual recordings, and slides of Dr. Doc Abrams.

Scope and Contents The collection includes a homespun clothbound, handwritten book of ballads. The original owner was Moses Adams, and the book was passed down in the Adams family until 1932. Appalachian State Teachers College professor and folk song collector W. Amos Abrams learned of the book from his student Sadie Johnson. The ballad book contains some rare variant of American ballads. Abrams purchased the original manuscript in 1932 from Luther Adams, a descendant of Moses Adams. Abrams transcribed the...

Abstract

The Abrams Papers contains the papers and research of Appalachian State University English Professor and folksong scholar William Amos Abrams. It includes audio recordings including folksongs and presidential speeches from the 1940s, written folksongs and ballads, correspondence, speeches, and education notes. The audio recordings were recorded primarily in Watauga County. Digitized copies of ballads and folksongs are available online at Documenting Appalachia's "So Mote It Ever Be."