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Wilson Mathis Hudson Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SWWC-011

Scope and Contents

The Wilson M. Hudson Papers date from 1913 to 1991 and are made up of research material collected for (1) the biography of cowboy writer Andy Adams and (2) a study of J. Frank Dobie. The material consists of note cards, clippings, articles, photographs, correspondence, maps, manuscript drafts, and genealogical notes. There are also pamphlets and brochures from the Texas Folklore Society. Wilson Hudson donated his books and papers to the Wittliff Collection through Bill and Sally Wittliff of Encino Press. Encino Press had printed five books edited by Hudson, Andy Adams' Corporal Segundo, and four publications for the Texas Folklore Society.

Dates

  • 1913-1991
  • Majority of material found within 1936-1974

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from the Wittliff Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user assumes responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish, and abiding by U.S. copyright laws. https://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/visit/policies/publication.html

Biographical Notes

Wilson Mathis Hudson was born in Flatonia Texas on December 26, 1907. He received his B.A. in 1929 and M.A. in 1930 from the University of Texas at Austin. Hudson was an instructor of English at Rice University until 1937, when he briefly left teaching to work as a traveling representative for the publishing house of G & C. Merriam Co. In 1939, Hudson began his doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. World War II intervened and he left to serve in the United States Army Air Force from 1942 to 1946. He ultimately received his Ph.D. in English in 1947. He then joined the English Department of the University of Texas at Austin and taught there until retiring as professor emeritus in 1974. At the University of Texas, Hudson was friend and colleague to the folklorist J. Frank Dobie and the historian Walter Prescott Webb. In 1950, Hudson began teaching the popular English Department course, Life and Literature of the Southwest, which was initiated by Dobie in 1930. While teaching Southwestern literature, Hudson became interested in the cowboy writer Andy Adams, whose fiction had been rediscovered and championed by both Webb and Dobie as an accurate depiction of cowboy life. In 1956, Hudson edited Why the Chisholm Trail Forks and other Tales of the Cattle Country, a collection of Adam's campfire tales extracted from his fiction. Aided by Dobie's previous research papers, he wrote Adams' biography in 1964. Comparative literature and folklore were Hudson's chief areas of scholarly interest. He was named an associate editor to the Texas Folklore Society in 1951 and was secretary-editor from 1951 to 1972. He edited or co-edited approximately eighteen books under the auspices of the Folklore Society. Hudson was married to Mildred Ruckman from 1932 until her death in 1949. He married the professor of English and Browning scholar Gertrude Reese in 1951.

Extent

4 Linear Feet

8 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • The descriptive data created for this finding aid is licensed under the CC0 Creative Commons license and is free for use without restriction.

Abstract

The Wilson M. Hudson Papers date from 1913 to 1991 and comprise research material collected for (1) the biography of cowboy writer Andy Adams and (2) a study of J. Frank Dobie. The material consists of note cards, clippings, articles, photographs, correspondence, maps, manuscript drafts, and genealogical notes. There are also pamphlets and brochures from the Texas Folklore Society.

Physical Location

Materials may be stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use: https://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/makearesearchappointment.html.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gifts of Wilson M. Hudson and Bill Wittliff from 1986 to 1992.

Related Materials

The Wilson Hudson Collection (Collection 117).

Title
Guide to the Wilson Mathis Hudson Papers
Author
Gwynedd Cannan
Date
February 1993
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • 2005: Inventory revised by Brandy Harris.
  • 2018: Minor edits.
  • 2021: Revised for ArchivesSpace by Susannah Broyles.

Repository Details

Part of the The Wittliff Collections Repository

Contact:
601 University Drive
San Marcos Texas 78666 USA