Frank de Caro and Rosan A. Jordan papers, circa 1910s-2014, bulk 1980-2008
A Guide to the Collection at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Walker Byer
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
De Caro, F. A., 1943-.
Jordan, R. A. (Rosan A.)
TitleFrank de Caro and Rosan A. Jordan
papers, circa 1910s-2014, bulk 1980-2008
Collection No.
C684
Extent
10.2 cubic feet (12 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Frank de Caro and Rosan Jordan are both
folklorists who worked at Louisiana State University. They co-authored several books
together. This collection includes drafts and correspondence pertaining to published
works, de Caro’s family history, as well as some of Jordan’s teaching materials and
research on Day of the Dead. Included in the collection are an extensive amount of
postcards that were collected from various travels.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Biographical Note
Indiana University alumnus Frank de Caro is a folklorist and Professor Emeritus of
English and Anthropology at Louisiana State University, where he taught from
1970-2001. He grew up in New York, earned his undergraduate degree from Johns
Hopkins University, taught English in India from 1966-1967, and studied folklore at
IU, where he earned his Ph.D. De Caro has received a number of awards throughout his
career, including those from the American Folklore Society, the Louisiana Folklore
Society, and the Louisiana State University Outstanding Faculty award. Outside of
his time at Louisiana State University, de Caro’s professional career includes time
as President of the Louisiana Folklore Society and editor of the Louisiana Folklore
Miscellany. Having focused on folklore and literature, as well as folklore in the
Louisiana region, de Caro also published several books of Louisiana folklore
including
Folklife in Louisiana Photography: Images of
Tradition
, and
The Folktale Cat.
De Caro is married to IU alumna and folklorist Rosan Augusta Jordan. Jordan received
her undergraduate degree from North Texas University, and earned her Ph.D. in
Folklore from Indiana University. Jordan was also an English professor at Louisiana
State University until she retired in the early 2000s. The pair collaborated on
several publications and this collection contains both their individual and combined
folkloric studies.
Arrangement
arrangement note
Scope and Content Note
The Frank de Caro and Rosan A. Jordan Papers are organized into six series:
Biographical, Rosan A. Jordan files, Publications, Professional Activities, Correspondence, and
Visual Materials. The organization of this collection retains the original
organization as the records were received by the donors.
The Biographical series (1939-1995) is arranged chronologically and contains papers
specifically relating to de Caro and Jordan’s life (diplomas, undergraduate notes,
etc.) and papers about relatives such as genealogical research. This series contains
several military documents about de Caro’s father, who died during World War II.
These documents include a certificate (signed by President Truman) showing that de
Caro’s father was awarded the Purple Heart.
The Rosan A. Jordan series (1958-2000) is arranged into two series. The
Education and Reearch subseries (1958-1989) includes syllabi and notes for courses
in folklore theory and organizations that Jordan took, as well as correspondence,
photographs, transcriptions, and other research materials relating to her
dissertation. The Rosan A. Jordan Teaching files series (1973-2000) is ordered
chronologically. In addition to handwritten notes, this series contains printouts,
as well as magazine and newspaper clippings on a variety of folklore-related topics
taught by Jordan during her time at Louisiana State University. Some of the subjects
contained within these files include: gender studies; festivals and holidays such as
Easter and Days of the Dead; witches and vampires; and excerpts from Isaac Asimov
and Alice Walker.
The Publications and Research series (1984-2014) is further divided into seven
subseries:
Stories of our Lives (1984-2013),
Resituating Folklore (1998-2005),
Anthology of American Folktales and Legends (2002-2008),
Folklore MUSE (2005-2012), and
Folklore Recycled (2008-2014). Each of these subseries are arranged by
date to show the development of the published works. A subseries titled Frank de
Caro Research (1959-1996, undated) is also present. This subseries is ordered
chronologically and includes lecture notes taken by de Caro, and research on
American murder ballads. A General Research subseries (1988-1994) is also present.
This subseries contains reading lists and bibliographies, as well as matireals for
other works such as
Folk Life in Louisiana, Southern
Folklore
, and
The Folktale Cat.
The Professional Activities Series (1976-1998) is ordered chronologically and
contains material pertaining to conferences and events attended by de Caro and
Jordan such as the 1990 Cultural Conservation Conference and annual meeting of the
American Folklore Society from 1996-1998. Also included in this series are the
ephemera from other folklorists.
The Correspondence series (1949-2005) contains four subseries: Frank de Caro Family
Correspondence (1949-1985) which includes all manner of correspondence sent and
received by Frank de Caro’s relatives. The Selected Professional Correspondence
(1969-1979) contains copies of de Caro and Jordan’s business correspondence. The
subseries Selected Letters of Frank de Caro and Rosan Augusta Jordan (1976-1997)
contains the correspondence exchanged between de Caro and Jordan. The final
subseries, Correspondence to/from Folklorists (1979-1997) contains all the
correspondence between de Caro, Jordan, and fellow folklorists. This subseries is
arranged chronologically and subsequently alphabetized by the last name of the
correspondent.
The Visual Materials series (1943-1974, undated) is further organized into three
subseries: Photographs, Postcards, and Slides. The Photograph subseries contains
images that relate to folklore topics studied by de Caro and Jordan such as Jordan’s
research on the Days of the Dead. This collection also contains personal photographs
of family members and life events. This series also contains a large collection of
postcards from their various travels. Some postcards are merely souvenirs, while it
is clear that others were actually used for communication. These postcards come from
a several states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and various areas of the
southwestern United States. The images on these postcards display not only
photographs of the related areas, but also paintings, folklore of native animals
such as the mythical jackalope – a creature of myth that looks like a jackrabbit
with antelope horns. There are also postcards with jokes and comedic images on them.
This subseries may be of interest for regional folklore studies. This series retains
the order that it was in at the time of acquisition.
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
-
-
Separated Material
A number of photographs and slides have been removed and are stored with the Indiana
University Archives Photograph Collection. Photographs removed from individual
folders are noted throughout the folder list and have been substituted with
photocopies. Please contact Archives staff for access to the original photographs.
Related Material
Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in
IUScholarworks.
Related photographs may be available in the
Indiana University
Archives Photograph Collection
.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accessions: 2007/065, 2007/066, 2017/116, 2009/040, 2012/92, 2016/057, 2017/010, 2017/030
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the
materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please
contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Frank de Caro and Rosan A. Jordan papers, Collection C684, Indiana
University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Transferred to the Indiana University Archives in parts by Frank de Caro and
Rosan Jordan between 2009 and 2017.
Processing InformationProcessed by Walker Byer.
Completed in 2017
Container List
Series:
Biographical,
1930-1995
Box 1
Biographical (family), 1930-1999
(1 photograph removed)
Bee Mulvhill de Caro/Frank E. de Caro’s wedding, 1938
Rites of Passage (F de Caro, Mulvehill de Caro) Poem for Wedding
of Frank & Bee by Francis, 1938-1997
Rosan Jordan biographical and family,
1939-1994
(2 photographs removed)
Correspondence and papers relating to the military service of
Frank E. de Caro, 1942-1944
Rosan Augusta Jordan – misc. office decorative material,
1943-1985
Material relating to the death of Frank E. de Caro (father of
Frank de Caro), 1944-1948
(6 photographs removed)
Relating to the Death of Frank E. de Caro (father of Frank de
Caro),
1944-1948
Letters about Frank E. de Caro (posthumous),
1944-1948
School records,
1954-1960
Graduation autograph book, 1956
School diplomas,
1956-1960
High school publications,
1957-1958
1959-1960
College Publications, 1962-1964
Frank de Caro Biographical,
1963-1969
1988-1992
(1 photograph removed)
Notebooks, 1964-1969
Road map of India, 1967
Life History (Folklore F810) materials,
Completed life history, 1968
Transcripts, udnated
Rosan Jordan service award, 1993
St. Francis College alumni directory, 1995
Biographical information submitted to Louisiana center for the
Book (LSL), 1999
Undergraduate notebooks, undated
Frank de Caro, family (mother’s ‘side’) genealogy undated
Series:
Rosan A. Jordan files, 1958-2000
Subseries:
Educational and Research files, 1958-1989
Box 2
Notes for Folklore Theory and Techniques Course,
1958-1963
Notes on European folklorists and organizations, 1959
Course Writings, F831 notes by Richard Dorson, 1961
Course materials on Epic, 1963
Notes on Folklore and other disciplines, 1964
Notes and exam review, American Folklore Course, 1965
Rosan Jordan Collectanea,
Jokes, S. American IU Students, 1965
Gestures from IU S. American Grad Students, 1965
Rosan August Jordan Dissertation Materials – Research on
Mary Flores-Sepulveda and Family,
Printed material from community, notes, 1965-1966
Field Notes, 1965-1967
Interview with Lucia Gandarila (mary’s mother) and other
notes, 1966
Mexican Americans, statistical information, Ft. Worth,
TX, SW, USA, 1966
Photographs, 1966
Related News Clippings (Mexican Americans, Ft. Worth TX,
etc.), 1966
Notes and transcriptions-Lupa (mary’s sister), girls in
community, La Lorna, 1966-1967
Ramirez family transcriptions and notes, 1967
Mary’s Children, 1967
Notes on Flores Family, 1967
Transcripts, notes, and conversations,
with Mary F.S., 1967-1973
George Sepulveda (Mary’s husband), 1967
with Betty (Mary’s sister), 1967
with Janie (Mary’s sister), 1967-1968
Mexican Americans, clippings and publications, 1967-1970
Margarita Flores Correspondence, 1968
Field Notebooks, 1972
Correspondence, 1972-1975
Documents’ relating to Mary, 1985-1989
Syllabi, Course Outlines, related teaching
material,
1966-1972
1970-1977
Folklore students’ (controversial) evaluation of faculty,
1968
Research notes, ‘Deck of Cards’, 1969
Notes and related materials, S406 (Spanish and Spanish-Am
Folklore, Prof. Manuel Simmons, undated
Course notes, The Folktale, undated
Subseries:
Box 2
Teaching files, 1973-2000
Kalcik- “rap” groups, Ann’s gynecologist,
1973-1974
Native American, 1975-1999
Healing, magic ritual, 1976-2000
Women and Folklore (Green, Magnolias Grow in Dirt),
1977-1995
Jokes, 1978
Female sexuality/bodies (Malinowski), 1978
Maxine Hong Kingston, “The Woman Warrior”, 1981
Halloween,
1981-1982
Leslie Sillco, “Ceremony”, 1981-2000
Asimov’s ‘Jokester’, 1982
Language guides (Laadan), 1983
Festival,
1983-1997
The Color Purple, 1985
Days of the Dead/Halloween, 1985-1986
(5 photographs removed)
Days of the Dead newspapers, 1985-1986
Folklore and historic-geographic method,
1986-1990
Jokes,
1986-2000
Days of the Dead/All Saints/Halloween,
1987-1990
Box 3
Legend (Urban), 1987-1998
Gender Differences (Yocum, Baldwin, Mitchell), 1988
Folktales and Gender, 1988
Tannen – Different Worlds, 1988
Vaginal Serpent, 1989
Vampire bibliography, 1989
Hurston, Dorst, Wall, 1989-1992
Easter, 1988-1989
Robber Bridegroom, 1990
“The Rules”, 1990
Alice Walker’s ‘For Everyday Use’, 1990
Witches, monsters, healers, goddesses,
1990-1993
Ethnicity,
1990-1995
Days of the Dead, 1990-1996
(1 photograph removed)
Festival and Ritual, 1990-1998
Belize [Sastun], 1994-1996
Quilts,
1994-1999
Song of Solomon, 1995
Storytellers – Power, Susan Gordon; Kay Stone (Curious Girl),
1995
Cock and Mouse, 1996
Afro-American, 1997
Paper on food traditions, 1998
Paper Assignments, 1998 -2000
Final Examinations, 1998-2000
Introduction to Folklore, including introductory material,
1999-2000
Other Teaching materials, 2000
E.C. Parsons
undated
Malinowski, magic, myth, undated undated
“So Far From God” undated
Family historyundated
Bosom Serpent
undated
Function (relevant to Wilson article)
undated
Folklore class readings collection,
Folklore and Literature packet, 1987
Bound Packet #1,1988
Xerox 2, 1993
Series:
Publications and Research, 1959-2014
Subseries:
Box 3
Stories of our Lives, 1984-2013
Correspondence and permissions, 1984-2013
Stories of…,
2004-2012
Revisions (includes reader’s reports),
2012-2013
Public relations and reviews,2013
Drafts and notes, undated
Subseries:
Box 3
Re-Situating Folklore, 1998-2005
Materials relating to Clarence John Laughlin, 1998
Text of Lucy Maycock’s ‘Gumbo Ya-Ya’ adaptation (resituating
Folklore chp. 3), 1999
Papers related to Clarence John Laughlin- Chapter materials
and a few notes relating to sections on Latinolz art, 2001
Materials relating to sense of place chapter (inc. LA),
2000-2001
Illustrations - contains photos, slides, and negatives,
undated
Correspondence with publisher, 2001-2003
Other correspondence, 1998-2002
Correspondence, etc. relating to Mexican
permissions, 2002
Reviews and related materials, 2004-2005
Permissions, correspondence, etc., 2002-2004
Subseries:
Box 3
Anthology of American Folktales and Legends,
2002-2010
Bibliographic, 2002
Correspondence,
With (illegible), 2005
Other correspondence, 2006-2008
Other permissions and correspondence, 2007
With publisher, M.E. Sharpe with permissions, 2007
Box 4
With publisher, M.E. Sharpe Inc.,2007-2008
With publisher, M.E. Sharpe Inc., with proofs, 2008
With publishers (not Sharpe),undated
Promotional material, 2008-2010
Original/revised table of contents,
undated
Sources with permissions, undated
Notes, etc. on types and motifs,
undated
Organizational notes, undated
Intros,
undated
Handwritten texts etc., undated
Subseries:
Box 4
Folklore Muse, 2005-2012
Correspondence, general, 2005-2006
Correspondence with contributors,
Bergen, Burrison, Cantu, Everret, Grobman, 2006-2007
Goska, 2006-2007
Hurtz, Hirsch, Horton, Jordan-Smith, Lawless, Lund,
2006-2007
Magoulick, McCarthy, Mulcahy, Narayan, Olson, 2006
Prosterman, Radner, Stewart, Thomas, Titon, Tucker,
2006-2007
Yocom, 2006-2008
Zeithlin, 2006-2008
Correspondence with potential contributors not included in
final book, 2006-2008
Correspondence regarding Matt Clark story, 2006-2008
Joint emails (to contributors), 2007
Correspondence with Utah State U Press, 2007
Additional correspondence with contributors, 2008-2010
Original mss,2005-2006
(2 folders)
Original mss from contributors (including secondary
versions?),2006
(2 folders)
Ask Staff
"Not a happy camper," John Burrison, May 25, 2006
3.5 in. floppy disk, 1.44 MB,
UAC2017060056
Electronic materials require additional processing before they can be
accessed. Please contact the Archives staff for further
information.
Biographical information, 2006-2008, 1 floppy disc
removed2006-2008
Teacher’s guide, 2006-2008
Reader’s reports, 2007
Miscellaneous, 2007
Permissions, 2008
Page proofs (corrected by contributors), 2008
Copyediting, 2008
Addresses, 2008
Relating to sections, 2008
USU Press, 2008
Promotion/ Publicity, 2008
Revisions,
Zeitlir, Graham, others, 2008
Box 5
Yocom, Prosterman, Parayan, 2008
The Folklore Muse, 20122012
Introductory material read by Rosan, circa
2006-2008
Subseries:
Box 5
Folklore Recycled, 2008-2014
H- Folk ‘recycles’, 2008-2012
Publicity and correspondence, 2012-2013
(4 photographs removed)
Publicity and reviews, 2014
Subseries:
Box 5
Research, 1959-1996
American folktale lecture notes, 1959-2000, undated
Introduction, 1959-1973
Ethnic and Regional, 1983-2000
Quilting, 1985-1995
Festival and Ritual, 1992-1996
Games, proverbs and riddles, song, occupational lore,
1994-1995
Ballad and folksong (incl. country-western), 1996-1997
Colonial Period (incl. N.E. gravestones and other, later
gravestones), undated
African-American, undated
Prose narrative (incl. myth and legend),
undated
Function (incl. psychological), belief and related,
undated
Folk groups, transmission, definition, function,
undated
Research notes related to ‘Omie Wise’ and American murder
ballads, undated
Material collected in India (illegible),undated
Subseries:
Box 5
General, 1967-1994
Folklore in Print,
Cemeteries, 1961-1991
Graffiti, 1962-1976
Material culture, 1964-1974
Country music, 1966-1973
Jokes and joke books, 1967-1975
Custom, 1968-1981
Folk speech, minor genres, 1968-1993
Folk medicine, belief, 1969
New Mexico Folk Culture, 1969
Sex education legends, 1969
Tale, legend, rumor, and related, 1971-1990
Folk music, 1971-1980
Folklore reading list and bibliographies,
1967-1969
1972-1980
Women’s Folklore, Women’s Culture - Correspondence,
1976-1982 (2 folders)
Publication and exhibition of photographs,
1984-1986
Folklife in Louisiana Photography - Correspondence with
publishers, 1988-1991
Correspondence and Reports as Reader for Publications,
1980-1987
Box 6
Southern Folklore, Correspondence, 1986-1991 (3
folders)
The Folktale Cat,
Permissions, 1992-1994
Correspondence, 1992-1994
Series:
Box 6
Professional Activities, 1974-1998
Correspondence relating to professional activities, 1974-1992
Information relating to professional activities, 1976-1977
Correspondence on Paredes festschrift, 1978-1980
Halloween P.R. stories, 1988
1990 Cultural Conservation Conference, American Folklife Center,
LoC, 1990
AFS Annual Meeting (programs and abstracts), 1996-1998
AFS Annual Report, 1997
Third Congress of the Americas Program, 1998
Printed Materials, Folklorists,
1972-1986
1974-1990
Folklorists, personal and other ephemera, incl.
photographs,
1970-1971
Folklorists, papers by Barbara K-G U. of Texas students,
1971
Series:
Correspondence, 1949-2005
Subseries:
Box 6
Family correspondence, 1949-1985
Beatrice Mulvehill de Caro correspondence, 1949-1991
(2 folders)
(4 photographs removed)
Frank de Caro Family correspondence, 1974-1979
(2 folders)
Regarding genealogy, 1981-1985
Subseries:
Box 6
Selected professional correspondence, 1969-1979
Correspondence on Writings, 1957-1985 (2 folders)
A-H, 1972-1979
I-O, 1972-1979
O-Z, 1969-1979
Reuss, Richard to Rosan Jordan, 1966-1969
Subseries:
Box 6
Selected letters, Frank de Caro and Rosan Augusta Jordan,
1976-1997
1966-1968
1968-1971
Box 7
1971-1975
1975-1979
1979-1986
1986-1993
1993-1997
Subseries:
Box 7
Correspondence with folklorists, 1979-1997
A-G, 1979-1986
H-M, 1979-1986
M-Z, 1979-1986
A-F, 1986-1993
G-J, 1986-1993
K-M, 1986-1993
N-S, 1986-1993
T-Z, 1986-1993
A-O, 1993-1997
P-Z, 1993-1997
MELUS, folklore historian,2003-2005
Series:
Visual materials, circa
1910s-1974 and undated
Subseries:
Box 8
Photographs, 1943-1974
Photos (de Caro and folklorists), some in envelopes with
descriptions, 1973-1974
Frank de Caro personal photographs, 1943
Subseries:
Box 9
Slides, undated
Box contains multiple slide collections labelled “Days of Dead”, “Folk
Art”, and “Disney”
Subseries:
Postcards, circa
1910s and undated
Box 10
British India postcards, undated
Folklore postcards, undated
Box 11
Folklore postcards, undated
Box 12
Advertising,
Folklore, undated
Dialects and Oddities, undated
Britain Scenery, circa 1910s and
undated
Includes postcards circa 1910s addressed to Miss Frances de
Caro