Fonds - Mary Jane Gormley fonds

Identity area

Reference code

Title

Mary Jane Gormley fonds

Date(s)

  • 1952-2003 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

54.3 cm of textual records
30 photographs
6 books
2 CDs of electronic records
1 floppy disc

Context area

Name of creator

(3 March 1940 - 9 December 2022)

Biographical history

Mary Jane Norris Gormley was a copy editor, calligrapher, and prominent member of the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH).

Born on March 3, 1940, in Milton, Massachusetts, Gormley attended the Milton Academy in the greater Boston area for her elementary and high school education. She then completed an honors degree at the University of Toronto in History and Philosophy in 1961. After her graduation, she spent a year working for the Catholic missions in Angleton, Texas.

In 1965, she and her husband Dexter Gormley moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where she worked at the Indiana University typing up dissertations for graduate students and faculty members. Her typing experience lead to her pursuing a career as a copy editor for Indiana University Press, and then later, the Journal of American History, where she worked at until medical issues forced her retirement in late 2005.

Due to her difficulty breathing caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Gormley came up with the idea of using a harmonica to exercise her lungs and strengthen them. Accordingly, she became a member of SPAH to promote a general appreciation for harmonicas as musical instruments but also as potential medical aids.

Mary Jane Gormley died on December 9, 2022.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Records were donated to the archive by Dexter Gormley in 2024.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

This fonds consists of materials related to Mary Jane Gormley’s involvement in the editing and publication of Fr. Edward Synan’s texts. Materials largely derive from Gormley’s joint project with Janice Schultz-Aldrich where they took a collaborative effort to publish Fr. Synan’s previously unpublished and sometimes unfinished texts. Records consist of original texts, copy edits, notes, lists, correspondences, articles, books, and more.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Original order of material has been maintained from accession.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted.

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English
  • Polish

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Physical characteristics and technical requirements

    Finding aids

    Allied materials area

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    Related descriptions

    Notes area

    Note

    Several images exist of some of Gormley's original file folders with her handwriting and notes.

    Note

    Majority of file titles are transcribed directly from folders as labelled by Mary Jane Gormley, with a few modified by the archivist for improved clarity or for better reflection of file content.

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Access points

    Subject access points

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    Name access points

    Description control area

    Description identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Dates of creation revision deletion

    Created by V Tywonek-Sobota, April 2025.

    Language(s)

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Accession area