Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Lockridge, Ross, 1914-1948
- Abstract:
- The Grisell mss., 1942-1990, consists of letters from and clippings relating to author Ross Franklin Lockridge, 1914-1948, gathered by his friend, surgeon Ted Grisell, 1916-2004.
- Extent:
- 1 folio
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Grisell mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Ross Franklin Lockridge, Jr., 1914-1948, was born and raised in Bloomington, IN, and graduated from Indiana University in 1935. He subsequently taught at the university and completed his M.A. in English. In 1940, he began his Ph.D. in English at Harvard University and started writing fiction while working on his dissertation. He published the novel Raintree County in 1948, and it became an immediate bestseller. Lockridge died in Bloomington, IN, two months after his novel was published.
Ted Grisell, 1916-2004, who was one of Lockridge's boyhood friends, was born in Fortville, IN, and attended high school in Fort Wayne, IN. He graduated from Indiana University in 1937 and completed his medical degree in Indianapolis in 1939. Grisell served in France in the Army Medical Corps during World War II. An accomplished surgeon, he was on the staff of Community Hospital in Indianapolis and was Chief of Staff at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, IN. He moved to New Smyrna Beach, FL, following his retirement in 1994 and died in 2004.
- Scope and Content:
The Grisell mss., 1942-1990, consists of letters and clippings from and relating to author Ross Franklin Lockridge, 1914-1948. The letters from Lockridge are dated December 17, 1942, sent to Ted L. Grisell at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and August 24, 1947, addressed to Grisell's mother, Gretta Grisell of Fort Wayne, Indiana, enclosing a letter to her son.
Grisell was a boyhood friend of Lockridge and in a long letter to Lockridge's son, Laurence, in May 1989, he recounts some of his experiences and memories of that association. The remaining letters in the file are between Grisell and Laurence Lockridge. The clippings are from Indianapolis papers and concern Lockridge's autograph party at L.S. Ayres in January 1948, the premiere of the movie Raintree County, and a feature story in 1987, "The Quest for Raintree County." Also present are two copies of "A Memorial Record" from the funeral services for Ross Lockridge in 1948.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift: 1990
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged following original order.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Folio
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Grisell mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu