MSS 59

Buzzard, Henry, 1923-

Papers of Henry L. Buzzard, 1880-1987

Gallaudet University Archives.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Gallaudet University Archives
Call No.: MSS 59
Creator: Henry L. Buzzard
Title: Papers of Henry L. Buzzard, 1880-1987
Quantity: 1.5 Linear Feet (3 document boxes)
Abstract: This collection is the personal collection of Henry L. Buzzard, a prominent figure in the Deaf religious community.
Note: This document last updated 2005 November 23.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information: Henry Lewis Buzzard donated his collection to the Gallaudet University Archives on December 14, 1987.

Processed by: Ulf Hedberg. 1989 March 20.
Processing Note:
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with no restrictions. Photocopies may be made for scholarly research.

Related Material in the Archives:

Films

 

·         [Library Building] [motion picture] Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Deaf Film 144-4

 

Manuscripts

 

·         Papers, 1880-1987. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: MSS 59

 

Photographs

 

·         Henry L. Buzzard [picture] Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Portraits

Small Manuscripts

·         Papers, Winifred Hallock Nies Northcott, 1982. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: SMSS

·         Papers, Norman Tsu, 1973. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: SMSS

·         Papers, Henry L. Buzzard, 1965-1975. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: SMSS

·         Papers, James Nestor Orman, 1922-1976. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: SMSS

Vertical Files

·         Henry L. Buzzard. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Deaf Biographical

Buzzard is mentioned and included in many various MSS collections. For a complete listing, check ALADIN.

Biographical Sketch

            Henry L. Buzzard was born in Normal, Illinois on June 7, 1923. He became deaf at a early age. In 1926, he enrolled at Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his education there in 1938. He attended a high school in his hometown and graduated in 1942. He attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana for one year. In 1943, he also attended Eastern Illinois State College in Charlestown and received a diploma. Buzzard entered the Wabash College again and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry in 1946. Buzzard attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and received a Master of Arts degree in Geography in 1949. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and received a Masters in Library Science in 1951.

            Buzzard worked as a cartographic aid for the United States Air Force in the Washington, DC area. He was employed as an assistant librarian and cataloguer at Gallaudet College from 1952-1956. He was also a library instructor. He married Juliet Barnett in 1956 and resigned to work as a library cataloguer for the United States Army map service for ten years, until 1966. Buzzard and his family moved to New York City in 1966 where he worked as a school librarian at the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, New York. He retired in 1979; however, he continued to volunteer as an archivist and historian for the school.

            Buzzard was a lay reader for St. Ann’s Church for the Deaf in New York City and also served as a deacon. He was ordained to the Deaconate on September 26, 1996 and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church on June 28, 1997. He continues to be active as a priest at St. Ann’s church for the Deaf.

Scope and Content

The Henry Lewis Buzzard collection consists of approximately 1200 items dating from 1880-1987. The majority of papers date from the 1970s-1980s. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, arranged chronologically, and records of various organizations including the Metropolitan Chapter of Gallaudet College Alumni Association.

In the folder related to the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, one can find programs, reports, news-clippings, bylaws from the parent section of the CAID and brochures. There are photocopies of a letter from Isaac Lewis Peet, 1880 and Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, 1881.

The folder titled International Games for the Deaf has programs, letters, schedules, receipts and a list of names of Miss Deaf Pennsylvania. The collection contains records of the Oral Deaf Adult Section of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf which includes correspondence, personal narratives on the ODAS meetings, by-laws, and news clippings.

This collection forms part of the original collection donated to the Gallaudet University Archives by Henry Buzzard.
           

Series Descriptions and Folder Lists

No Series.