Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16836, Jean Schroeder papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from Max Rambod by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 6 September 2023

Biographical / Historical

Jeanie Schroeder (Married names:Boston, [McCoy], [Shearer??] was born in 1921 to Theophil R. Schroeder (1898-1973) and Goldie Margaret Halliday Schroeder (1893-1959) and graduated from NorthWestern University. She also worked as a personnel manager for the Billy Wright Orchestra (known as a pre-cursor to the famous musician Little Richard-- William Wright (1918-1991) was an African American singer who was openly Gay. He is considered one of Little Richard's greatest influences in his formative years.) Jeanie's boyfriend and secret husband was a musician named Kenny Leighton. She had many friends who were musicians in Chicago and in the United States Navy Band. When she became pregnant, her mother wanted her to marry someone (not Kenny Leighton) just to obtain what Mrs. Schroeder considered acceptable married status. Mrs. Schroeder wanted to take care of her daughter and Miss Schroeder showed much courage in exploring an interacial marriage with Kenny "Tiny" Leighton and raising her son on her own while trying to earn money and attend college. Her grandmother was Mary Halliday (1874-1969) and she had many aunts including, Opal Wycoff, Edith Blackhurst, Elsie Chowning, Clara Falk, and a [great] aunt Eva Viola Halliday Mapletoft. From them she received many letters with advice, most of it to follow the wishes of her parents, but her Aunt Elsie wanted her to follow Jeanie's own dreams and encouraged her writing abilities.Miss Schroeder also had letters from some close girl friends (Doris Reiman Gorman who became a doctor in California) and many boy friends who were very fond of her. She also had a brother, Frank Schroeder, who lived with his parents, was not well and who died in 1943. Her parents felt that they could not leave him alone because he was frequently in pain (possibly from Rheumatoid Arthitis).

Content Description

This collection contains letters and paper ephemera written to Jeanie Schroeder, a young, white woman who fell in love, got pregnant during her pre-med studies at Northwestern University, and secretly married a young Black musician identified as Keith "Tiny" Leighton in the letters. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1940s to the 1950s. The content centers Jeanie Schroeder's courage in facing the difficulties of being seen as an unwed mother in the 1940's; young men going off to World War II, and women obtaining new careers and exploring the work place that was previously unavailable to them.

It contains 130 handwritten letters, thirty typed letters, and 115 pieces of paper ephemera, including identification cards, handwritten poetry, and illustrations by Blair, their child, drawn for his mother.

The archive includes letters from Jeannie's father, Theophile R. Schroeder, a Chicago business owner, demanding to know the baby's father, from Jeannie's mother, Goldie Halliday Schroeder, begging her daughter to hide her condition, from a girlfriend, Doris Reiman Gorman, urging Jeannie to move to Mexico where her "sociological problems" won't be an issue, and from a friend (George Nesbitt) of Tiny's family with advice for the courage an interracial marriage would require of her, as well as letters from Jeannie and Keith's son. Blair. He wrote letters to his mother while he attended the Williams Military Academy. An envelope with some of the boy's hair is included.

Related Material

Related to the UVA Collection of the History of Parenting, Childhood, and Family Building.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans
• History of Childhood, Parenting and Family Building (UVA)
• Interracial marriage
• Interracial marriage -- United States
• Max Rambod