Rochester Voices

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. James Wright, a manager at the Phillis Wheatley branch of Rochester Public Libraries, commissioned a project to preserve the history of Rochester's African American community. This oral history project focused on native Rochesterians as well as longtime residents of the city, discussing topics like housing discrimination, segregation, and the importance of community. The recordings, called the Phillis Wheatley Public Library Oral History Collections, consist of 113 audio tapes, with approximately 70 hours currently digitized. 

The collection can be found here.

The following table, with links to audio file pages at www.rochestervoices.org, was prepared by Chloe Tacata.

Informant	sex	yob	yoi	age	Place of Birth	Years in Rochester	fieldworker
George Anderson	Male	1947	1980	33	Chester, Pennsylvania	15	Unknown Female
Willie Sprattling	Male	1924	1980	56	Chicago, Illinois	9	Unknown Female
William Hall	Male	1929	1980	51	Oviedo, Florida	27	Unknown Female
William Crimm	Male	~1949	1980	31	Tuscaloosa, Alabama/St. Louis, Missouri	13	Unknown Female
Wilbur L. Gerst	Male	1931	1980	49	Williamsburg Virginia	25	Unknown Female
Warren Crichlow	Male	1951	1979	28	New York, New York	9	Unknown Female
Walter Andrews	Male	1941	1980	39	Martin County, North Carolina	4	Unknown Female
Stanley Thomas	Male	1908	1980	72	Binghamton, New York	51	Unknown Female
Rozetta McDowell	Female	~1946	1980	34	Chicago, Illinois/Buffalo, New York	24	Unknown Female
Roy Wheatly King	Male	~1940	1980	40	Cat Island, Bahamas	16	Unknown Female
Ronald Good	Male	~1921	1979	59	Nutley, New Jersy/New York, New York	18	Unknown Female
Rev. John Walker	Male	~1925	1980	55	Columbus, Ohio	14	Unknown Female
Rev. Frederick Douglass Jefferson	Male	~1929	1980	51	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	6	Unknown Female
Rev. Charles Campbell	Male	1935	1980	45	Jacksonvile, Florida	20	Unknown Female
Rev. Andrew Gibson	Male	~1920	1980	60	Franklin, North Carolina	19	Unknown Female
Reuben Davis	Male	~1924	1980	56	Columbus, Mississippi/Chicago, Illinois	25	Unknown Female
Rev. Raymond Graves	Male	~1926	1980	54	Greensborough, North Carolina/ Atlanta, Georgia	17	Unknown Female
Rev. Ophelia B. Holmes	Female	1922	1978	56	Magnolia, Mississippi	12	Unknown Female
Olga Edwards	Female	1913	1980	67	New Orlenes, Louisiana	20	Unknown Female
Nanceau, Carlton	Female	1918	1980	62	Charleston, West Virginia	15	Unknown Female
Mary Jane Walker	Female	1948	1980	38	Cincinnati, Ohio	15	Unknown Female
Marguerite Jacobs	Female	~1933	1980	47	Toledo, Ohio	22	Unknown Female
Luvon Sheppard	Male	1940	1980	40	Sandford, Florida	15	Unknown Female
Louise Owens	Female	~1920	1980	60	Youngstown, Ohio/Rochester, New York	50	Unknown Female
Loftus Carson	Male	~1930	1980	50		24	Unknown Female
Lena Gantt	Female	1918	1980	62	Alabama	28	Unknown Female
Lawrence Evans	Male	1945	1979	34	Braceville, Ohio	9	Unknown Female
Lamar Jackson	Female	1946	1980	34	Rochester, New York	34	Unknown Female
Kijana Crawfrod	Female	~1940	1979	39	Tuskegee, Alabama/ Troy, Alabama		Unknown Female
Katherien Golden  Anderson	Female	~1920	1980	60	Rochester, New York	60	Unknown Female
Julia Brandon	Female	1919	1980	61	Rochester, New York	61	Unknown Female
Juantia Pitts	Female	~1920	1980	60	Brimingham, Alabama/Chicago, Illinois	26	Unknown Female
Josh Lofton	Male	1927	1980	53	Pearl River County, Mississippi	23	Unknown Female
Joe Sanders	Male	1919	1979	60	Mississippi	33	Unknown Female
Jesse James	Female	~	1979		Sanford, Florida	27	Unknown Female
James McCuller	Male	1940	1980	40	El Dorado, Arkansas	13	Unknown Female
James Dobson	Male	1931	1980	49	Salem, North Carolina	33	Unknown Female
James Christian	Male	~1930	1980	50	Union Springs, Alabama	8	Unknown Female
Isaiah Jackson	Male	1945	1980	45	Richmond, Virginia	7	Unknown Female
Howard Coles	Male	1903	1980	77	Mumford, New York/Belcoda, New York	64	Unknown Female
Howard Baugh	Male	1920	1979	59	Petersburg, Virginia	12	Unknown Female
Hazel Jeffries	Female	1933	1980	47	Washington, D.C	21	Unknown Female
Harriett Nuciola	Female	~1940	1980	40	Greigsville, New York/Rochester New York	38	Unknown Female
Rev. Gayraud S. Wilmore	Male	1920	1980	60	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	6	Unknown Female
Frederick Denson	Male	1937	1980	43	New Brighton, Pennsylvania	20	Unknown Female
Frank McElrath	Male	1932	1980	48	Carettta, West Virginia	27	Unknown Female
Evelyn Brandon	Female	1917	1980	63	Rochester, New York	63	Unknown Female
Ernest Dubois	Male	1926	1980	54	Rochester, New York	54	Unknown Female
Ellis Cosey	Male	1936	1980	44	Chicago, Illinois/Indianapolis, Indiana	6	Unknown Female
Earnest James	Male	1905	1980	75	Oklahoma/Cleveland, Ohio	56	Unknown Female
Dwight Hubbard	Male	1949	1980	31	Birmingham, Alabama/Rochester, New York	30	Unkmown Female
DeLeon Mcwen	Male	1939	1980	41		23	Unknown Female
David Gantt	Male	1941	1980	39	Opp, Alabama	28	Unknown Female
David Anderson	Male	1930	1980	50	Cincinnati, Ohio	24	Unknown Female
Cynthia Fitzpatrick	Female	1865	1980	114	Pontotoc, Mississippi	26	Unknown Female
Clarence T. Ingram	Male	1932	1980	48	Lilesville, North Carolina	27	Unknown Female
Charles Price	Male	1923	1980	57	Rochester, New York	57	Unknown Female
Caudilla L. Baker	Male	1907	1980	73	Texas	28	Unknown Female
Bobbie Johnson	Male	1929	1980	50	Rochester, New York	50	Unknown Female
Betty Lattimore	Female	~1952	1980	28	Sodus, New York	11	Unknown Female
Bertrand Boddie	Male	1924	1980	56	New Rochelle, New York	33	Unknown Female
Bernadine Jones	Female	1931	1980	49	Palmetto, Florida	24	Unknown Female
Audrey Fraizier	Female	1928	1980	52	Newcastle, Pennsylvania	31	Unknown Female
Anna Byrd	Female	1929	1980	51	Rochelle, New York	23	Unknown Female
Andrew Langston	Male	1927	1978	53	Dawson, Georgia	18	Unknown Female
Amefika Geuka	Male	1940	1979	39	Belle Glade, Florida/Utica, New York	6	Unknown Female
Alvin A. White	Male	1937	1980	43	Norvelt, Pennsylvania	14	Unknown Female
Alice H. Young	Female	1923	1980	57	Wise, North Carolina	18	Unknown Female
Albert Dean	Male		1980		Clermont, Florida	16	Unknown Female

Rights & Access information are available on each page linked above. The Rochester Voices audio files, fieldwork recordings and transcripts have been released to support research, scholarly work, and other non-commercial usage. If you use any of these recordings, please cite the source material.

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