Stockwell (Nancy) Papers, [1956?]-2006, bulk 1975-1998

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Summary

Title:
Nancy Stockwell Papers,
Dates:
[1956?]-2006, bulk 1975-1998
Creators:
Stockwell, Nancy
Abstract:
The collection documents the life of Nancy Stockwell through her correspondence, subject files, diaries, and draft and printed copies of her writings. Stockwell was an author and professional golfer. She was one of the founders of Plexus, a San Francisco Bay Area feminist magazine. Stockwell's Out Somewhere and Back Again contains some autobiographical material.
Extent:
2 boxes, 1 oversized flat box, 1 document case (2.5 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Nancy Stockwell Papers (GLC 47), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains correspondence, subject files, diaries, and draft and printed copies of Stockwell’s writings. Most of the material covers the years 1975 through 1998.

Biographical / historical:

Nancy Stockwell was born in Paola, Kansas on September 8, 1940. She was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a congenital pulmonary disorder in 1951. In 1966 she graduated from the University of Kansas with a Master's degree in Speech/Theatre. That same year she moved to Boston, Massachusetts and began her career as a writer. The unpublished novella "Lucky Girls" chronicles her early days in Boston. She taught high school, was an editor at Arthur D. Little, Inc. from 1970-1973, and was a grant writer and administrator at the Girls' Club in Lynn, Massachusetts from 1972-1973.

In 1973 Stockwell moved to Berkeley, California where she became one of the founding mothers of the journals PLEXUS (1974-1977) and The Bright Medusa. It is at this time that she made the acquaintance of members of the early lesbian-feminist movement. In 1977 she returned to the east coast. In 1978 Out Somewhere and Back Again: the Kansas Stories was published. In 1979 she attended the first gay and lesbian March in Washington, DC where she was living. In 1980 she began managing the Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. A piece of hers was published in A True Likeness edited by Felice Picano, Seahorse Press. In 1981 she founded The Good Earth, a landscaping and construction business (1981-1985). In 1985 she was admitted into the Ladies Professional Golf Association and returned to the west coast.

In 1987 Stockwell became the first female golf club professional in San Francisco at Harding/Lincoln Parks. Later that year, she was hired as head teaching professional at the Stony Run Sports Center in Denver, Pennsylvania, and opened the PRO shop in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. In 1990 she was hired as the manager and teaching professional at Blue Skies Country Club in Yucca Valley, California.

In 1992 Stockwell moved from the desert to Paola, Kansas due to failing health. She founded the Old Faithful Trading Company and taught college-level sociology. In 1996 she purchased a home and moved to Kansas City, Kansas to be near KU Medical Center. A piece of hers was published in Best Lesbian Erotica 1996 edited by Tristan Taormino, Cleis Press. She read from "The Telling Kind" at OUTWRITE on February 25, 1996 in Boston.

In 1998 Stockwell arrived in San Diego, California in January to await a double lung transplant at UCSD Medical Center. On September 18, 1998 she underwent successful double lung transplant surgery and was discharged from the hospital in 10 days. In December she returned to Kansas to assist with the care of her mother who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Nancy Stockwell died at the Kansas University Medical Center on March 13, 1999 due to complications from the lung transplants and immuno-suppression.

Acquisition information:
The Nancy Stockwell Papers were donated to The San Francisco Public Library by Deanna L. Nikodym for the Estate of Nancy Stockwell in May 2000. 11 additional items were donated by Nikodym in April 2010.
Arrangement:

The material is arranged in five series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Subject Files; Series 3. Works; Series 4. Audiovisual Materials; and Series 5. Diaries/Journals.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Tim Wilson.
Date Prepared:
2007
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-03-13T17:28-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Series 5 which is closed to research until 2060 per Nancy Stockwell.

Terms of access:

Copyright and literary rights for Stockwell's published and unpublished works were bequeathed to the Kansas University Endowment Association, P.O. Box 928, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044-0928.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Nancy Stockwell Papers (GLC 47), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Website