Louise Overall Weaver papers

Descriptive Summary

Title: Louise Overall Weaver papers
Dates: 1931-1988,
Predominant Dates: (bulk 1946-1984)
Creator: Weaver, Louise Overall, 1915-1990
Creator: New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church (Chicago, Ill.)
Size: 3.75 linear feet (3 HB, 1 half HB, 2 flat boxes)
Language: Material is in English unless otherwise noted.

Scope and Content

The collection includes correspondence, programs, and a contract to play for the church, awards, anniversary celebration scrapbooks and news clippings. This includes thank-you notes and letters of congratulations, autographs including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mahalia Jackson, photos from her inclusion in the Profiles of Black Chicagoans exhibit and an unpublished memoir. Weaver's contract to play for the 44th Baptist Street Church and her certificate of Promotion from the Illinois School of Music is included in the collection. The bulk of the collection consists of programs and news clippings from her performances with Mahalia Jackson and her anniversary performances at the 44th Baptist Street Church including several photograph albums and scrapbooks.

Conditions for Access

As part of our storage renovations, some or all items in this collection are offsite and inaccessible until 2022. Materials in the "Copy/Holdings Information" section with "Lot" or "OS" or "Oversize" in the call number are NOT currently available unless stated otherwise. Please email us at research@chicagohistory.org with any questions you might have.

Conditions Governing Use

Contact the archives for more information on licensing and permissions for use and reproduction.

Preferred Citation

A common citation for archives is as follows: Item, Folder number and/or title, Box number, Collection title, ID number, Repository name, location.

Acquisition Information

Weaver, Louise Overall 1985/03/23 M1985.0009 Gift.

Custodial History

Gift of Louise Overall Weaver (M1985.0009). Acquired through the collecting activity of the NEH Black Women in the Middle West Project.

Biography or History

Louise Overall Weaver was an accomplished Chicago organist, pianist, and choir director who served several African American churches. Weaver was born April 13th, 1915 to Monroe Overall and Mary Ramsey Overall. Due to health issues at birth, Weaver's early life was marked by multiple surgeries to restore strength in her legs. Around the same time, Weaver discovered a love of music. She was the organist at the 44th Street Baptist Church later known as the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church for over 40 years. Weaver also accompanied Robert Anderson and the Caravans on their recordings, performed on the ABC radio program Jubilee Showcase in Chicago, served as a pianist in the Chicago Park District's Recreation Division for many years, and was an accompanist to gospel music singer Mahalia Jackson for over two decades. Weaver accompanied Jackson at her performance at Carnegie Hall in 1950, a historic moment in gospel music. Her proficiency on the organ earned her the nickname "Queen of the Hammond Organ." She later married and became Louise Overall Weaver-Smothers but was best known by the name under which she performed for many years. Weaver died in 1990.

Related Material

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the<U+00A0>Mahalia<U+00A0>Jackson<U+00A0>photograph collection, the Mahalia Jackson papers and the Black Women in the Middle West Project collection. Separated materials include two boxes of trophies that were transferred to the museum collections. A list of these is included in the manuscript collection.

Contents

Collection Access