Conduct primary source research with our manuscripts, which include collections of personal papers, diaries, photographs, ephemera, and business records.
The Ralph W. Hood and W. Paul Williamson field recordings, interviews, and photographs collection contains interviews, video recordings, and photographic prints regarding Pentecostalism, serpent handling, and speaking in tongues in Southern Appalachia from 1975 to 2004.
Digital Collections
View a selection of our Manuscripts and University Archives online in our Digital Collections.
The Mary Vance Jesus Name Tradition Photographs digital collection features images that document the practice of imbibing poisons and serpent handling taken by a woman who attended serpent-handling churches as a child. The photographs provide an intimate exploration of the lives and deaths of believers as images of practitioners were largely captured in their homes.
The Ralph W. Hood and W. Paul Williamson Holiness Churches of Appalachia recordings and interviews digital collection features a small sample of more than 400 hours of church services and interviews documenting contemporary serpent handlers of Southern Appalachia. Ranging from 1975 to 2004, this collection focuses on the major Pentecostal congregations that practice speaking in tongues, imbibing poisons, and serpent handling in the southeastern United States.