The first and most important is the Earl Conrad–Harriet Tubman Collection, 1939–41, 1946, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, New York City. This collection consists of seven boxes (three linear feet). It is also available on two reels of microfilm. This valuable archive contains the research correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, interviews, manuscripts, and other materials Conrad gathered. I used the microfilm version (Scholarly Resources, Wilmington, Del., 1995), which is cited as ct.

Conrad also donated many materials related to his efforts to publish his Tubman book to Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York. This collection is at the Norman F. Bourke Memorial Library and contains duplicates of some of the items he gave to the Schomburg Center. See Earl Conrad: An Inventory of Papers at Cayuga Community College (April 1983), compiled by Douglas O. Michael. I cite the Caygua Community College Collection as ec.

Tubman researchers should also consult the Ellen Jean Mahoney Collection at the Seymour Public Library in Auburn, New York. Located in the Mary Van Sickle Wait History Room, the scrapbooks consist of copies (not originals) of newspaper stories, articles, photographs, and other documents compiled by Mahoney over many years. The Harriet Tubman Files at the Cayuga County Historian’s Office in Auburn, New York, contain valuable items. Many of them are in the better organized Mahoney Collection.

A variety of other manuscript and archival collections contain isolated items pertaining to Harriet Tubman and those who helped make her a national icon. Among the more useful are

Newspapers served as important vehicles for shaping the public’s views of Harriet Tubman. The Auburn press carried many stories about Tubman, particularly after she had become a national icon; in recent decades, the Syracuse press and Baltimore press have featured articles about Tubman and her legacy. Articles about Tubman have also appeared in the black press, but not with the frequency one might expect, given her status as a “race” hero. These sources are cited in the notes. National outlets such as the New York Times only occasionally carried stories useful for this study of Tubman and the American memory. Since these are few in number, I cite them in this section.