| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Lyons, Frank |
| Title: | Frank Lyons Papers |
| Dates: | 1912-1961 |
| Extent: | 2.40 linear feet (3 containers) |
| Abstract: | Frank Lyons (1894-1974) was a lawyer, politician and civic leader active in Cleveland, Ohio's African American community. The collection consists of correspondence dealing with Lyons' law career, political involvement, and personal life, as well as organizational records, political campaign files, appointment books and journals, and legal case materials, including discrimination suits Lyons handled for the Future Outlook League and Robert Woodall. The collection pertains to Lyons' political aspirations and activities in various ward clubs, his community service in such organizations as the Urban League, St. Marks Presbyterian Church, and the Woodland Center Neighborhood House, and his discrimination cases. |
| MS Number | MS 4249 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Frank Lyons (1894-1974) was a lawyer and civic leader in the Cleveland, Ohio, African American community. Born in Middleboro, Kentucky, Lyons and his parents moved to Cleveland in 1895. After graduation from East Technical High School in 1915 and one year's study of business administration at the Cleveland Central Institute, Lyons took over his father's ice business, selling it to the Young Ice and Coal Company in 1920. Lyons then worked at several managerial positions while attending Baldwin Wallace Law School. After his graduation in 1922, he opened his own practice, dealing primarily in civil law. Over the next several decades, Lyons became involved in Republican politics, running unsuccessfully for state senator twice and state representative once. He was also active in community service, founding the Cleveland Business League (formerly the Negro Progressive Business Alliance) and serving on such boards as the Urban League, St. Mark's Presbyterian Church, and Woodland Center Neighborhood House.
The Frank Lyons Papers, 1912, 1929-1961, and undated, consist of correspondence dealing with Lyons' law career, political involvement, and personal life as well as organizational records, political campaign files, appointment books and journals, and legal case materials.
This collection pertains largely to Lyons' political aspirations and activity in various ward clubs, his community service through organizations such as the Urban League, and his concern for discrimination which he handled through rental disputes for the Future Outlook League and cases such as Robert Woodall versus Joseph Sweeney. Researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and the African American community there in the twentieth century will find this collection useful. Those studying legal and political history in Cleveland will also find this collection useful.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4249 Frank Lyons Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Frank Lyons in 1971.
Processed by Bari Oyler Stith in 1988.
Frank Lyons Papers 1912-1961 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1-8 | Correspondence 1930-1961 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Certificates 1947-1953 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Writings and speeches 1933 1945 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Financial materials 1932 1950-1959 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Organizational files, Ambassadors Club materials ca. 1940-1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Organizational files, Eighteenth Ward Republican Club materials 1929-1933 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Organizational files, Harlan Club materials 1938 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Organizational files, Negro Churches in Cleveland files 1937-1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Organizational files, Nineteenth Ward Civic and Political Club materials 1939-1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Organizational files, Phillis Wheatley Association materials 1912 1947 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Organizational files, Urban League file 1942-1951 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Organizational files, Ward materials ca. 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Organizational files, Woodland Center Neighborhood House file 1947-1948 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Political campaign files 1934-1935 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Political campaign files, 1944 campaign for state representative; and 1946 campaign for state representative 1944 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16-18 | Appointment books and journals 1942 1946 1948 1951-1952 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 19-25 | Appointment books and journals 1952 1955 1957-1961 | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Legal materials, Future Outlook League versus B. F. Kelley file 1945-1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Legal materials, Future Outlook League versus Lila Mae Leonard file 1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Legal materials, Mackay versus Humphrey 1934 | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Legal materials, miscellaneous file ca. 1940-1949 | |||||||||
| 2 | 27 | Legal materials, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) file 1934-1948 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 28 | Legal materials, Ohio Responsibility Law file 1954 | |||||||||
| 2 | 28 | Legal materials, Patent file 1956-1957 | |||||||||
| 2 | 29-30 | Legal materials, St. Mark's Presbyterian Church 1934-1960 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 31 | Legal materials, Woodall, Robert, versus Joseph Sweeney, Sheriff of Cuyahoga County, & Eugene Quilliiam versus Joseph Sweeney 1935-1950 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 32-36 | Legal materials, Woodall, Robert, versus Joseph Sweeney, Sheriff of Cuyahoga County, & Eugene Quilliiam versus Joseph Sweeney 1950-1953 undated | |||||||||