Adolph Ross Papers and Photographs
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Abstract
Adolph Ross was a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, serving with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He returned to New York severely wounded and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. In later life he devoted himself to compiling biographical information on U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. Several versions of his annotated list were privately published and distributed by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection includes multiple annotated drafts of the list, Ross's files on and correspondence with a number of individual veterans and their family and friends, and some documents and memorabilia belonging to Ross himself.
Historical/Biographical Note
Adolph Ross was born in New York City. The son of a Polish-English mother and an Austrian-born father, Ross spent his infancy in a Knights of Pythias orphanage, later acquiring the surname Ross from his mother's second husband.
Ross became involved in politics at a young age, joining the Young Communist League and the National Student League while still in high school. In 1937 Ross volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War, but was not granted permission until 1938, when he obtained a Spanish visa and traveled under the pseudonym Adolfo Rodriguez. In Spain he fought in the Ebro Campaign and in August 1938 was severely wounded while fighting in the Sierra Pandols. He returned to New York on December 31, 1938.
After service in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Link Trainer instructor, Ross moved to Long Island with his wife Lillian and in the late seventies began compiling lists for a complete biographical directory of those who served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Originally sponsored by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB), the project continued under the auspices of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA). ALBA has planned to expand and publish the project data. Although Ross printed several versions of the "ALBA Biographical Dictionary Project" in the 1980s and 90s, he intended that the data included would be further refined. After his death in 1998, ALBA Executive Board member and Spanish Civil War historian Christopher Brooks continued Ross's research, amassing additional biographical data on Lincoln Brigade veterans and other Americans who served in Spain.
Adolph Ross's project was the basis of a list of Lincoln Brigade volunteers and medical personnel included in a souvenir brochure (No Pasaran! The 50th Anniversary of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) published by ALBA/VALB in 1986. This list, with additions and corrections by Tamiment Library staff and others, is available on the web site of the Tamiment Library, at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/tam/alba_names.html
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically.
The files are grouped into 3 series:
Missing Title
- I, Biographical Dictionary Project, 1951-1993.
- II, Individual Files, 1943-1998.
- III. General Files, 1938-1998.
- IV, Photographs, 1973.
Scope and Content Note
Series I: Biographical Dictionary Project, 1951-1993, consists of draft copies of the Biographical Dictionary Project listing, as well as correspondence, reports, notes and veterans lists from a number of international archives.
Series II: Individual Files, 1943-1998, consists of correspondence with veterans, their families, historians, and others involved in Spanish Civil War history. Much of this correspondence includes biographical information about specific veterans, some of it prepared in response to Ross's inquiries. Personal correspondence between Ross and friends/colleagues is also included. The series also contains a file of personal and biographical material relating to Ross himself.
Series III: General Files, 1938-1998, consists of clippings, pamphlets and general mailings. Also included are VALB-related documents and a folder of letters and clippings documenting Ross's trip to Spain in 1973.
Series IV: Photographs, 1973, consists of six color snapshots (3 of Adolph Ross and 2 scenic views) taken on a visit to Valencia, the Alhambra, and Teruel in 1973.
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Access Restrictions
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for more information and to schedule an appointment, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Use Restrictions
The Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Copyrights held by original creators of individual items in the collection are expected to pass into the public domain 70 years after the creator's death.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The Adolph Ross Papers came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of ALBA collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University.
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Processing Information
Processing decisions made prior to 2017 have not been recorded.
