Lewis Seymour Collection

DONOR:

Abby Lewis Seymour

SIZE:

180 cubic feet

SCOPE & CONTENT:

The Abby Lewis Seymour Collection reflects the life of a Mesilla Park native (1910-1997) who graduated from New Mexico A&M College before entering upon an acting career in New York City. The collection includes papers, correspondence, financial records, photographs, videos, tapes, memorabilia and theatre playbills. There is an extensive photographic history of her work in theatre, film, TV and print, as well as that of her husband, actor John D. Seymour and other stage personalities.

The papers include extensive correspondence regarding the establishment and ongoing history of SAG, the Screen Actors Guild.

In addition to the theatre archives, there is a large collection of family and childhood photographs that are relevant to the history of St. James' Episcopal Church, Mesilla Park, NM, and the twenty-one Episcopal missions that her father, Preacher Lewis, established and served. Extensive personal correspondence as well as sound recordings are in this collection.

BIOGRAPHY:

Born Camelia Albon Lewis on Jan 14, 1910, Abby as she was known, was the second daughter of Hunter "Preacher" Lewis and Edith Lewis. She grew up in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, where her father was the well-known Priest at St. James' Episcopal Church. Abby graduated from the Las Cruces, NM, public schools and New Mexico A&M College where she was in the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority.

In 1932 Abby Lewis traveled to New York City to begin a lifelong career in theatre, film, radio, TV and print work. She married the actor John D. Seymour in 1952. Abby Lewis Seymour died Thanksgiving Day, 1997 in New York City.

The Abby Lewis Seymour Endowment provided the funds for the initial land and building for IHSF. The site is adjacent to St. James' Episcopal Church where Abby lived in her early years.

 

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