Series I:

Biographical Papers

Sub-series I/A:

Family Records
    Family records primarily include genealogical data, medical account books of Gantt's grandfather, and journals of Gantt's mother. Miscellaneous family records include a few newspaper clippings, lists of relatives, prayer books, and a few miscellaneous items pertaining to Gantt's son and daughter.
    Genealogical data include the following four items: a photograph of a land grant to Gantt's ancestor, William Perkins, Colony and Dominion at Williamsburgh, August 1747; a genealogy of the "Silver Family," 1835; a genealogy ("corrected, June 27, 1938") for Gantt's great, great grandfather, John Gantt, Sr. (b.1740); and an 8-page genealogy (1944) of Gantt's great grandfather, Henry Gantt, by Mynna Thurston.
    Gantt's grandfather, William Andrew Horsley, M.D., is represented by two record books (1836-1848) of statements of accounts with patients in Nelson County, Virginia.
    Gantt's mother was Ann Maria Horsley Gantt. The collection includes her diaries for May to August 1879, two years prior to her marriage. Though fire damaged, most of the diaries are legible, comprising 48 pages of fairly lengthy entries. In addition, there are copies of biological data entered in the family Bible (ca. 1890-1910) and four account books (1894-1920) kept by Mrs. Gantt for the family farm, "Rock Cliff," in Virginia. Budget information entered in these account books is sporadic and brief. One of the account books is also an attendance record (1898-1904) for Rock Cliff Public School # 10.

	Folder 1/1	Rebecca B. Gantt's description of selected items in Gantt Papers. — 1980
	Folder 1/2	Photograph of land grant, Sir William Gooch to William Perkins. — Aug 20 1747
	Folder 1/3	Benjamin Silver, Family History. — Jul 24 1835
	Folder 1/4	John Gantt Sr., Family Genealogy. — Jun 27 1938
	Folder 1/5	Henry Gantt, by his granddaughter Mynna Thurston. — Sep 21 1944
	Folder 1/6-7	William Horsley, statements of account book. — 1836-1848
	Folder 1/8	Ann Maria Horsley Gantt, diary. — May 1 1879-Aug 15 1879
	Folder 1/9	Book of Common Prayer, Rock Cliff Sunday School. — 1886
	Folder 1/10	Family news clippings, copies of entries in family Bible. — 1890-1910
	Folder 1/11	Clara Lee Horsley's Liturgy and Hymns for Sunday Schools. — 1910-1921
	Folder 1/12	Ann Maria Horsley Gantt, farm records, news clippings, filed oversize. — 1890
	Folder 1/13	Virginia P.S. 10 Register, notes regarding family. — 1893-1920
	Folder 1/14	Ann Maria Horsley Gantt Budget, diary entry. — 1894
	Folder 1/15-16	Ann Maria Horsley Gantt, Wingina farm account book. — 1894-1914
	Folder 1/17	Elizabeth R. Horsley financial transaction. — 1922
	Folder 2/1	Family Records, Andrew Gantt. — 1953-1971
	Folder 2/2-3	Family Records, Andrew Gantt. — n.d.
	Folder 2/4-5	Family Records, Emily Gantt. — n.d.
	Folder 2/6	Mary Gould Richardson Gantt, obituary. — 1964
	Folder 2/7	List of Gantt's relatives. — n.d.

Sub-series I/B:

Personal records

	Folder 2/8	Gantt's school notebook. — n.d.
	Folder 2/9	Gantt's class notes, physiology, University of North Carolina. — 1916
	Folder 2/10	Exam , physiology, University of North Carolina. — 1917
	Folder 2/11	Journal Club application. — 1932?
	Folder 2/12	World War II ration books. — 1944
	Folder 2/13	USSR entry questionnaire. — 1947
	Folder 2/14	Vital records. — 1917-1965
	Folder 2/15	Licenses. — 1922-1980
	Folder 2/16	Calendar. — 1978
	Folder 2/17-18	Curricula Vitae. — 1964-1979
	Folder 2/19	Gantt's shorthand abbreviations. — n.d.

Sub-series I/C:

Biographical Material
    Although boyhood records are sparse, biographical information on Gantt's adulthood is fairly extensive. Biographical sketches by ten different authors are included, and there are manuscripts and notes for four interviews with Gantt. The papers include numerous curricula vitae, sketches for biographical directories, and personal notices for his work at Johns Hopkins and the Veterans Administration.
    In 1930, Gantt wrote a "psychological personality study" for Adolf Meyer. (Meyer was Director of the Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, and was responsible for bringing Gantt to Johns Hopkins.) This very personal 54-page self-evaluation describes his family background and early childhood, his philosophy of life, his emotional and spiritual character, and his career goals. Gantt describes himself as the product of impoverished Virginia aristocracy, his father "a lover of friends, and the comforts and ideals of a Virginia gentleman," and his mother "extremely ambitious, painstaking and persevering and a lover of truth and justice." ("Psychobiological personality study," p. 7. Box 3/5).
    Describing himself, Gantt confesses a "chronic disturbance over the progress of the Universe and of humanity," his disappointment with psychology as it had been practiced, and his admiration for "the broader philosophical outlooks expressed more notably by William James, Adolf Meyer and Pavlov." ("Psychobiological personality study, p. 22). The personality study also contains specific information about Gantt's habits as a young man, for example, "coffee is not used regularly, but only when dining out." ("Psychobiological personality study," p. 3)

	Folder 3/1-4	Information for biographical directories. — 1940-1974
	Folder 3/5-7	Gantt: "Psychobiological Personality Study" for Adolf Meyer. — 1930
	Folder 3/8	Biographical sketch. — 1957
	Folder 3/9	Description of Gantt's work by Gershon Fishbein. — 1959
	Folder 3/10	Articles about Gantt. — 1965
	Folder 3/11	Biographical sketch by William Reese. — 1967
	Folder 3/12	Presentation of Gantt's bust. — 1967
	Folder 3/13	Biographical sketch by David White. — May 13 1975
	Folder 3/14	Biographical sketch by A. McGee Harvey. — 1976
	Folder 3/15	Biographical sketch. — 1977
	Folder 3/16	Biographical sketch by Shoji Kakigi. — 1977
	Folder 3/17	Biographical essay by James Lynch. — 1980
	Folder 3/18	Biographical essay by William Reese. — 1982
	Folder 3/19-21	Personnel file. — 1913-1979
	Folder 3/22	Lasker Award. — 1946
	Folder 3/23-25	Awards and certificates. — 1950-1979
	Folder 3/26	Nobel Prize nomination. — 1970-1971

Sub-series I/D:

Diaries and Reminiscences
    Gantt faithfully kept detailed diaries covering all aspects of his professional and personal life, reflecting an active life and an introspective, earnest character. The collection contains reproductions and transcripts of 160 pages from the diaries, dating from 1922 to 1935, and also 1960 and 1974. These excerpts focus primarily on Pavlov and Russia, but also include entries for his stay in London in 1924 and entries kept during a trip to Germany in 1960. The diary excerpts reveal Gantt's personal struggles and triumphs. For example, on March 16, 1924, Gantt writes that he is "beginning to feel the glory of research work as creative; I believe in it and have an opportunity to express my powers to the fullest and perhaps to contribute to the welfare of the race." (Diaries, 3/16/24. Box 4/3). In 1933, he pines "How dreary and empty a bachelor's life can be." (Diary excerpts in draft autobiography. 6/18/33/ Box 4/22). Frequently he concludes a diary entry with a description of his day, as in the following entry dated June 15, 1924:
    Imperfect: letting too many things interrupt my work
    Perfect: thinking clearly
    Health: enteritis about gone by abstaining from sweets and apples (Diaries, 6/15/24, no page. Box 4/3)
    Diaries for the years Gantt spent in Russia are thorough and candid, providing a valuable resource for Russian historians. (The collection contains only excerpts from the diaries for the years 1927 to 1929 which describe Russia.) In the summer of 1927, while traveling throughout Russia, Gantt relates conversations with peasants, hotel porters, government officials, and doctors in several health facilities which he visits. In September, Gantt began a trek through the Caucasus with John Dos Passos. His diary entries for this five-month trip are devoted mainly to a description of natural beauty, but also record conversations with Soviet citizens.
    Excerpts from Gantt's diaries for 1922 to 1927 include eleven pages of comment and quotes of Ivan P. Pavlov. Entries are brief, touching on Pavlov's views on religion, free will, women doctors, the design of his laboratory building, his health, and in several entries, the effect of Bolshevism on Russian science. Gantt reports that Pavlov decries the Communist party's control of the universities and their opposition to religion. Gantt quotes Pavlov: "Ah, that is a real culture, such a beautiful little church, and that is what the Bolsheviks wish to do away with, to destroy! What a shame!" (Diaries, 6/15/25. Box 191/1). About his approach to working with collaborators, Pavlov explains to Gantt that he breaks a research problem into parts, giving each part to a different researcher. "In this way the problem is not affected by the subconscious desire of the worker to prove a certain thing." (Diaries, 10/7/25. Box 191/1).
    Nineteen pages of Gantt's notes (1924-1933) contain similar information about Pavlov, for example, his view of Freud and a few childhood experiences. The notes also include brief comments by Pavlov's Russian collaborators, Bykov, Zelheim, Volborth, Babkin and Fursikov.
    Before Gantt died in 1980, he was in the process of writing his autobiography. Manuscripts and notes for this (1968-1978) appear to comprise an introduction and two chapters of writing. In 1968, he wrote, "Many of the episodes in my life remain unexplained in spite of Freud and John B. Watson. There is still room for wonder." (Draft autobiography, p. 5. Box 4/23).

	Folder 4/1-3	Diary excerpt. — 1922-1924
	Folder 4/4	Reminiscences: Bapkin, Orbeli. — 1924
	Folder 4/5	Reminiscences of Russian doctor by Orbeli. — Sep 17 1924
	Folder 4/6-8	Diary excerpts. — 1927-1929
	Folder 4/9	Reminiscences: Conversation with Karpinsky's daughter. — Aug 27 1928
	Folder 4/10	Reminiscences: Lermontovsky. — Sept 15 1929
	Folder 4/11	Diary entries. — 1960
	Folder 4/12	Account of visit to Leningrad and Moscow. — 1974
	Folder 4/13	Account of trip to Russia. — 1954
	Folder 4/14-19	Interviews. — 1965-1977
	Folder 4/20-25	Autobiography. — 1968-1978

Sub-series I/E:

Prose and Poetry
    Gantt often expressed his sense of humor in poems and stories. For example, the papers include "A Xmas Story, or The Log of a Ham," about his difficulties with the Postal Service when he tried to mail a ham to friends in London.

	Folder 5/1	Prose. — 1951
	Folder 5/2	"On Druid Hill Cemetery". — 1959
	Folder 5/3-4	"A Christmas Story". — 1959
	Folder 5/5	Prose. — n.d.
	Folder 5/6	"Epitaph". — n.d.
	Folder 5/7-10	Poems. — 1943-1970
	Folder 5/11	Arsivarsy. — n.d
	Folder 5/12	"A Site Visit to the Pavlovian Lab". — 1967
	Folder 5/13-27	Clippings about Gantt. — 1929-1980

Sub-series I/F:

Personal Finances

	Folder 6/1	Will. — 1952-1971
	Folder 6/2	Misc. personal financial records. — 1924-1974
	Folder 6/3	Stocks, securities. — v.d.
	Folder 6/4	Misc. tax bills, receipts, returns. — 1942-1978
	Folder 6/5	Tax calculations. — 1962
	Folder 6/6	Family medical bills. — 1940-1979
	Folder 6/7	Royalties. — v.d.
	Folder 6/8	Insurance. — 1933-1976
	Folder 6/9	USSR State Bank. — 1932-1945
	Folder 6/10	Uncashed checks
	Folder 6/11-14	Checks. — 1924-1958
	Folder 6/15-16	Miscellaneous

Sub-series I/G:

Rock Cliff
    Correspondence and financial records pertaining to the management of "Rock Cliff," the Virginia farm which Gantt managed with his son, Andy, as both a working farm and a summer retreat.

	Folder 7/1-11	Correspondence. — 1924-1980
	Folder 7/12	Aerial farm survey. — 1966
	Folder 7/13	Property tax - income tax bills
	Folder 7/14	Inventory. — 1955
	Folder 7/15	Expenses. — 1940
	Folder 7/16	Expenses. — 1953-1955
	Folder 7/17	Acct. Tom Burnley. — 1946-1950
	Folder 7/18	Invoices
	Folder 7/19	USDA farm acreage allotment. — 1941-1968
	Folder 7/20	USDA Agricultural Conservation Program. — 1941-1967
	Folder 7/21-23	USDA printed matter

Series II:

Family Correspondence
    Family correspondence (c. 725 letters, 1848-1980) reveals Gantt's commitment to family, and his playfulness and imagination. Letters concern such things as medical referrals for family members, advice to his daughter struggling to learn French, and disputes over the ownership shares of the "Rock Cliff " estate. Eleven items are circulars from the Cabell Foundation, the purpose of which was to preserve the heritage of the descendants of William Cabell, to whom Gantt was related.

	Folder 8/1-25	Family correspondence. — Sep 15 1845-Oct 21 1954
	Folder 9/1-13	Family correspondence. — Jan 4 1955-Jul 18 1964
	Folder 10/1-6	Family correspondence. — Jan 6 1965-Jul 18 1980
	Folder 10/7	Cabell Foundation. — Sep 15 1962-Oct 20 1979

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