MacEdward Leach (1892-1967) was an American folklorist, whose work "greatly influenced the development of folklore as an academic discipline".

Early life and education

Leach was born near

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Later in life he sometimes gave his birth date as 1896, seemingly to avoid forced retirement. Leach graduated with a MA from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

in 1917: his master's thesis was on the legend of the Holy Grail. He then researched for a doctorate at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

: studying under the Americanist, Cornelius Weygandt and anthropologist,

Frank Speck Frank Gouldsmith Speck (November 8, 1881 – February 6, 1950) was an American anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples among the Eastern Woodland Native Americans of ...

. Leach completed his doctorate, which dealt with the use of Celtic tradition in literature, in 1930.

Personal life

Leach was married twice, first to Alice May (Maria) Doane, with whom he had a son, Donald. His second marriage was Nancy Rafetto, with whom he also had a son, Douglas.

Maria Leach Maria Leach (April 30, 1892 – May 22, 1977) was an American writer and editor of books on folklores of the world. A noted scholar, she compiled and edited a major reference work on folklore and was the author or editor of thirteen books for adult ...

was also a renowned folklorist: amongst her publications were ''The Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend'' (1949–50) and ''The Rainbow Book of American Tales and Legends'' (1958).

Career

After the completion of his doctorate Leach developed and taught courses on folklore within the University of Pennsylvania's Department of English. Over time, he adapted English literature courses he inherited into folklore courses: one titled "The Epic and Short Story', he gradually changed into a general folklore course, another on the literary ballad he transformed it into a folk ballad course. By 1959 Leach had developed a doctoral program in folklore and folklife - the second in the United States. A Folklore department was established at the University in 1962. Early in his career, Leach carried out fieldwork in the Southern mountain regions of the United States, as well as in the

John Crow Mountains The John Crow Mountains are a range of mountains in Jamaica. They extend parallel with the northeast coast of the island, bounded to the west by the banks of the Rio Grande, and joining with the eastern end of the Blue Mountains in the southeast. ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Later in life, mostly likely influenced by his Cape Breton born first wife, Leach carried out four collecting trips to Atlantic Canada. The recordings Leach made in Canada have since been made available online. Leach was regarded as a charismatic lecturer who established the University of Pennsylvania as a well-respected site for the academic study of folklore and had an enormous impact on the folklorists he taught. One obituary credited him with being "a key man in the revolutionizing of the teaching of folklore in the United States". MacEdward Leach spent his entire career at the university, retiring in 1966. His successor as Chair of the Folklore department was

Don Yoder Don Yoder (August 27, 1921– August 11, 2015) was an American folklorist specializing in the study of Pennsylvania Dutch, Quaker, and Amish and other Anabaptist folklife in Pennsylvania who wrote at least 15 books on these subjects. A professor em ...

Recognition

Leach served as both Secretary-Treasurer (1943–1960) and President (1961–1962) of the American Folklore Society (AFS). He has been credited with an enormous impact on the Society, having "almost single-handedly nurtured that organization from near collapse to vigor". His impact as an administrator included promoting the growth of local American folklore societies to aid the AFS and generating revenue for the AFS by creating a Bibliographical and Special Series of publications.

Selected publications

Leach, MacEdward (1941). Logical Articulation. ''The English Journal'', ''30''(9), 754–764. https://doi.org/10.2307/805900 Leach, MacEdward; Beck, Horace P. (1950). "Songs from Rappahannock County, Virginia". ''The Journal of American Folklore''. 63 (249): 257. Leach, MacEdward. 1958. 'Folklore in American Colleges and Universities'. ''Journal of American Folklore Supplement,'' pp10–11. Leach, MacEdward. (1955). ''The Ballad Book''. New York: Harper. Leach, MacEdward. (1957). Folksong and Ballad. A New Emphasis. ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''70''(277), 205–207. https://doi.org/10.2307/538317 Leach, MacEdward. (1957). 'Celtic Tales from Cape Breton' in W.E. Richmond, ed. ''Studies in Folklore.'' Bloomington: Indiana University University Press. 1957. Leach, MacEdward (1960). "Reply to Maud Karpeles". ''The Journal of American Folklore''. 73 (289): 275. Leach, MacEdward, and Coffin, Tristram P. (1961). ''The Critics and the Ballad''. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Leach, MacEdward (1961). ''Studies in medieval literature. In honor of Professor Albert Croll Baugh''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Leach, MacEdward (1961). "Jamaican Duppy Lore". ''The Journal of American Folklore''. 74 (293): 207. Leach, MacEdward (1962-06). "Problems of Collecting Oral Literature". ''Publications of the Modern Language Association of America''. 77 (3): 335–340.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

0030-8129. Leach, MacEdward (1963). "Folklore of Jamaica: A Survey." ''Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde'' 59: 60–81. Leach, MacEdward (1963). "What Shall We Do with "Little Matty Groves"?". ''The Journal of American Folklore''. 76 (301): 189. Leach, MacEdward (1964). "Matthew Arnold and 'Celtic Magic'." In Ray B. Browne et al., eds. ''The Celtic Cross. Studies in Irish Culture and Literature."'' Lafayette: Purdue University Studies. Leach, MacEdward. (1965). ''Folk Ballads and Songs of the lower Labrador Coast.'' Ottawa: National Museum. Leach, MacEdward (1966). "Folklore in American Regional Literature". ''Journal of the Folklore Institute''. 3 (3): 376. Leach, MacEdward (1966). "John Henry." In ''Folklore and Society: Essays in Honor of Benjamin A. Botkin.'' Hatboro, PA: Folklore Associates. Leach, MacEdward (1966). ''Songs from the Outports of Newfoundland'' (sound recording). Washington: Smithsonian Folkways. FE 4075. 1966. Leach, MacEdward (1967). "Superstitions of South Scotland from a Manuscript of Thomas Wilkie." In D.K. Wilgus & Carol Sommer, ed. ''Folklore International.'' Hatboro: Folklore Associates. Leach, MacEdward and Glassie, Henry (1968) ''A guide for collectors of oral traditions and folk cultural material in Pennsylvania.'' With Henry Glassie. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Leach, MacEdward (1967). "The Men Who Made Folklore a Scholarly Discipline." In Tristram Coffin, ed. ''Our Living Tradition: An Introduction to American Folklore.'' New York: Basic Books, 1968. Leach, MacEdward (1973). ''The Terror of Quidi Vidi Lake: and other Newfoundland ghost poems.'' Agincourt: Book Society of Canada. 1973.

External links

MacEdward Leach and the Songs of Atlantic Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, MacEdward 1892 births 1967 deaths Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni American folklorists Presidents of the American Folklore Society