OH048 Thomas Hamilton Oral History
Collection Title
West Kentucky - History and Culture - Land Between the Lakes Series
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Series Number
OH048
Interviewee
Hamilton, Thomas
Interviewer
Sullivan, David
Date Interviewed
June 28th, 1976
Processed by
Sheree Wise
Date Processed
March 10th, 2010
Description
2 sound discs and 1 cassette tape - identical recordings (1 hour, 30 minutes)
Abstract
Thomas Hamilton discusses farming and farm life from 1910 to 1970. He recalls his early experiences as a farmer and discloses methods and equipment used during the first half of the 20th Century. He explains marketing techniques and the agitation that arose over low prices. Hamilton describes social events, transportation and domestic life in the region. He also offers a detailed account of his trips to the cotton and rice fields of Alabama and Mississippi to find work. He is also mentions the Night Riders and the Moonshine industry in the Land Between the Lakes region.
Biographical/Historical Note
Thomas Hamilton was born in Marshall County, Kentucky in 1896. He lived I the Land Between the Lakes region on his family farm on the banks of the Tennessee River. He dropped out of school in the fourth grade and spent most of his youth hunting and working on his father's farm. As a young man, Hamilton worked as a migrant worker and was employed in other states in the American southeast. He returned to Kentucky and bought a farm at Birmingham where he continued to farm until his retirement.
General Information
No user access to original recordings. Use audio user copies, digital derivatives, transcripts, and/or tape indexes. This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Permission for reproduction must be requested from Murray State University.
Subject Headings/Descriptors
Land Between the Lakes (Ky. and Tenn.) – History.
Marshall County (Ky.)
Birmingham (Ky.)
Farm life – Kentucky – History.
Agriculture – Kentucky – Farms and farming.
Night Riders
Distilling, Illicit – Kentucky.
Recommended Citation
Hamilton, Thomas, "OH048 Thomas Hamilton Oral History" (2025). Land Between the Lakes. 18.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/oh-lbl/18
Audio Transcript