Biographical Note
Robert Edward Nail, Jr. was born in Wolfe City, Texas on September 13, 1908. In 1909, his
family moved to Albany, Texas. After high school, Robert attended the Lawrenceville Academy
(1927-1929) where he published a number of short stories for the school literary magazine,
The Lit. Following Lawrenceville, Nail attended and graduated from
Princeton University (September 1929-June 1933). At Princeton, Nail published short stories in
Princeton's The Nassau Lit. He also wrote and produced plays at
Princeton including Time of their Lives, a popular play about life at
Princeton. After graduation, Nail moved to New York City to begin a career in the theatre. Nail's
father had passed on the previous year and at the urging of his family, Robert decided to move back
home to Albany in 1934.
In Albany, Nail continued to write plays and short stories his entire life. When there was an opening for an English teacher at the high school, Nail took the position. He wrote plays for the high school
theatre department. Several of his one-act plays were published and are still performed world wide.
It was during his tenure at the high school that Nail wrote the play,
Dr. Shackelford's Paradise that later became known as the
Fort Griffin Fandangle. First performed in 1938, the
Fort Griffin Fandangle quickly went on hiatus when the US entered World War II. Nail was commissioned as a lieutenant and eventually became a captain as part of the War Bond division in Fort Worth. For his service, Nail received the Legion of Merit medal. After the war, Fort Griffin Fandangle resumed and is still put on every year by the Albany community during the last two weekends in June. In addition, Nail also penned the first Nativity in 1938. As its title suggests, the Nativity is about Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ. The community production of the Nativity is still performed by Albany residents.
Robert E. Nail, Jr. died suddenly of a heart attack on November 11, 1968.
For a much more detailed history of Robert Nail's immediate and extended family, see Per Stirpes: The John M. Nail Family in Texas 1839-1995 by Reilly Nail.
Scope and Contents
Literary works by Robert E. Nail, Jr. make up the bulk of this collection. Published works as
well as many unpublished works exist in numerous drafts and contain notes, edits, and criticism.
The works consist largely of plays and short stories but also contain screen plays and one novel
called
Jack. This collection is arranged into
4 series:
Biographical Information, The Lawrenceville Academy and Princeton, World War II, and
Albany, Texas. Biographical Information contains printed biographical material published after Nail's death in 1968.
Lawrenceville Academy and Princeton contains plays, short stories, essays, and
poems both in manuscript and published form arranged chronologically.
World War II contains correspondence, printed material, literary works, and
artifacts relating to Nail's wartime efforts.
Albany, Texas contains literary works arranged by
form and sub-arranged alphabetically by title. Following literary works are
assorted correspondence, printed material,
ephemera, and untitled manuscripts.