Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#2232-z
PHOEBE YATES LEVY PEMBER PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Letters to relatives and friends from Phoebe Yates Levy Pember
of Georgia, Confederate hospital nurse and writer, and a few
letters to and about her. Included are several letters written by
Pember from Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, Va., 1861-1865, chiefly
concerning life in Richmond and also including some descriptions of
conditions at the hospital; a letter from Pember describing an
encounter with Oscar Wilde; letters from later years, mainly
1895-1900, containing comments on current political events, social
and economic conditions, personal finances, living arrangements,
reading, religion, visitors, and relatives in Mendham, N.J.,
Savannah, Ga., and elsewhere; and other letters, 1895-1899,
discussing travels in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, the social
life of American expatriates in Rome, Pember's health, and her
acquaintances.
On-line Americans--Italy--History--19th century.
Catalog Chimborazo Hospital (Richmond, Va.).
Terms: Confederate States of America. Army--Medical care.
Confederate States of America. Army--Nurses.
Europe--Description and travel--1800-1918.
Family--Georgia--Social life and customs.
Family--New Jersey--Social life and customs.
Germany--Description and travel--19th century.
Hospitals--Confederate States of America.
Italy--Description and travel--19th century.
Levy family.
Mendham (N.J.)--Social life and customs.
Pember, Phoebe Yates Levy, 1823-1913.
Phillips family.
Richmond (Va.)--Social life and customs--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Rome (Italy)--Description--1870-1945.
Savannah (Ga.)--Social life and customs.
Switzerland--Description and travel--19th century.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Hospitals.
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900.
Women travelers--History--19th century.
Women--Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
Women--Georgia--Social conditions--19th century.
Women--New Jersey--Social conditions.
Size: About 150 items.
Provenance: Received from the Misses Phillips of Savannah, Ga., in November
1940, and Ella Field de Witt of Newburgh, N.Y., in October 1943.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of
Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Related Collections: Phillips and Myers Family Papers (#596);
Philip Phillips Papers, Library of Congress.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their
descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
DESCRIPTION
Chiefly letters from Phoebe Yates Levy Pember to members of her family,
but also including several letters addressed to her from family members and
friends and a few letters about her. During the Civil War, several of
Pember's letters to Louisa (Mrs. Jeremy Francis) Gilmer were written from
Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, Va.; these letters mostly concern life in
Richmond, including some descriptions of conditions at the hospital. Other
early letters include two from H. M. Alden, editor of Harper's magazine,
rejecting stories Pember had submitted; one from the editor of the Atlantic
Monthly, concerning a story that was accepted; and one Pember wrote to her
nephew Clavius describing a meeting with Oscar Wilde.
From 1895 to 1899, Pember was in Europe and wrote to friends and
relatives in Georgia from Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. These letters
mostly concern her travelling companions and other individuals, travel
arrangements, finances, purchases and prices, and accommodations. Also
included are letters from Pember to her friend, the Countess Alida von Krakow,
in Dresden, including several letters, 1897, describing trips around Pompeii,
and one letter, 13 May 1897, containing a description of Rome and of nobility
and American expatriates in Roman society.
Most letters dated after November 1899 were written in Mendham, N.J., and
chiefly concern personal and family news, Pember's health and personal
finances, and ordinary daily events. After December 1900, she also wrote from
Savannah, Ga., Washington, D.C., and Sapphire, N.C. There are two letters
from Pember's niece Georgina (Mrs. Clavius) Phillips to the Countess von
Krakow, concerning Pember's papers.
Undated letters by Pember include discussions of investments, comments on
presidents Taft and Roosevelt, and discussions of books and of her own
writings.
Also included with the collection is a Masonic certificate, 1857, of
Thomas Pember.
Folder 1 1857 and 1863-1894
2 1895-April 1899 (letters from Europe)
3 November 1899-June 1900 (letters from Mendham, N.J.)
4 December 1900-1920 (letters from Savannah, Ga., Mendham,
N.J., Washington, D.C., and Sapphire, N.C.)
5 Undated