Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#3944
BEATRICE WITTE RAVENEL PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Beatrice Witte Ravenel, writer and poet of
Charleston, S.C.
The bulk of this material comprises her writings,
and consists of manuscripts and typed drafts,
published stories and poems, clippings, reviews, and
magazine copies. Her correspondence with fellow
authors, poets, and publishers is especially full for
the 1920s, and includes letters (chiefly in
typescript) of Amy Lowell, Hervey Allen, Josephine
Pinckney, Norman Hapgood, Edwin Markham, and Dubose
Heyward. Volumes include two scrapbooks of letters
and clippings, 1919-1927; a book of poems, 1890-1917;
a sketchbook of her charcoals and water colors; and
one unpublished chapter from a biography of Eliza
Lucas Pinckney (1724-1793) by Harriot Horry Ravenel,
Beatrice Witte Ravenel's mother-in-law.
Online Catalog Terms:
Allen, Hervey, 1889-1949.
Authors, American--South Carolina--History.
Authors and publishers--United States--History.
Hapgood, Norman, 1868-1937.
Heyward, Dubose, 1885-1940.
Lowell, Amy, 1874-1925.
Markham, Edwin, 1852-1940.
Pinckney, Eliza Lucas, 1723-1793.
Pinckney, Josephine, 1895-1957.
Poets, American--South Carolina.
Ravenel, Beatrice Witte, 1870-1956.
Ravenel, Harriot Horry, 1832-1912.
Women--South Carolina--Biography.
Women--South Carolina--Social life and customs.
Women authors, American--South Carolina.
Women poets, American--South Carolina.
Size: About 1,100 items (5.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Beatrice St. Julien Ravenel in May
1972.
Access: No restrictions.
Related Collection: A larger collection of magazines, books,
etc., pertaining to the work and life of
Beatrice Witte Ravenel is housed in the
Rare Book Collection, University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support
from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Biographical Note
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence and Other Papers
Series 2. Writings, Draft Copies
Series 3. Writings, Published Copies
Shelf List
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Beatrice Witte Ravenel (24 August 1870-15 March 1956),
daughter of Charles Otto and Charlotte Sophia Reeves Witte, was
born in Charleston, S.C. Her father was a German-born
businessman and civic leader in Charleston. Beatrice was
educated at the Charleston Female Seminary, and, in 1889,
enrolled in the women's division of Harvard University. While in
college, she played a prominent role in a group of literary young
men and women, including William Vaughn Moody, Trumball Stickney,
and Norman and Hutchins Hapgood. She wrote for the Harvard
Monthly and the Advocate, and published poems in Scribner's
Magazine, the Chap-Book Magazine, and the Literary Digest.
In 1900, she married Francis Gualdo Ravenel, whose mother,
Harriot Horry Ravenel, was a well-known writer and biographer.
In 1904, Beatrice and Francis had a daughter, Beatrice St. Julien
Ravenel. After the birth of her daughter, Beatrice Witte Ravenel
lived on a plantation south of Charleston. This was the setting
for several of her best poems, which primarily deal with the
Yemassee Indian heritage of the Carolina low country. Francis
Ravenel was no businessman, and, by the late 1910s, the sizable
fortune left Beatrice by her father was gone. She helped support
the family by writing fiction for Ainslee's, Harper's, and the
Saturday Evening Post, and, after 1919, she wrote editorials for
the Columbia (S.C.) State.
In the late 1910s, Beatrice began writing poetry again, and,
in the early 1920s, came abrupt change in her verse. She ceased
to write the sentimental abstractions of the waning genteel
tradition and began producing free verse of notable economy of
diction, precision of language, and vivid imagery. The formation
of the South Carolina Poetry Society brought her into contact
with other poets, including visitors such as Amy Lowell, with
whom she formed a strong friendship.
In 1926, six years after Francis Ravenel's death, Beatrice
married Samuel Prioleau Ravenel. After her second marriage, she
no longer had to support herself and daughter through writing.
The Ravenels traveled extensively. Though she wrote little
poetry during her later years, one sequence based on the West
Indies, unpublished in her lifetime, is among her most
accomplished work. Beatrice Witte Ravenel died on 15 March 1956
at the age of 85. Her best known work is The Arrow of
Lightening, a book of poetry published in 1926.
[Source: Robert Bain, Joseph M. Flora, and Louis D. Rubin, Jr.,
eds., Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary (Baton Rouge,
La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1979): 371-372.]
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence and Other Papers
1890-1948 and undated. About 300 items.
Arrangement: roughly chronological.
Letters from writers, poets, and publishers; clippings;
scrapbooks; a day book; and a sketchbook. Included is
correspondence from Amy Lowell, Hervey Allen, Josephine Pinckney,
Norman Hapgood, Edwin Markham, and Dubose Heyward. There are two
scrapbooks--one of published poems and short stories; the other
of correspondence and clippings surrounding the publication of
The Arrow of Lightening. A sketchbook of charcoals and water
colors of Beatrice Witte Ravenel and an unpublished chapter of a
biography on Eliza Pinckney Lucas, written by Beatrice Witte
Ravenel's mother-in-law, Harriot Horry Rutledge Ravenel, are also
included.
Folder 1 1892-1921
2 1922
3 1923-1924
4 1925-1930
5 1931-1948
6 Undated
7 Amy Lowell letters--Typescripts, 1922-1926
8 Hervey Allen letters--Typescripts, 1925-1926
9a-b Clippings, published writings
10 Volume 1, Eliza P. Lucas Chapter (ca. 1890)
11 Volume 2, Letterbook, 1920-1927
12 Volume 3, Sketchbook, undated (Volume 3944/S-
3)
13 Volume 4, General Day Book, undated
Series 2. Writings, Draft Copies
1890-1940s? and undated. About 800 items.
Drafts of poems and short stories, mostly typed, some
handwritten, of Beatrice Witte Ravenel.
Folder 14 Volume 5, Poems (1890-1917)
15 Volume 6, Writings (1919-1922)
16-19 Poems
20-35 Short stories
36 "Lill Angels"
37 "The Direct Action of Jane"
38 "Chinese Poetry"
39 "The Fatherhood of Professor Galbraith"
Series 3. Writings, Published Copies
1922-1925. About 50 items.
Arrangement: roughly chronological.
Off-prints of short stories from Harper's and Ainslie's
magazines and copies of Ainslie's magazine containing short
stories written by Beatrice Witte Ravenel.
Folder 40 Harper's magazine, published short stories
41 Ainslee's magazine, published short stories
Ainslee's Magazine
42 July 1922
43 September 1922
44 January 1923
45 February 1923
46 March 1923
47 April 1923
48 May 1923
49 June 1923
50 August 1923
51 September 1923
52 November 1923
53 December 1923
54 January 1924
55 April 1924
56 May 1924
57 June 1924
58 July 1924
59 September 1924
60 October 1924
61 November 1924
62 December 1924
63 January 1925
64 February 1925
65 March 1925
67 April 1925
68 May 1925
69 June 1925
70 July 1925
71 August 1925
72 September 1925
SHELF LIST
Series 1. Correspondence and Other Papers
Box 1 (folders 1-11)
Box 2 (folders 12-13)
Series 2. Writings, Draft Copies
(folders 14-17)
Box 3 (folders 18-24)
Box 4 (folders 35-32)
Box 5 (folders 34-39)
Series 3. Writings, Published Copies
(folders 40-44)
Box 6 (folders 45-53)
Box 7 (folders 54-64)
Box 8 (Folders 65-71)
Items separated:
Volume 3944/S-3