Papers

File — Box: W0117.01

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: This ninety-six page notebook contains a collection of poems written by Harriet Anna Kennedy, the wife of plantation owner Warren Eason Kennedy. Writing under the pseudonyms "Crazy Carrie" and "Carrie Carlton," Kennedy describes her daily life in Greensboro, Alabama, in a series of satirical poems. Written between April 1863 and March 1864, the poems provide insight into Kennedy's views on marriage, family, and her medical treatment. The views that Kennedy expresses, especially on marriage, are often negative. In one poem, "Answer to 'The old maid's lament,'" Kennedy advises her niece to remain unmarried, writing "I do not hesitate to say that if you marry you will your husband hate!" In her poems, Kennedy describes frequent hardships, including food shortages that affect the family.

The collection also includes a letter and three pages of poetry that are not bound in the notebook. The poems are addressed to Kennedy's daughter, Bettie Eborn and includes poems written by Kennedy and others. The letter, dated July 26, 1903, is a condolence letter dated July 26, 1903. The letter was addressed to Corinne Eborn, the wife of Bettie Eborn's son Benjamin F. Eborn, and was written shortly after the death of Corinne's daughter Mary.

Note: There is some question as to the true identity of Crazy Carrie. The author might have been Bettie Eborn, daughter of Harriet Anna Kennedy.