Harriet Anna Kennedy papers
Collection
Identifier: W-0117
Scope and Contents
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.
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.
Dates
- 1863 - 1903
Creator
- Williams, A. S., III (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
None
Biographical / Historical
The daughter of Robert Lanier and Edith Pearce, Harriet Anna Lanier was born on August 4, 1817, in Pitt, North Carolina. She married Warren Eason Kennedy (1813-1882) on November 18, 1833. Census records compiled in 1850 and 1860 list Kennedy as a plantation owner living in Greensboro, Alabama.
Extent
0.1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Notebook of poems written by Harriet Anna Kennedy between 1863-1864. A letter and a small collection of later poems written by Kennedy and members of her extended family are also included.
Physical Location
The A. S. Williams III Americana Collection, Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, The University of Alabama.
Provenance
Gift of A. S. Williams III, 2010
General
Title on phase box spine: Manuscript Verse on Confederate Themes, Bettie Eborn, Greensboro, Alabama 1863.
Processed by
Haley Aaron, 2013
Source
- Williams, A. S., III (Donor, Person)
Creator
- Williams, A. S., III (Collector, Person)
- Eborn, Corinne Peteet (Correspondent, Person)
- Kennedy, Harriet Anna (Author, Person)
- Eborn, Bettie Kennedy (Author, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Harriet Anna Kennedy papers
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- February 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository