Elizabeth Fries Ellet.
Elizabeth Fries Ellet’s Archives
The majority of Elizabeth Fries Ellet’s extant papers are housed in the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, and Library of Congress. In addition to this large collection, small samplings of her letters may be found scattered in generic databases and in the collections of her many friends.
Below are links to each of the archives / databases with short annotations describing the relevant materials housed in each.
Elizabeth Fries Ellet Papers, 1838-1858 || New York Public Library
The Elizbeth Fries Ellet Papers, housed at the New York Public Library, consists of one folder containing a mixture of personal and professional documents. These documents include letters, a draft of a poem, and pieces regarding The Women of the American Revolution.
The pieces in this collection have not yet been digitized; pieces may be viewed upon application to the library.
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Additionally, the library also houses approximately 80 early copies of Ellet’s works.
E. F. Ellet Correspondence with Index, 1842-1865 || Library of Congress
The E. F. Ellet Correspondence with Index, 1842-1865 collection consists of 185 items, including EFE’s correspondence with James Fenimore Cooper, US Senator Henry Clay, Washington Irving, and other authors.
This collection has not yet been digitized but is viewable upon application.
Rufus W. Griswold Papers, 1785-1897 (Bulk: 1834 – 1857) || Boston Public Library
The Rufus W. Griswold Papers, 1785-1897 at the Boston Public Library contains 1285 items related to journal editor and anthologizer Rufus W. Griswold. These materials primarily consist of Griswold’s professional correspondence with other writers in his capacity as editor but also encompasses personal correspondence. The collection further features many items related to Edgar A. Poe, for whom Griswold served as literary executor and who therefore acquired many of Poe’s papers upon the poet’s death in 1849.
Buried amidst these competing factions are approximately 13 pieces related to EFE:
2 letters from EFE to Edgar A. Poe (here and here)
1 letter from EFE to France Sargent Osgood (here)
4 letters from EFE to Rufus A. Griswold, well-known American editor and Edgar Allan Poe’s libelous literary executor (here, here, here, and here)
3 letters from Rufus A. Griswold to EFE (here, here, and here)
1 letter from EFE to Harriet Stanley Griswold, Griswold’s third wife (here). It was Griswold’s divorce from his second wife and subsequent courtship of / marriage to Harriet that catalyzed the feud between Griswold and EFE.
Griswold’s biographical notes on Ellet for his Female Poets of America (1848)
Items in this collection are organized alphabetically; the items are contained in 20 boxes. Portions of this collection has been digitized and may be viewed through Digital Commonwealth; undigitized materials may be requested for viewings.
Archival Anecdote: This collection was donated to the Boston Public Library by Mrs. Rufus Griswold in 1900.
Ellet’s Letterbook || RAAB Collection
The Raab Collection, founded in 1989 by author and collector Steven Raab, has dedicated itself to curating historical materials into collections and selling those collections back to private and public aficionados. Recently, the Collection acquired and resold Ellet’s “Letterbook”—a compilation of the correspondence Ellet received while assembling sources for her Women of the American Revolution series. Photographs of several of these letters are still available for viewing on the website along with a synopsis of the materials in the collection.
Papers of E. F. Ellet || Clifton Waller Barrett Library
This small collection of EFE papers consists of 7 items, including a letter to authoress Caroline Howard Gilman, a letter to publishers Carey and Hart, and an engraving of EFE.
The materials have not yet been digitized.
John Henry Ingram’s Poe Collection ca. 1829 - ca. 1915 || Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia
The John Henry Ingram’s Poe Collection. The materials in this collection were amassed over the course of nearly forty years by John Henry Ingram, English biographer and champion of Edgar Allan Poe. Of the four Poe biographers that corresponded with SHW, Ingram was by far the most meticulous, as is demonstrated by the extensive scope of his archives.
This collection contains 10 letters related to EFE:
1 letter by EFE to George W. Eveleth, a fan of Poe who initiated a sympathetic correspondence with Poe in the late 1840s
5 letters by SHW to John Henry Ingram in which she discusses EFE
3 letters by Elizabeth Oakes Smith to John Henry Ingram; in these letters she discusses EFE’s brief association with Poe
1 letter by Annie Richmond to John Henry Ingram; Richmond, too, comments on EFE’s relationship with Poe
This collection has not yet been digitized.
Duyckinck Family Papers, 1793-1889 || New York Public Library
The Duyckinck Family Papers are housed at the New York Public Library and include 80 boxes and 59 volumes of material. Brothers Evert Augustus Duyckinck and George Long Duyckinck loomed large on the literary scene of the 1840s and 1850s, dominating the editorial landscape of New York City while publishing anthologies and editing journals during those decades. This Collection brings together papers from the entire Duyckinck family spanning the 19th century but focuses specifically on the materials—including countless letters from countless authors—relating to the brothers’ work in American literature.
4 letters by EFE can be found in Box 5, Folder 44 (these have been digitized as a group and may be viewed here)
Additionally, 1 letter by EFE has been digitized but has not been added to the larger group of letters. See the catalogue entry here (the letter is item number 15359).
Boxes 1-17 are currently unavailable as they are being digitized; the remainder are available for viewing upon request.
Alice Marshall Women’s History Collection || PennState University Libraries
The Alice Marshall Women’s History Collection, housed at the PennState University Libraries, was compiled by researcher and journalist Alice Marshall. The collection consists of approximately 10,000 items related to women’s history dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries.
The Collection description lists Ellet as a contributor to the archive but does not provide a more detailed list of the number or type of items related to Ellet in the archive.
This collection has not yet been digitized.
Alma Lutz Papers, 1912-1971 || Vassar College
The Alma Lutz Papers were compiled by Alma Lutz, who wrote biographies of feminist leaders dating to the early inception of the American feminist movement. The Papers themselves reflect a similar interest, with special emphases on feminism’s development through historical epochs.
An unspecified number of materials related to EFE are contained in Box 16 of the collection, which stretches to 20 boxes in total.
This collection has not yet been digitized.
Jared Sparks Personal Papers || Harvard University, Special Collections and Archives
Harvard University holds several collections related to Jared Sparks, former historian, educator, and president of Harvard. This collection, the Jared Sparks Personal Papers, focuses on his personal correspondence and sprawls out to 86 volumes, 57 boxes, 11 envelopes, 3 cases, and 2 folders.
Amongst these vast holdings are three letters by Sparks to EFE (details of which may be found here, here, and here) and one by EFE to Sparks (here).
The materials in this collection have not yet been digitized but are available for viewing upon application
Lewis Reeves Gibbes Papers, 1793-1894 || Library of Congress
The Lewis Reeves Gibbes Papers, held in the Library of Congress, contains the papers and correspondence of Lewis Gibbes, 19th century professor of astronomy, physics, and mathematics who taught at the College of Charleston, South Carolina, where EFE’s husband also taught.
The Collection consists of 5,700 items divided amongst 16 containers and 8 microfilm reels; the materials are divided into three sections:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1793-1894
Series 2: Printed Matter, undated
Series 3: James MacBride Papers, 1808-1817.
Held in this collection is an unspecified amount of correspondence between EFE and Gibbes.
The collection has not yet been digitized but is open to research.
The Overbury Collection || Barnard College Archives and Special Collections
The Overbury Collection, housed at Barnard College, was compiled by Bertha Van Riper Overbury, one of the first students to complete a four year degree at the prestigious women’s institute after its founding in 1889. The collection fills 23 boxes and includes nearly 3,000 items (primarily manuscripts and letters) by a variety of American authoresses including such notables as Edith Wharton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson, Helen Keller, Louisa May Alcott, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Gertrude Stein.
Included in this collection are three letters by EFE (details of which may be found here, here, and here)
The collection has not yet been digitized but its digital finding aid is highly detailed. The collection is available for inspection at the Barnard College Archives.
Harpers Magazine
Harper’s Magazine, founded in 1850 and one of the longest running magazines in America, currently maintains a vast digital archive of its past issues. Among those holdings are two essays by EFE: one on American folk heroine Mary Nealy and one on early American painter, Benjamin West.
Edgar Allan Poe Collection || Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin
The Edgar Allan Poe Collection consists of 13 document boxes, 1 oversize box, 3 galley folders, and 9 oversize folders of materials regarding Edgar Allan Poe. One letter by EFE may be found in Box 8, Folder 10 of this collection.
Portions of this collection have been digitized; the remainder are available for viewing upon request.
James Fenimore Cooper Collection || Yale University, Beinecke Library
The James Fenimore Cooper Collection, housed at Yale’s Beinecke Library, contains 37 boxes and 20 folders of papers related to famed early American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. These materials are arranged in four Series:
I. Correspondence, 1813-1894
II. Writings, 1824-1976
III. Personal Papers, 1792-1975
IV. Art and Objects, 1830-1854
Lodged in Box 4, Folder 93 of Series I is one letter from EFE, in which she inquires into Cooper’s research regarding early American history.
This collection has been digitized; the physical materials may also be viewed upon request.
John Neal Papers || Houghton Library, Harvard University
The John Neal Papers, housed in Harvard’s Houghton Library, consists of 6 boxes of materials related to John Neal, early American novelist and respected critic. Amongst these papers—primarily correspondence—is a letter by EFE to Neal.
This collection has not yet been digitized but is open for research.
Special Collections, Archives & Museum || University of New Hampshire
The Special Collections, Archives & Museum division at the University of New Hampshire houses one letter by Ellet in its archive. In this letter, Ellet addresses herself to the publishers of one of her books, The Charm, and discusses logistical details surrounding its production.
This letter has not been digitized but is open access at the physical archives.
Jeffrey Family Papers || University of Kentucky
The Jeffrey Family Papers contain materials related to the Jeffrey family, Scottish immigrants to America who successfully founded gas companies in Kentucky that eventually spread throughout central U.S. One member of the family, Rosa Vertner Jeffrey, was an author who corresponded with many fellow authors, including EFE.
This collection has been digitized.
Digital Commonwealth || Boston Public Library
The Digital Commonwealth is an initiative of the Boston Public Library that was founded in 2006 to aid in expanding the availability of their archival material to the public. All materials linked from the Rufus Griswold Papers above are provided via Digital Commonwealth; in total, the holdings feature 22 items related to EFE.
Digital Public Library of America
Headquartered in Boston, the Digital Public Library of America is an all-digital library whose materials are compiled from institutions across the U.S. The site currently features approximately 140 items related to EFE, including letters, first editions, and portraits.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid contains more than 5 million record descriptions of materials housed in over 1,000 archives. Due to this scope, ArchiveGrid generates a helpful list of materials related to EFE that are available across multiple university collections together with links to each item in the collection; however, only a few of these links lead to digitized copies of materials.