Z 2036.000
MOTTLEY (ELVIRA JETER) PAPERS


Biography/History:

Elvira Jeter, daughter of John Tinsley and Elizabeth Lawrence Newman Jeter, was born on December 7, 1825. She married Adolphus Alphonse Mottley of Tate (formerly DeSoto) County, Mississippi, in September of 1842. After briefly residing in Virginia, the Mottleys settled in the Askew community of Panola County, Mississippi, in 1849. Adolphus Mottley was a planter, businessman, and educator. Elvira Mottley, who was trained in English and music, taught school and wrote poetry and plays in her spare time. She published her first work, The Incas Bride, A Poem, under the pen name, Elizabeth Lawrence, in 1855. The Mottleys had three children, Adolphus Alphonse, Jr., Elvira Elizabeth (Bettie), and John Tinsley, and they had built a home in Senatobia, Tate County, Mississippi, by 1862. Elvira Jeter Mottley continued to teach and write until her death on February 17, 1875.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of original manuscripts and correspondence of Elvira Jeter Mottley. The manuscripts include a copy (with prefatory letter) of "The Incas Bride," an epic poem set in Peru, and a short story entitled "The Two Lovers." An untitled play with drafts and revisions and a book review of Uncle Toms Cabin are included. Of particular interest is a short article in which Mottley comments on mens beards and male vanity. The correspondence consists of letters on various topics to the editors of unnamed newspapers. One letter to the editor discusses politics and General (later President) Franklin Pierce. Mottley offers her ideas on the literary aspirations and endeavors of the South in another letter. Two remaining letters are of a more personal nature. The first is a letter of apology to "Colonel P.," and the second letter, written on the back of the first, is addressed to Colonel McMahon discussing Mottleys letter of apology to "Colonel P."

Series Identification:

  1. Manuscripts. 1854-1865. 5 folders.

    2. "The Incas Bride" (with prefatory letter), 1854.
    "The Two Lovers," n.d.
    Play (untitled), ca. 1855-1865.
    Book review, n.d.
    Article, n.d.

    Box 1, folders 1-5.

  2. Correspondence. n.d. 1 folder.
    3.

    Box 1, folder 6.