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Size | 22 items (0.5 linear feet) |
Abstract | Edith Mitchell Dabbs, a white author, was born in 1906 in Dalzell, Sumter County, S.C. She married James McBride Dabbs in 1935, and, in 1937, settled at Rip Raps Plantation, the Dabbs family home just outside Sumter. She was active in documenting the history of Saint Helena Island, S.C., an interest stemming from her knowledge of Penn School, a school for African Americans that functioned on the Island between 1862 and 1948, with which both she and her husband were involved. The collection includes a handwritten transcription of a letter, 1791, from Abigail Capers. Saint Helena Island, S.C., describing her life at Laurell Hill, an indigo plantation; a photocopy of a transcription of parts of a diary, 1862-1864, of Penn School founder Laura M. Towne (1825-1901), with discussions of African Americans on Saint Helena Island, the work of members of the Port Royal Experiment there, Union troops in the area, and other matters; photographs of drawings, probably 1860s, of buildings on Saint Helena Island; other items relating to Penn School and to life on Saint Helena Island; and drafts of "Walking Tall". |
Creator | Dabbs, Edith M. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, February 1988
Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 2007
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, October 2009; Nancy Kaiser, January 2019
Material in this collection was removed from the James McBride Dabbs Papers (#3816) in July 1981.
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Edith Mitchell Dabbs, a white author, was born in 1906 in Dalzell, Sumter County, S.C. She married James McBride Dabbs in 1935, and, in 1937, settled at Rip Raps Plantation, the Dabbs family home just outside Sumter. She was active in documenting the history of Saint Helena Island, S.C., an interest stemming from her knowledge of Penn School, a school for African Americans that functioned on the Island between 1862 and 1948, with which both she and her husband were involved.
Back to TopThe collection assembled by Edith M. Dabbs, a white author, includes a handwritten transcription of a letter, 1791, from Abigail Capers, Saint Helena Island, S.C., describing her life at Laurell Hill, an indigo plantation; a photocopy of a transcription of parts of a diary, 1862-1864, of Penn School founder Laura M. Towne (1825-1901), with discussions of African Americans on Saint Helena Island, the work of members of the Port Royal Experiment there, Union troops in the area during the Civil War, and other matters; photographs of drawings, probably 1860s, of buildings on Saint Helena Island; other items relating to Penn School and to life on Saint Helena Island; and drafts of "Walking Tall".
Back to TopFolder 1 |
Abigail Capers letter, 25 March 1781Letter written from Laurell Hill Plantation, Saint Helena Island, 25 March 1791, describing activities of an indigo plantation owner's wife. |
Folder 2 |
"African Music," circa 1867Carbon typescript of an article or speech found in the copy of Slave Songs of the United States (1867) that was owned by Rossa Cooley, principal of Penn School, 1908-1944. |
Folder 3 |
"Walking Tall," Edith M. Dabbs, 1963Typescript of a short history of the Penn School. |
Folder 4 |
Laura M. Towne diary, 8 April 1862-30 May 1864Photocopy of a transcription of the diary of Laura M. Towne, covering 8 April 1862 to 30 May 1864 (also available on microfilm). Towne founded Penn School with Ellen Murray (1834-1908). The original of the diary is in the Penn School Papers. |
Photographs of sketches of buildings on Saint Helena Island (except P-4285/4). The drawings are attributed to Edith M. Dabbs's mother, who produced them in the 1860s. Most of the pictures were labeled by Edith M. Dabbs.
Image Folder PF-4285/1 |
Fourteen sketchesP-4285/1: Chapel of Ease, Land's End Road P-4285/2: Oaks Plantation House P-4285/3: Frogmore House (Frogmore Manor) P-4285/4: Beaufort waterfront viewed from Ladies Island P-4285/5: Praise House P-4285/6: Cotton House P-4285/7: Central Baptist Church ("Brick Church") P-4285/8: Brick Church (rear view) P-4285/9: Frogmore Street P-4285/10: First Penn Building P-4285/11: First Penn Building P-4285/12: Episcopal Chapel at the Village P-4285/13: Edgar Fripp Home at the Village P-4285/14: Fort Freemont Marine Base at Land's End |
Special Format Image SF-P-4285/1 |
Laura Matilda Towne, tintype |
Special Format Image SF-P-4285/2 |
Ellen Murray, daguerreotype |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103507
Drafts of "Walking Tall."
Folder 5 |
"Walking Tall" drafts, circa 1964 |
Reel 1 |
Microfilm |