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Vara A. Majette papers

Vara A. Majette papers

Descriptive Summary

Title: Vara A. Majette papers
Creator: Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974
Inclusive Dates: 1924-1965
Language(s): English
Extent: 2 Linear Feet 3 document boxes, 1 half box, 1 oversized portfolio
Collection Number: ms3073
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

Vara A. Majette (1875-1974) was an author, lawyer and artist. She was born in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Her father, Dr. William E. Swinney (1848-1919), was a physician. She married Edwin Smith Majette in 1895 and they had three children. After years of social work, she decided to study law and became one of the first women lawyers admitted to the Georgia Bar Association. After her husband's death in 1932, she moved to St. Simon's Island, Georgia where she bought a house named "Tillandsia." She began experimenting with watercolor painting at age 72 using a primitive American art style.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of biographical information, correspondence, writings, research, and photographs. Majette's only published work (1924) was White Blood, which dealt with race relations. Mistress of a Thousand Slaves is based on the life of Fanny Kemble. Research for the book includes a letter written by Fanny Kemble. Daughters of Men is about Indian tribes on the Sea Islands when the Spanish first came to Georgia. Please God... closely follows Majette's life story. Her writings also include children's stories and poems, some of which are in a scrapbook she made for her granddaughter in 1929.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Vara A. Majette papers, ms3073, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: 2009 October 16.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Correspondence.
Kemble, Fanny, 1809-1893 -- Correspondence
Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974 -- Correspondence
Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974 -- Daughters of men
Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974 -- Dear God
Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974 -- Mistress of a thousand slaves
Majette, Vara A. (Vara Anna), 1875-1974 -- Photographs
Manuscripts (documents)
Research (document genre)
Women artists, American -- Georgia.
Women authors, American -- Georgia.
Women lawyers -- Georgia.

Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

1. Personal files

boxfolder
11Biographical information
12Biographical information - law career
13Correspondence, 1924-1965
14Letters to the editor, 1906-1946
15List of paintings
16Research for "Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" - Fanny Kemble
17Research for "Murder for What?" - Murder of Rev. Charles Lee
18Reviews of "White Blood"
19Photographs
 

2. Writings

boxfolder
21"The Best Bet"
22"A Cold Storage Companion"
23"Daughters of Men" pp. 1-143
24"Daughters of Men" pp. 144-287
25"Daughters of Men" pp. 288-416
26"Daughters of Men" bibliography
27"The House of Adoption"
28"Indian Foods"
29"The Most Remarkable Person I Have Ever Known"
210"Murder for What?"
boxfolder
31"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 1
32"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 2
33"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 3
34"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 4
35"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 5
36"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 6
37"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 7
38"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 8
39"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 9
310'Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 10
311"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 11
312"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 12
313"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 13
314"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 14
315"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 15
316"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 16
317"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 17
318"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 18
319"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 19
320"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 20
321"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 21
322"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 22
323"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 23
324"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 24
325"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" Chapter 25
326"Mistress of a Thousand Slaves" bibliography
boxfolder
41"Please God..." pp. 1-101
42"Please God..." pp. 102-200
43"Please God..." pp. 201-300
44"The Shadow of the Turning"
45"The Test"
46Children's stories
47Poems
portfolio
1Children's book, "The Tall White Candle."
 

3. Scrapbook

box
4"The Tall White Candle", 1929
scrapbook of children's stories and pictures made by Vara Majette for her granddaughter, Anne Majette Grant