Summary Information
Ella Giles Ruddy Papers
1861-1916
- Ruddy, Ella Giles, 1851-1917
Wis Mss VU
0.9 c.f. (2 archives boxes and 1 volume)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Correspondence, poetry, and scrapbooks kept by Wisconsin author Ella Giles Ruddy. Correspondence for 1887 contains letters from Clara Barton, Edward Everett Hale, Rutherford B. Hayes, and others addressed to Mrs. Ruddy's father, H. H. Giles, a member of the Wisconsin State Board of Charities and Reform; and a scrapbook of clippings, 1877-1886, relates to Mr. Giles' career in public welfare work. However, most of the letters were written to Mrs. Ruddy by other contemporaries in literature and the arts: Rasmus B. Anderson, Hjalmar H. Boyesen, Hiram Corson, Zona Gale, Charles Noble Gregory, Hattie Tyng Griswold, Vinnie Ream Hoxie, Aubertine Woodward Moore, Eben E. Rexford, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and Robert Wilson Burns. Original signed manuscripts of poems were written by Robert Wilson Burns, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Sarah D. Hobart, Minnie Stebbins Savage, and Mrs. Ruddy.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000vu ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Ella Giles Ruddy, nineteenth-century Wisconsin author, was the daughter of H. H. Giles, a member of the State Board of Charities and Reform. She inherited an interest in public welfare from her father, and for many years was sent as one of Wisconsin's delegates to the annual national Conference on Charities and Corrections. But her primary interest was in writing. Before her marriage Mrs. Rudy was active in contemporary literary circles and was an intimate friend of such Wisconsin authors as Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Hattie Tyng Griswold. She corresponded with many Wisconsin and other American authors of the day. She herself appears to have devoted most of her time to writing magazine and newspaper articles, although she also produced a book of poetry and three novels in the sentimental style: Bachelor Ben, Maiden Rachel, and Out of the Shadows.
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists mainly of correspondence and scrapbooks. The correspondence includes many letters from other authors; correspondents include:
- Anderson, Rasmus B.
- Sept. 7, 1882; Jan. 30, 1886; Apr. 26, 1886; Jul. 15, 1886
- Boyesen, Hjalmar Hjorth
- Feb. 1, 1886; Mar. 8, 1886
- Corson, Hiram
- May 7, 1883; May 19, 1883
- Gale, Zona
- May 16 [circa 1903]
- Gregory, Charles Noble
- May 31, 1882; June 29, 1888; Oct. 9, [1888]
- Griswold, Hattie Tyng
- Dec. 31, 1879; Apr. 27, 1884 Apr., [1888?]; [circa 1888]; Nov. 11, 1891; Nov. 22, 1904
- Hoxie, Vinnie Ream
- Dec. 3, 1886; Dec. 17, 1886; Jan. 8, 1887; Feb. 15, 1887
- Moore, Aubertine Woodward
- Jan. 20, 1886
- Rexford, Eben E.
- Aug. 14, 1879; Aug. 24, 1879 [fragment]
- Wilcox, Ella Wheeler
- Apr. 28, 1884; June 5, 1885; Nov. 9, 1904; Apr. 27, 1909; and a fragment, undated
- Wilson, Robert Burns
- Nov. 23, 1886; [1880s?]
One folder of letters (1887, April 6-August 30), addressed to H. H. Giles in his capacity as President of the Fourteenth Annual Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1887, contains letters from contemporaries interested in public welfare and reform, including:
- Barton, Clara
- July 10, 1887
- Hale, Edward Everett
- May 23, June 10, Aug. 20, 1887
- Hayes, Rutherford B.
- June 13, June 24, June 29, 1887
Another folder contains original signed poems by Ella Giles Ruddy, Sarah D. Hobart, Minnie Stebbins Savage, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Robert Burns Wilson, and others.
There are four scrapbooks. The first contains newspaper clippings related to the activities of Mrs. Ruddy's father. The second and third include articles written by Mrs. Ruddy before her marriage; many of these are about Wisconsin and other American writers with whom she was personally acquainted, and others are local color articles about the South and other parts of the country which she visited. The fourth scrapbook contains clippings from newspapers of poems by many Wisconsin writers, including Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Ella Giles Ruddy, Eben E. Rexford, Charles Noble Gregory, Hattie Tyng Griswold, Frank and Hilda Siller, Fanny Driscoll White, Sarah Hobart, and Carlotta Perry.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. Giles Dow, Stoughton, Wisconsin, 1963.
Processed by Emily Al-Khazraji, September 11, 1963.
Contents List
|
Box
1
|
Correspondence, 1861-1915
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Miscellaneous Original Poetry
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Miscellaneous Papers
|
|
|
Scrapbooks
|
|
|
Box
2
Volume
1
|
Newspaper clippings concerning charities and public welfare, and H. H. Giles, circa 1877-1886
|
|
|
Box
2
Volume
2
|
Newspaper articles by Ella A. Giles [Ruddy], 1875-1887
|
|
|
Volume
3
|
Memorabilia and newspaper articles about the South, 1886-1892
|
|
|
Box
2
Volume
4
|
Clippings of poems by Wisconsin Authors, circa 1880-1883
|
|
|
Box
2
Volume
5
|
Guest Book, 1905-1916
|
|
|
