Mary (Mollie) Evelyn Moore Davis Scrapbook

Collection

Identifier: A-0098

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Mollie Moore Davis Scrapbook contains a series of newspaper articles written shortly after her arrival in New Orleans and originally published in the Picayune under the series title "Keren-happuch and I." She describes the streets, shops, churches, and points of interest of the city as well as the people she encounters and events such as Mardi Gras and Christmas. The scrapbook was compiled by the author for a friend, A. H. Wilkins, who was a schoolbook representative in Louisiana and Texas. The scrapbook is signed and illustrated with pictures clipped from unidentified sources, some of which are colored by hand. A folder of biographical and critical material on Mrs. Davis has been collected to supplement the scrapbook.

Dates

Creation: 1885
Event: Donated in 1944

Creator

Davis, M. E. M. (Mollie Evelyn Moore) (Person)

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical or Historical Information

Mary (Mollie) Evelyn Moore was born on April 12, 1852 in Talladega, Alabama. Her family moved to Texas in 1855 and resided in several places including San Marcos, Tyler, and Galveston while Mollie was growing up. At fourteen she began publishing poetry in the Tyler and Houston newspapers. Her first collection, Minding the Gap and Other Poems, was published in 1867, with enlarged editions in 1869 and 1872. She married Thomas Edward Davis of Houston in 1874 and they moved to New Orleans in 1879, where they became associated with newspapers there. By the time Thomas became editor of the Picayune in 1889, the Davis household had become a literary salon. In addition to poetry, Mrs. Davis published short stories, plays, juveniles, novels, and history, including the following books about Texas: In War Times at Rose Blanche, a novel set in South Texas during the Civil War; Under the Man-Fig Tree, a novel of East Texas; Under Six Flags, a school history of Texas; and The Wirecutters, a novel of West Texas. She died on January 1, 1909.