Alice Corbin Henderson:

An Inventory of Her Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Biographical Sketch

Note: The initials ACH for Alice R. Corbin Henderson, WPH for her husband, William Penhallow Henderson, and AHR for her daughter, Alice Oliver Henderson Evans Rossin Colquitt are used throughout this inventory. AHR identified herself in her correspondence as Alice Henderson Rossin from 1938 until the late 1980s, which is why the initials AHR are used.

Alice Corbin was born to Lula Hebe Carradine and Fillmore Mallory Corbin in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 16, 1881. After the death of her mother in 1884, ACH was sent to Chicago to live with her father's cousin, Alice Mallory Richardson. When Fillmore Corbin remarried in 1891, Alice joined the family in Kansas, staying until 1894 when she returned to Chicago. After high school graduation, Harriet C. Brainard (who later married William Vaughn Moody), ACH's English teacher, persuaded her to attend the University of Chicago. In 1898 ACH published her first book of poetry, The Linnet Songs. ACH lived with Miss Brainard for three years until her health forced her to move to a milder climate. The inflammation in her chest subsided and after a year at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans, ACH returned to Chicago. Writing reviews for the Chicago Tribune and Evening Post provided the income for ACH to rent a studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1904, where she met William Penhallow Henderson.

WPH had accepted a teaching position at the Academy after spending two years abroad studying European art on a scholarship. On October 14, 1905, WPH and ACH were married. Daughter Alice was born on January 27, 1907, and was their only child. During this time, ACH worked on plays for children with plots based on Biblical stories and published Adam's Dream in 1908. That same year Andersen's Best Fairy Tales was also published. This joint effort of ACH's translations and WPH's illustrations provided the necessary income for the family to travel in Europe from July 1910 until September 1911.

A second volume of poetry, The Spinning Woman of the Sky was published in 1912. In that same year ACH became assistant editor to Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, with Harriet Monroe, founder and editor-in-chief. In 1916, ACH was diagnosed as having tuberculosis, causing her to leave Chicago permanently. The Sunmount Sanatorium in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was recommended by her doctor as an excellent facility. In 1917, ACH and Monroe published the anthology The New Poetry with new editions published in 1923 and 1932. She continued working on the magazine Poetry long distance until 1922.

The Hendersons moved to Santa Fe, NM, for ACH to recuperate and found the area optimal for both her health and their work. Dedication to New Mexico and the concerns of the region became a life-long passion of the Henderson family. In the early 1920s they became active in the civil rights of Native Americans. This was not just a political interest, for one can see the effects of their involvement with New Mexico in their work. Red Earth, Poems of New Mexico was published in 1920 and is an example of how New Mexico affected ACH. The Turquoise Trail, An Anthology of New Mexico Poetry, was published in 1928.

William and Alice Henderson were both very involved with the perpetuation of local New Mexican traditions and customs. WPH's style of architecture, the content in his drawings, and other projects illustrate his interpretations of New Mexico. ACH demonstrated her affections for the area through her writings, by creating the Poet's Round-up, establishing the Writer's Edition (which published her The Sun Turns West in 1933 and A Child's Bouquet in 1935), and in her involvement with the Works Progress Administration Federal Writers Project, New Mexico: a Guide to the Colorful State (1940). In the late 1930s, the Hendersons and Mary C. Wheelwright established the House of Navajo Religion, a museum of Indian culture and spirituality. WPH helped design the building and the sand painting panels inside, and ACH was the curator when it was completed. Another Henderson project was the formation of the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Memorial Association and the erection of a monument to this Southwestern writer on his grave site in New Mexico. The Hendersons joined efforts again in 1937 with WPH illustrating ACH's Brothers of Light, her last published book.

WPH gained exposure as an architect and furniture designer and builder through the business he developed with his first son-in-law, John Evans. Alice Oliver Henderson married John Evans, Mabel Dodge Luhan's only son, in December of 1922. Even though the marriage was short-lived, it established a life-long relationship between Luhan and the Hendersons. John and Alice Evans lived in Santa Fe where their first two daughters were born, Natalie on January 8, 1924, and Nancy on February 23, 1925. John Evans, Edwin Brooks, and WPH began the Pueblo-Spanish Building Company in 1925, and that fall the Evans family moved to Buffalo, NY, John Evans's family home. The Evans's third daughter, Letitia, was born on November 6, 1926.

The Pueblo-Spanish Building Company was a growing concern with WPH designing furniture and buildings until the stock market crash of 1929. The Crash of 1929 severely affected the stability of the company as customers could not afford to have projects completed, including the Diamond Club, a hotel for which WPH had drawn blueprints. John Evans lost most of his personal investments in the crash and declared bankruptcy. Evans's departure from the company and the financial constraints of the times eventually caused the company to fold. Fortunately, WPH had established his reputation not only as an artist, but also as an architect, and furniture designer and builder.

The 1930s were years of financial struggle for the Hendersons. Caring for their three granddaughters while Alice and John Evans divorced compounded the Hendersons' economic difficulties, although Evans's grandmother, Sara Montague, provided some financial support for the children. The divorce was finalized in December 1933. Alice Evans married Edgar Lewis Rossin on June 3, 1938. They lived in New York City and raised her three daughters, while his son lived with them occasionally.

ACH's health was unsound throughout much of her life. There were many periods when she was simply too weak to work, and the need to work to overcome financial problems created additional stress. WPH's death in 1943 of a heart attack further weakened her will, and she became increasingly unwell until her death in 1949.

After ACH died, AHR moved back to New Mexico and became involved with many projects such as the Museum of New Mexico Foundation (1962-1980) and a revival of the Poet's Round-up in 1968. She also produced the play Husband's Don't Count in London in 1958. Some of AHR's activities focused on her parents' work, including maintaining copyright status of ACH's works, exhibiting her father's work, and assisting with the biographies of her parents. AHR married Carlton Colquitt sometime during the mid-1980s.

For further information on the Hendersons see: Witter Bynner and Oliver La Farge's An Appreciation: Alice Corbin Henderson (galley), Ina Sizer Cassidy Alice Corbin Henderson (box 13.4), T. M. Pearce's Biography of Alice Corbin Henderson (box 55.5), David Bell's biography of William Penhallow Henderson (box 55.7), other articles about WPH (box 55.8), and William Penhallow Henderson, Master Colorist of Santa Fe in the HRC book collection.

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Scope and Contents

The papers of Alice Corbin Henderson (ACH) were acquired by the Ransom Center from her daughter Alice Henderson Evans Rossin Colquitt (AHR) in several donations and purchases between 1977 and 1988. Material in this collection consists primarily of correspondence, literary manuscripts, notes, and clippings of ACH's works and other topics of personal interest to her. Materials in the collection span in date from 1861 to 1987, but the bulk of the material dates from the 1920s and 1930s. Included in the collection are materials of ACH's husband, William Penhallow Henderson (WPH), and their daughter. The collection has been arranged in four series: Alice Corbin Henderson, 1886-1968 (42 boxes); Family, 1881-1949 (9 boxes); Alice Henderson Rossin, 1881-1987 (12 boxes); and William Penhallow Henderson, 1903-1943 (6 boxes). Each series is further divided into two or more subseries.

The collection was divided into series formed around the activities of ACH, AHR and WPH because of the nature and bulk of materials from these three individuals. The fourth series, Family, was created to handle the overlap in the correspondence (letters from AHR to ACH and WPH), and to provide a more cohesive structure for research on the family. While ACH, WPH, and AHR each maintained individual interests, several topics were common to all three, such as the desire to assist in the preservation of local customs and rituals of Santa Fe, NM, particularly those of the Indians in the area. The type of participation by each individual varied, as well as the time period of the activity. Through her writing, ACH expressed her connections to the Southwest, as WPH did in his architecture and art work. While AHR was involved in other interests during the 1920s and 1930s, she returned to New Mexico after her parents' deaths to pursue her own interests, such as the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, and to continue projects initiated by her parents. Reviving the Poets Round-up in 1968, continuing to exhibit her father's work, maintaining the copyright of her mother's works, and assisting the biographers of ACH and WPH are examples of AHR's dedication to her parents' work.

AHR also spent time working with her parents' papers. The order of the materials in the collection that had been established prior to their arrival at the Ransom Center has been maintained as much as possible. The separation of correspondence to ACH and WPH was made prior to the collection being sent to the Center, so the separation has been maintained in their respective series.

In Series I and IV, correspondence is addressed to ACH and/or WPH. See the alphabetical index at the end of the inventory to locate an individual correspondent's materials in the collection. Original folder titles have been retained; many throughout the collection were assigned by AHR. The collection was acquired over a period of ten years, and different sections arrived with varying degrees of arrangement. Portions of the collection, primarily the literary correspondence, were previously cataloged at the item level but have now been incorporated into this inventory. The bulk of material in this collection is correspondence and it appears in all four series. Information in the correspondence ranges from very personal interactions to business arrangements, political activities, legal concerns of copyright, economic struggles, as well as other topics.

ACH's involvement with Poetry: A Magazine of Verse provided her with the initial opportunity to correspond with many well-known and not so well-known poets and writers, several of whom remained in contact with ACH through letters and visits beyond her years with Poetry. Arranged alphabetically, letters from Mary Austin, Witter Bynner, Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, Haniel Long, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Edgar Lee Masters, Harriet Monroe, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, Ralph Fletcher Seymour, and Roberts Walker comprise the bulk of correspondence in the first series. Some of the correspondence concerning Poetry discusses what should and should not be published as well as works that have appeared in the magazine. Many of the correspondents discuss their own writings and express their opinions of other poets, writers, and works. As relationships developed, more personal information is disclosed by several of the correspondents.

A strong theme among several of the correspondents was their dedication to the Southwest and Indian issues. Roberts Walker, Haniel Long, Amelia Elizabeth and Martha White, Witter Bynner, Oliver La Farge, Mary Austin, Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, and Mary C. Wheelwright are some of the correspondents that kept the Hendersons informed about the status of particular legislative bills concerning Indian civil and property rights, and what current activities were occurring in different Indian organizations.

From this common interest in the Southwest and Indians, ACH and WPH collaborated on many projects that are represented in Series I: Subseries D: New Mexico, where details of the Hendersons' activities regarding Indian rights and traditions can be found. Arranged by subject, Subseries D has information on the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Memorial Association, several issues concerning Indians in New Mexico, the Works Progress Administration Federal Writer's Project Guide to New Mexico, and the Writer's Edition. Significant portions of this subseries are in the form of notes, notebooks, and clippings. For further details on these topics see the series description.

The Navajo House of Religion was a project of particular interest to WPH, although ACH was also involved. Much of the information on the project can be found in Series IV, in the correspondence files of Mary C. Wheelwright, and Amelia Elizabeth and Martha White. WPH worked with Miss Wheelwright and the Laboratory of Anthropology to create a museum that would preserve the Navajo spirituality and traditions. The project was initiated in 1929 with a design competition sponsored by the Laboratory of Anthropology, an institution which was partially funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. WPH submitted a hogan-inspired scheme, which was eventually built, however, not by the Laboratory of Anthropology. A separate museum was created, financed and founded by Miss Wheelwright, and the White sisters donated land that was contiguous to the Laboratory of Anthropology. Construction did not begin until 1937, though correspondence between WPH and Miss Wheelwright concerning the sand paintings that were part of the interior design began in early 1930s. The building was completed in 1942, and ACH was the first curator of the Museum. For further information about this project, consult the biography of WPH by David Bell (box 55.7), and Series I: Subseries D: New Mexico: Indians: Indian Arts Fund (box 27.2).

Other correspondence in Series IV relates to WPH's work as an artist, furniture designer and builder, and architect. Some of the early correspondence discusses exhibits of WPH's work. As he became more involved with architecture in the 1920s, the correspondence shifts from his artistic work to his design of buildings and furniture. WPH, his business partner Edwin Brooks, and his son-in-law John Evans, started the Pueblo-Spanish Building Company in 1925. Several projects of this company are discussed in the correspondence and are illustrated with drawings, some of which date after the company's demise. Most of the architectural projects reflect a Southwest Indian motif. In 1923, Amelia Elizabeth and Martha White, sisters from New York, had their home in Santa Fe remodeled and enlarged by WPH, in a style of architecture that influenced what later became known as the Santa Fe style. WPH also remodeled the Ticket Office of the Santa Fe Railroad Company in 1926-1927 with a similar approach.

The bulk of the correspondence in Series IV: Family, was generated while AHR was in the process of divorcing her first husband, John Evans, in the early 1930s. Many members of John Evans's extended family corresponded with both AHR and ACH during this time. John Evans suffered financial ruin in the stock market crash of 1929, so there is much discussion of the economic welfare of his children in the correspondence between members of the immediate family, including ACH, AHR, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Sara Montague (Mabel's mother), and John Evans. Several of John Evans's maternal and paternal aunts wrote to ACH and AHR voicing their support during this trying time. Financial security was established through trust funds for the children upon the death of Sara Montague in the summer of 1933.

The correspondence increased again in the late 1930s when AHR married Edgar Lewis Rossin, and remained fairly constant until ACH died in 1949. AHR assisted her parents with financial advice most of her life and Edgar Rossin assumed that position after they were married. Much of the correspondence during this period pertains to daily activities and current events. Weekly correspondence from the Rossin family was expected by ACH and she expresses this expectation in several letters. All of the Rossin family members corresponded with ACH, including Edgar's son, Tommy, and his brother, Buddy. Buddy Rossin sent letters from Europe during World War II describing the situation he was witnessing.

Natalie and Nancy Evans's correspondence with ACH increased during the 1940s. Both women married in 1947 increasing the extended family and the number of correspondents even further. Family trees have been created to assist with the identification of the extended family members, particularly since many did not sign their letters with last names. In addition to the family trees, an alphabetical list has been provided to help identify people in the family, with cross references for nicknames. For example, Wippy is WHP, Buddy is Alfred A. Rossin, Jr., and Mama is ACH's stepmother.

The family correspondence provides one perspective on AHR's life, but the correspondence in Series III: Alice Henderson Rossin, reflects her life outside of the family group. AHR had relationships with various individuals including someone called Ned, Joe F. Edwards, and King Vidor. The bulk of correspondence in Series III is from the 1930s. Very few letters from other time periods are present except those of her parents' biographers and a few letters from Helga Sandburg (Carl Sandburg's daughter), Ralph Fletcher Seymour, Oliver La Farge, Lady Bird Johnson, Rabindranath Tagore, and from her mother-in-law, Clara Rossin (1912-1928). For a complete list of correspondents see the alphabetical index and folder list. See the series description for further details.

After ACH died, AHR worked with her mother's and father's papers and continued some of the work they had begun. AHR held another Poet's Roundup in 1968, having researched her mothers' work, and provides insight into the origins and history of the event not found in ACH's series. She worked with the Museum of New Mexico Foundation to preserve New Mexican traditions and customs. AHR also worked with both of her parents' biographers and continued exhibiting her father's art work. See AHR's series description for further information on these projects.

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Restrictions

Access

Open for research

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Administrative Information

Acquisition

Purchase and Gift of Alice Henderson Evans Rossin Colquitt, 1977-88

Processed by

Deborah Shelby, 1992

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Alice Corbin Henderson Collection--Description of Series