Grace Ellery Channing Stetson Papers

Title: Grace Ellery Channing Stetson Papers

Dates: 1862-1937

Collection Number: MS.1271

Creator/Collector: Channing, Grace Ellery, 1862-1937 Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935 Stetson, Charles Walter, 1858-1911

Extent: 1 box

Repository: Autry National Center

Abstract: Grace Ellery Channing Stetson (Channing Stetson) was a writer-an essayist, poet, and World War I war correspondent. This collection contains approximately 53 items of personal and business correspondence dating from 1897 to 1935.

Language of Material: English

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit click above link or contact library staff at rroom@theautry.org.

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Autry Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry National Center as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Grace Ellery Channing Stetson Papers. Autry National Center

Braun Research Library Manuscript Collection

Grace Ellery Channing Stetson (Channing Stetson) was a writer-an essayist, poet, and World War I war correspondent. Her articles, stories, and poetry appeared in "Land of Sunshine" (later "Out West"), "Harper's," "The Atlantic Monthly," and "The Saturday Evening Post." Collections of her short stories were published under the titles "The Sister of a Saint," and "Other Stories" (1895) and "The Fortune of a Day" (1900); a collection of her poetry was published under the title "Sea Drift" (1899). Her work reflected support for late nineteenth and early twentieth century conservative political ideologies and traditional social values. Channing Stetson's youth was spent in Rhode Island. She was born to William Francis Channing and Mary Channing nee Farr on December 27, 1862 in Providence, Rhode Island. Channing Stetons's paternal grandfather William Ellery Channing was the founder of the American Unitarian Church. Her father was an inventor. Channing Stetson had two siblings: Mary Charming Wood (who had two children, Dorothy and Ellery) and Harold Channing. Channing Stetson received a private school education, graduating from the Normal Class for Kindergarten in 1882. After graduation, she taught at the free kindergarten in Providence. In 1885, she became ill, presumably with tuberculosis, and moved with her family to Pasadena, California. Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman (Gilman), wife of artist Charles Walter Stetson, and her daughter Katharine visited the Channings in Pasadena in 1885 during Gilman's separation from her husband. Gilman was a leader in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century women's movement. After Gilman's divorce, Channing Stetson and Charles Walter Stetson were married in 1894. Gilman and Channing Stetson were life long friends and collaborators on several plays. Katharine Stetson Chamberlin, daughter of Gilman and Charles Watler Stetson, lived with Grace and Charles Stetson from the age of nine. Katharine maintained close ties with Channing Stetson throughout her lifetime. Channing Stetson traveled extensively in Europe-in Italy and Germany from 1890 to 1893, and in England, Italy, and Germany from 1897 to 1898. After residing in Boston from about 1898, Channing Stetson and Charles Walter Stetson lived in Rome from about 1902 until 1911. Charles Walter Stetson died on July 20, 1911, and Channing Stetson returned to the United States in 1912. In 1916, Channing Stetson was a war correspondent in France and on the Italian front. She lived in New York from 1918 until 1937, dying on April 3, 1937.

This collection contains approximately 53 items of personal and business correspondence dating from 1897 to 1935. There are also 3 photographs. Folders 1 through 35 are the correspondence of Channing Stetson. They are filed alphabetically by correspondent's surname. Internal file order is chronological. Most of these letters are dated between 1918 and 1935, during the time Channing Stetson lived in New York City. This portion of the collection includes 14 letters from author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Earlier dates include letters from The Saturday Evening Post (1915), The Smart Set (1908), and Herbert S. Stone & Co., Publishers (1899). Folder 35 "Various" contains 5 letters in which correspondent's names have not been identified. Folder 36 "Photographs" contains three photographs. Folder 37 "Stetson, Charles Walter" contains 2 letters (1897, 1910) that are the correspondence of Charles Walter Stetson. Processing the collection and publication of finding aid made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).