Evaleen Stein papers

Collection — Box: Communal Collections 2, Placement: 12

Identifier: MSP 190

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Evaleen Stein papers (1889-2005; 0.1 cubic feet) document the life and career of Evaleen Stein, one of the first female authors of note from Indiana. The collection consists of seven of Stein’s poems and letters from Ms. Stein to Mrs. William Graham, one of which describes a benefit that was thrown for Ms. Stein by several notable Indiana authors (George Ade, James Whitcomb Riley, Charles Major, etc) to enable her travel to Europe. All but one poem in the collection are handwritten by Ms. Stein. Also included in the collection are two letters written by Glen Swiggett to the Purdue libraries during the process of donating some of Ms. Stein’s poems and clippings of an article and unpublished book introduction written by Robert Kriebel (who has done extensive research on Evaleen Stein and her family). Although it is a small collection, the papers do reflect Stein’s writing style and provide insight into her relationships with other people. The collection might be useful to researchers interested in prominent individuals in the greater Lafayette area, Indiana poets, female authors, and nature writing in the early twentieth century. Types of materials include correspondence, poetry, and clippings. The papers are organized into a single series.

Dates

Creation: 1889-2005
Other: Majority of material found in 1889-1909

Creator

Stein, Evaleen, 1863-1923 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copy rights belong to Evaleen Stein, her heirs, or individual publishers. Please see an archivist for more details.

Biographical or Historical Information

Evaleen Stein was born in 1863 to John A. Stein and Virginia Tomlinson Stein in Lafayette, Indiana. Her brother was Orth Stein. The Stein family was well respected within the greater Lafayette community due to John Stein’s law practice, involvement in local and state politics, his role in the establishment of Purdue University, and his involvement with the Board of Trustees once the university was established. Virginia Stein was also well respected due to her position at the Lafayette library after the passing of her husband. Both Orth and Evaleen were known for their writing, although Orth’s writing was primarily journalistic in nature. Ms. Stein’s writing career got its start with the publishing of several of her poems in Indianapolis newspapers. As she gained more attention for her work from better known local authors such as James Whitcomb Riley and George Ade, she was eventually able to begin publishing her poems in collected volumes. Later, Stein transitioned to writing and illustrating children’s stories. Her status and standing within the local community and among other Indiana authors was celebrated at a program organized in her honor at Purdue University: An Authors’ Reading. Notable authors such as George Ade, James Whitcomb Riley, Charles Major, and Meredith Nicholson read from their works and raised $1000 on Stein’s behalf so that she might travel to Europe. Stein passed away at the age of sixty in 1923.