Nell Wise Wechter Papers

1957-1974, undated
Manuscript Collection #177
Portions of this collection are digitized (1 item)
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Creator(s)
Wechter, Nell Wise
Physical description
1.45 Cubic Feet, includes five archival boxes
Preferred Citation
Nell Wise Wechter Papers (#177), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions.

The Nell Wise Wechter Papers contains copies of the author's books, Taffy of Torpedo Junction (1957), Betsy Dowdy's Ride (1960), Swamp Girl (1971), and The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico (1974). Also included are the typed and written drafts, typed manuscripts with revisions, original manuscripts, and galley proofs for her books. There is also correspondence from the Library of Congress, British Embassy, and Mariners Museum regarding Wechter's requests for information to assist her in writing her novels.

Biographical/historical information

Nell Wise Wechter (1913-1989) was born and raised in Stumpy Point, North Carolina. She attended East Carolina College, where she received her Diploma, 1933, B.S., 1951, & M.A., 1952. Wechter also attended Guilford College and UNC Greensboro in pursuance of graduate degrees in English and Social Studies, and she later worked towards a Ph.D. at UNC Chapel Hill (1956-1964).

She taught in North Carolina as a teacher for 30 years and authored several books, The Romance of Juniper River (1937), Taffy of Torpedo Junction (1957), Betsy Dowdy's Ride (1960), The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico (1974), and Swamp Girl (1971). Wechter won numerous regional and state awards for her work, including the George Washington Gold Medal (1950) from the Freedoms Foundation, American Association of University Women Award for Best Young People's Book by a North Carolina author (1957), National Teachers Medal (1958) from the Freedoms Foundation, and Catholic Children's Book Club of America (1960). Wechter donated all of her original manuscripts to Joyner Library of East Carolina University in August of 1971 with "the hope that they may be of some help to other writers coming along."

Wechter married her husband, Robert William Wechter, in 1943. Together they had one daughter and two grandchildren, who live in Atlanta, Georgia. Wechter and her husband retired and lived on her plantation home on the Pamlico Sound, where they enjoyed gardening and participating in their local Methodist church.

Scope and arrangement

The Nell Wise Wechter Papers contains copies of the author's books, Taffy of Torpedo Junction (1957), Betsy Dowdy's Ride (1960), Swamp Girl (1971), and The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico (1974). Also included are the typed and written drafts, typed manuscripts with revisions, original manuscripts, and galley proofs for her books. There is also correspondence from the Library of Congress, British Embassy, and Mariners Museum regarding Wechter's requests for information to assist her in writing her novels.

The collection also contains a letter from the author to Dr. Wendell Smiley, ECU librarian, with a request to have her items donated to East Carolina University, along with her updated biography (1971), and a press release from the ECU News Bureau regarding her work and the donation of her collection. There is a photograph of Wechter at a ceremony and possible speech notes (unknown authorship), depicting her donation to Joyner Library at ECU.

Administrative information
Custodial History

August 12, 1971 5 items, 3 pgs, 0.260 cubic feet. Biographical sketch and literary manuscripts for Taffy of Torpedo Junction, Betsy Dowdy's Ride, and Swamp Girl. Gift of Mrs. Nell W. Wechter

December 6, 1971, (addition 1), 3 volumes, 0.260 cubic feet. Copies of novels Taffy of Torpedo Junction, Betsy Dowdy's Ride, and Swamp Girl, Gift of Mrs. John F. Blair

June 30, 1972, (addition 2), 2 items, 2 pgs, 0.260 cubic feet. Galley proofs and page proofs for Betsy Dowdy's Ride. Gift of Mrs. Nell W. Wechter

January 20, 1975, (addition 3), 9 items, 9 pgs, 0.260 cubic feet. Manuscripts, Galley, and notes for novels Teach's Light and The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico. Gift of Mrs. Nell W. Wechter

January 17, 1984, (addition 4), 4 items, 4 pgs, 0.260 cubic feet. Manuscripts for Teach's Light, Betsy Dowdy's Ride, Swamp Girl, and Taffy of Torpedo Junction. Gift of Mrs. Nell W. Wechter

July 29, 2003, (addition 5), 1 item; The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico, by Nell Wise Wechter. The 1974 book pertains to the Midgett family, 1874 - 1972, and their service as Coast Guard life savers on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Soft Cover. Donor: Dick Wolfe.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Nell W. Wechter

Gift of Mrs. John F. Blair

Gift of Dick Wolfe

Processing information

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Processed by Meredith Clark on July 5, 2018.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration
Language of material

English

Key terms
Personal Names
Teach, Edward, -1718--Juvenile fiction
Wechter, Nell Wise
Corporate Names
United States. Coast Guard--Biography
Places
North Carolina--Fiction
North Carolina--Juvenile fiction
Titles
Wechter, Nell Wise. Betsy Dowdy's ride
Wechter, Nell Wise. Swamp girl
Wechter, Nell Wise. Taffy of Torpedo Junction
Wechter, Nell Wise. Teach's light
Wechter, Nell Wise. The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico
Container list
0177 Digitized Material
Box 1 Folder b Copy of book written by Nell Wechter - The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico, 1974
Box 1 Folder c Copy of book written by Nell Wechter - Swamp Girl, 1971
Box 1 Folder d Copy of book written by Nell Wechter - Taffy of Torpedo Junction, 1957
Box 1 Folder e Copy of book written by Nell Wechter - Betsy Dowdy's Ride, 1957
Box 2 Folder a Taffy of Torpedo Junction - handwritten pages of chapter revisions, typed manuscripts with handwritten edits, 1960
Box 2 Folder b Taffy of Torpedo Junction typed manuscript with handwritten edits, undated
Box 2 Folder c Swamp Girl - typed manuscript with handwritten edits, undated
Box 3 Folder a Correspondence regarding research on Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard) from Library of Congress, British Embassy, Mariners Museum. Pages from Jolly Roger and Dictionary of National Biography about Edward Teach. 1972
Box 3 Folder b Teaches Light - typed manuscript with handwritten edits, notes and editorial suggestions,1973
Box 3 Folder c Teaches Light - typed manuscript revisions and notes,1974
Box 4 Folder a Galley Proof - Teaches Light with handwritten edits, undated
Box 4 Folder b Galley Proof - Betsy Dowdy's Ride, undated
Box 4 Folder c Galley Proof - Betsy Dowdy's Ride, worn, undated
Box 5 Folder a Original Manuscript - Teaches Light with handwritten edits, undated
Box 5 Folder b Original Manuscript - The Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomico with handwritten edits, 1974
Box 5 Folder c Original Manuscript - Betsy Dowdy's Ride with handwritten edits, note from Wechter to Dr. Leo Jenkins for Mr. Smiley, note about publication date of book, 1960
Box 5 Folder d Original Manuscript - Taffy of Torpedo Junction, photo of author at ceremony giving original manuscript of Taffy of Torpedo Junction, with possible speech notes, 1957-1958
Box 5 Folder e Original Manuscript - Swamp Girl with letter to Dr. Lanier and Mr. Smiley, biography, and ECU News Bureau release, 1971
Box 5 Folder f Untitled typed manuscript - based on the contents, the manuscript appears to be that of Wechter's Windrift (1983), a fiction book which covers subjects on Roanoke, NC, slavery, and the Civil War, undated
Box 6 Galley Proof - Swamp Girl, undated