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Marel Brown Collection

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS219

Scope and Content

The collection is comprised of the personal papers of Marel Brown from 1932-1977. Newsletters, newspaper clippings, printed material, programs, reviews, and a transcript, from 1939 to 1971, pertain to Brown’s activities as a writer and to public relations concerning several of her books, including Fence Corners, Hearth-Fire, Red Hills, and The Shape of a Song. Brown’s other writings are documented from 1938-1971 in articles from state and regional publications, among them numerous religious magazines, including Home Life, The Baptist Student, The Christian Advocate, The Christian Index, and Upward, and from local sources, such as The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal, and in papers given to the Ladies’ Burns Club. Brown’s civic and social interests are recorded, albeit to a lesser extent than her writing activities, in the Correspondence, Committees, Druid Hills Baptist Church, Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs, Invitations, Notes, and Workshops files.

Dates

  • 1932-1978

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Administrative/Biographical History

Marel Brown was the pen name of Margaret Snow Brown (1899-1991), an Atlanta-based author, poet, and housewife. Margaret Elizabeth Snow was born on 17 December 1899 in Carrollton, Georgia, to Mr. and Mrs. Britt Snow. Around 1902, the Snow family moved to Atlanta, where Margaret later met and married Alexander Booth Brown (a native of Aberdeen, Scotland) in 1919. From the mid- 1920s to early 1940s, Brown edited the page for boys and girls in the Christian Index. From the early 1940s to the early 1970s, Brown authored several published works of poetry and prose, most notably Fence Corners, Hearth-Fire, Red Hills, and The Shape of a Song. Her writings also appeared in numerous religious magazines and journals. Brown, an active member of the Druid Hills Baptist Church, participated in numerous local and national civic and social organizations, among them the Atlanta Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, the Atlanta Writers’ Club, the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Georgia Writers’ Association, the Ladies’ Burns Club of Atlanta (affiliated with the Burns Club of Scotland), and the Poetry Society of America. In memory of her husband, who died 13 December 1975, Brown funded and supported the Warren Memorial Boy’s Club, where she also served on the Board of Directors. Marel Brown died September 26, 1991.

Extent

0.25 linear ft.

Language

English

System of Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by title, most of which were supplied by staff.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Marel Brown, 1976 (1976.157), 1978 (1978.112), 1987 (1987.314)

General Physical Description note

Extent: .25 linear ft. (1 document case)

Description Control

The collection was reprocessed in 2007.

Title
MAREL BROWN PAPERS ahc.MSS 219
Subtitle
An Inventory of Her Papers at the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center
Author
Inventory prepared by Wesley Chenault
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040