What was Victoria Lincoln like as a person?

[arqmeister]

Hi, i'm Arq, and i'm new around here, but certainly not to the Borden case. I have been lurking and reading for many years now. I figured i'd ask a quick question to start things off around here. I wondered if anyone who has bbeen around way longer than I have knows what the author Victoria Lincoln was like as a person? I read her book, and found myself rather intrigued by her personality that at times came through in her writing. Are there any old interviews of her's around somewhere, or anything about her personal life? I know she has children, was divorced, enjoyed travel, but anything else is rather vague. Would Someone be willing to describe her features to me, because as a blind person, i can't see pictures? Anything would be helpful. Nice to meet you all.

[Kat]

Hello, sorry I didn’t notice yr post sooner.
I was thinking about Victoria Lincoln myself lately, and wondering about all the local gossip that did not make it into her book on Lizzie- which had me thinking if her “papers” would be worth a search.

I found that they have been deposited at John Hopkins University, and there’s a site there with info on what her papers contain, who donated, and how to get at them, and a bio on her.

I am going to “paste” the copy I made while in the site, followed by her Durfee High School grad photo, and one taken later in her life smiling above her typewriter. I am providing these in case you need someone (probably better at it than me) to describe what she looks like.

This will be long, but I figured to include everything ( and isn’t it funny, I never thought to look her up in Google, but only gathered her photos from there).

Victoria Lincoln’s Collection of papers is housed at Johns Hopkins University-
Included, plz note contact information for further inquiry.

Abstract

Victoria Lincoln was an American writer of fiction and journalistic articles born in 1904. The papers consist largely of drafts of her many articles, stories, poems, and novels. The collection spans 1833-1986, with the bulk of the material from 1925-1985.

Arrangement

The papers have been artificially arranged into 4 series: Series 1, Personal; Series 2, Cobb-Lincoln Families; Series 3, Business Records; Series 4, Writings.

Provenance

The papers were donated to The Johns Hopkins University by Mrs. Louise Lowe Kittredge, February 1991.

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Joan Grattan in June 1991.

After Miss Lincoln's death, her papers were collected and separated by her husband, Victor Lowe. Lowe sorted the items into folders or envelopes and assigned labels to each grouping. Many labels begin with "Vicky" which is how Miss Lincoln was known to her family and friends. In some cases, he added useful annotations and notes. However, much of the draft material was received out-of-sequence and untitled. An attempt has been made to restore some order to the drafts, but the results are limited by the overwhelming volume of pages.

Related Names

Subject

Lincoln-Cobbs families(Family)
Harold Ober Associates(Organization)
Radcliffe College(Organization)
Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951(Person)
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849(Person)
Lowe, Victor, 1907-1988(Person)
Lincoln, Victoria, 1904-1981(Person)
Borden, Lizzie, 1860-1927(Person)
Fields, Artur (Person)
Lincoln, Jonathan Thayer, 1869-1942 (Person)
Lincoln, Leontine, 1846-1923(Person)
Lincoln, Louise Sears Cobbs(Person)
Mann, Thomas, 1875-1955(Person)
Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David), 1919-2010 (Person)
Saroyan, William, 1908-1981(Person)
Sarton, May, 1912-1995(Person)
Starrett, Vincent, 1886-1974(Person)
Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582 (Person)
Thurber, James, 1894-1961(Person)

Subjects

Genre / Form

manuscripts (documents)

Geographic

Maryland--Baltimore
Massachusetts
Massachusetts--Fall River
New England
United States

Topical

American fiction
Authors
Authors, American
Cotton textile industry
Mothers and daughters
Periodicals
Poetry, Modern
Poets, American
Romance fiction, American
Societies
Women
Women authors
Women novelists, American
Women poets, American
Working class

Finding Aid & Administrative Information
Title
Victoria Lincoln papers
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Repository Details


Part of the Special Collections Repository
https://www.library.jhu.edu/library-dep ... llections/
Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA
specialcollections@lists.jhu.edu
Search Collection
From year
To year
Collection organization
Victoria Lincoln papers
Series 1: Personal Series 1: Personal, 1909-1986
Series 2: Lincoln-Cobb Families Series 2: Lincoln-Cobb Families, 1833-1955
Series 3: Business Records Series 3: Business Records, 1938-1972
Series 4: Writings Series 4: Writings, 1925-1985

Note
Victoria Lincoln was an American writer of fiction and journalistic articles. She was born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1904, the daughter of Jonathan Thayer Lincoln (1869-1942) and Louise Sears Cobb Lincoln. She was the granddaughter of Leontine Lincoln (1846-1923), a prominent manufacturer of cotton and silk machinery. Miss Lincoln graduated from B.M.C. Durfee High School (Class of 1922) in Fall River and received her B.A. from Radcliffe College
in 1926. She lived in Fall River until 1927, and the influences of her native city found expression in some of her writings.

In 1930, Miss Lincoln published The Swan Island Murders, quickly followed by many short stories, novellas, and articles. She published widely in popular American magazines from the 1930s through the 1970s. Her work appeared in Harpers, Colliers, the Atlantic, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, and the New Yorker. Much of her magazine work conformed to the accepted boundaries for women writers of that period. She concentrated on light romantic stories or essays in self-improvement. The subject matter of her novels proved more diverse and thought-provoking. Her writings ranged from cultural explorations in February Hill and Celia Amberly to the human explorations of historical figures such as Charles Dickens, Lizzie Borden, and St. Teresa of Avila.

In 1934, February Hill was published. It portrayed the lives of working men and women in a mill town and was later dramatized for the Broadway stage in 1939 under the title, The Primrose Path. RKO Pictures produced the film version of The Primrose Path starring Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea in 1940. February Hill enjoyed a second success when it was published by the American Military Government in the 1940s and used for re-education in Germany. Miss Lincoln followed February Hill with collections of short stories and poems including Grandmother and the Comet (1944) and The Wind at My Back (1947). During a period of convalescence, Miss Lincoln re-discovered Charles Dickens, and her pleasure in reading became an inspiration to the writer's habit. Charles, a biographical novel of Dickens was published in 1962.

Miss Lincoln returned to her hometown for a project about the famous 19th-century spinster and alleged murdereress, Lizzie Borden. As a child, Miss Lincoln had lived a few blocks from the Borden home. Her familiarity with the cultural milieu of Fall River gave her an insider's advantage in researching both the facts and the legends surrounding the famous trial in 1892. A Private Disgrace: Lizzie Borden by Daylight (1967) was a critical success and earned her the "Edgar" from the Mystery Writers Association of America. (The "Edgar" is a ceramic statue which favors Edgar Allan Poe.) Fall River celebrated the town's notoriety and Miss Lincoln's literary reputation by inviting her to speak before the Friends of the Library group in 1974.

Translations of Miss Lincoln's writings were published in Spain, Norway, and Germany. She traveled to Europe several times with her husband, Victor Lowe, who worked for many years on a biography of mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead. Lowe acknowledged Miss Lincoln's assistance and support to his research and writing. Miss Lincoln's last major project absorbed her for nearly ten years. She began a study of the Spanish mystic, St. Teresa of Avila. Her manuscript was finished, though unedited, at the time of her death. Her husband, Victor Lowe, assumed the responsibility for seeing the manuscript through publication. The published volume titled Teresa: A Woman appeared in 1984. Victoria Lincoln died in Baltimore, Md. in 1981.

The following titles by Victoria Lincoln are available in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library:

Celia Amberley. New York, Rinehart [1949]. (PQ3523.L585 C4 1949)

Charles, A Novel. [1st ed.] Boston, Little, Brown [1962]. (PQ3523.L585 C45 1962)

February Hill. New York, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. [c1934]. (PQ3523.L585 F4 1934)

Teresa, A Woman: A Biography of Teresa of Avila./ Victoria Lincoln: Edited with introduction by Elias Rivers and Antonia T. de Nicol s. Albany, N.Y, SUNY Press, c1984. (BX4700.T4 L5 1984) Published volumes of Miss Lincoln's works which were received with her papers will be added to Rare Books, Special Collections.

[Kat]

High School

[Kat]

Later in life

[Kat]

What I notice most about her face is the low, fat cheeks, and her eyes have disappearing lids. And no eyelashes can be seen, probably because they are *folded* under the lids we can’t see. Almost Oriental eyes. She wore her short, full, dark hair in high school with bangs and achieved a kind of *pixie* look.

In her older picture her hair is much lighter, and her face still has the low, full cheeks, but her bangs are much shorter and curling under, with a high forehead, and her hairdo is shorter and still youthfully styled. She looks kind of cute- By that, I guess I mean perpetually young, and mischievous. In neither picture does she show her figure. In her later photo she is sitting twirling a pair of glasses in her hands in front of a typewriter with book shelves behind her like she is in her office, and a big smile on her face. She looks feminine, with subtle earrings.

[Kat]

I’m pretty sure we have a book review on her in our magazine, The Hatchet. I will check on that further.

[Kat]

Here are 2 links to examinations/reviews of Victoria Lincoln’s work on Lizzie Borden, by our Hatchet writer Eugene Hosey.

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/HatchetO ... ncoln.html

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/HatchetO ... ction.html

[arqmeister]

Thank you Kat. You are a treasure. So sorry for the late response. Looks like Miss Lincoln was indeed quite the character. I enjoyed the read. Thanks again.

[Kat]

You’re welcome. I am still looking.

Here is a link to a discussion here about Ms. Lincoln. Eugene Hosey started it. I think he was pretty much our Lincoln expert here, but it seems Len Rebello would have been a good resource for more inside info, as he was also from Fall River. Sadly he is no longer with us in bodily form.

https://www.lizzieandrewborden.com/LBFo ... .php?t=269

[Kat]

Here is Victoria Lincoln’s yearbook entry, from Durfee High School. It gives some glimpse into what her peers thought about her, unless she wrote it herself.

[Kat]

BTW I found a part of Lincoln’s bio that was left out of the official one published by Johns Hopkins…but I didn’t keep the source, sorry. It was a partial document I had saved to my computer:

Miss Lincoln graduated from B.M.C. Durfee High School (Class of 1922) in Fall River and received her B.A. from Radcliffe College in 1926. She lived in Fall River until 1927, and the influences of her native city found expression in some of her writings.

Miss Lincoln was married briefly to Isaac Watkins. In 1934, she married Victor Lowe, then a graduate student at Harvard. She was the mother of three children, Penelope Watkins, Louise and Thomas Lowe. The Lowes moved to Baltimore, Md. in 1947 when Victor was appointed to a faculty position in the philosophy department, The Johns Hopkins University.

Miss Lincoln wrote from her home in Baltimore and combined her writing career with the equally
demanding role of wife and mother. In an interview with Collier's, Feb. 19, 1944, Miss Lincoln reflected that "[Anthony] Trollope couldn't have known just how much doggedness is required of a woman writer who is also a mother and housekeeper."

[Kat]

For myself, I would like to know where she lived in Fall River…does anyone know?
In my recollection, her stance was always that she was a neighbor of Lizzie. And I read she claims to have lived within a few blocks, or a few houses away from Maplecroft?

I’ve Googled that one question, but am not finding that info. In my personal computer search I had a page result of a heritage house of an Arba Lincoln living at 116 French…so is that the family?

[Kat]

Found a newspaper interview- not too much depth, but interesting. Plz clic on pic to make a sharper image.

[Kat]

I checked the online archive and could only find one article from Collier’s magazine, 2-19-1944. Hemingway.
https://archive.org/search?query=Collie ... azine+1944
Maybe someone else might have better luck searching online.

[Kat]

I think I posted this elsewhere, but it was finding out this letter (LBQ Oct 1998) was written by Lil’ Abby to Victoria Lincoln, that made me interested in seeing more of her archive of papers, as you can imagine!

[camgarsky4]

Sorry for joining the party late. I always forget to check the other forums.

I did a little searching and found several addresses from 1910 to 1920 for the Jonathon Thayer Lincoln (Victoria's father) family. They sure seemed to move almost every year. If someone needs a deeper dive on where they lived and when, I can spend a little more time on this. Just let me know.

1910 182 June
1912 715 High
1915 527 Maple
1916 116 French
1920 68 Bigelow

All the addresses were within blocks of Maplecroft, but don't fit my description of 'neighbors'.

[Kat]

Thank you! I wonder why they moved so much!
Now I can plot the addresses on a map and include Maplecroft and see how Ms. Lincoln’s memory holds up. I have always wanted to do that!
(She said herself earlier she pictured in her memory as living next door, but that was before she wrote her book. I’m also reading Spencer’s examination of her theory about this case- I admit I read his summation first just now, actually…)

[camgarsky4]

Ha! I actually did the same thing....read the summations and then go back and read the writeup. I find it the best way my brain processes and it helps fact check Spencer's writings by knowing where he is going with the statements.

[Kat]

Well, we meet in Spencer!

Edit here-
Fall River City Directories:

She was born in 1904 so:
1910- 1912- #182 June St., she was at least 6 thru 8 years old- so I did not plot that address.

1912- 1915- #715 High St., she would be 8 to 10ish years old: this was the closest she lived to Maplecroft- a block over and around the corner.

1915- #527 Maple St.(1 year), she’d be 11 and Victoria might be noticing her surroundings and neighbors and history of her town. (Could not use CD online, but used Rebello info- he had the directories.)

1916- #116 French St. (1 Year, age 12).

**[Edit here]**This next period of time and address are a misunderstanding of the City Directory by moi…plz see future post- I now believe it to be father’s business address]
1917- 1919ish- #37 Canal St. age 13-15ish years old- this address is way over by Anawan and Ferry St. -off my map. I don’t know why the family moved there- father Jonathan was becoming more successful in business, but maybe he wanted to be closer to downtown business interests, like Andrew…ironic.

1920- 1927 (at least) #68 Bigelow St.-Victoria is 16- 23 years old, attending Durfee High School. (She is actually listed for the first time in the 1927 City Directory at this address)

Lincoln family are red dots and the single green dot is Lizzie on French Street.
I did not use census- this was hard as it is , so if anyone is quick and good at research, and enjoys fact checking and census, please correct or refine any of this info.

My only goal was to check her statements that she lived in the neighborhood, or a few houses away, or the next block, etc….of Lizzie’s Maplecroft, and she did, but ages 8 to 10 years old, and for 1 year aged 12.

BTW map is 1906. I have revised the map to add locations
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/se ... :1257bc999
Interactive

[Kat]

I’m using larger type because it’s easier for me to read!

It looks like Miss Lincoln applied for a passport in March, 1923, while living at Bigelow Street, age 18, student, traveling for “pleasure.”
The places she listed as her itinerary were British Isles, France and Holland, and hoped to embark at the end of June, 1923.

Her description is official, so I gathered it to help with part of the original question here: what did she look like?

5’2”
High forehead
Brown eyes
Retrousse nose
Straight mouth
Round chin
Brown hair
Dark complexion
Face round

[Kat]

Daddy was a Mason in the “King David Lodge.” Suspended and reinstated.
Initiated 10-14-1902
Passed 12-2-1902
Raised 1-6-1903
Suspended 1-27-1920
Reinstated 11-27-1923

[Kat]

1934 newspaper portrait

[Kat]

1935 newspaper portrait

[Kat]

This portrait accompanied Victoria Lincoln’s obituary, however it is dated 1967, but she died (of bone cancer) in 1981.

[Kat]

This article is an entertaining view of Ms. Lincoln, and seems like a pretty good description of *what she was really like.*

[Kat]

Partial quote:

1917- 1919ish- #37 Canal St. age 13-15ish years old- this address is way over by Anawan and Ferry St. -off my map. I don’t know why the family moved there- father Jonathan was becoming more successful in business, but maybe he wanted to be closer to downtown business interests, like Andrew…ironic.

I may have made a mistake in using the results of a city directory search, that showed Canal Street as a place the Lincoln’s lived.
As I have examined it further, it seems it may be a business address, because it doesn’t say “h” and the other entries on the page do not show “h” either.

If anyone can show home address for Jonathan Thayer Lincoln family in the time frame of 1917-1919, it would be appreciated. Thanx.