Ben Robertson Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss-0077

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ben Robertson Papers include biographical information prepared by Charles H. Busha, M. D. Klaas, and others, as well as a wide assortment of Robertson's personal papers. A clippings file contains newspaper and magazine articles written by Ben Robertson during his tenure with the Charleston News and Courier, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Adelaide News, the New York Herald Tribune, the Chicago Sun, PM, the Anderson Independent, and othe national and local publications. Included among the clippings are articles about Robertson and reviews of Traveler's Rest, I Saw England, and Red Hills and Cotton. A chronological correspondence file includes Robertson's carbon copies of his own letters in addition to correspondence from personal friends, journalists, and authors. Internal evidence reflects relationships with a diverse group of people such as Edward R. Murrow, Lady Astor, Edgar Snow, Tom Waring, Governor of South Carolina Burnet R. Maybank, staff at foreign embassies, and Roger Peace. Single items exist from Thomas Wolfe, George Washington Carver, and Margaret Mitchell. A number of original and photocopied notebooks contain Robertson's handwritten and typed journal entries, as well as pasted-in letters and clippings. These personal records date from 1923 to one month before his death in 1943.

Dates

1903 - 1982

Creator

Robertson, Ben, 1903-1943 (Person)

Biographical Note

Ben Robertson was a nationally recognized journalist, war correspondent and author from Clemson, South Carolina.

Chronology

June 22, 1903
: Ben Robertson (Benjamin Franklin Robertson), Jr. was born in the Calhoun community of Clemson, South Carolina
1910
: Ben's mother, Mary Bowen Robertson, dies.
1918
: Ben's stepmother, Hattie Boggs Robertson, dies.
1924
: Robertson graduates from Clemson Agricultural College.
1926
: Robertson receives his journalism degree from University of Missouri School of Journalism. Is hired as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in Hawaii.
1927
: Joins the staff of The News in Adelaide, Australia.
1929
: Becomes a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune.
1934
: Leaves the New York Herald Tribune to take a job with the Associated Press in Washington and London.
1935
: Joins the United Press. Also writes for the Anderson Independent in Anderson, South Carolina.
1937
: Returns to the Associated Press.; Works for the Red Cross during the flooding of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.; Serves as a seaman aboard the freighter, the City of Rayville.
1938
: Traveler's Rest is published by Cottonfield Publishers in Clemson, SC
1940
: Covers war-time England for PM.; Covers the bombing of London with Edward R. Murrow.
1941
: Completes manuscript for Red Hills and Cotton.; Continues as war correspondent in England.; I Saw England is published.
1942
: Red Hills and Cotton--An Upcountry Memory is published.; Serves as correspondent for PM and the Chicago Sun in Guam and Midway, India, Russia, and Egypt.; Rejoins the staff of the New York Herald Tribune in December.
1943
: Robertson is killed in the crash of The Yankee Clipper which plunged into the Tagus River as it was approaching the airport in Lisbon, Portugal. Ben was enroute to England to head the British office of the New York Herald Tribune.
1944
: Launching of the S. S. Ben Robertson.
1960
: Red Hills and Cotton is reissued by the University of South Carolina Press, with a biographical essay by Wright Bryan.
1973
: Paperbound edition of Red Hills and Cotton is published by USC Press.

Extent

6 Cubic Feet (11.5 document boxes, 1 oversize box, 2 oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Robertson's manuscripts are arranged chronologically and include typed and annotated drafts of stories, articles, cables, and novels. There are also articles printed in magazines, galleys and proofs from publishers, and undated, unidentified notes and drafts. Mrs. Longley has annotated some of her brother's writings with questionable dates and information. A miscellaneous file contains various items evidently saved by Robertson himself and of uncertain significance. Information gathered by Robertson for his work in Guam, India, Java, and Russia exists in a research file. A posthumous file contains accounts of the crash of the Yankee Clipper, a number of honors and tributes to the memory of Ben Robertson, a 1943 Taps containing a memorial page, information on the launching of the S. S. Ben Robertson, copies of the ship's logs, and 1965 reviews of The Pilgrim, a book by Mary Robertson Longley based upon Ben's writings. The collection includes oversize holdings and a photograph collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Robertson Papers were given to Clemson University by his sisters, Mary Bowen Robertson Longley and Mrs. Frederick Wagener. Additional materials were loaned by the Pickens County Historical Society and copied for inclusion in the Clemson collection. This collection was formerly cataloged as 48-1, 66-7, 68-2, 75-2, and 77-3.