Margaret Mitchell, Edna Ferber and The Goring Collection

Researching a Legend Part 7
‘Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone’
Once inside the Atlanta Historical Society building I approached the desk and asked a young lady about the Margaret Mitchell papers.
She thought for a moment and said, ‘We had a collection of her papers until two weeks ago when the Mitchell Estate had them transferred to the University of Georgia in Athens. And from what we’ve heard, for the time being they are sealed and can’t be viewed.’
I expect I showed my disappointment at the news and thought, another dead end. But I did follow up and asked, ‘Do you have any material relating to Margaret Mitchell biographical or otherwise.
The young lady smiled. ‘It’s not much, but we do have one small file folder. Would you like to see it?’
‘Yes I would.’
Moments later she came back with a small folder and said, ‘I’m sorry but that’s all we have.’ Then she pointed to a table with chairs and said, ‘You’re welcome to read the file.’
‘Thanks.’
I moved to the table, pulled a chair out and sat down. I opened the file and immediately saw why the young lady was reluctant to even bring it out. There were no more than half a dozen scraps of paper inside the folder.
I thumbed through the material and found an interesting letter sized hand written memo signed by Margaret Mitchell.
The heading read:
Miscellaneous details of interest.
Maternal great grandfather – Philip Fitzgerald born 1798 at Lagistown Parish of Nagraphin, Tipperary Co. Ireland.
Died 1880 Clayton Co. Georgia
Married near Columbus, Ga
Maternal great grandmother – Eleanor McGhan, born Locust Grove, Taliaferro Co.
Ga in 1818, died Clayton Co. Ga in 1893…

Signed and dated April 6, 1937
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (Mrs. John R. Marsh)

I was dumbfounded at what I’d just seen. Was it fate that brought me to this place? How was that key piece of information left behind while they hauled away boxes of papers to the University of Georgia?
I’ll never know the answer, but there it was. Margaret Mitchell, author of ‘Gone With the Wind’ had sealed in her own hand the kinship connection to her cousin Sister Mary Melanie.
Through prior research I was aware that Philip Fitzgerald was Mattie Holliday’s great uncle. So the relationship was that they were third cousins and good friends.
(To be continued)

The Goring Collection
Prologue Part 6
Following Alexei's departure Jacob meandered around the wharf for an hour filled with a mixture of anxiety and exhilaration. The shock of a possible recall to Moscow left him with a kind of nervous excitement. Jacob had never been prone to erratic behavior, but Alexei’s words had served as a wakeup call and jarred him out of his complacency. Lectures, parties and diplomatic functions had become a comfortable way of life filled with all style and no substance. Deep down Jacob knew he was in a rut and going nowhere. It had become obvious to him that that the Soviet Union and the great socialist experiment had failed. But what weighed heavily on Jacob's mind was the question of his own commitment to a new life. Had he truly renounced the communist system or was he simply jumping ship? Of course he had worked out a plan and everything was in place, with one exception, a timetable. Now, it appeared that Alexei had provided that last element and Jacob made the decision to take advantage of it.
He hurried toward his apartment but stopped on the way, stuffed some coins into a pay phone and dialed the Santa Barbara number. The phone rang and Natalie came on the line. Jacob talked in low tones. “You were right all along, Natalie. I was the stubborn fool.”
“What are you talking about, Jacob?”
“Communism! I’m finished with it.”
Natalie laughed and asked, “What have you been drinking, Jacob?”
“I’m serious, Natalie. I’ve decided to turn and become a bona fide American.”
Then after a quiet sob, and a deep breath, Natalie said with a smile in her voice. “It may not be proper over the phone, but I’d like to propose a toast. Here’s to my brother, the real Jacob Meyers that I always knew was there.” Then she stammered. “Wha…what are you going to do, Jacob?”
“I have a plan worked out and don’t worry about my personal safety. I’ll be all right, but for the time being I need to drop out of sight.”
"I've prayed for this day, Jacob, now please be careful," Natalie said tearfully.
"I'll do my best. Now I've got to run." As soon as he hung up the phone he raced back to the apartment and quickly packed up his papers and an overnight bag, turned out the lights, walked to the dock and took the ferry to Oakland. There he purchased a one-way bus ticket to Oklahoma City.
(To be continued)

Writers Notebook:
Edna Ferber, one of the Algonquin Round Table regulars was a talented and versatile writer. She teamed up with Round Table regular George S. Kaufman to write comedy and among Ferber’s many credits she wrote three major novels Giant, Cimarron and Show Boat, all of which became successful films.
Many Edna Ferber stories were based on her life experience. She related this one in one of her two autobiographies A Peculiar Treasure when she said, ‘In the beginning chapters of the novel Show Boat there is a description of the Mississippi at flood time. I found that I did not need to consult books or ask old timers to relate their river experiences. I just took my childhood memories of the Mississippi and the Des Moines at flood time out of the back of my head where they had been neatly stored for so many years and penned them down on paper.’
Hey writers, when stuck with that same kind of problem dig into the nooks and crannies of your personal library – you might be surprised what’s stored there.

Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
www.thehurricanehunter.com



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