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Winifred de Villiers Collection

Winifred de Villiers Collection, MS 17 1-78, JS Gerlicke Library, University of Stellenbosch: This collection consists of 78 items collected by Winifred de Villiers, daughter of Charles de Villiers and his wife Dorothea. A keen supporter of women's suffrage, her collection includes correspondence by Olive Schreiner and Emily Hobhouse among others. An outline inventory is available.

 

 

A. CLASSIFYING INFORMATION

Letter date        [Saturday 20 November 1909]

Address From   [Cape Town]

Address To       [Avignon, Weltevreden Street, Gardens, Cape Town]

Who to             [Winifred de Villiers]

  

B. EDITED COLLECTION

Editor               [ ]

  

C. ARCHIVE COLLECTION REFERENCE

Archive name         [University of Stellenbosch, JS Gericke Library]

Archive Ref 1         [Winifred de Villiers Collection, MS 17/ 5]

 

[LEGEND: The date and place of this letter has been established by reference to content and other dated letters regarding the same Women’s Enfranchisement League event it comments about. An attached envelope provides the address it was sent to.]

Saturday

Dear Miss de Villiers

Miss ?Brown will have her paper ready for 22nd (Monday) so please write all you can. I am trying to get to our young married members to make short speeches ^the Rev^ Mrs Kriel (Bruce Marchand that was) & Mrs Alexander who is only about 20; a bright earnest woman but not accustomed to public speaking. I do hope it will go off well.

If we were to try President Steyn would he not perhaps take the chair? It would be too splendid if he would, but one is so afraid of tiring him or using up his strength in any way. What a delightful woman Mrs Steyn is; so unspoiled by all her successes & greatness.

Good bye

Olive Schreiner

I am just going out to see how Anna Purcell is.

 

[Envelope: Miss de Villiers, Avignon, Weltevreden Street, Gardens, Cape Town]

 

[NOTATION: There are two Mrs Kriels mentioned in Schreiner’s letters. The Nationalist Mrs Kriel of Beaufort West was the sister of political and military martyr Danie Theron; the reference here is to the Cape Town Mrs Rev Kriel, the former Arrabella Bruce Marchand. Before marriage, she obtained a Cape Town law degree and in prize 1901; subsequently she was a popular novelist achieving some considerable successes under her pre-marriage name.]

 

 

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 A. CLASSIFYING INFORMATION

 Letter date        [Friday 19 November 1909]

Address From   [Cape Town]

Address To       [Eastbergholt, Gardens, Cape Town]

Who to              [Winifred de Villiers ]

 

B. EDITED COLLECTION 

Editor               [ ]

 

C. ARCHIVE COLLECTION REFERENCE

 Archive name         [University of Stellenbosch, JS Gericke Library]

Archive Ref 1         [Winifred de Villiers Collection, MS 17/ 6]

 

[LEGEND: The date of this letter has been established by reference to content and other dated letters regarding the same Women’s Enfranchisement League event it comments about. It has been misdated as 1902 in the collection inventory. Eastbergholt was the residence of Jessie and James Rose Innes.]

 

Eastbergholt

Friday morning

Dear Miss de Villiers

I wanted to come down & see you this morning, but had a bad attack of angina yesterday & don't think I shall be able to walk so far. Yes, ask Willie Stuart to ask the other young Barristers.

I wanted to invite several myself but have not been able.

Write Miss Weber c/o Miss Reitz Hatfield Street. She’s anti & it would be nice to have her. Also won’t you write Mrs de Vaals little daughter. She’s a strong supporter.

I do hope I shall be well enough to come on Monday. Mrs Alexander will come with me if I come, & I know will speak. But she said she wouldn’t go if I didn’t go. ^she’ll feel too lonely among a number of strangers.^ I’ll try & get her to come any how. She’s such a brilliant earnest woman.

With Julie Brown Mrs Kriel & Miss Malony O’Connor & Mr Van Zyl we shall have 5 speakers, so I don’t think we can ask any more as we are beginning late.

I do hope you girls after this meeting will feel you can speak too. If I were living in Cape Town I would get up monthly meetings, just for the young girls of our society to get them into the habit of debating I do hope this meeting will be a success. I’ve never cared about a meeting so much.

?Would ?you ?please ?be ?kind unreadable unreadable ?If ?I’m ?not ?there please ask Miss ?Molteno.

Yours ever

Olive Schreiner

 

[NOTATION: ]

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