Betty Smith (1896-1972) was a white novelist and playwright of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Chapel Hill, N.C. Among her publications were A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943); Tomorrow Will Be Better (1948), Maggie-now (1958), and Joy in the Morning (1963). She was married successively to George H. E. Smith, Joseph P. Jones, and Robert V. Finch. The collection is largely professional and personal correspondence and writings by Betty Smith, Robert V. Finch (1909-1959), and others. Items are mainly incoming mail that relates to Smith's daily life, her family, and the publication of her works. Included are letters, 1943-1945, from Joe Jones, her second husband, then stationed at Fort Monroe, Va., and letters, 1937-1959, from her third husband, Robert V. Finch, both before and after their marriage, reflecting their personal and professional relationship. Writings are principally typescripts of plays, articles, short stories, novels, and an unfinished autobiography. Also included are scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, posters; and audio interviews conducted by independent scholar and oral historian, Valerie Raleigh Yow, during the writing of Betty Smith: Life of the Author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (2008)
Microfilm contents: Reel 1. Folders 7, 8, 9, 305-308 and Scrapbook #1 (1928-1934). -- Reel 2. Folders 1-4, 13-18, 379 (Correspondence of Jay Sigmund). -- Reel 3. Mounted clipping and articles: Units 1-3, 7-11, 14-17. -- Reel 4. Oversize scrapbooks: S-1, S-2, S-4.
