Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane), 1835-1909

Augusta Evans, a native of Columbus, Ga., was the author of numerous popular novels, among them Beulah, Inez, and Macaria, a novel on Civil War themes that was banned by Union officers but won popularity among both Confederate and Union troops. A longtime resident of Mobile, Ala., she married Colonel Lorenzo Wilson, a businessman active in banking, railroads, and wholesale groceries.

From the description of Augusta Evans Wilson letter, circa 1865-1909. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 156975262

Author. Married L.M. Wilson, 1868. Also known as Augusta Evans Wilson.

From the description of Augusta J. Evans letter, 1898. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70981387

American author.

From the description of Papers of Augusta Jane Evans, 1859-1882. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 32136360

Born in Columbus, Georgia; educated at home; moved with family to Texas but returned to Mobile, Alabama, prior to 1850; wrote her first novel as a teenager; published nine works between 1855 and 1907.

From the description of Letter, 1889 January 4. (University of Southern Mississippi, Regional Campus). WorldCat record id: 16911985

Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1835, Augusta Jane Evans, daughter of Mathew Ryon and Sarah Skrine Howard Evans, married Lorenzo Madison Wilson in 1868. She was a noted author before secession with Inez (1855) and Beulah (1859), but with Macaria (1863), one of the favorite Confederate novels, and St. Elmo (1866) and later works she became closely associated with the Confederate cause and an advocate of the traditional Southern way of life.

From the description of Augusta Jane Evans Wilson letter, 1866. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 311113198

Augusta Jane Evans was born May 8, 1835 in Columbus, Georgia, the daughter of Matt Ryon and Sarah Skrine (Howard) Evans. She was educated in her home under the supervision of her mother. In 1839, after the bankruptcy of her father's business, the family plantation and possessions were sold at auction and the family moved into a modest plantation house at Oswitchee in Russell County, Alabama. By early 1845, Augusta's parents made the decision to leave their troubles behind and move the family to Texas.

The large Evans family eventually settled in San Antonio in 1846. It was here, at the age of fifteen, that Augusta began her first novel, Inez: A Tale of the Alamo . In 1849, when thousands were rushing westward in search of gold, Matt Evans prepared to take his family east. The discomforts of frontier life and the numerous occasions of violence near San Antonio more than likely contributed significantly to his decision to leave Texas.

After the family moved back to Alabama they settled in Mobile where Augusta finished Inez, a sentimental, moralistic anti-Catholic love story, and presented it to her father as a Christmas present in 1854. It was published anonymously a short time later. Her second novel, Beulah, was published in 1859 and sold over 22,000 copies during its first year of publication. For an 18-year old female author, this was practically unheard of. The proceeds of the book allowed her family to purchase Georgia Cottage on Springhill Avenue in Mobile.

During the Civil War, Augusta was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy and was active in the service of the South as a propagandist. She had been engaged to a journalist from New York but broke off the engagement in 1860 because he supported Abraham Lincoln. She sewed sandbags for the defense of the community and established a hospital near her residence that was dubbed Camp Beulah in honor of her novel. She also carried on a correspondence with two noted Confederate leaders, General P.G.T. Beauregard and Alabama congressman, J.L.M. Curry.

During this time she published a pro-Confederate propaganda novel titled Macaria; or Altars of Sacrifice . It was extremely popular with both Southerners and Northerners alike and was circulated among the Northern troops to cause rancor in the ranks. General George Henry Thomas, commander of the Union Army in Tennessee, had all copies of the book among the troops under his command confiscated and burned. Unbeknownst to Augusta, Macaria was also published in the New York. The royalties from its sale were held in trust for her until after the Civil War. Augusta only learned of the royalties after the war when she accompanied her brother, Howard Evans, to New York to see a medical specialist to treat his paralyzed arm caused by a war injury. The funds allowed Augusta and her family to weather the years of Reconstruction without excessive want.

Augusta published her most popular novel, St. Elmo, in 1866. Within four months it sold over a million copies and was so popular that many towns, hotels, steamboats and even a cigar brand were named after it. Augusta Evans was the first American woman writer to make over $100,000, a record that would not be surpassed until Edith Wharton did it several years later.

On December 3, 1868 Augusta married Colonel Lorenzo Madison Wilson, a widowed Mobile business man, 27 years her senior. She moved her favorite writing desk to Ashland, his home in Spring Hill, Mobile County, Alabama, virtually next door to the Evans' family home, Georgia Cottage. She continued writing though more sporadically, as she became the first lady of Mobile society. Augusta finished Vashti, Infelice, and a murder mystery (which she declared was her favorite) At the Mercy of Tiberius before her husband's death in 1891. After his death, she left Ashland and moved into her brother Howard's home in Mobile. In spite of deteriorating health and eyesight, August wrote two more romantic novels, A Speckled Bird and Devota . She died of a heart attack on May 9, 1909, one day after her 74th birthday.

Author of: Inez, A Tale of the Alamo (1855); Beulah (1859); Macaria, or Altars of Sacrifice (1864); St. Elmo, or Saved at Last (1866); Vashti, or Until Death Us Do Part (1869); Infelice (1875); At the Mercy of Tiberius (1887); A Speckled Bird (1902); Devota (1907).

From the guide to the Augusta Evans Wilson papers MSS. 1563., 1859-1909, (W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama)

Augusta Jane Evans was born May 8, 1835 in Columbus, Georgia, the daughter of Matt Ryon and Sarah Skrine (Howard) Evans. She was educated in her home under the supervision of her mother. In 1839, after the bankruptcy of her father's business, the family plantation and possessions were sold at auction and the family moved into a modest plantation house at Oswitchee in Russell County, Alabama. By early 1845, Augusta's parents made the decision to leave their troubles behind and move the family to Texas. The large Evans family eventually settled in San Antonio in 1846. It was here, at the age of fifteen, that Augusta began her first novel, Inez: A Tale of the Alamo. In 1849, when thousands were rushing westward in search of gold, Matt Evans prepared to take his family east. The discomforts of frontier life and the numerous occasions of violence near San Antonio more than likely contributed significantly to his decision to leave Texas. After the family moved back to Alabama they settled in Mobile where Augusta finished Inez, a sentimental, moralistic anti-Catholic love story, and presented it to her father as a Christmas present in 1854. It was published anonymously a short time later.

Her second novel, Beulah, was published in 1859 and sold over 22,000 copies during its first year of publication. For an 18-year old female author, this was practically unheard of. The proceeds of the book allowed her family to purchase Georgia Cottage on Springhill Avenue in Mobile. During the Civil War, Augusta was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy and was active in the service of the South as a propagandist. She had been engaged to a journalist from New York but broke off the engagement in 1860 because he supported Abraham Lincoln. She sewed sandbags for the defense of the community and established a hospital near her residence that was dubbed Camp Beulah in honor of her novel. She also carried on a correspondence with two noted Confederate leaders, General P.G.T. Beauregard and Alabama congressman, J.L.M. Curry. During this time she published a pro-Confederate propaganda novel titled Macaria; or Altars of Sacrifice. It was extremely popular with both Southerners and Northerners alike and was circulated among the Northern troops to cause rancor in the ranks. General George Henry Thomas, commander of the Union Army in Tennessee, had all copies of the book among the troops under his command confiscated and burned. Unbeknownst to Augusta, Macaria was also published in the New York. The royalties from its sale were held in trust for her until after the Civil War. Augusta only learned of the royalties after the war when she accompanied her brother, Howard Evans, to New York to see a medical specialist to treat his paralyzed arm caused by a war injury. The funds allowed Augusta and her family to weather the years of Reconstruction without excessive want.

Augusta published her most popular novel, St. Elmo, in 1866. Within four months it sold over a million copies and was so popular that many towns, hotels, steamboats and even a cigar brand were named after it. Augusta Evans was the first American woman writer to make over $100,000, a record that would not be surpassed until Edith Wharton did it several years later. On December 3, 1868 Augusta married Colonel Lorenzo Madison Wilson, a widowed Mobile business man, 27 years her senior. She moved her favorite writing desk to Ashland, his home in Spring Hill, Mobile County, Alabama, virtually next door to the Evans' family home, Georgia Cottage. She continued writing though more sporadically, as she became the first lady of Mobile society. Augusta finished Vashti, Infelice, and a murder mystery (which she declared was her favorite), At the Mercy of Tiberius, before her husband's death in 1891. After his death, she left Ashland and moved into her brother Howard's home in Mobile. In spite of deteriorating health and eyesight, August wrote two more romantic novels, A Speckled Bird and Devota. She died of a heart attack on May 9, 1909, one day after her 74th birthday. Author of: Inez, A Tale of the Alamo (1855); Beulah (1859); Macaria, or Altars of Sacrifice (1864); St. Elmo, or Saved at Last (1866); Vashti, or Until Death Us Do Part (1869); Infelice (1875); At the Mercy of Tiberius (1887); A Speckled Bird (1902); Devota (1907).

From the description of Augusta Evans Wilson papers, 1859-1909. (University of Alabama). WorldCat record id: 703272972