University archives obtains letter from Faulkner ancestor

Special Collections and Archives at Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State University has acquired a letter written by an ancestor of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner.

Roxanne Dunn, assistant in the special collections and archives at Kent Library and graduate assistant A.J. Medlock obtained the letter from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., resident Pat Parker. Medlock met Parker through a Civil War digitalization project called "Crossroads and Confluence."

Robert Hamblin, emeritus professor of English and founding director of the Center for Faulkner Studies, said there have been "bits of evidence" that Faulkner had a connection to the Falkner family in Ste. Genevieve. The letter is written by J.W. Falkner, whose brother left Ste. Genevieve for Mississippi and became the great-grandfather of the author.

Hamblin said the letter, sent to Ste. Genevieve in 1863, talks about family relatives in Ripley, Miss.

"This is concrete evidence that what they heard in the family all those years is true," Hamblin said.

He said a program centered on the letter is being planned. It will be in Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau and include a formal presentation of the letter to Southeast Missouri State University.

He said Faulkner scholars from around the world come to the center and will be able to view the letter by appointment.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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