Correspondence, 1935-1996

This series contains letters written to George and/or Toni Willison. The primary correspondent is Katherine Anne Porter. There are sixty-nine letters and cards from her, most written between 1946 and 1954, when the Willisons were making payments for South Hill. Miss Porter's letters detail the Willisons' purchase of South Hill, as well as her financial state during those years. They also include discussions of her activities, politics, gardening, illnesses, reading, and the acquaintances she shared with the Willisons.

The correspondence of William R. and Fern Wilkins to Toni Willison consists of thirty-seven letters and cards dated 1988 to 1996. William R. Wilkins served as Katherine Anne Porter's assistant in 1977. The correspondence from Wilkins and his wife, Fern, discusses the love and admiration all three shared for Miss Porter; some of this correspondence recounts the details of Porter's deteriorating health near the end of her life. Mrs. Willison's correspondence from Professor James Wayne Miller concerns Miss Porter, on whom Miller published, and his agreement with Mrs. Willison to write a book on South Hill. Other correspondents include Isabel Bayley, Miss Porter's first literary trustee; Paul Porter, Jr., one of Miss Porter's nephews; Nora Sayre; and Robert A. Beach and Blanche T. Ebeling-Koning, staff members of the University of Maryland. Also included are two form letters written by Robert R. Young of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company to Katherine Anne Porter, relating to rail travel.

The series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.