The job of a John Hay librarian is not usually likened to that of a police detective or FBI agent. But thanks to Rare Book Cataloguer Richard Noble's own unique blend of investigative skill and curiosity, the true identity of an enigmatic 19th-century author was finally revealed.
Noble's recent contribution to the work of Brandeis University graduate student Holly Jackson has shed light on the history of writer Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins, who was originally thought to have been one of the few published African-American females from her time period.
Noble said he was not interested in Kelley-Hawkins until he was contacted last April by a New Jersey book dealer who had an 1898 copy of Kelley-Hawkins' novel "Four Girls at Cottage City." The book dealer had originally thought his was a first edition copy until he discovered the Hay Library's version, which was published in 1895.
This conversation prompted Noble to take a closer look at the Hay's version of "Four Girls." He noticed that unlike Kelley-Hawkins' other books, which were published in Boston, the University's copy had been printed in Providence.
Noble said he thought this clue would lead to a better understanding of Kelley-Hawkins. Scholars had assumed that the she had lived in Massachusetts, but in reality, "Nobody knew anything about the author. ... They didn't know when she was born or when she died," Noble said.
Noble also said he noticed that many of the novel's scenes were set in Pawtucket. "No Massachusetts writer would ever set a serious scene in Pawtucket," Noble said.
Noble then e-mailed a Brown faculty member about his observations. When he failed to elicit a response, he turned over the information to Jackson, whose e-mail he came across when he Googled Kelley-Hawkins last Christmas Eve. After learning from Brandeis' website that Jackson had an interest in Kelly-Hawkins, Noble established contact with her and suggested to her that the author may have been a Rhode Islander.
Afterwards, Noble said that Kelley-Hawkins remained in his thoughts, particularly the name Megda - the title of Kelley-Hawkins's first novel.
Then one day at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where he was attending service with his family, he noticed the name Megda Hawkins on the memorial list. Believing it more than a chance coincidence, he researched the name in the Providence Journal's archives and found her 1984 obituary, which named her as the daughter of Kelley-Hawkins.
Jackson then used Noble's discovery to trace Kelley-Hawkins' genealogy and history. She discovered that the woman described by so many scholars as an African-American female writer from Massachusetts was in fact a white woman from Rhode Island.
The confirmation of Kelley-Hawkins' identity is particularly unusual given the fact that her novels included a black and white photograph of her in the inside cover.
"This really calls into question how reliable photographs are for determining race," Jackson said. "It's obvious to see how much is context. ... (This) reminds us that (race) is all interpretation."
Jackson said that she hopes her work adds to the state of knowledge about African-American literature.
Jackson also commented on her experience working with Noble. "I was really pleased to hear that someone at Brown was willing to reach outside of his institution," she said.
"If there is any lesson from this (it) is that a place like the John Hay Library is full of stuff that is sort of unpredictable evidence of what you might not expect," Noble said. "This story is about using factual, documentary evidence to pin down a history that has simply been inferred," he added.
"This proves that the humanities are not dead," Noble said.
