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Mary L. Phelps Ewan (d. 1947) was the granddaughter of Captain William Phelps and Caroline (Kelsey) Phelps, early pioneers in the American Midwest. Captain Phelps traded with Native Americans in Illinois and Eastern Iowa and was well known to Chiefs Keokuk and Black Hawk. As more white settlers entered the Mississippi River Valley, Phelps served as captain of a steamboat. W.T. Davidson and Margaret Gilman George composed a story, "The Yellow Rose," as a tribute to the romantic life of Captain Phelps and his wife Caroline on the frontier. The Illinois Historical Society published Caroline's diary as edited by Mary L. Phelps Ewan in 1930.
The Mary L. Phelps Ewan Papers include a published copy of Mrs. Caroline Phelps' diary, clippings, photographs of Captain William Phelps, and an envelope.
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Mary L. Phelps Ewan papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago