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Grace Robinson papers, 1892-1991

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Robinson, Grace, 1894-1985
Title
Grace Robinson papers
Dates
1892-1991 (inclusive)
Quantity
53.30 cubic ft. (117 boxes) + .50 GB
Collection Number
06941
Summary
Papers of this prominent woman journalist, including manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, notes, notebooks, clippings, and other miscellaneous memorabilia.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

Grace Beatrice Robinson, nationally known woman journalist, was born 10 June 1894 in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the daughter of Francis and Nella Mae (Hoisington) Robinson. She attended the University of Nebraska from 1914-1917, but dropped out to support her family after the death of her father.

In 1917, Robinson took her first newspaper job as Telegraph Editor of the Omaha Bee. Although it was illegal for women to work at night in Nebraska at the time, she was granted special dispensation to do so on account of World War I, thus allowing her to gain her formative journalistic training.

Robinson relocated to the New York City area in 1918 and became City Editor of the Newark (New Jersey) Ledger. While working at this paper, she became interested in becoming a newspaper reporter. In 1920, she became Magazine Editor of the Woman’s Page at the New York Evening Mail. This position was followed by a brief stint at the New York American Pictorial in early 1922.

Robinson became a staff writer at the Patterson-McCormick Syndicate’s New York Daily News in 1922 and enjoyed an illustrious career with this paper. She started out as a Society writer under the pen name “Debutante.” By the mid-1920s, Robinson was a well-known crime writer, covering the infamous Hall-Mills Murder Trial in 1926 and the Snyder-Gray Murder Trial a year later.

Between 1928-1931, Robinson’s career at the New York Daily News was interrupted by a stint at Liberty magazine, which was also owned by Patterson-McCormick. At Liberty, she wrote stories on a variety of subjects. In 1928, she wrote the article series “Gasoline Gypsies,” an account of a cross-country automobile trip she took with her sister Ester Robinson. She received her first foreign correspondent assignment in 1930, when she accompanied the Gold Star Mothers and Widows (mothers and widows of American soldiers killed in World War I) on their pilgrimage to cemeteries in France.

When Liberty was sold to Bernarr MacFadden in 1931, Robinson was transferred back to the New York Daily News. She received her second foreign correspondent assignment in 1932, in which she followed and interviewed Greta Garbo and visited the Soviet Union and Germany. On her return trip, she followed disgraced New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker back to the United States. Starting in 1933, Robinson covered both President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and was a member of Mrs. Roosevelt’s “hen press.” She also played an instrumental role in the construction of the White House swimming pool during the Roosevelt Administration. Robinson continued to be a highly regarded crime writer, covering many of the notorious criminal cases of the 1930s. In 1935-1936, she extensively covered the Charles Lindbergh Jr. Murder Case, including the trial, appeal, and subsequent execution of accused murderer Bruno Hauptmann.

During the 1940s, Robinson interviewed a number of celebrities in the New York Daily News’ News One and Three Studio, including Bob Hope and Gregory Peck. She was a member of the press corps that covered the funeral of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. In 1946, Robinson was a war correspondent in Germany, reporting on the post-World War II conditions of that country. She also covered the first Alger Hiss Espionage Trial in 1949, which proved to be her last crime trial.

Robinson reached the pinnacle of her career in 1956 by writing “Will Your Boy Go Bad?”, an article series about the Glueck Social Prediction Table, which was designed to predict juvenile delinquency in boys. This series was widely acclaimed and it earned her a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize. Robinson retired from the New York Daily News in 1964, but continued to write on a freelance basis.

Grace Robinson was married to Robert Conway, a fellow reporter at the New York Daily News. In addition to her journalistic duties, Robinson was an active member of the Newspaper Guild of New York and the Overseas Press Club of America. She was also involved in the civic and environmental affairs of Weston, Connecticut, her adopted hometown.

Grace Robinson passed away on December 3, 1985.

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Content Description

Grace Robinson papers, 1892-1991, includes correspondence, clippings, manuscripts, notebooks, photographs, and other materials concerning her life and journalistic career. These papers are an excellent primary source of twentieth century history from Robinson’s point of view, containing much information about the news stories she covered. They also document her journalistic work, revealing how she obtained and developed her stories, and how her articles appeared in their final form.

This collection also provides useful information about Grace Robinson herself. The papers provide fascinating insights into the conditions of woman journalists of her time and how she coped with them. The materials also reveal much about the private Grace Robinson throughout the course of her adult life. Particularly revealing are the notes she wrote on many items years after the fact, which document the age progression from an extremely able young reporter to an elderly woman apparently suffering from dementia.

Last of all, the papers reveal much about the New York Daily News, Grace Robinson’s longtime employer. The collection documents how this New York City tabloid handled and presented the news stories of the 1920s-1960s as they occurred. One can learn much about the internal operations of this paper as well.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The American Heritage Center holds copyright to the Grace Robinson papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Grace Robinson papers, 1892-1991, Collection Number 06941, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select portions of this collection are available at: http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~92~92.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Papers organized into eight series: I. Research Files; II. Correspondence; III. Personal Files; IV. Photographic Materials; V. Motion Pictures; VI. Books; VII. Oversized; VIII. Artifacts.

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by Grace Beatrice Robinson at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Grace Robinson and her niece Kathryn Murdock donated the Robinson papers to the University of Wyoming in several shipments between 1975-2023.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in February 2003 and updated by Jamie J. Greene in March 2019 and May 2025 and Alexandra Cardin in July 2022.

Portions of the collection were digitized by Halena Bagdonas in July 2012.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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