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Felicia Gizycka papers, 1940-1998

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gizycka, Felicia
Title
Felicia Gizycka papers
Dates
1940-1998 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.00 cubic ft. (3 boxes)
Collection Number
12924
Summary
Felicia Gizycka (1905–1999) was an American heiress, writer, and journalist who was kidnapped by her father as a child. This collection contains articles, short stories, and manuscripts written by Felicia Gizycka, as well as correspondence and photographs. Also included is material related to her friendship with, and the death of, Enoch C. “Cal” Carrington from Jackson, Wyoming.
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

Researchers must sign a Use Agreement before accessing this collection if they wish to publish anything with material from this collection.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Felicia Gizycka (1905–1999) was an American heiress, writer, and journalist who was kidnapped by her father as a child. Born in Blansko (now the Czech Republic) to newspaper heiress Eleanor Medill Patterson and Polish nobleman Count Josef Gizycki, she became the center of a high-profile abduction case when her father kidnapped her in 1908. The case drew the involvement of both President-elect William Howard Taft and Czar Nicholas II of Russia, who ultimately ordered Felicia’s return to her mother. Despite the legal victory, Felicia’s upbringing was largely overseen by servants, as her mother remained distant. She spent her childhood moving between family estates in Illinois, Long Island, California, Wyoming, and Virginia, speaking multiple languages but remaining under constant supervision due to her father’s prior actions.

Felicia went on to become a writer, publishing novels, short stories, and articles in American magazines and newspapers. Her first fiction appeared in Liberty magazine, which was run by her uncle, and she later published two novels: The House of Violence (1932) and Flower of Smoke (1939). She was married and divorced three times, first to journalist Drew Pearson, then to Englishman Dudley de Lavigne, and later to John Kennedy Magruder, a landscape architect and director of the Alcoholics Anonymous Men’s Home in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1995, Felicia moved from New Canaan, Connecticut, to Laramie, Wyoming, where she passed away in April 1999 at the age of 93.

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Content Description

This collection contains articles, short stories, and manuscripts written by Felicia Gizycka, as well as correspondence and photographs. Also included is material related to her friendship with, and the death of, Enoch C. “Cal” Carrington from Jackson, Wyoming.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

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, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

This material was received from Felicia Cameron in 2024.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Brittany Heye in March of 2025.

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Felicia Gizycka at the date of processing.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

    • Description: Article draft - Ellen Doran
      Dates: October 22, 1982
      Container: Box 1, Folder
      Location:

    • Articles (published):

      • Description: "Cissy Patterson - The Countess of Flat Creek" Grand Teton magazine with article
        Dates: 1977
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
      • Description: "The Green Bough" Colliers
        Dates: October 25, 1947
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
      • Description: Jackson Hole news story - "My Ride up to the Ranch" (newspaper)
        Dates: 1987
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
      • Description: "The Language of Tigers"
        Dates: 1942
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
      • Description: "My Wonderful view from a Wheelchair"
        Dates: 1993
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
      • Description: "Stray Cat in a Strange Town" (newspaper)
        Dates: 1966
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Articles (published):
    • Description: Articles by Bob Sandborn
      Dates: 1992-1993
      Container: Box 2, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Calendar, obituary for Ritta Peavler, and pieces of a story
      Dates: 1958-1967
      Container: Box 2, Folder
      Location:

    • Correspondence:

      • Description: Correspondence
        Dates: 1969-1998
        Container: Box 1, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Carl Carrington letters
        Dates: 1951-1958
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Frank Foltz
        Dates: 1987-1990
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Joseph Medill picture
        Dates: 1986
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Letters, diplomas, and post cards
        Dates: 1954-1998
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Letters from editors
        Dates: 1954
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Letters to Felicia
        Dates: 1979-1991
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
      • Description: Ruth Persis Finch
        Dates: 1980-1986
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Correspondence:
    • Description: Enoch C. "Cal" Carrington material
      Dates: 1951-1960
      Container: Box 1, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Journals (copies)
      Dates: 1953-1980
      Container: Box 2, Folder
      Location:

    • Manuscripts:

      Container: Box 1-3

      • Description: "15 Dupont Circle" by Felicia Gizycka, published in The Washingtonian by Laughlin Phillips
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 1, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "15 Dupont Circle" (drafts, notes)
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 1-2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "A Crowded Temple in Japan"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "A Fool Shall be the Death of Me," "Superstition Mountain," "Dead Silence"
        Dates: 1955-1960
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "A Passport to Serenity"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "A Saint With A Sense of Humor" - Obituary of Ritta Peavler
        Dates: 1967
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous) Gratitude"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "AA Reminiscences"
        Dates: 1975
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Alcoholics Anonymous in New Canaan, Connecticut"
        Dates: 1971-1973
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "America The Hideous"
        Dates: 1984
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Beautiful Summer in Newport"
        Dates: 1947-1959
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Beloved Object"
        Dates: 1945-1971
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Cal, My Old Horse Thief"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Case of the One Eyed Cat" - correspondence, magazine, and black and white photograph
        Dates: 1972
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Cat"
        Dates: 1985
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Catalyst"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Celebrities"
        Dates: 1974
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Clown and the Angel"
        Dates: 1942
        Container: Box 1-2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Countess of Flat Creek"
        Dates: 1990
        Container: Box 1-2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Crow Experiences" notes
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Do We Kill Our Celebrities?"
        Dates: 1974
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Encounter" and "Florida Romance"
        Dates: 1980
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Farewell My Island"
        Dates: 1948
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Finger in the Pearly Gates," "Winter Burial in The Nature Center," and others
        Dates: 1984
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Forest Ranger" - story for writers group
        Dates: 1980
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Forever Florida"
        Dates: 1953
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "From 15 Dupont Circle to 15 Prospect Place"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 1, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "George Evans Falls Off A Horse"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Give the New Man a Break"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Grandma's Asleep, Baby's Awake," "Myself Among the Lions," "Seventy Years of Success," "The Youngest Man of Ninety-Three"
        Dates: 1958-1971
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Grandpa's Out of Sight"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Green Bough"
        Dates: 1947
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "I Am the Celebrant"
        Dates: 1968-1969
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "I Gave A Dollar To A Bum"
        Dates: 1983
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "In the Grand Canyon at Midnight I Stood On My Head and Wept"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Insects Dancing in a Shaft of Light"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Jackson Hole - May It Go On Forever"
        Dates: 1972
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Joys of Eating in and Around New Orleans"
        Dates: 1959-1960
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Kripalu"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 2, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Late Summer Homecoming"
        Dates: 1980
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Life in These United States," Callahans piece, and correspondence relating to the two pieces
        Dates: 1981
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Lost and Found"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Magic Wire"
        Dates: 1941
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Magic Wish Come True"
        Dates: 1945
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Meditations"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Miracle On Route 27"
        Dates: 1971
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Mona Lisa"
        Dates: 1963-1972
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Moving Mirror"
        Dates: 1942
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "My A.A. Story"
        Dates: 1939
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "My Beautiful View From A Wheelchair" by Felicia Gizycka
        Dates: 1968-1995
        Container: Box 1, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "My Mother / The Countess of Flat Creek"
        Dates: 1990
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Oh Harlem, My City"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Quiet" notes
        Dates: 1970-1985
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Red Hot Miracle"
        Dates: 1992
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Scarecrow"
        Dates: 1969-1994
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Seeing Eye Dog"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Silence" and "The Mandala"
        Dates: 1981
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Superstition Mountain"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "To Those Who Didn't Make It"
        Dates: 1971
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The Three Happiest Women in New York City"
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Triscuit Truck"
        Dates: 1966
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Two Stories By The Sea," "Eating in New Orleans"
        Dates: 1961
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "The White Dress" by Cosmopolitan
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Winter and the Gathering Darkness" "Winter Solstice" - Prairie Schooner
        Dates: 1970
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: "Winter Burial in the Nature Center"
        Dates: 1985-1986
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: Miscellaneous: "The Creche is not the Scene," "The Commuter's Garden," and others
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: Notes: A story about a cat
        Dates: undated
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: Poetry
        Dates: 1979-1980
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: Some poems of Judy's
        Dates: 1972
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
      • Description: Zamojski Family
        Dates: 1965
        Container: Box 3, Folder
        Location: / Manuscripts:
    • Description: Newspaper clippings
      Dates: 1952-1998
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Notes, correspondences, and publications
      Dates: 1914-2012
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Notes and edited writings
      Dates: 1954-1993
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Notes: Notebooks
      Dates: 1980-1985
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Photographs
      Dates: undated
      Container: Box 1, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Photographs: Negatives (35mm color)
      Dates: 1950-1979
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Photographs from Maine (color prints and negatives)
      Dates: 1993
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Publication: "Marty Mann: Alcoholism Pioneer" by Sally Brown
      Dates: 1985-1998
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Publication: Prairie Schooner
      Dates: 1979-1980
      Container: Box 3, Folder
      Location:
    • Description: Publication: "Story: Short Stories by the Best New Writers of Today" periodical with stories by Felicia Gizycka
      Dates: 1940, 1945
      Container: Box 1, Folder
      Location:

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Journalism--United States.
  • Journalism.
  • Short story.

Personal Names

  • Carrington, Enoch Cal, 1873-1959

Geographical Names

  • Wyoming History, 1890-1918
  • Wyoming History, 1919-1945
  • Wyoming History, 1946-1999

Processed by Brittany Heye
2025

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

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