Vingie E. Roe Collection

About the Collection

Vingie E. Roe was born in Oxford, Kansas, in 1879. Roe and her family moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma, to form a settlement in 1889, where her father became a well-known physician. She would later move to Wellston, Carney and Fallis, Oklahoma.

Roe did not receive any schooling beyond sixth grade, so she gained her knowledge of literature from books and short stories. She began writing poetry at a young age, which she later sent to the Wichita Eagle, a Kansas newsletter.

A.C. Scott, then president of Oklahoma A&M College, read one of Roe’s poems in the Eagle and enjoyed the piece. Scott shared the piece with Kansas Congressman Victor Murdock, who took such a liking to Roe’s work that he became her patron. Roe attended OAMC for six months in 1902.

Roe’s first novel, “Maid of the Whispering Hills,” was published in 1912. Throughout her life, Roe wrote more than thirty novels, including several that were adapted into silent films.

The Vingie E. Roe Digital Collection contains seven of Roe’s novels (all published before 1924) along with her photographs and scrapbook. The physical collection also contains Roe’s correspondence, diary, photographs and other papers.

Access the Physical Collection

These materials are housed in the Archives. They can be consulted by appointment in the Archives office (2nd floor) of the Edmon Low Library at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information please contact the Archives at 405-744-6311 or libscua@okstate.edu.

View the Collection