Laura Murphy resided in Newport, Rhode Island.
James “Jimmy” Henry Van Alen (1902-1991) was born on September 19, 1902, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the eldest son of James Laurens (1878-1927) and Margaret Louise Post Van Alen (1877-1969), a relative of the Vanderbilt family and commonly referred to as “Daisy.” James H. Van Alen had two younger siblings: William Laurens (1907-2009) and Louise Astor (Van Alen) Saunderson (1917-2004). His grandfather, James John Van Alen (1846-1923), married into the Astor family with his 1876 marriage to Emily Astor (1854-1881), making James H. Van Alen a very socially connected man in both the New York and Newport social circles. His paternal grandparents built the summer cottage, Wakehurst, in Newport in the 1880s, and the Van Alens lived between there and homes in New York, England, and France. James H. Van Alen attended Cambridge University and graduated in 1924, during which time he played on their tennis team, a sport he played and enjoyed since the age of five. He continued to be an avid tennis player throughout his life and was a national single and doubles champion. In October 1929, he married his first wife, Eleanor Langley (b. 1902) and had two children: James Langley (1931-2008) and Samuel T. (1934-1970). The couple later divorced in 1948. With the start of World War II, James H. Van Alen enlisted in the United States Navy and worked for the Navy’s Book and Magazine Section before running a rest camp in England. He was discharged from the Navy on March 2, 1949.
Candace Baird Alig Van Alen (1912-2002) was born on March 28, 1912, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Otto Fidele (c. 1882-1933) and Candace Baird Alig (1888-1972), and had a younger brother, Baird Alig (1914-1918), who did not survive past childhood. Candace, or Candy as she was known, spent her childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, and was tutored at home until she was sent to Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Candy attended Vassar College, where she majored in political science and economics and after her graduation in 1932, she began post graduate studies at Columbia University, Radcliffe College, and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1937, she married Kevin Cox Vanderlip (1912-1956) of New York. The couple divided their time between New York and their Palos Verdes Ranch in California. The Vanderlips divorced in 1945 and at this time, Candy began her journalism career. She first worked as a correspondent for El Universal, Mexico’s largest newspapers, and represented them at a United Nations meeting in San Francisco. During World War II, she served as war correspondent for the International News Service and was stationed in Paris until the end of 1946. Upon her return to N.Y. in 1947, she became the assistant to the editor and editorial writer for the New York Herald Tribune, a position she held until 1948.
The Van Alens met at a cocktail party in New York in 1948 and were soon married on November 8, 1948. Throughout their forty-three year marriage, they became known as a high society couple recognized for their involvement in a multitude of activities and organizations. They owned a variety of residences including Penny Pond in Greenvale, N.Y., an apartment in Madrid, a condo in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and their primary residence, Avalon, in Newport. The couple enjoyed working together and for years wrote a joint newspaper column, “Between the Lines,” that was published nationally. In 1953, they began an annual reading of Clement C. Moore’s, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” at Moore’s Newport summer home. The Van Alens hoped to turn this house into a Christmas museum, but this endeavor was never realized. They did continue their annual readings and in 1958, Jimmy wrote an introduction and addendum to the famous poem, which he also recited during their annual Christmas reading. They also worked to return the Newport Casino to its former position as the center of civic and social activity as well as establishing a Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1954, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which operated at the Newport Casino, was established. This is commonly seen as their greatest contribution to society.
Besides their work together, the Van Alens continued to work on individual projects and their own interests. James H. Van Alen made a major contribution to the game of tennis with his development of the Van Alen Streamlined Scoring System (VASSS). This system advocated a sudden death tie breaker for the game and eventually evolved into the best of twelve tie breaks seen in tennis matches today. He also spent time composing his own poems and music, and was actively involved with the Republican Party. Candace Van Alen served as contributing editor to Vogue for eight years and had a “How To” column in the New York Daily News and the Chicago Syndicate. She also served as chairman or committee member for various organizations including the International Debutante Ball, April in Paris Ball in N.Y., the International Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Florida, and the American Scottish Foundation.
James H. Van Alen died on July 3, 1991, after suffering a fall at his Newport home. Candace Van Alen lived on to the age of ninety, passing away on February 12, 2002. The couple is interred at the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Murphy collection of Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.036, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection documents the lives, residences, and interests of James H. Van Alen [JHVA] and Candace Van Alen [CVA] as well as their involvement in various activities and organizations through their own personal records, correspondence, financial and legal records, published and unpublished writings, clippings, audiovisual materials, and photographs. Records concerning Van Alen genealogy, including their Vanderbilt and Astor relatives, are also present as well as information about Candace Van Alen's relatives - the Baird and Alig families.
The majority of the photographs in this collection can be found within Series 11, but there are instances where photographs are found in their original order within other series. In some cases, this is noted with the folder title. Sometimes, there are miscellaneous items in folders that may or may not relate to the folder's contents - these items were not reorganized in an effort to maintain their original context and are identified in brackets by the folder title.
Medical records for James H. and Candace Van Alen were removed from this collection and shredded during the 2014 arrangement of the collection.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Gift of Laura Murphy, 2004 May 13
This collection was separated from the original Van Alen estate donation and housed with Laura Murphy of Newport, Rhode Island for about two years after she had received the materials from an acquaintance named Jim. It is unclear why these materials were separated.
This collection was initially processed in 2006 and 2009 and a draft of the finding aid was completed by Aimee Saunders. In 2014, box and folder numbers were assigned to the collection, and the finding aid was edited and updated. Medical records that were originally found within this collection were removed for disposal.
James H. and Candace Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.003, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This series consists of family memorabilia, daybooks, address books, phone lists, genealogical records, and some photographs. This series is comprised of three subseries, all of which are arranged in alphabetical order.
This subseries contains the personal records of related families such as the Aligs, Bairds, and the Van Alens. Personal records concerning both James H. and Candace Van Alen are also included.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and contains bills, clippings, correspondence, and guest books concerning the homes the Van Alens resided throughout their marriage. These residences include Avalon in Newport, Rhode Island, Penny Pond in Greenvale, New York, an apartment in Madrid, Spain, and a condominium in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Also present are guest books from Van Alen ancestor homes in England, including Coventry House, which belonged to James H. Van Alen’s grandfather, James J. Van Alen (1846-1923), and Rushton Hall, where James H. Van Alen lived with his parents throughout his youth.
Arranged in alphabetical order by subject, this series contains investment records, correspondence, bills, insurance information, and tax records regarding the Van Alens. The bulk of this series is comprised of records and correspondence with the Van Alens’ personal lawyers, Kamerman and Kamerman in New York City. Also found in this series is insurance and appraisal information about Candace Van Alen’s jewelry, including a sketch of her custom wedding ring.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by last name or subject and includes incoming and outgoing correspondence for James H. and Candace Van Alen as a couple and separately. Some folders also include photographs that most likely were enclosed with a letter. These instances are typically noted with the folder title. Also included is a folder of letters from Mrs. Frederick (Louise Anthony) Vanderbilt (1844-1926) to Olive Pell (1886-1980). It is unclear as to why these letters were in the possession of the Van Alens. This series is further divided into three subseries.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and contains published and unpublished articles, drafts, research notes, poems, music, and publishing related correspondence. This series is further divided within four subseries. The first subseries include clippings and notes from “Between the Lines,” the newspaper column co-written by the couple. The second subseries contains poems and music composed by James H. Van Alen, and correspondence concerning magazine articles. The third subseries concerns James H. Van Alen’s sequel to the Clement C. Moore poem, “The Night before Christmas” and the couple’s yearly reading of the poem and sequel at Moore’s summer residence in Newport, Rhode Island. The final subseries consists of Candace Van Alen’s articles published in Vogue, for the Women’s News Service, and various travel journals.
This series contains clippings from newspapers and magazines that document the activities and interests of the Van Alens. This series is divided within three subseries and all are arranged in alphabetical order by subject.
This series is arranged in chronological order and contains airline ticket stubs, trip notes, hotel bills, flight itineraries, clippings, postcards, receipts, and some photographs. Also included is some fan mail that resulted from Candace Van Alen’s Vogue article that documented a trip on a canal boat in Europe.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and further divided into two subseries. Found within this series are various lists, programs, clippings, and related correspondence concerning the various causes, clubs, and organizations the Van Alens were interested and involved in throughout their lifetimes. The Tennis subseries contains information on the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame, Court Tennis, and the United States Tennis Association
This series is arranged in alphabetical order and contains receipt books, maps, rules and regulations, and letters of inquiry for shoots hosted by the Van Alens.
This series, arranged in alphabetical order, consists of videocassettes, an audiocassette, and one damaged long playing record documenting the work of the Van Alens.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and includes miscellaneous photographs of the Van Alens.