Gaston: Those literary Govans

"The Mystery at Moccasin Bend" was among the novels Christine Noble Govan and daughter Emmy Payne Govan West co-authored featuring children living on Lookout Mountain who called themselves the Lookouts,

In Chattanooga the name "Govan" is synonymous with "books." Gilbert and Christine Noble Govan, patriarch and matriarch of the clan, lived on Lookout Mountain.

Christine Noble, the daughter of Stephen Edward and Mary Helen Quintard Noble, was born in New York City on Dec. 12, 1898. After attending the University of Chattanooga, she worked for the Carnegie Library, taught school, and reviewed books for the Chattanooga papers. Between 1934 and 1967 she authored books under her own name and the pseudonyms Mary Allerton and J.N. Darby.

In 1918 she married Gilbert Eaton Govan. Her husband was born in Atlanta in 1892 and studied at Georgia Tech before becoming a bookseller in Chattanooga from 1918 to 1934. He was book review editor of The Chattanooga Times beginning in 1931. From 1934 to 1962 he was director of the library at the University of Chattanooga. With James W. Livinggood he co-authored "The Chattanooga Country: From Tomahawks to TVA 1540-1951." He and his wife had three children, Emmy Payne (Govan) West (1920-2001), Mary Quintard Govan Steele (1922-1992), and James Fauntleroy Govan (1926-2004). Gilbert Govan died in 1978 and Christine Govan died in 1985.

Christine Noble Govan and daughter Emmy Payne Govan West co-authored a Lookout Mystery Series featuring children living on Lookout Mountain who called themselves the Lookouts. They wrote another 25 novels, as well as anthologies, short stories and a series on the Plummer children, in the genre of children's fiction. They used local settings for "The Mystery at Moccasin Bend" (Govan, 1957), "The Mystery at Plum Nelly" (Govan & West, 1959), and "The Mystery at Rock City" (Govan, 1960), to name a few.

In 1944 Emmy outdid them all when she wrote "Katy No-Pocket" under the name of Emmy Payne. The book, illustrated by H.A. Rey, is still in print and available in seven languages. A graduate of GPS and UTC, Emmy actively volunteered in the community. Emmy was survived by a son, Dr. G. Norman West, and a daughter, Helen Grady, as well as her brother.

Her sister, Mary, also graduated from the University of Chattanooga. She wrote more than 20 books for children and adults, sometimes using the pen name of Wilson Gage. She married William O. Steele, a native of Franklin, Tennessee. He was a successful juvenile author specializing in historical fiction. His subjects ran from well-known figures like Daniel Boone to Dr. Henry Woodward, the first British colonist of colonial South Carolina.

Mary Q. Steele's first book was "The Secret of the Indian Mound" (1958). Her awards included American Library Association awards, Junior Literary Guild selections, a Newberry Honor Book award for Journey Outside, and a Lewis Carroll Shelf award. She also wrote the Mrs. Gaddy books, "Squash Pie" and "Cully Cully and the Bear." In "The Living Year: An Almanac for My Survivors" (1972), one of her few books for adults, she explained that she "did not intend to become a writer, but was born one, waking up in the morning to sort the day into scenes and characters and descriptions. How can I convey to anyone else the magic and the marvel of it, the vast astonishment of being alive? I'm not sure I can, but I intend to go on trying." She wrote some of her more than 20 books under the pen name of Wilson Gage.

Mary's husband (William Owen Steele) developed an early interest in pioneer history. He wrote 39 historical adventure books. The Steele home was on Signal Mountain, the setting for "The Perilous Road," winner of the Newbery Honor Award in 1959. His book "Winter Danger" earned the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1962. The couple had three children - Mary Quintard Steele, called Polly; Jenifer Susan Steele, and Allerton W. Steele.

The son of Christine and Gilbert Govan became a distinguished librarian. Dr. James F. Govan, who died in 2004 at the age of 78, graduated from the University of the South before receiving a master's degree in library science from Emory and a doctorate in history from Johns Hopkins University. As head librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he managed three major construction projects and spearheaded the creation of the Triangle Research collections at UNC, Duke, and North Carolina State University. He left a wife, Ann Bright Govan; four children and six grandchildren to carry on the family legacy.

Govan family papers are preserved at the UTC library for future researchers.

Kay Baker Gaston, a former Chattanooga, is a regional historian. For more, visit chattahistoricalassoc.org.