Beverly Jane Slabaugh Porter was born on January 8, 1917 in Salt Lake City, Utah and attended the University of Utah during the 1930s. The Beverly Jane Porter Papers (1936-2010) consist primarily of correspondence from Porter living in South Africa to family in the United States. Most of the letters are addressed to Porter's parents. The earliest letters are from New York in 1936. From 1939 through 1955, she writes from Northern Rhodesia now Zambia; Durban, South Africa; and Johannesburg, South Africa. In these lengthy letters, Porter provides family updates regarding their health and studies, social life, and also her husband's work as a metallurgist recovering uranium. The correspondence also includes letters, telegrams, postcards, and photostatic copies via Airgraph.