Z 0902.000 Leftwich (George Jabez) Papers

George Jabez Leftwich, born in Blacksburg, Virginia, September 18, 1859, died in Aberdeen, December 1935, was descended from pre-Revolutionary settlers in Virginia. Leftwich was an educator, writer, active Methodist layman, state Senator, member of the Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History, attorney, and member of the Mississippi Historical Society and contributor to its publications.

The collection is made up of letters written by Leftwich to his mother and stepfather, Mary Leftwich and Henry R. Burger, Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia. One of the letters is addressed to "Brother Frank," and one letter to the Burger family is written by Mrs. Leftwich. The correspondence begins when Leftwich was attending the National Normal University and Business Institute, Lebanon, Ohio, where he received the B.A. degree in 1882. Eight letters from Lebanon, Ohio, cover the period September 19, 1880–June 28, 1882.

After finishing school, Leftwich became teacher-principal of a high school in Grayville, Illinois. Seven letters were written during the period August 11, 1882–June 9, 1883, with one dated December 26, 1882, from Chicago, Illinois, where Leftwich had gone for the Christmas holidays. One letter written August 22, 1883, from Selma, Alabama, while Leftwich was enroute to Carthage where he became teacher-principal of the high school, serving from 1883 until 1888. One of the letters during this period was written from the University of Virginia on July 28, 1885, where Leftwich was enrolled in the summer law class, and a catalogue of students of the class is included in the collection.

In 1888, Leftwich went to Aberdeen where he engaged in the practice of law, having been admitted to the bar in 1886, under the firm names of Gilleylen & Leftwich, and later as Leftwich & Tubb. The letters from Aberdeen, fourteen in number, range from December 16, 1888, through December 9, 1903. The letters deal mostly with family matters, the difficult times, and Leftwich's great interest in the welfare of his mother and the young members of the family. One item of special interest is the letter, April 27, 1890, telling of the meeting held in Aberdeen by Sam Jones, noted evangelist of that period.

Six children were born to Leftwich and his wife, who was Martha Elgenia Groom, of Kentucky.