Z 2235.000 F
STEWART (JANE HYDE WEST) MANUSCRIPTS


Biography/History:

Jane Hyde West was born around 1918. She was residing with her mother Mary West Weilenman, stepfather John W. Weilenman, and sisters Frances (b. ca. 1913) and Virginia (b. ca. 1915) in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in 1930. Jane Hyde West married Issac Dudley Stewart, son of Issac Dudley and Annabel McIntosh Stewart of Fayette, Jefferson County, Mississippi. The Stewarts had two children: Issac Dudley and John West. The family resided in Fayette where Isaac Dudley Stewart was a planter, cattleman, and partner in the Farmers’ Gin and Supply Company. Jane Stewart was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and served as regent of the James Rex Whitney Chapter. She was also active in the Jefferson County Historical Society and the Fayette Garden Club. Stewart was still living in July 1994.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of three typewritten manuscripts, one of which is a photocopy, by Jane Hyde West Stewart of Fayette, Jefferson County, Mississippi. Stewart may have presented these papers at meetings of the Jefferson County Historical Society in the mid-1960s.

The October 1964 typescript is entitled “A History of Old Greenville, Jefferson County, Mississippi,” and is twelve pages in length and includes a bibliography. Stewart provides a historical overview of the town, which was also the first county seat. She begins with the formation of Jefferson County, then Pickering County, in 1799. Stewart then discusses the founding of the town of Greenville, now referred to as Old Greenville, in 1803. She traces the history of the town until its demise in 1825, shortly after the county court house was burned by an angry mob. Stewart concludes by mentioning what happened to some of the tracts of land upon which the extinct town was located. At the time Stewart wrote the paper, her husband and sister-in-law apparently owned property in the Old Greenville area.

The 1965 typescript (photocopy) is entitled “Gardening in Jefferson County, Mississippi, from Territorial Days to To-Day.” Stewart identifies various types of plants found in Jefferson County. She also discusses the planning and landscaping of the Fayette town square, including the Confederate monument erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1904. Stewart offers a brief history of the Flower Club, the first garden club in Jefferson County, which was organized in 1913. Stewart also mentions the beautification activities of local organizations such as the James Rex Whitney Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Fayette Garden Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Jefferson Council of Garden Clubs.

The circa 1966 typescript (annotated) is entitled “Fayette Female Academy” and is eight pages in length and includes footnotes. Stewart recounts the history of the school, from its organization as a women’s academy in 1827, to its eventual purchase by the county and name change to Jefferson County High School in 1898. Stewart concludes by discussing the expansion of the old high school and the construction of the new Jefferson County High School in 1958.

Series Identification:

  1. Manuscripts. 1964-ca. 1966. 1 folder.