Stella B. Newsome Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a pageant written by Mrs. Stella B. Newsome and performed for the celebration of the centennial of Newton County, Mississippi in 1936. The pageant is divided in tableaus, each of which represents a significant part of the county's history.
In telling the story of Newton County, Mrs. Newsome was influenced by Greek mythology, the writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the prevailing ideology of the time. For instance, the play purports that:
The Greek gods created Newton County solely for the purpose of the white man.
In the antebellum South, everyone was better off, even the "happy-go-lucky slaves."
In the Reconstruction period, the Ku Klux Klan was the savior of the South (from the Negroes and the carpetbaggers).
The play includes a list of all the Confederate companies from Newton County that served in the Civil War and a list of the judges and District Attorneys that served in Newton County up until 1936. Also, there is a list of the early churches of the county.
This pageant presents a picturesque view of the history of Newton County, and includes the contributions of early settlers and Native Americans, as well. The pageant would be of interest to the historian of Newton County and the historian of social perspectives of the American South in the 1930s.
Dates
- 1936
Creator
- Newsome, Stella B. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Noncirculating; available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).
Biographical / Historical
Stella B. Newsome was born in Columbia, Mississippi and graduated from Columbia High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) in Columbus, Mississippi in 1900 and earned her Master's degree from the University of Mississippi. She also received an honorary Doctor of Literature and Letters from Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina.
Mrs. Newsome was one of the two original faculty members of East Central Community College, in Decatur, Mississippi, in 1928. She was head of the department of English and taught English, literature, history, and speech. She remained on the faculty until 1958.
Before teaching at East Central Community College, Mrs. Newsome taught at Jones Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi.
Extent
1 Folders (1 item)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Written for the Newton County (Mississippi) Centennial.
Provenance
Items Donated by Ovid S. Vickers in February 1967.
- Drama. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Education, Higher -- Mississippi. Subject Source: Local sources
- Educators. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ku Klux Klan (1915- ). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mississippi -- History -- 19th century. Subject Source: Local sources
- Newton County (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Stella B. Newsome Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345
