SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
& Hilton M. Briggs Library Special Collections

 
 


Beryl Stewart Papers
 

Administrative Information | Search Terms | Background Note | Scope and Contents Note | Arrangement | PDF of Finding Aid
 

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Title:     Beryl Stewart Papers

Dates:     1923-1981 (bulk 1947-1960)

Creator:     Beryl Stewart

Physical Description:     27.44 linear feet—21 containers

Collection number:     MA 14

Language:     Collection material in English.

Repository:     South Dakota State University Archives, Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Abstract:     Manuscripts and published works of Beryl Stewart as well as material she collected and scrapbooks she created throughout her career.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: Jean Walz donated this collection to Briggs Library in 1988. It was transferred to the Archives in 1997.

Access Restrictions: This collection is open to research without restriction.

This collection is housed at an off-site facility.  Requests to view this material must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

Copyright Status: Copyright 2007 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives. Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this finding aid.

It is the responsibility of anyone reproducing material to determine the copyright holders and obtain permission from them if necessary. Archives staff will provide available copyright information on request. Please note that most collections, especially those received before 1997, may not have complete information on file. (Revised 15 SEP 2003)

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item]. Beryl Stewart Papers, MA 14, South Dakota State University Archives, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S. D.

Processing Information: This collection was processed by Crystal J. Gamradt on July 7, 1998.

SELECTED SEARCH TERMS

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the subject guide. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Names:

  • Stewart, Beryl DeHaven.

  • Walz, Jean.

 Subjects:

  • Poetry.

  • Poets, American—South Dakota.

  • South Dakota Board of Education.

BACKGROUND NOTE

Rhea Beryl DeHaven Stewart was born on September 2, 1899 in Linden, Iowa, to Albert and Eva DeHaven.  The first years of Beryl's life were spent in Iowa, after which she homesteaded with her parents near Capa, South Dakota in 1907.  In 1915, she and her family moved to Wessington, SD, which remained her home for most of her life.

In the fall of 1915, Beryl started teaching when she was drafted from high school to teach a group of 26 pupils in a rural school.  In 1926, she completed her high school work at Northern States Teachers' college in Aberdeen, SD.  She later took a teacher's course there and she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education.  She was a student assistant in various departments while she attended college.  She was a member of Kappa Delta Phi and Pi Kappa Delta, national societies, Beaux Arts Club and the Pasque Board.  She also participated in forensics, dramatics and stagecraft activities.

In 1927, she accepted a position at Roosevelt Junior High in Aberdeen, SD.  In the spring of that year, she took over the English and artwork in the new Simmons Junior High School.  In 1930, she was made Director of the English Department at Central High School in Aberdeen.  She taught English and dramatic courses and was adviser to the Drama Club and Word Craft, a publication initiated by Stewart and produced by students of the high school.

In 1932, Beryl was granted a Master of Arts degree from the State University of Iowa.  Her major field of study was English literature.

On January 24, 1943, she married Chase David Stewart.  She gave up her career as a teacher to become a farm homemaker.  They resided near Wessington, SD.

Beryl Stewart was a long time contributor of poetry and prose to many publications.  She was a member of the South Dakota Press Women and the National League of American Pen Women, serving the latter as state president.  Her writings were awarded prizes in national competitions, poetry magazines and in South Dakota State Fair Literature contests.  Her name appears in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in South Dakota and International Who's Who in Poetry.

Although Mrs. Stewart left her career as a teacher to become a farm homemaker, she retained her interest in education by serving on the South Dakota Board of Education from 1947 to 1959.  She was also a member of President Eisenhower's Conference on Education in 1955.  After her husband's death in February 1960, Mrs. Stewart returned to teaching English at Sioux Falls College.

Beryl DeHaven Stewart died on September 20, 1961.

SCOPE and CONTENTS NOTE

This collection is composed of manuscripts and published works of Beryl Stewart as well as material she collected and scrapbooks she created throughout her career.

The Collected works are composed of clippings about Stewart from newspapers, a book in which her name is mentioned, and several issues of Word Craft, a publication from Aberdeen Central High School to which Stewart was an adviser.

The Correspondence covers the years from 1923 to 1942, and includes reference letters and letters from publishers.

The Manuscripts are composed of essays, poems and short stories that Stewart wrote.  Also included are works that Stewart entered in the South Dakota State Fair literature contests, some of which contain criticisms of her work and ribbons awarded.  Many of these are included in the scrapbooks. 

The Published works are composed essays, poems and short stories that Stewart published in several literary and rural publications.

The Scrapbooks are composed of scrapbooks that include correspondence and clippings from publication to which Beryl Stewart submitted her writings.

 

ARRANGEMENT of the RECORDS

The collection is arranged into five series: Collected works, correspondence, manuscripts, published works, and scrapbooks.

Folders are arranged in alphabetical order within each series. The scrapbooks are arranged in chronological order.

SERIES 1:      Collected works

Box 1.

Folder

Description

Dates

1

International Who's Who in Poetry, vol. 2

1958

2

Language Arts Course of Study for SD High Schools - Bulletin 8B/8D : 10th & 12th year

1947

3

The Mirror

1933-1934

4

Newspaper clippings

1960, 1981, [n.d.]

5

Word Craft

1937 January

6

Word Craft

1941 January, December

7

Word Craft

1942 December

8

Word Craft

1944 April

9

Word Craft

1949 May

SERIES 2:      Correspondence

Box 1.

Folder

Description

Dates

10

Correspondence

1923-1942

SERIES 3:      Manuscripts

Box 1.

Folder

Description

Dates

11

Booklet - Wild Plum

[n.d.]

12

English Course of Study

1939 September

13

Essays

[n.d.]

14

Poems

1960, [n.d.]

Box 2.

Folder

Description

Dates

1

Short stories

1960, [n.d.]

2

State Fair Ribbons

1960

3

Thesis

1932 August

SERIES 4:      Published works

Box 2.

Folder

Description

Dates

4

The American Bard

1960 October-December

5

The Archer

1951-1953

6

Blue Moon

1952, 1954-1956

7

Candor

1956 January

8

The Christian Science Monitor

1953-1955, 1957-1960

9

The Country Poet

1951-1952

10

The English Journal

1936 June

11

Epos

1950 Summer-Fall

12

The Farmer

1950, 1952-1954, 1956, 1962

13

Florida Magazine of Verse

1951-1952

14

From Sea to Sea in Song

1954

15

Ideals

1951-1952, 1954, 1956, 1961

16

The Improvement ERA

1954, 1956, 1961

17

Kaleidograph

1950-1951

18

Midwest Chaporrol

[n.d.]

19

The Muse

1958-1959

20

New Athenaeum

1950 Summer

21

New Verse Magazine

1950-1951

22

Palmetto Voices

1951

23

Paramount Collector-Hobbyist

1946-1947

24

Pasque Petals

1949-1950, 1958-1959

25

The Pen Woman

1955 June

26

Prairie Winds

1952 Winter

27

Reflections

1954 Summer

28

SDEA Journal

1955-1956

29

Seydell Quarterly

1956, 1960

30

The Sioux City Journal

1955, 1960

31

Stanza

1949 Summer-Fall

32

Unknown

[n.d.]

SERIES 5:      Scrapbooks

Box 3-21.

Box

Dates

4

1947-1957

5

1947-1959

6

1947-1960

7

1950-1953

8

1951-1957

9

1951-1959

10

1951-1959

11

1952-1955

12

1952-1959

13

1953-1956

14

1953-1959

15

1953-1960

16

1954-1959

17

1954-1960

18

1955-1959

19

1957-1960

20

1959

21

[n.d.]

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Updated 23 June 2008 by cjg

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Copyright 2007 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives.
Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this page.