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.

ARRANGEMENT of the RECORDS

The collection is arranged into five series.

SERIES I:       Collected Works, 1933-1981

This series is 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. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 1.

  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 II:     Correspondence, 1923-1942

This series covers the years from 1923 to 1942, and includes reference letters and letters from publishers.

Box 1.

  1. Correspondence, 1923-1942

SERIES III:     Manuscripts, 1932-1960

This series is 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.  Folders are arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 1.

  1. Booklet--Wild Plum, [n.d.]

  2. English Course of Study, 1939 September

  3. Essays, 1960, [n.d.]

  4. Poems, 1960, [n.d]

Box 2.

  1. Short Stories, 1960, [n.d.]

  2. State Fair Ribbons, 1960

  3. Thesis, 1932 August

SERIES IV:      Published works, 1936-1962

This series is composed essays, poems and short stories that Stewart published in several literary and rural publications. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 2.

  1. The American Bard, 1960 October-December

  2. The Archer, 1951-1953

  3. Blue Moon, 1952, 1954-1956

  4. Candor, 1956 January

  5. The Christian Science Monitor, 1953-1955, 1957-1960

  6. The Country Poet, 1951-1952

  7. The English Journal, 1936 June

  8. Epos, 1950 Summer-Fall

  9. The Farmer, 1950, 1953-1954, 1956, 1962

  10. Florida Magazine of Verse, 1951-1952

  11. From Sea To Sea In Song, 1954

  12. Ideals, 1951-1952, 1954, 1956, 1961

  13. The Improvement ERA, 1954, 1956, 1961

  14. Kaleidograph, 1950-1951

  15. Midwest Chaporrol, [n.d.]

  16. The Muse, 1958-1959

  17. New Athenaeum, 1950 Summer

  18. New Verse Magazine, 1950-1951

  19. Palmetto Voices, 1951

  20. Paramount Collector-Hobbyist, 1946-1947

  21. Pasque Petals, 1949-1950, 1958-1959

  22. The Pen Woman, 1955 June

  23. Prairie Wings, 1952 Winter

  24. Reflections, 1954 Summer

  25. SDEA Journal, 1955-1956

  26. Seydell Quarterly, 1956, 1960

  27. The Sioux City Journal, 1955, 1960

  28. Stanza, 1949 Summer-Fall

  29. Unknown, [n.d.]

SERIES V:     Scrapbooks, 1946-1960

This series is composed of scrapbooks that include correspondence and clippings from publication to which Beryl Stewart submitted her writings. The scrapbooks are arranged in chronological order.

Box 3.           1946-1959

Box 4.           1947-1957

Box 5.           1947-1959

Box 6.           1947-1960

Box 7.           1950-1953

Box 8.           1951-1957

Box 9.           1951-1959

Box 10.         1951-1959

Box 11.         1952-1955

Box 12          1952-1959

Box 13.         1953-1956

Box 14.         1953-1959

Box 15.         1953-1960

Box 16.         1954-1959

Box 17.         1954-1960

Box 18.         1955-1959

Box 19.         1957-1960

Box 20.         1959

Box 21.         [n.d.]

Top

 

Updated 23 June 2008 by cjg

Email questions or comments to: arcrefs@sdstate.edu

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