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J. D. Giddings Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-0045

Scope and Contents

This small collection is almost exclusively correspondence from Texas Methodists to J.D. Giddings with some to his son-in-law, Heber Stone along with a few items to and from other family members. The correspondence regards the financial struggles of Soule University, fundraising and issuing stock for Texas University Company, the founding of Southwestern University, Southwestern business and financial matters, and family members and their activities. The letters were donated to Southwestern University’s library by Wallace Giddings, a descendent of J.D. Giddings, in the Spring of 1996 with a few additional materials donated by Patricia Giddings, wife of Wallace Giddings. There appear to be no letters from 1873-1875.

SEE ALSO: SpecColl 976.42 G362, Giddings’ in the news from 1854; SpecColl 976.092 G361 v.1 & v.2, Letters and information on Jabez Deming Giddings and Family.

Dates

  • 1871 - 1905

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Southwestern University Distinctive Collections and Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from SU Distinctive Collections and Archives before any publication use. Distinctive Collections does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Biographical / Historical

Jabez Demming Giddings (J.D. Giddings), born in Pennsylvania, came to Texas in 1838 to claim his brother Giles’ land bounty after Giles’ death at the Battle of San Jacinto. After initially teaching school, Giddings became a lawyer and wealthy entrepreneur in Brenham, becoming one of the state’s wealthiest men. He and a brother founded one of the state’s earliest banks and he became a stockholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Texas Central Railway. Giddings joined the Somervell expedition against Mexico and also served in the Confederacy during the Civil War. The town of Giddings, Texas, was named after him.

A Methodist, Giddings met Texas Methodist pioneer Martin Ruter before Ruter’s death in 1838, and Giddings lived briefly in the Rutersville community named after Ruter. The earliest institution of higher education in Texas, Rutersville College was founded in 1840 as a result of Ruter’s activities, and Giddings would go on to be associated with several Methodist colleges whose charters – including Rutersville College’s - were eventually inherited by Southwestern University. For a time, Gidding’s pastor in Brenham was Francis A. Mood, the first regent of Southwestern. Giddings financially supported F.A. Mood as a stockholder in the Texas University Company that would become Southwestern and was one of the original Board of Trustees. After J.D. Giddings death in 1878, his wife Ann continued to support the endeavors of Mood in the building of Southwestern by creating Helping Hall which was later renamed Giddings Hall in her honor. Four years after Ann’s donation, the Board of Trustees recommended her son-in-law, Heber Stone, for a position on the Board. Stone was approved to serve as a Trustee and he served 15 years.

Sources: William B. Jones, To Survive and Excel: The Story of Southwestern University 1840-2000and the online Handbook of Texas (accessed Nov. 4, 2014).

Extent

0 Linear Feet : 3 Folders

Language of Materials

English

Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the SU Special Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
1001 East University Avenue
Georgetown TX 78626 United States