Helen Howard Stevens and Sarah Martha Robinson Stevens Letters
Scope and Contents
Collection of 115 manuscript letters by or relating to Helen Howard Stevens and her daughter Sarah Martha "Dixie" Robinson Stevens in Kalispell, Montana, 1902-1939.
Early letters, 1902-1912, document the courtship of Helen Stevens and Jess Hayes Stevens, their domestic and family life, and the childhoods of Dixie Stevens and John Howard Stevens. They also include Helen Howard Stevens' experiences as a teacher and Jess Stevens' work as a lawyer, as well as the former's observations of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Letters also relate to Helen Stevens' death from typhoid and the family's subsequent bereavement. Jess Stevens' comments on African Americans, Chinese laborers, and indigenous peoples in Montana appear multiple times in the letters.
Later letters, 1924-1937, document Dixie Stevens' relationships with friends and family, as well as her membership to the Order of the Eastern Star.
The collection also includes newspaper clippings, a photograph of the steamboat Klondike on Flathead Lake, Montana, and other papers relating to the Masonic Temple in Kalispell.
Dates
- 1902-1939
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Helen Howard Stevens and Sarah Martha Robinson Stevens Letters is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from McBride Rare books on the William Robertson Coe Fund No. 3, 2022.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Extent
0.63 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Collection of 115 manuscript letters by or relating to Helen Howard Stevens and her daughter Sarah Martha "Dixie" Robinson Stevens in Kalispell, Montana, 1902-1939.
Early letters, 1902-1912, document the courtship of Helen Stevens and Jess Hayes Stevens, their domestic and family life, and the childhoods of Dixie Stevens and John Howard Stevens. They also include Helen Howard Stevens' experiences as a teacher and Jess Stevens' work as a lawyer, as well as the former's observations of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Letters also relate to Helen Stevens' death from typhoid and the family's subsequent bereavement. Jess Stevens' comments on African Americans, Chinese laborers, and indigenous peoples in Montana appear multiple times in the letters.
Later letters, 1924-1937, document Dixie Stevens' relationships with friends and family, as well as her membership to the Order of the Eastern Star.
The collection also includes newspaper clippings, a photograph of the steamboat Klondike on Flathead Lake, Montana, and other papers relating to the Masonic Temple in Kalispell.
Biographical / Historical
Helen Howard Stevens (1878-1912) was born in Barnett, Georgia, to Colonel George Washington Howard (1846-1925) and Sarah "Sallie" M. Robinson Howard (1855-1886). She attended Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Georgia, and from 1905 to 1906, she was a schoolteacher in Kalispell, Montana.
In 1907, she married Jess Hayes Stevens (1877-1939), an attorney in Kalispell, and they had two children: Sarah Martha "Dixie" Robinson Stevens (1907-1993) and John Howard Stevens (1910-1928).
Helen Stevens died at Kalispell in 1912 from typhoid fever.
Dixie Stevens died in 1993 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
- African Americans -- Montana
- Bereavement
- Chinese -- Montana
- Chinese Americans -- Montana
- Courtship
- Families -- Montana
- Flathead Indian Reservation (Mont.)
- Flathead Lake (Mont.) -- Pictorial works
- Freemasonry -- Montana
- Indians of North America -- Montana
- Kalispell (Mont.)
- Lawyers -- Montana
- Montana -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
- Order of the Eastern Star
- Photographs
- Race relations
- Salish Indians -- Montana
- Stevens family
- Stevens, Jess Hayes, 1877-1939
- Stevens, John Howard, 1910-1928
- Teachers -- Montana
- Teachers -- Montana -- 20th century
- Typhoid fever -- Montana
- Women -- West (U.S.)
- Women and freemasonry -- Montana
Source
- McBride Rare Books (Bookseller)
- Title
- Guide to the Helen Howard Stevens and Sarah Martha Robinson Stevens Letters
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Lerner
- Date
- February 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.