J. D. Giddings Collection
- Title
- J. D. Giddings Collection
- Description
- Jabez Demming Giddings (J.D. Giddings), born in Pennsylvania, came to Texas in 1838 to claim his brother Giles’s land bounty after Giles’s 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. A Methodist, he became involved with a number of Methodist colleges whose charters were eventually inherited by Southwestern University. After his death in 1878, his family members would continue to support the endeavors of the university: his wife Ann funded the construction of Helping Hall, and their son-in-law Heber Stone served for fifteen years on the Board of Trustees. <br /><br />This small collection is almost exclusively correspondence from Texas Methodists to J.D. Giddings, with some to his son-in-law Heber Stone and a few items to and from other family members. The letters were donated to Southwestern University’s library by Wallace Giddings, a descendant of J.D. Giddings, in the Spring of 1996 with a few additional materials donated by Patricia Giddings, wife of Wallace Giddings. <br /><br />You can also find these items on the University of North Texas's <a title="Portal to Texas History" href="http://texashistory.unt.edu/" target="_blank">Portal to Texas History</a>.
- Source
- J.D. Giddings Collection, Special Collections, Smith Library Center, Southwestern University. You can view the finding aid <a href="http://www.southwestern.edu/infoservices/departments/specialcollections/finding-aids/Giddings.php" target="_blank">here</a>.
