Item Detail
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Stewart, Ora Fern Pate
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1910-1990
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MSS SC 2734
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Manuscript
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Ora Fern Pate Stewart was born on 23 August 1910 in Bates, Idaho to Ezra Greenwood Pate and Ada Rosella Sharp Pate. She was the sixth youngest of 11 children, her siblings being: Joseph Leon, Melvin Ezra, Ada Rosella, Ann, Sylvester Arthur, Vernal Ruth, an unnamed baby boy, John Jackson, Ruby Pearl, Mary Elizabeth, Irene, Alma Jacob, and Evelyn June.
On 13 October 1935 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ora married Robert Wilson Stewart, Sr. From the beginning of their marriage, Ora was told by doctors that she should not have children, or it could damage her health. Despite the odds stacked against her, she had 6 children: Sharon Lynn, Robert Wilson, Jr., Janet Ruth, Allen Paul, David Grant, and Glenda, who did not survive birth.
She spent much of her married life moving around the country, as her husband was in the Military. She spent time in Michigan, Ohio, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, and more.
Ora was a prolific writer and composer, having written 29 books, including Gleanings, Branches Over the Wall, and Pages from the Book of Eve, and over 200 musical scores. She was also named the poet laureate by the World Congress of Poetry. When Cecil B. deMille was directing The Ten Commandments, Ora worked as a Biblical technical adviser, drawing on her love of genealogy and history. In her life, Ora received honors from several US presidents, as well as 7 honorary doctorate degrees from various universities and institutions.
She died of heart failure on 10 February 1990 in Salt Lake City, Utah. -
This collection contains 2 folders. The first folder contains a small, paperback book bound with a shoelace and numbering 162 typescript pages. The book is entitled, I Talk About my Children. There is also a note that reads, illustrations by the author, though there is nothing beyond the occasional stylistic header throughout the manuscript. The book is dedicated to five little boys and girls, with a short foreword that reads, I didnt write this book. I only copied it down. -O.P.S.
The book begins with an account of a doctor in Michigan telling her that she should not be having a baby. By this time, however, she was already pregnant. Disliking the doctors bedside manner and quality of care, Ora went to Washington, DC to have her child there. Her husband, stationed in Ohio at the time, came to join her for the birth.
The remainder of the book contains mostly snippets, quotes, or vignettes of life as a mother of 5 children. Everything from stories about the days her children were born to the day Janet Ruth became separated from the rest of the family on a trip to the zoo, only for Janet, upon being reunited, to say she thought she had lost them. With each new addition to the family, the snapshots of familial love and childhood antics increase.
The second folder in the collection contains a 3-page typescript photocopy, dated 30 December 1986 and titled with a note that reads, The following materials were received from Ora Pate Stewart on the above date. Following is a list, divided into categories for music, books authored by her, and books in which she is mentioned. The document is signed by Dennis Rowley, Curator of Archives and Manuscripts.
Additionally, there are 83 pages of photocopies of entries about Ora Pate Stewart in various books, directories, and almanacs. These range from the 1970s to the 1980s.