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Diaries and literary papers, 1879-1932

Manuscript Collection 1108

• Information about Juletta Ashby Jordan
• Information about the Collection
• Contents of the Collection

Juletta Ashby Jordan (1855- ?) was a teacher, temperance advocate, and newspaperwoman in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.  Originally from Illinois, Juletta moved to the Vinita, Indian Territory, area in the late 1880s.  She married Claude D. Jordan on June 7, 1887 and the couple had two children, a girl who died shortly after birth and a son, John Bunyan Jordan (1889-1907).  Juletta left her husband in January 1890 and went to live with her mother and sister, "Said" Beck, who also lived in the Vinita area.  Shortly afterwards the Becks moved near Blackwell, Oklahoma Territory, where Juletta became active in the Women's Christian Temperance Union.  She moved to Phoenix, Arizona Territory in 1905 where she wrote for the Arizona Republic newspaper.  She was the author of A Student in Journalism Fifty Years Ago (Phoenix: Arizona Republican Print Shop, 1927).  "Said" Beck, the sister of Juletta Jordan,  was the widow of Addison Beck, a deputy United States Marshal who served the United States District Court, Western District of Arkansas under Judge Isaac Parker.  Beck was killed on September 27, 1883 while attempting to arrest two whiskey peddlers in the Indian Territory west of Fort Smith.  He was survived by his wife and two daughters, Emma and Addie.  "Said" continued to live with Addison's brothers, Ira and Larkin, when they moved to the Vinita area in the 1880s and taught school for a living.

The majority of the materials in this collection were created or collected by Juletta Ashby Jordan.  The collection has been arranged in series based on document type.  Series one contains diaries kept by Juletta Jordan, "Said" Beck, and Addison Beck.  Series two consists of letters written and received by Addison Beck, Juletta Jordan, and "Said" Beck.  The literary works in series three were almost entirely written by Juletta Jordan.  Series four, scrapbooks and scrapbook materials, includes an elocution notebook kept by Addie Beck, a teaching notebook probably kept by Juletta Jordan, printed emphemera, clippings, and two photographs of acquaintances in the Indian Territory.

The Juletta Ashby Jordan papers were donated to Special Collections by Mabel Hudson of Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 13, 1991.

Processed by Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in January 1991.

CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
.4 linear feet (one container)

Series 1.  Diaries and memoranda books, 1879-1904 (Folders 1-5)
Series 2.  Letters, 1882-1926 (Folder 6)
Series 3.  Literary works, ca. 1890-1930 (Folders 7-12)
Series 4.  Scrapbooks and scrapbook material, ca. 1890-1932 (Folders 13-18)

Series 1.  Diaries and memoranda books, 1879-1904 (Folders 1-5)

Diaries kept by Juletta Jordan, "Said" Beck and Addison Beck, arranged in chronological order.  The two volumes kept by Addison include travel notes and expenses incurred by him while serving as a deputy in Indian Territory, along with later notations made by his brothers, Ira and Larkin Beck, following Addison's death in 1883.  The women's diaries are contain a great deal of literary essays and random notes.

Box 1

 1. Diary, "Said" Beck, 1879
 2. Diary, Addison Beck, 1880-1881
 3. Diary, Addison Beck, April-August, 1881
 4. Diary, "Said" Beck, January 1889-August 1890
 5. Diary, Juletta Jordan, April 1889-November 1904

Series 2.  Letters, 1882-1926 (Folder 6)

One letter written by Addison Beck describing his work at Fort Smith; one letter received by Addison Beck from an informant in the Indian Territory; letters received by Juletta Jordan or Said Beck from friends and relatives in Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Box 1 (cont'd)
 6. Letters, 1882-1926

Series 3.  Literary works, ca. 1890-1930 (Folders 7-12)

Manuscript and printed obituaries, poetry, and fiction written by Juletta Ashby Jordan, arranged by literary type. Successive drafts of individual works have been fastened together within the folders.

Box 1 (cont'd)

 7. Obituaries
 8. Essays
 9. Poetry
 10. Poetry
 11. Fiction, "Jim"
 12. Fiction, untitled

Series 4.  Scrapbooks and scrapbook material, ca. 1890-1932 (Folders 13-18)

Elocution notebook kept by Addie Beck; school lesson book probably kept by Juletta Ashby Jordan; printed ephemera including patent medicine advertisements and church notices; newspaper clippings from the Arizona Republic and other papers which may have been articles written by Juletta Ashby Jordan; two photographs of Indian Territory acquaintances "Uncle Mack" (a prospector) and "Elsie" (a Tonkawa Indian).

Box 1 (cont'd)

 13. Addie Beck notebook
 14. Juletta Jordan notebook
 15. Printed emphemera
 16. Newspaper clippings
 17. Newspaper clippings
 18. Photographs