˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
SOURCES USED
“A Jesse Stuart Chronology,” in Jerry A. Herndon and George Brosi,
Jesse Stuart: The Man & His Books, Ashland, Kentucky: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1988.
“A Jesse Stuart Chronology” in Jesse Stuart, Split Cherry Tree,
Ashland, Kentucky: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1990
James M. Gifford and Erwin R. Kazee, Jesse Stuart: An Extraordinary Life,
Ashland, Kentucky: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2010
Above used with permission of Jim M. Gifford, CEO and Senior Editor,
Jesse Stuart Foundation, Ashland, Kentucky
˜˜˜˜
“Chronology of Jesse Hilton Stuart” in Hensley C. Woodridge,
Jess and Jane Stuart: A Bibliography, Murray State University Press, Murray, Kentucky, 1979.
“Stuart’s Talents Harvest Bountiful Rewards,”
Herald Dispatch, February 19, 1984.
1902
Marriage of Martha Hilton(1882-1951) and Mitchell “Mitch’ Stuart (1880-1954)t, Greenup
County, Kentucky.
1906
August 8: Birth of Jesse Hilton Stuart, the second child of Mitchell and Martha Hilton Stuart’s
seven children, in a one-room log cabin in Cedar Ripples, Greenup County, Kentucky. His
sibling were: Sophia (1903-1897); Herbert Lee (1909-1914); Mary (1912-2002); James (19151992); Martin Vernon (1918-1918); and Glennis (1921-2002).
1912
Began the first grade at Plum Grove School in Greenup County. Teacher was Calvin Clarke.
1917
Family moved to the first property they had ever owned—a fifty acre farm in W-Hollow
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
1921
Took his first regular job for wages in the summer, laying concrete streets in Greenup, Kentucky.
In the fall help build the family cabin in W-Hollow.
1922
Summer worked again laying concrete in Greenup County, Kentucky.
Academic year 1922-23 entered Greenup High School as a Freshman
1923
Summer made the first of two trips to Camp (now Fort) Knox to attend the Citizens Military
Training Corps.
Academic year 1923-1924 was a Sophomore at Greenup High School, where he was
influence by English teacher, Mrs. R. E. Hatton.
1924
Between his Junior and Senior year, taught at Cane Creek Elementary School, Greenup County.
Described as Lonesome valley in The Thread that Runs So True.
Academic year 1924-1925 was a Junior at Greenup High School.
1925
Academic year 1925 was a Senior at Greenup High, where he graduated in May 1926; the first of
his family to graduate from high school
1926
Summer was the second trip to Camp (now Fort) Knox to attend the Citizens Military Training
Corps.
Academic year 1926-1927, enrolled as a Freshman at Lincoln Memorial University at
Harrogate, Tennessee, near Cumberland Gap.
1927
Attended Summer School at Lincoln Memorial University. Began publishing poems in a variety
of small magazines.
Academic year 1927-1928, was a Sophomore at Lincoln Memorial University.
1928
Attended Summer School at Lincoln Memorial University and worked for American Rolling
Mills, Ashland, Kentucky;
Academic year 1928-1929, was a Junior/ Senior at Lincoln Memorial University.
1929
Graduated in August 1929 (3 academic years and 2 summers) with a Bachelor of Arts from
Lincoln Memorial University.
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
1929-1930
Employed as the Teacher/Principal at Warnock High School in Greenup County. Described at
Winston High School in The Thread that Runs So True.
1930
Summer did graduate work at Peabody College, Nashville, Tennessee. Published his first book,
Harvest of Youth, a collection of poems, at his own expense; later burned nearly all the copies.
1930-1931
Served as Principal of Greenup High School, only four years after his own graduation from the
school.
1931-1932
Did graduate work at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In eleven days wrote a 332
manuscript as a class assignment for Dr. Edwin Mims, which was published in 1938 as Beyond
the Dark Hills. Working towards a Master of Arts wrote a thesis on John Fox, Jr. Only copy of
his thesis was burned in a fire and he did not have the funds to continue graduate school.
1932-1933
Served as Superintendent of Schools for Greenup County. At the age of 26, he was the youngest
superintendent in the state of Kentucky.
1933
Finished writing Man With a Bull-Tongued Plow. Began to attracted national attention with the
publication of his poems in such respected magazine as The American Mercury and The Virginia
Quarterly Review.
Began writing a weekly column, “Fragments from Nothing” for The Greenup News. The
column ran until 1935.
1933-1937
Served as Principal of McKell High School at South Shore, Kentucky, in Greenup County.
1934
Published a short story, “Kentucky Hill Dance,” in The New Republic, the first story published in
a major national magazine.
Received Jeanette Sewall Davis Poetry Prize.
Man with a Bull-Tongue Plow nominated for a Pulitzer in Poetry.
1934
Man with a Bull-Tongue Plow, published t by the E. P. Dutton Company of New York City and
remarkably well received by critics and the public alike. This book established Stuart’s reputation
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
as a serious poet.
1935
Story magazine published the first short story Stuart wrote, “Battle Keaton Dies,” in its July 1935
issue.
1936
Published Head o’ W-Hollow, his first collection of short stories.
1936
Published his first short story in, Esquire. Eventually 56 of his stories would appear in this
magazine.
1937-1938
Received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for creative travel, garnering an award for
$2000. Traveled in 28 countries in Europe for 14 months
1938
Published Beyond Dark Hills, his autobiographical work,.
1938-1939 Taught Remedial English at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, Ohio, across
the Ohio River from Greenup County.
1939
October 14: Married Naomi Deane Norris. They had been classmates in high school.
1939-1940
Began his career as a public speaker, making appearances in the Midwest and on both coasts.
1940
His first novel published, Trees of Heaven, which he wrote in 72 days. In November moved to
the farm in W-Hollow, where the would live the rest of their lives.
1941 - 1942
Served as Superintendent, Greenup City Schools, Greenup, Kentucky.
1941
Men of the Mountains, second book of short stories, published. Received the Academy of Arts
and Sciences Award of $500 for the book
1942
August 20: Jessica Jane, the Stuart’s only child, born.
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
1942-1944 Served as Superintendent of the Greenup City Schools.
1943
Taps for Private Tussie, published which has old more copies than any of his other books. It was
a Book-of-the-Month Club selection and received the Thomas Jefferson Southern Award as the
finest Southern book of that year. Movie rights were sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $50,000,
but the film was never made.
1944
Joined the United States Navy as an Apprentice Seaman, with the Rank of Lieutenant, J.G.
Served in the Writers Unit of the Bureau of Aeronatuics, Washington, D.C.
Received his first of sixteen honorary degrees, Doctor of Literature from the University of
Kentucky.
Published Album of Destiny, on which he had worked for eleven years.
1945
Last day of the year discharged from the United States Navy.
1946
Man With A Bull-Tongue Plow selected as one of the 100 Best Books in America and one of the
1,000 Great Books of the World.
Published Foretaste of Glory, one of his most respected novels, and Tales from the Plum
Grove Hills, one of his best-loved collections of short stories.
1949
The Thread That Runs So True selected as the best book in 1949 by the National Education
Association; called “the best book on education written in the last fifty years.” The original
publisher, Charles Scribner’s, keeps the book in print to meet a steady demand. Based on his
experiences as a teacher in Greenup County’s one-room schools and as County School
Superintendent and high school Principal.
1950
Received Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree—Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate,
Tennessee.
Published Hie to the Hunters, with a new publisher, McGraw-Hill of New York City, who
during his lifetime issued 29 of his books.
1951
May 11: Death of Jesse’s Stuart’s mother, Martha Hilton Stuart. Buried on Mother's Day at
Plum Grove Cemetery, Greenup County, Kentucky.
Received the American Freedom Award, American Freedom Foundation, Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania.
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
1952
Published the last of his E.P. Dutton books, the eleventh, Kentucky Is My Land, a collection of
poetry.
Received Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio.
Tabs for Private Tussie selected as one of the Masterpieces of World Literature.
1953
Published The Beatinest Boy, his first junior book.
Published The Beatinest Boy, his first juvenile book. Morehead State University, Morehead,
Kentucky.
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
1954
Received Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Designated a life-time Poet Laureate of Kentucky by the Kentucky State Legislature.
Published A Penny’s Worth of Character, his best-known children’s book.
October 8: Suffered a severe heart attack at Murray State College in Murray, Kentucky. Spent
forty-eight days in the hospital before being allowed to return home to W-Hollow.
December 23: Death of Mitchell “Mitch” Stuart, who was buried in Plum Grove Cemetery,
Greenup County, Kentucky, by his wife. Jesse Stuart was so ill that he was not allowed to attend
the funeral.
1955
October 15: Governor Lawrence Wetherby declared this day, “Jesse Stuart Day,” and a bust of
Stuart was placed on the grounds of the Greenup County Courthouse.
Received Berea College Centennial Award for Literature, Berea, Kentucky
1956-1957
Served for the second time as Principal of McKell High School. He had been Principal there
from 1933-37. This year is portrayed in his novel, Mr. Gallion’s School.
1956
Published The Year of My Rebirth, an account of his convalescence after his 1954 heart attack,
selected as one of the best 100 books printed in 1956.
1957
Awarded Lyric Magazine’s prize for poetry.
1958
Honored as the featured guest on the popular network TV show, “This is Your Life.”
Taught for the summer in the Graduate College of Education the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Thread that Runs So True adapted to a three act play by Reginald Lawrence for the
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Dramatic Publishing Company.
September 1958 issue of American Book Collector devoted to Jesse Stuart.
1959
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Morris Harvey College, Charleston,
West Virginia.
E. P. Dutton, Publishers, called Man With A Bull- Tongue Plow “a landmark in American
literature.” Delivered first annual Burns Lecture, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
Featured speaker with fellow Kentuckian Robert Penn Warren for the Vanderbilt Literary
Symposium, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
1960
In March “Jesse Stuart Day,” held at University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Published God's Oddling, a biography of Mitchell “Mitch” Stuart, his father.
Deposited the bulk of his papers and manuscripts at Forrest C. Pogue Special Collections
Murray State University. Dedication of the Jesse Stuart Rooms, Murray State University, Murray,
Kentucky.
Hensley C. Woodbridge’s Jesse Stuart: A Bibliography, published—the first full-scale
attempt at a bibliography of his work.
1960-61
Visiting lecturer and teacher at the American University, Cairo, Egypt.
1961
Received the $5,000 Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets, in recognition of his poetic
achievement.
1962
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Marshall University, Huntington, West
Virginia.
1962-1963
September to February (seven months tour) World Lecture Tour sponsored by the United States
Information Service of the U.S. State Department. Visted Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Iran, West
Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Taiwan and Korea, making 372 appearances . Jesse Stuart
has said that this is one of the most important events of his life.
1963 Published A Jesse Stuart Reader, designed for use in the secondary schools.
August 20: Celebrated the wedding of his daughter, Jessica Jane Stuart, to Julian
Juergensmeyer.
1964
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Northern Michigan University,
Marquette, Michigan.
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Eastern Kentucky University,
Richmond, Kentucky
Served as Chairman of the Kentucky Heart Association Fund Drive.
Co-edited Outlooks Through Literature, a textbook which the Scott, Foresman Publishing
Company has kept continuously in print.
1965
Published Daughter of the Legend, his only novel set in Tennessee, the state where he attended
college and graduate school.
1966
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
Dedicated the Jesse Stuart High School, Valley Station, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
May 1966 issue of American Book Collector devoted to Jesse Stuart..
1966-1968
Served as an “Author in Residence” at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky, for
two academic years.
Dedication of Jesse Stuart High School, Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky.
1967
Awarded The Pilgrim Medal, Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio.
July 21: Birth of Conrad Stuart Bagner Juergensmeyer, his first
grandchild.
Dave and Phyllis Brandenburg begun publication of W-Hollow Harvest, which was issued
tens time a year between 1967 and 1968.
Eve Blair’s Jesse Stuart: His Life and Works and Lee Pennington’s The Dark Hills of Jesse
Stuart published.
1968
Received an Honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree from Murray State University, Murray,
Kentucky
Ruel E. Foster’s Jesse published.
1969
Toured southern Europe and the African continent.
Received an Honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree from Pfeiffer College, Misenheimer, North
Carolina.
Second revised and expanded edition of Hensley C. Woodbridge’s Jesse and Jane Stuart: A
Bibliography, published.
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
1969-75 Taught at summer creative writing workshops named in his honor
and held at Murray State University.
1970
November 5: Birth of Erik Markstrom Norris Juergensmeyer, his second grandchild.
1971
Published Come to My Tomorrowland, the eighth and last of his children’s books to be published
during his lifetime.
1972
Dedication of the Jesse Stuart Lodge at Greenbo Lake State Park in Greenup County, Kentucky.
1973
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Morehead State University, Morehead,
Kentucky.
1974
Honored by the Kentucky Education Association with the presentation of The Thread That Runs
So True before an audience of 2,500 teachers. This marked the 50th anniversary of his first
experience in the classroom.
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from University of Louisville, Louisville,
Kentucky.
1975
Received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
Establishment of the Jesse Stuart Fellowship, a $3,600 annual award, Murray State
University, Murray, Kentucky. The Fellowship is now $4,500.
The World of Jesse Stuart nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.
November 18: Marshall University honors Jesse Stuart with a “Jesse Stuart Day ” in
commemoration of the library acquiring a collection of his first edition books. Later Stuart gave
duplicate copies of all his magazine and journal publications to the University Library.
1976
Publication of The Seasons of Jesse Stuart: An Autobiography in Poetry, the eighth and last
volume of poetry to be published during his lifetime.
1977
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature from Transylvania University, Lexington,
Kentucky.
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˜ CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF JESSE HILTON STUART ˜
Kentucky Governor Wendell Ford proclaimed August 8, 1977, “Jesse Stuart Day.”
Bill Curry’s A Price Guide to Values of First Editions, Selected Reprints and Special
Editions of Books Written by Jesse Stuart, 1930-1976, published.
Jack London Newsletter, May-August 1977 issue dedicated to Stuart on his seventieth
birthday.
1978
Suffered a disabling stroke which paralyzed his left side and kept him essentially bedridden
throughout the rest of his life.
Published Dandelion on the Acropolis: A Journal of Greece, based on the journal he kept
during his tour of Greece in 1962.
1979
Published The Kingdom Within: A Spiritual Autobiography, the last novel to be published
during his lifetime.
Published Lost Sandstones And Lonely Skies And Other Essays.
Established the Jesse Stuart Foundation to administer his literary estate.
J. R. LeMaster’s Jesse Stuart: A Reference Guide, published.
Third revised and expanded edition of Hensley C. Woodbridge’s Jesse and Jane Stuart: A
Bibliography, published.
1980
Published If I Were Seventeen Again and Other Essays, the last book he was actively involved in
preparing for publication.
The Stuart’s deeded their 730-acre farm in W-Hollow, less their home place and 13 acres, to
the Commonwealth of Kentucky as part of the Kentucky Nature Preserves System. It is called the
Jesse Stuart Nature Preserve.
1981
The first book to be published by The Jesse Stuart Foundation, Land of The Honey-Colored
Wind, a collection of stories and poems intended for use in secondary and middle schools.
Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. Traveled to W-Hollow and presented Stuart with the
Governor’s Distinguished Service Medallion.
1982
Rendered comatose by another stroke; he never regained conscientiousness. He was discharged
from the hospital to the Jo-Lin Health Care Center in Ironton, Ohio.
Publication of The Best-Loved Short Stories of Jesse Stuart, selected and edited by Harold E.
Richardson with an introduction by Robert Penn Warren. This was the 17th collection of Stuart
short stories and the last book to be published during his lifetime. Stuart did not see it published
because of his comatose condition.
The Stuart’s home in W-Hollow placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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1983
The Jesse Stuart Collection: A Register of the Manuscripts and Related Materials in the
Forrest C. Pogue Library, Special Collections, Murray State University, published.
1984
February 17: Stuart’s life ends at the Jo-Lin Health Care Center in Ironton, Ohio.
H. Edward Richardson’s biography, Jesse: The Biography of an American Writer-Jesse
Hilton Stuart, published.
1986
Passages: A Jesse Stuart 80th Birthday Celebration. A statewide observance which included 17
major activities in four states.
Publication of Songs Of A Mountain Plowman, poems originally written in the years
1929-1931.
Dedication of the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge, crossing the Ohio River north of Greenup.
1988
Cradle Of The Copperheads—a companion volume to The Thread That Runs So True,
published. Last manuscript prepared before Jesse Stuart’s death.
Jerry A. Herndon and George Brosi’s Jesse Stuart: The Man & His Books, published.
1989
Posthumous awarded The Milner Award from the Kentucky Arts Commission.
2003
New Harvest: The Forgotten Stories of Jesse Stuart, the 18th book of collected short stories,
published by the Jesse Stuart Foundation.
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