Mary Simms Oliphant, whose books on South Carolina history were read by generations of schoolchildren, died Wednesday at age 97.
Mrs Simms was a member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, the first woman to recieve the Order of the Palmetto, and wrote 20 books on the state's history, including one used by middle-school students from the late 1930s until 1985.
Mrs Oliphant began her scholarly career in 1917 by revising her grandfather's history book, History of South Carolina, originally written in 1840, at the request of the state superintendent of education for use as a textbook. In 1932, Oliphant wrote an entirely new South Carolina history textbook. The Simms History of South Carolina went through 9 editions and was used by South Carolina junior high school students until 1985.She later wrote a reader to introduce third-grade children to their state. In 1948, Mrs Oliphant collaborated with her daughter, Mrs Alester G Furman [Mary Simms Oliphant Furman] to write South Carolina-From the Mountain to the Sea, a reader for third graders, in use until 1990.
"History is alive to me," she said during a 1981 interview. "I have tried to pass it on, and I've had a grand time doing it."
Mrs Oliphant's most ambitious project, and the one for which she is most widely known, was her work to collect, edit, and publish Simms's letters. The six-volume compilation of her grandfather's letters turned the heads of college professors and historians.
Her love of history was also displayed by her efforts to preserve historic buildings and historical documents. She succeeded in having her ancestral home, "Woodlands", designated as a National Historic Landmark and established the William Gilmore Simms Visiting Research Professor Award endowment to honor her grandfather. She acted as executrix and senior editor of the Simms library collected together at USC's South Caroliniana Library and Society.
Mrs Oliphant was born in Barwell in 1891, the daughter of Wiliam Gilmore Simms and Emma Hartzog. In 1917, she married Albert Drane Oliphat. The couple moved to Greenville in 1920 when Oliphant took a job as Southern editor of Textile World Magazine. At the tie of his death in 1935, he was Southern manager for McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Surviving are two sons, William Gilmore Simms Oliphant of Columbia and Albert Drane Oliphant, Jr, of Chester; a daughter, Mrs Mary C Simms Furman of Greenville; 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Her funeral was at Christ Church in Greenville.
Partly drawn from her obituary in The State, 5/20/1989, 8B
Mrs Simms was a member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, the first woman to recieve the Order of the Palmetto, and wrote 20 books on the state's history, including one used by middle-school students from the late 1930s until 1985.
Mrs Oliphant began her scholarly career in 1917 by revising her grandfather's history book, History of South Carolina, originally written in 1840, at the request of the state superintendent of education for use as a textbook. In 1932, Oliphant wrote an entirely new South Carolina history textbook. The Simms History of South Carolina went through 9 editions and was used by South Carolina junior high school students until 1985.She later wrote a reader to introduce third-grade children to their state. In 1948, Mrs Oliphant collaborated with her daughter, Mrs Alester G Furman [Mary Simms Oliphant Furman] to write South Carolina-From the Mountain to the Sea, a reader for third graders, in use until 1990.
"History is alive to me," she said during a 1981 interview. "I have tried to pass it on, and I've had a grand time doing it."
Mrs Oliphant's most ambitious project, and the one for which she is most widely known, was her work to collect, edit, and publish Simms's letters. The six-volume compilation of her grandfather's letters turned the heads of college professors and historians.
Her love of history was also displayed by her efforts to preserve historic buildings and historical documents. She succeeded in having her ancestral home, "Woodlands", designated as a National Historic Landmark and established the William Gilmore Simms Visiting Research Professor Award endowment to honor her grandfather. She acted as executrix and senior editor of the Simms library collected together at USC's South Caroliniana Library and Society.
Mrs Oliphant was born in Barwell in 1891, the daughter of Wiliam Gilmore Simms and Emma Hartzog. In 1917, she married Albert Drane Oliphat. The couple moved to Greenville in 1920 when Oliphant took a job as Southern editor of Textile World Magazine. At the tie of his death in 1935, he was Southern manager for McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Surviving are two sons, William Gilmore Simms Oliphant of Columbia and Albert Drane Oliphant, Jr, of Chester; a daughter, Mrs Mary C Simms Furman of Greenville; 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Her funeral was at Christ Church in Greenville.
Partly drawn from her obituary in The State, 5/20/1989, 8B
Mary Simms Oliphant, whose books on South Carolina history were read by generations of schoolchildren, died Wednesday at age 97.
Mrs Simms was a member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, the first woman to recieve the Order of the Palmetto, and wrote 20 books on the state's history, including one used by middle-school students from the late 1930s until 1985.
Mrs Oliphant began her scholarly career in 1917 by revising her grandfather's history book, History of South Carolina, originally written in 1840, at the request of the state superintendent of education for use as a textbook. In 1932, Oliphant wrote an entirely new South Carolina history textbook. The Simms History of South Carolina went through 9 editions and was used by South Carolina junior high school students until 1985.She later wrote a reader to introduce third-grade children to their state. In 1948, Mrs Oliphant collaborated with her daughter, Mrs Alester G Furman [Mary Simms Oliphant Furman] to write South Carolina-From the Mountain to the Sea, a reader for third graders, in use until 1990.
"History is alive to me," she said during a 1981 interview. "I have tried to pass it on, and I've had a grand time doing it."
Mrs Oliphant's most ambitious project, and the one for which she is most widely known, was her work to collect, edit, and publish Simms's letters. The six-volume compilation of her grandfather's letters turned the heads of college professors and historians.
Her love of history was also displayed by her efforts to preserve historic buildings and historical documents. She succeeded in having her ancestral home, "Woodlands", designated as a National Historic Landmark and established the William Gilmore Simms Visiting Research Professor Award endowment to honor her grandfather. She acted as executrix and senior editor of the Simms library collected together at USC's South Caroliniana Library and Society.
Mrs Oliphant was born in Barwell in 1891, the daughter of Wiliam Gilmore Simms and Emma Hartzog. In 1917, she married Albert Drane Oliphat. The couple moved to Greenville in 1920 when Oliphant took a job as Southern editor of Textile World Magazine. At the tie of his death in 1935, he was Southern manager for McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Surviving are two sons, William Gilmore Simms Oliphant of Columbia and Albert Drane Oliphant, Jr, of Chester; a daughter, Mrs Mary C Simms Furman of Greenville; 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Her funeral was at Christ Church in Greenville.
Partly drawn from her obituary in The State, 5/20/1989, 8B
Mrs Simms was a member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, the first woman to recieve the Order of the Palmetto, and wrote 20 books on the state's history, including one used by middle-school students from the late 1930s until 1985.
Mrs Oliphant began her scholarly career in 1917 by revising her grandfather's history book, History of South Carolina, originally written in 1840, at the request of the state superintendent of education for use as a textbook. In 1932, Oliphant wrote an entirely new South Carolina history textbook. The Simms History of South Carolina went through 9 editions and was used by South Carolina junior high school students until 1985.She later wrote a reader to introduce third-grade children to their state. In 1948, Mrs Oliphant collaborated with her daughter, Mrs Alester G Furman [Mary Simms Oliphant Furman] to write South Carolina-From the Mountain to the Sea, a reader for third graders, in use until 1990.
"History is alive to me," she said during a 1981 interview. "I have tried to pass it on, and I've had a grand time doing it."
Mrs Oliphant's most ambitious project, and the one for which she is most widely known, was her work to collect, edit, and publish Simms's letters. The six-volume compilation of her grandfather's letters turned the heads of college professors and historians.
Her love of history was also displayed by her efforts to preserve historic buildings and historical documents. She succeeded in having her ancestral home, "Woodlands", designated as a National Historic Landmark and established the William Gilmore Simms Visiting Research Professor Award endowment to honor her grandfather. She acted as executrix and senior editor of the Simms library collected together at USC's South Caroliniana Library and Society.
Mrs Oliphant was born in Barwell in 1891, the daughter of Wiliam Gilmore Simms and Emma Hartzog. In 1917, she married Albert Drane Oliphat. The couple moved to Greenville in 1920 when Oliphant took a job as Southern editor of Textile World Magazine. At the tie of his death in 1935, he was Southern manager for McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Surviving are two sons, William Gilmore Simms Oliphant of Columbia and Albert Drane Oliphant, Jr, of Chester; a daughter, Mrs Mary C Simms Furman of Greenville; 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Her funeral was at Christ Church in Greenville.
Partly drawn from her obituary in The State, 5/20/1989, 8B
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