A Stirling Education: The Education of an Antebellum Louisiana Family

• In Event: 46.085 - Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 46.085-21 - Biographical and Documentary Research in Education

Abstract

The current narrative of the history of education in Louisiana tells a tale of low prioritization and neglect. Does poor performance and lack of concern tell the whole story? Archival evidence from the Stirling (Lewis and Family) Papers and the Turnbull-Allain Family Papers in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) was examined using textual analysis and phenomenological methods to develop a historiography case study showing the value placed on education by one Antebellum Louisiana family. While not used for generalization to broader populations, historiography studies such as this allow previously unheard voices to provide counter-narratives that add texture and complexity to our understanding of historical themes.

Author

• Seth Eisworth, Louisiana State University