Mary Chevillette Simms Oliphant (January 6, 1891 – July 27, 1988) was a

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. Mary Simms graduated from Columbia College for Women in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1916, the South Carolina state superintendent of education asked her to update the 1860 history of South Carolina written by her grandfather,

William Gilmore Simms William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was an American writer and politician from the American South who was a "staunch defender" of slavery. A poet, novelist, and historian, his ''History of South Carolina'' served as the defin ...

, for use as a junior high school textbook. The following year, shortly after her marriage to Albert Drane Oliphant (who died in 1935), she finished the book and it was adopted by the state Board of Education. In 1932, Oliphant wrote her own South Carolina history text, ''The Simms History of South Carolina'', which went through nine editions. Later, in collaboration with her daughter, Mary Simms Oliphant Furman (1918-2013), she produced a reader to introduce third-graders to South Carolina history. Oliphant wrote or edited twenty books, including her most ambitious project: collecting, editing, and publishing six volumes of her grandfather's letters. From 1927 until 1988, Oliphant owned the

Earle Town House Earle Town House is a historic house in Greenville, South Carolina. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 5, 1969, and is included in the Col. Elias Earle Historic District. Until the end of the 20th century, the ...

, a historic house in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

. She also succeeded in having her ancestral home, "Woodlands", in Bamberg County, designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Oliphant received honorary degrees from

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

and the University of South Carolina, was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1982, and was the first woman to receive the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significance ...

. Charles Thomas, a Greenville writer, called her "South Carolina's First Lady of Letters. She typified what we used to think of as a lady...she had a certain dignity that everybody recognized and respected."''Greenville News'', July 28, 1988, 1, 6.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliphant, Mary Simms 20th-century American historians American women historians Historians of South Carolina 1891 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American women writers