Biography/History:

Stanley Williamson Winn was born February 18, 1908, in Kansas, United States, to parents Harry (b. ca. 1877) and Hattie C. Winn (b. ca. 1881). In 1930 Winn was employed as an agent with the Power and Light Company and resided as a boarder in Jackson, Mississippi, in the home of Ross and Pearl Barnett. During this time, Ross Barnett was a practicing attorney. He would eventually become Mississippi's 53rd Governor. In 1940, Winn lived with his parents and was employed as a realtor. On June 6, 1942, Winn enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. Winn was discharged from the military with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on September 25, 1945. After returning from World War II, Winn worked as a department manager for Wortman and Mann Realtors. Wortman and Mann Realtors were responsible for developing several subdivisions in the Jackson-metro, area such as Coronet Subdivision (1955) located off of McDowell Road in south Jackson. By 1957, Winn was vice president of the company.

Winn became a congregant of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on April 14, 1935. His wife, Elizabeth Moody (b. September 13, 1909 - d. November 16, 1982) joined the church on December 5, 1948. Stanley Winn served as a member of the church's vestry (ca. 1960-1962). During this period, Winn was also a member of St. Andrew's Property Committee. In May 1962, Stanley Winn played a pivotal role in a controversy involving St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, wherein, the church's rector, the Reverend Edward Harrison, purportedly sent a telegram to the Reverend Robert Ingram of Houston, Texas. The telegram was viewed as being intimidating and threatening in nature by members of the Jackson Citizens' Council due to its criticism of Ingram's relationship with the Citizens' Council and his pending lecture describing the movement towards integration as being anti-Christian. Winn's comments to the local press noted that Reverend Harrison assured him that he was not responsible for sending the telegram. Moreover, Winn acknowledged that he along with others would work to track down the origin of the telegram. The Citizens' Council eventually concluded that the controversy was instigated by external actors hostile to the policies of the State of Mississippi. However, Harrison was ultimately replaced as rector a few months later.

Stanley Williamson Winn died on May 23, 1977. Winn was buried at Lakewood Memorial Park, Jackson, Mississippi.

Scope and Content:

The Winn (Stanley W.) and Family Papers predominantly consist of materials related to James Meredith's admission to the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, and the resulting campus disturbance. Among the contents are two brochures documenting the campus riot at the University of Mississippi on September 30, 1962. The brochure entitled, "The Oxford Disaster...Price of Defiance" by Representative Karl Wiesenburg, argues that the federal government was not responsible for the two lives lost or damage done to property during the Ole Miss Riot of 1962, but the defiance of some state leaders, especially Governor Ross Barnett. The pamphlet, "Oxford; A Warning for Americans" published by the Mississippi State Junior Chamber of Commerce provides an opposing view to the disturbance by arguing that the federal response was an invasion and occupation of the State of Mississippi and an infringement upon the state's rights. Of additional note is a December 5, 1962, letter from John C. Satterfield's secretary, Mary Dunaway, to Stanley Winn acknowledging receipt of Winn's November 30th letter requesting a copy of Satterfield's speech to the Rotary Club, entitled "Government by Intimidation." A typescript copy of the speech is attached to Dunaway's letter. Of additional note is an August 18, 1966, general correspondence from Eudora Welty to Elizabeth Winn expressing her thanks for a book gifted by Elizabeth Winn.

Series Identification:

1. Series 1: Correspondence. 1962; 1966

2. Series 2: Brochures. 1962.

   Box 1, folders 1-4
   Box 2, restricted (a photocopy reproduction of Eudora Welty's letter to Elizabeth Winn is found in Box 1).