MARY JANE FERRIS STEARNS
Wife of : William Forbes Stearns
William Stearns was the University Of MISSISSIPPI School Of Law first Professor who
instituted the "MOOT COURT" at the University in the mid 19th Century.
The university hired William Forbes Stearns as its sole law professor. A native of Vermont, Stearns
had moved to Pontotoc by the age of 19 and later established a successful law practice in Holly Springs, a self-taught lawyer, Stearns delivered
the keynote speech when the cornerstone of the university's hallmark building, the Lyceum, was laid in 1846, eight years
before the law school's creation.
Oil
on Canvas, relined
Period oval frame
Unsigned
