MISSISSIPPI PROVENANCE ~ STEARNS FAMILY HISTORY This table belonged to: 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. Image above shows the unusual small scale of this piece

Image showing drawer construction Image showing oxidized underside of drawer Image showing back of drawer Image showing molded top edge of the front & side of drawer Image showing case with top removed Image showing dovetail joint at top of case/front with top removed