Amanda Julia Estill

Amanda Julia Estill
Estill (1904)
Born	(1882-10-27)October 27, 1882 Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Died	July 1, 1965(1965-07-01) (aged 82) Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Burial place	Der Stadt Friedhof Cemetery
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Educator, writer, folklorist

Amanda Julia Estill (1882 – 1965), also known simply as Julia Estill, was an American educator, writer, and folklorist.

Biography

Amanda Julia Estill was born on October 27, 1882, in Fredericksburg, Texas, to parents Ellen Elizabeth (née Wiley) and James Thomas.[1][2] She received a B.S. degree (1904) and an M.S. degree (1905) from the University of Texas at Austin.[1]

After graduation she taught at Fredericksburg schools, including Fredericksburg High School and also served as a principal.[1][3] In 1909, Estill had been an active member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy at the Fredericksburg, Texas chapter.[4]

Estill was a member and former president (1923 to 1924) of the Texas Folklore Society, the Texas branch of the American Folklore Society (AFS).[1][5] She published for the Texas Folklore Society and for the San Antonio newspapers,[6] for more than 20 years. Estill was one of the first members of the Texas Folklore Society to publish information regarding Native American culture in Gillespie County in the article "Indian Pictographs Near Lange's Mill, Gillespie County (Illustrated)" (1925).[1] Tribes living in Gillespie County included the Tonkawa, Comanche, Kiowa, and Lipan Apache peoples.[7] Her writing had negative characterizations of Native Americans while simultaneously historicizing the white people in the story; this is a negative attribute often seen in the folklore genre.[8] In 1954, she gathered information on the local German-originated folk games that were played locally and published the article "Children's Games in Fredericksburg" (1954).[9]

She died on July 1, 1965, in Fredericksburg and is buried in Der Stadt Friedhof Cemetery.[10]

Publications

• Estill, Julia (1925). "Indian Pictographs Near Lange's Mill, Gillespie County (Illustrated)". In Dobie, J. Frank (ed.). Happy Hunting Ground. Wilson M. Hudson (contributions), L. W. Payne, Jr. (contributions), W. A. Whatley (contributions), F. S. Curtis, Jr. (contributions), J. Frank Dobie (contributions), John K. Strecker (contributions), Roy S. Scott (contributions), Hartman Dignowity (contributions), A. R. McTee (contributions), Malbone W. Graham, Jr. (contributions), Victor J. Smith (contributions), Mody C. Boatright (contributions), L. W. Payne, Jr. (contributions), John A. Lomax (contributions) (IV ed.). Dallas, TX: The Texas Folklore Society. ISBN 0-87074-149-7.

References

1. Mueller, Esther L. "Estill, Amanda Julia". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Retrieved 2022-06-21.
2. Webb, Walter Prescott; Branda, Eldon Stephen (1952). The Handbook of Texas. Texas State Historical Association. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-87611-027-0.
3. University of Texas Record. Vol. 10. University of Texas. 1910. p. 387.
4. Proceedings of the ... Annual Convention of the Texas Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. United Daughters of the Confederacy Texas Division. 1909. p. 91.
5. Abernethy, Francis Edward; Satterwhite, Carolyn Fiedler (1992). Texas Folklore Society: 1909-1943. University of North Texas Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-929398-42-6.
6. Grider, Sylvia Ann; Rodenberger, Lou Halsell (1997). Texas Women Writers: A Tradition of Their Own. Texas A&M University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-89096-765-2.
7. Kohout, Martin Donnell. "Gillespie County, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
8. Jordan, Rosan A.; de Caro, F. A. (1986). "Women and the Study of Folklore". Signs. 11 (3): 500–518. doi:10.1086/494253. ISSN 0097-9740. JSTOR 3174007. S2CID 145423306.
9. Abernethy, Francis Edward (1997). Texas Toys and Games. University of North Texas Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-57441-037-2.
10. "Der Stadt Friedhof Cemetery-Fredericksburg, Texas". Collectors Weekly. 2016. Retrieved 2022-06-21.