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West, Ruby Bishop, d.1984

 Person

Biographical Note

Ruby Bishop, Floyd County educator and local historian, was born near Falling Branch (Floyd County), Virginia, the only daughter of Wesley and Lydia Caldwell Bishop. When Bishop was still a child, the family moved to Floyd, where she graduated from Floyd Academy in 1920. (She later attended Radford College, obtaining a two-year degree in 1930, and a bachelor's degree in 1938.)

In 1920, Bishop was hired to teach in a one-room school in Floyd County's Little River District. In 1925, she began teaching seventh grade at Floyd County High School, a post she would retain until 1940, when she was appointed elementary supervisor of the county's schools. She also served for a time as administrative assistant to the county's superintendent for instruction and as acting superintendent of Floyd County schools. Bishop married Judge George D. West (born April 19, 1897) in 1957; she retired in 1967.

Ruby Bishop West maintained an interest in local history throughout her life; she organized Floyd County's sesquicentennial celebration in 1981. She joined the Methodist Church in 1915, and was an active member, serving at various times as teacher and church historian. She died on May 8, 1984 (her husband having died in 1975) and is buried in Jacksonville Cemetery, Floyd.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Ruby Bishop West Collection

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1986-002
Abstract

This is a collection of materials related to Floyd County, Virginia history, particularly--but not limited to--church and education history, as well as materials related to the county's general history and its sesquicentennial celebration in 1981. Also includes personal materials, consisting of school records and diplomas from Radford College, personal photographs and ephemera, and sheet music from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Dates: 1858 - 1981