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school commencements were initiated, and a teacher-training department was added. Patterson's commitment to thoroughness as well as her "forceful" and "vivacious" personality helped her establish the school's strong intellectual standards. In 1884, the administrators of the school decided however that a school of such size would be better headed by a male principal. Patterson was forced to step down for the second time. She continued to teach at the High School until her death. Neither
Patterson nor her sisters ever married.
192:
157:
Mary Jane
Patterson was the oldest of Henry Patterson and Emeline (or Emmeline) Eliza (Taylor) Patterson's children. There is conflicting data on how many siblings she had, but most sources cite between seven and ten. Henry Patterson worked as a bricklayer and plasterer. Although some accounts relate
295:
In
Terrell's words, "She was a woman with a strong, forceful personality, and showed tremendous power for good in establishing high intellectual standards in the public schools. Thoroughness was one of Miss Patterson's most striking characteristics as a teacher. She was a quick, alert, vivacious and
162:
in 1852, he was in fact freeborn. Having bought his enslaved intended wife, Emeline, he petitioned to emancipate her in 1838 and again, successfully, in 1840. The couple waited to have children until after
Emeline was freed, in 1840 or 1841. Their eldest child, Mary Jane Patterson, was born in 1844.
174:
In 1857, Patterson took a one year preparatory course at
Oberlin. She did not follow that up with the usual academically less challenging two year course for ladies at Oberlin. She elected instead to follow a degree course including modules on Greek, Latin, and higher mathematics, a course designed
291:
Patterson died at her
Washington, D.C. home, September 24, 1894. She is recognized as a pioneer in Black education, paving the way for other Black female educators and leaders such as Fanny Jackson Coppin, Mary Church Terrell and Anna Julia Cooper. Her life was spent giving young African Americans
250:
When
Greener left after one year, Patterson was reappointed as principal and served from 1873 to 1884. During her administration, she was mentor to many Black women educators and the school flourished. It grew from fewer than 50 students to 172, the name "Preparatory High School" was dropped, high
212:
at a school for Black children. On
October 7, 1864, E. H. Fairchild, principal of Oberlin College's preparatory department from 1853 to 1869, wrote recommending her for an "appointment from the American missionary Association as a ... teacher among freedmen." In this letter he described her as "a
1093:
179:
graduated twelve years before
Patterson but was not enrolled in a program offering the equivalent degree. Four of the Patterson children graduated from Oberlin College and all four became teachers. Henry Patterson, who as a child was friends with future US president
965:
239:. Dunbar was the first public high school for African Americans in the USA. Patterson served as the school's first Black principal, from 1871 to 1872. She was demoted and served as assistant principal under
213:
light quadroon, a graduate of this college, a superior scholar, a good singer, a faithful
Christian, and a genteel lady. She had success in teaching and is worthy of the highest ... you pay to ladies."
33:
188:
in Oberlin. For many years the family boarded large numbers of Black students in their home. The Patterson extended family also owned a grocery in Oberlin called Patterson's Corner.
563:
263:
said she "co-operated heartily in sustaining the Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored People in this city and other Kindred organizations." Patterson also worked in 1892 with
296:
indefatigable worker." In 2019, a scholarship was established in Patterson's name as part of the California State University, Long Beach, Teachers for Urban Schools project.
1267:
Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.(W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research and Oxford University Press, 2013)
1305:
163:
Thus, despite some accounts stating that the family were runaway slaves, they were in fact free when they moved north from Raleigh, North Carolina, to settle in
137:. She first taught at the Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth. She then went on to teach at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, known today as
125:(September 12, 1844 – September 24, 1894) was an American educator born to a previously enslaved mother. She is notable because she is claimed to be the first
145:. She became its first Black principal. She was a lifelong advocate for Black education, helping to found the Colored Woman's League which later became the
259:
Patterson was a humanitarian and active in many organizations. She devoted time and money to Black institutions in Washington, D.C. Her obituary in the
292:
the same educational chances that she had been granted at Oberlin College. Her old home is on the route of Washington, D.C.'s historic walking tour.
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had graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor's degree three years after Patterson, Patterson became an assistant to Coppin in 1865 at the
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1300:
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Education Resource Strategies. https://www. k12blueprint. com/sites/default/files/ERS-frequent-growth-oriented-feedback-At-dcps. pdf
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138:
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275:, and others, all supporters of the education and development of Black people at a local and national level, to form the
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438:
283:. The league focused on kindergarten teacher training, rescue work, and classes for industrial schools and homemaking.
228:
1092:
Jones, Tamara Bertrand; Dawkins, LeKita Scott; Glover, Melanie Hayden; McClinton, Marguerite M., eds. (July 3, 2023).
881:
626:
1280:
904:
984:
648:"Mary Jane Patterson, first black woman to be granted a bachelor's degree in the U.S. (Oberlin College, 1862)"
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of Washington D.C., which was committed to the "racial uplift" of colored women. The league later became the
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for 'gentlemen'. Mary Jane Patterson was the first African-American woman to achieve a BA degree;
149:. A humanitarian, Patterson also devoted time and money to Black institutions in Washington, D.C.
583:"How the Daughter of a Slave Became the First African-American Woman to Earn a Bachelor's Degree"
56:
1218:
Rosenberg, David, and Tara Anderson. "Frequent, growth-oriented feedback at DC public schools."
1153:
244:
1290:
1285:
1071:
Henle, Ellen; Merrill, Marlene (Spring 1979). "Antebellum Black Coeds at Oberlin College".
948:
Henle, Ellen; Merrill, Marlene (Spring 1979). "Antebellum Black Coeds at Oberlin College".
868:
http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/mary-jane-patterson-pioneering-educator-born
217:
8:
394:
264:
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469:"Looking to Foremothers for Strength: A Brief Biography of the Colored Woman's League"
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1128:"19th-century Women's Antislavery Activism in the Lake Erie Borderlands (Tour)"
268:
185:
181:
866:"Mary Jane Patterson, Pioneering Educator Born" African American Registry.<
1274:
1008:
924:
853:
492:
164:
985:"The Impact of the "Cult of True Womanhood" on the Education of Black Women"
391:
First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School
168:
111:
1103:
671:
The Papers of Andrew Johnson(Knoxville, Tennessee, 1976) vol.4, pp 537-538
243:
who was the first Black Harvard University graduate and was the father of
410:
Forgotten African American Firsts: An Encyclopedia of Pioneering History
1194:"Mary Jane Patterson Scholars | California State University Long Beach"
1179:
1127:
32:
1095:
Pathways to Higher Education Administration for African American Women
324:
North Carolina Architects & Builders: A Bibliographical Dictionary
1171:
712:
Black women in the ivory tower, 1850 - 1954: an intellectual history
714:(1. paperback ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
235:, at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, known today as
823:
Bobo, Jacqueline; Hudley, Cynthia; Michel, Claudine, eds. (2004).
1024:
Too heavy a load: Black women in defense of themselves, 1894-1994
106:
133:. In 1862, she completed the four-year 'gentlemen's course' at
1091:
1244:
We Are Your Sisters: Black Women in the Nineteenth Century
320:"Patterson, Henry J. (1805-1886) and John E. (1804-1880)"
208:. On September 21, 1864, she applied for a position in
1154:"History of the High School for Negroes in Washington"
683:"Black History Month: Remembering Mary Jane Patterson"
537:"Black History Month: Remembering Mary Jane Patterson"
204:
After graduation, Patterson was listed as teaching in
609:
Black excellence -- the case of Dunbar High School,"
1053:. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.
374:Watson, Terri; McClellan, Patrice (June 30, 2020).
1272:
822:
373:
1306:African-American college graduates before 1865
1263:Baumann, Roland M. 'Patterson, Mary Jane.' in
734:Smith, Jessie Carney. "Mary Jane Patterson."
1070:
947:
918:
775:"Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (1870- )"
510:"Historical profile of Mary Jane Patterson"
439:"Historical profile of Mary Jane Patterson"
152:
31:
580:
376:Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education
231:). In 1869 to 1871, Patterson taught in
190:
1321:19th-century African-American educators
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982:
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388:
216:Although the African American educator
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624:
600:
466:
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317:
1316:19th-century American women educators
1021:
793:
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709:
705:
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681:Brown, Stacy M. (February 15, 2017).
680:
576:
574:
535:Brown, Stacy M. (February 15, 2017).
534:
281:National Association of Colored Women
147:National Association of Colored Women
1265:African American National Biography.
1237:Notable Black American Women, Book 1
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344:
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1311:19th-century African-American women
1301:People from Raleigh, North Carolina
627:"Mary Jane Patterson (1840-1894) •"
286:
13:
1229:
1152:Terrell, Mary Church (July 1917).
1001:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1983.tb00152.x
983:Perkins, Linda M. (October 1983).
880:Garner, Carla (December 3, 2010).
799:"Patterson, Mary Jane (1840–1894)"
788:
700:
625:Garner, Carla (December 3, 2010).
571:
229:Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
199:
14:
1332:
1026:(1. ed.). New York: Norton.
882:"Mary Jane Patterson (1840-1894)"
773:Rixon, Karla (December 7, 2010).
499:
467:Brooks, Robin (August 18, 2018).
457:
426:
337:
306:
254:
972:. September 25, 1894. p. 7.
581:Blakemore, Erin (May 23, 2017).
158:that he gained his freedom from
1296:19th-century American educators
1260:(New York: Prentice Hall, 1994)
1253:(New York: Vantage Press, 1965)
1212:
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1145:
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905:Evening Star (Washington, D.C.)
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516:. February 28, 2005. p. 12
445:. February 28, 2005. p. 12
1246:(New York: W. W. Norton, 1984)
1239:(Detroit: Gale Research, 1992)
749:"Oberlin Heritage Center Blog"
528:
401:
382:
367:
1:
753:www.oberlinheritagecenter.org
738:, Book 1. Gale Research 1992.
564:The Gazette, (Raleigh, N.C.)
485:10.1080/00497878.2018.1492407
299:
16:American educator (1840–1894)
1251:The Dunbar Story (1870-1955)
1159:The Journal of Negro History
1022:White, Deborah Gray (1999).
710:Evans, Stephanie Y. (2008).
7:
919:Weatherford, Doris (1994).
225:Institute for Colored Youth
195:Her home in Washington D.C.
10:
1337:
1235:Jessie Carney Smith, ed.,
951:Women's Studies Quarterly
923:(1st ed.). New York:
850:The Dunbar Story 1870-1955
378:. Oxford University Press.
318:Bishir, Catherine (2018).
1258:American Women's History.
1074:Women's Studies Quarterly
1047:Hutchinson, Louise Daniel
966:"Death of Miss Patterson"
177:Lucy Stanton Day Sessions
99:
86:
64:
42:
30:
23:
989:Journal of Social Issues
921:American Women's History
825:The Black studies reader
652:ohio5.contentdm.oclc.org
561:"Old Times in Raleigh".
241:Richard Theodore Greener
153:Early life and education
1098:. New York: Routledge.
827:. New York: Routledge.
687:The Washington Informer
541:The Washington Informer
57:Raleigh, North Carolina
1281:Oberlin College alumni
1051:A Voice From the South
277:Colored Woman's League
196:
1249:Mary Gibson Hundley,
1104:10.4324/9781003446293
908:. September 25, 1894.
408:Ostrom, Hans (2023).
350:"Mary Jane Patterson"
273:Josephine Beall Bruce
245:Belle da Costa Greene
194:
1256:Weatherford, Doris.
218:Fanny Jackson Coppin
848:Hundley, M (1965).
736:Notable Black Women
613:, Spring 1974, p.7.
611:The Public Interest
567:. October 10, 1891.
395:Lawrence Hill Books
389:Stewart, A (2013).
265:Mary Church Terrell
129:woman to receive a
123:Mary Jane Patterson
25:Mary Jane Patterson
1242:Dorothy Sterling,
1200:. November 6, 2019
1049:. Anna J. Cooper:
237:Dunbar High School
197:
139:Dunbar High School
75:September 24, 1894
53:September 12, 1844
1113:978-1-003-44629-3
1059:978-0-87474-528-3
1033:978-0-393-31992-7
934:978-0-671-85009-8
834:978-0-415-94553-0
721:978-0-8130-3268-9
514:Dayton Daily News
443:Dayton Daily News
419:978-1-4408-7535-9
269:Anna Julia Cooper
210:Norfolk, Virginia
206:Chillicothe, Ohio
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37:Patterson in 1862
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127:African-American
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995:(3): 17–28.
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323:
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261:Evening Star
260:
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186:master mason
173:
169:abolitionist
156:
122:
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18:
1291:1894 deaths
1286:1840 births
354:oberlin.edu
100:Occupations
1275:Categories
300:References
131:B.A degree
71:1894-09-24
49:1844-09-12
1009:0022-4537
493:0049-7878
329:August 2,
112:Principal
632:April 1,
1222:(2017).
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