Martha Schofield Papers RG5.134 FHL Staff
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Martha Schofield Papers RG5.134 FHL staff. Last updated on May 21, 2021. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Martha Schofield Papers Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 5 Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................6 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 6 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 7 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................7 Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 9 Series 1. Biographical and genealogical materials..................................................................................9 Series 2. Correspondence...................................................................................................................... 13 Series 3. Writings, manuscript and printed.........................................................................................334 Series 4. Financial and Legal Papers.................................................................................................. 347 Series 5. Schofield Normal and Industrial School..............................................................................351 Series 6. Memorabilia, undated...........................................................................................................356 Series 7. Clippings...............................................................................................................................356 Series 8. Photographs.......................................................................................................................... 358 - Page 2 - Martha Schofield Papers Summary Information Repository Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Creator Schofield, Martha Creator Schofield, Martha Creator American League for Peace and Democracy Creator American League against War and Fascism Creator American Peace Society Creator Christian Arbitration and Peace Society Creator Schofield Normal and Industrial School (Aiken, S.C.) Title Martha Schofield Papers Call number RG5.134 Date [inclusive] 1853-1944 (bulk 1856-1916) Extent 3.75 linear feet (8 boxes) Location For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog Language English . Abstract Martha Schofield (1839-1916) was a Hicksite Quaker teacher from Pennsylvania who founded the Schofield Normal and Industrial School in Aiken, S. C., in 1868 to provide education for formerly enslaved people. - Page 3 - Martha Schofield Papers The School gradually evolved into a boarding school for training young blacks in industrial trades or to become teachers. It was absorbed into the public school system in 1952. Martha Fell Schofield was born Feb. 1, 1839, near Newtown, Bucks County, PA. She was the daughter of Oliver W. Schofield and Mary (Jackson) Schofield. Both her parents were involved in reform activities, including abolition, temperance, women's rights, and improved education. She died Feb. 1, 1916. This collection contains biographical information, personal correspondence (1856-1916), and writings (primarily diaries, 1858-1903) by Martha Schofield. Also included are financial and legal papers and School bulletins, annual reports, and some other papers. Among the correspondents are Martha Schofield's extended family and Susan B. Anthony. Cite as: [Indicate the cited item or series here], Martha Schofield Papers, RG 5/134, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Biography/History Martha Fell Schofield was born Feb. 1, 1839, near Newtown, Bucks County, PA. She was the daughter of Oliver W. Schofield and Mary (Jackson) Schofield who were married at Darby Meeting in 1834. Both her parents were involved in a number of reform activities, including abolition, temperance, women's rights, and improved education. The family included twin older sisters, Sarah Jane and Lydia, born 1835, a brother, Benjamin, born 1837, and Eliza, a younger sister born in 1840. Of the four sisters, only Sarah Jane married, to Samuel Shinn Ash. Martha was educated at the schools at Newtown and Byberry and the Sharon Female Seminary in Darby, Pa., which was operated by their mother's brother, John Jackson, and his wife, Rachel. Martha began her own career in teaching at age eighteen at Bayside, Long Island, N.Y., where her aunt, Eliza (Jackson) Bell, lived. She also taught in Harrison, Westchester Co., N.Y., in a school connected with Purchase Monthly Meeting. In 1865 Martha Schofield went to the islands off the coast of South Carolina to help educate the newly freed African Americans. She found the malarial conditions devastating to her health and moved inland - Page 4 - Martha Schofield Papers to Aiken, South Carolina, where she founded what became the Schofield Normal and Industrial School in 1868. The School was partially supported by the Pennsylvania Friends Relief Association, headquartered in Germantown, Pa., and was headed by Sarah Fisher Corlies (sister of Deborah F. Wharton) and Elizabeth Dorsey. The School received some state aid for a number of years. By 1882 there were over 200 pupils, and in that year, the School was incorporated. Need for financial aid were constant through the years, and a number of people from the Hicksite branch of Philadelphia and New York Yearly Meetings supported the school. By 1883 there were over 400 pupils who, in addition to their education, were taught a trade. In 1884 a boarding department was opened, as well as a student aid fund. In 1887 Edward Hicks Magill and Howard M. Jenkins of Swarthmore College were among those serving on the Board of Managers, and the school house was partitioned into a dormitory for boys. In 1890, the Deborah F. Wharton Industrial Hall, with half of the cost donated with by her sons, was completed. By 1910 the school occupied two entire blocks of the town of Aiken, with three large brick buildings, two large frame buildings, and various other improvements. In addition, the school owned a 280 acre farm three miles outside of Aiken with its buildings. The running expenses were principally made up by annual gifts from voluntary subscribers. With the exception of the headmaster or headmistress and Martha Schofield, who served as Business Manager, all departments heads and teachers were black graduates of the School. The night before the School was to celebrate the 77th birthday of its founder, Martha Schofield died in her sleep. She died in February 1, 1916 in Aiken, S. C., and is buried in the Darby Friends burial ground in Darby, Pa.. The Schofield School was absorbed into the public school system in 1952. Scope and Contents This collection contains biographical information, personal correspondence (1856-1916), and writings (primarily diaries, 1858-1903) by Martha Schofield, a Pennsylvania teacher who taught free blacks in South Carolina and founded the Schofield Normal and Industrial School in Aiken, S.C. Also included are financial and legal papers and School bulletins, annual reports, and some other papers. Among the correspondents are Martha Schofield's extended family and Susan B. Anthony. - Page 5 - Martha Schofield Papers Arrangement The collection is divided into eight series: 1. Biographical and genealogical materials 2. Correspondence 3. Writings 4. Financial and legal papers 5. Shoefield Normal and Industrial School 6. Memorabilia 7. Clippings 8. Pictures Administrative Information Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College FHL staff. Sponsor Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries Access Restrictions Collection is open for research. Access Restrictions The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available in our Digital Library. Explore this collection online. Use Restrictions Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items - Page 6 - Martha Schofield Papers beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/ UND/1.0/. Immediate Source of Acquisition Donors: Eleanor Jenkins Zendt and James L. and Herbert Dresser, 1980, 1985 The collection was preserved by Martha Schofield's niece, Mary Schofield Ash who married George H. Jenkins. It was given to Friends Historical Library by her daughter Eleanor Jenkins Zendt and the family of her daughter, Elizabeth Jenkins Dresser. Processing Information Partially