Thirst for Knowledge Historic Context for the 1872 Neosho Colored School Prepared for the Carver Birthplace Association and the National Park Service August 22, 2018 by Debbie Sheals Building Preservation, LLC Columbia, Missouri Members of the Gage and Alexander Families of Neosho, date unknown. From the collections of the George Washington Carver National Monument. Thirst for Knowledge: Historic Context for the 1872 Neosho Colored School The first national superintendent of schools for the Freedmen’s Bureau, northerner John W. Alvord, began his tenure with the Bureau in late 1865 with a personal tour of the former confederate states. His first report for the Bureau, written in January of 1866, commenced with the following notes. “The desire of the freedmen for knowledge cannot be overstated.” He included a list of reasons for that enthusiasm, the first of which was “the natural thirst for knowledge common to man.”1 1 John W. Alvord, Semi-Annual Report on Schools for Freedmen, (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office), January, 1866, 1. Thirst for Knowledge: Historic Context for the 1872 Neosho Colored School Table of Contents List of Illustrations ....................................................................................................................................ii Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................3 Part A. Slavery in Missouri: 1821-1865 ...........................................................................................6 An overview of conditions into which George Washington Carver was born. Part B. Civil Rights from Reconstruction to Segregation: 1865-1900 ...............................26 Political and social conditions during Carver’s childhood and formative years. Part C. Education for African Americans: 1865-1900 ...............................................................49 Education for African Americans at the time of Carver’s quest for an education. Part D. African Americans in Neosho: 1865-1900 ......................................................................95 Neosho’s African American community in the late 1800s. References ....................................................................................................................................................132 Interpretive Goals from Golden Door of Freedom Q and A (“study questions”) Bibliography Appendixes I. Nineteenth Century Civil Rights Legislation ...................................................................................148 II. Likely Students of the Neosho Colored School ............................................................................155 III. Possible Neosho Classmates of George Washington Carver .................................................157 IV. African American Residents of Neosho: 1865-1900 ...................................................................159 Index ...............................................................................................................................................................178 Note: A separate binder containing printouts from a searchable database which contains just over 900 records has been prepared to accompany this report. The database was created specifically for this project. It includes information from the U. S. Population Census’ of 1870, 1880 and 1900, as well as numerous historical accounts. The database documents every African American listed in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 Census’ for Neosho and Neosho Township, as well as other residents identified during this study. i Thirst for Knowledge: Historic Context for the 1872 Neosho Colored School Figures Page Number A. 1. Members of the Gage and Alexander families of Neosho ....................................................................... cover 2. Photos of the 1872 Neosho Colored School ................................................................................................. 4 3. 1847 Law, passed Feb. 16, 1847. ....................................................................................................................... 9 4. John Berry Meachum ............................................................................................................................................. 12 5. 1861 Map of slaveholding households in Missouri and Arkansas ....................................................... 17 6. 1861 Map of slaveholding households in the Southern States ............................................................ 20 7. Missouri Population 1810-1870 ......................................................................................................................... 22 8. Enslaved People who had just escaped from a Virginia Plantation in 1862 ...................................... 23 B. 9. First Colored Senator and Representatives, 1872. ...................................................................................... 32 10. Visit of The Ku Klux, 1872 ..................................................................................................................................... 34 11. Literacy Test .............................................................................................................................................................. 36 12. Historic Photo of Nicodemus, Kansas .............................................................................................................. 37 13. Lynchers pose for a photo with their victim ................................................................................................. 41 14. Colored Waiting Room sign ................................................................................................................................ 46 C. 15. Brick Church, Penn School, South Carolina. .................................................................................................. 50 16. Chart: Statistics on Black Schools in the South—1867-1870. ................................................................. 53 17. Political Cartoon: Burning Freedmen’s School House ............................................................................... 56 18. Chart: Population Statistics for Newton County, 1860 and 1870 .......................................................... 59 19. Map of Newton County, Showing Townships and Black Populations at of 1870 ........................... 59 20. Detail, 1882 Atlas Map of Newton County with Carver Farm and Locust Grove School .............. 61 21. Chart: School-age African American children living in or near Neosho in 1869-1870................... 65 22. Original Floor Plan of the Neosho Colored School ..................................................................................... 67 23. Drawing of the Neosho Colored School and its surroundings in mid-1870s .................................... 68 24. Artist’s interpretation of the interior when school was in session ........................................................ 71 25. A page from the 1830 edition of the “Webster’s Speller” ....................................................................... 72 26. Chart of Teachers and Class Sizes for African American Schools in Neosho, 1867-92 ................... 74-75 27. Map showing the location of African American schools in Neosho, 1880s ....................................... 76 28. Central School, Neosho, ca.1883 ....................................................................................................................... 77 29. The First Lincoln School in Neosho .................................................................................................................. 78 30. Neosho’s Second Lincoln School ...................................................................................................................... 79 31. Chart: Towns and Schools of George Washington Carver’s Quest for Knowledge ......................... 81 32. Map of Towns and Schools of George Washington Carver’s Quest for Knowledge....................... 81 33. Fort Scott Colored School .................................................................................................................................... 83 34. Central School, Fort Scott .................................................................................................................................... 83 35. Sanborn Map of Fort Scott, showing location of the Colored School ................................................. 84 36. Map, locations of Colored School and Seymour Residence in Olathe, ca. 1880 .............................. 86 37. The Paola Normal School in 1882 ..................................................................................................................... 88 38. Sanborn Map of Minneapolis, KS showing church and schools attended by Carver .................... 90 ii Thirst for Knowledge: Historic Context for the 1872 Neosho Colored School D. 39. Pages from the 1870 Census for Neosho Township, Showing Entries for African Americans .... 100 40. Map of Neosho’s African American Neighborhood ................................................................................... 101 41. Tintype Portrait of Samuel H. Houston ..........................................................................................................