Dublin Core
Title
The Anna T. Jeanes Fund
Subject
African American Education in Louisa County
Description
Anna T. Jeanes, born in 1822 in Quaker Pennsylvania, became the sole inheritor of her family fortune. Her Christian faith led her to establish The Friends Boarding House, a home for the ill and elderly. Two years before her death in 1907, Jeanes was approached by the principal of Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, and Dr. Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, to see if she would support their beliefs. While she agreed with the institutes efforts, she felt the smaller, rural schools needed more assistance.
In 1907, Jeanes set aside roughly one million dollars to African American country schools. Her will dedicated instructions to her program, which would “encourage moral influence and social refinement which shall promote peace in the land, and goodwill among men.†The name given to the fund was originally the Negro Rural School Fund, though it established salaries for people who became known as “Jeanes Supervisors,†thus changing the name to The Jeanes Fund.
With money supplied by Anna T. Jeanes, a number of women from Louisa County began to oversee Negro Education in Louisa County, the first being Lucille Holt. Appointed in 1916, Holt began executing the supervisor’s duties, such as advocating teacher’s salary increases and professional growth, longer school terms and better instructional materials.
The next Jeanes Supervisor was Zelda Carter Morton, who assumed and held the position from 1926 to 1945. In 1945, the position was picked up by Edythe R. Carter, who respectfully reported strong parent involvement, teacher attendance at professional meetings, the need for children’s dental care, the number of children that received eye glasses, and how many books were added to the library. The position was then passed to Alberta Guy Despot in 1950, which she held until 1963.
In 1907, Jeanes set aside roughly one million dollars to African American country schools. Her will dedicated instructions to her program, which would “encourage moral influence and social refinement which shall promote peace in the land, and goodwill among men.†The name given to the fund was originally the Negro Rural School Fund, though it established salaries for people who became known as “Jeanes Supervisors,†thus changing the name to The Jeanes Fund.
With money supplied by Anna T. Jeanes, a number of women from Louisa County began to oversee Negro Education in Louisa County, the first being Lucille Holt. Appointed in 1916, Holt began executing the supervisor’s duties, such as advocating teacher’s salary increases and professional growth, longer school terms and better instructional materials.
The next Jeanes Supervisor was Zelda Carter Morton, who assumed and held the position from 1926 to 1945. In 1945, the position was picked up by Edythe R. Carter, who respectfully reported strong parent involvement, teacher attendance at professional meetings, the need for children’s dental care, the number of children that received eye glasses, and how many books were added to the library. The position was then passed to Alberta Guy Despot in 1950, which she held until 1963.
Source
Louisa County Historical Society Archives
Publisher
Louisa County Historical Society Archives
Contribution Form
Online Submission
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