Mattie Jean Adams | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 16, 1873 |
| Died | December 26, 1947 (aged 74) |
| Education |
|
| Occupation | Educator |
| Known for | First woman to graduate from South Carolina College |
Mattie Jean Adams (September 16, 1873 - December 26, 1947) was the first women to graduate South Carolina College. [1] She was an American author and women's rights activist. [2]
Mattie Jean Adams was born on September 16, 1873, in Utopia, South Carolina. She grew up in Newberry County with her parents Thomas Hill Adams and Eliza Kelley Adams. [2]
Adams aspired to be a teacher and earned a degree from Leesville College, a Baptist school in Lexington County. [2]
Adams joined the junior class at South Carolina College in 1896, soon after they began to admit women. [3] Although women were allowed to attend classes, they were not allowed to live on campus. They were expected to board with local families or relatives in Columbia. [1] In 1898, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, becoming the first women to earn a degree at the university. [2]
Later, Adams studied at Oxford University in England and Columbia University in New York earning a Master of Arts degree. [4]
Adams married Lawson Battle Haynes, who was the president of Leesville College, in 1913. [2]
Adams died on December 26, 1947, in Hendersonville, North Carolina. [4]
After finishing her studies, Adams began teaching. She spent eighteen years as the head of the Department of English at Meridian Community College in Meridian, Mississippi. [3] Adams took a leave of absence from 1900 to 1903 in order to participate in activism. [2]
She also taught at the Alabama State Teachers College in Livingston, Alabama. [4]
Meridian College awarded Adams an honorary doctorate in 1918. [2]
During her leave of absence in 1900, Adams worked as an organizer for the South Carolina Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). [3] The group was dedicated sharing information about temperance, suffrage, and social involvement. Adams traveled across South Carolina to organize local chapters, deliver speeches and promote moral and educational information to young women.
In 1909, Adams became a writer and traveled to Europe to tour England, France, and Italy. She wrote a series of travel letters published in The State newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina. Her letters consisted of her reflections of education, women's rights, and citizenship. [4]