Emma Virginia Kelley (February 8, 1867 – December 14, 1932) was an American educator and community organizer. She founded a women's organization, Daughters of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World.

Early life

Emma Virginia Lee was born in Barrett's Neck,

Nansemond County, Virginia Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. Fr ...

, the daughter of John Lee and Agnes Walker Lee. She trained as a teacher at Hampton Normal Institute.Emma V. Kelley, Calvary Cemetery, Historic Forrest website.A. B. Caldwell
''History of the American Negro and his Institutions, Virginia Edition''
(A. B. Caldwell Publishing 1921): 499-501.

Career

Lee taught as a young woman, before she married and became known as Emma Virginia Kelley. In widowhood, she moved to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, where she founded the " Daughters of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World," the first women's auxiliary to the

Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World The Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW) is an African-American fraternal order modeled on the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. It was established in 1897 in the United States. In the early 21st century, i ...

(IBPOEW), a black fraternal organization, in 1903. The organization was affiliated with the

National Council of Negro Women The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, ...

. She wrote a short history of the organization, published posthumously in 1943. She served as the President of the Missionary Society at her church,

Queen Street Baptist Church Queen Street Baptist Church is a historic African-American Baptist church located at Norfolk, Virginia. It was built in 1910–1911, and is a rectangular one-story brick church in the Late Gothic Revival style. The façade and side elevatio ...

in Norfolk, Virginia, from 1902 to 1932 and as the Superintendent of Sunday School for over two decades. Kelley also was the director of the Norfolk Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, treasurer of the Colored United Charities, and a trustee of the Norfolk Community Hospital.

Personal life

Lee married Robert Kelley in 1893. They had a daughter, Buena Vista Kelley. Kelley was widowed in 1900. She died in 1932, aged 65 years. Her grave in Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk is included on historical tours of the cemetery. The Daughters of Elks national organization presents an annual Emma V. Kelley Achievement Award, named in her memory."Female Evangelists"
''The Crisis'' (November 1982): 38.

References

External links

*
Letter from W. E. B. Du Bois to Emma V. Kelley (December 27, 1926)
W. E. B. DuBois Papers, University of Massachusetts Amherst Special Collections and University Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Emma V. 1867 births 1932 deaths 19th-century African-American educators 19th-century American educators 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators Clubwomen Daughters of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World Educators from Virginia Hampton University alumni People from Suffolk, Virginia People from Norfolk, Virginia African-American women activists American women activists