Mathilda Taylor Beasley, OSF (November 14, 1832 - December 20, 1903) was a Black Catholic educator and religious leader who was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is ...

to serve in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. She founded a group of African-American nuns and one of the first U.S. orphanages for African-American girls. In 2004, she was posthumously named a

Georgia Woman of Achievement The Georgia Women of Achievement (GWA) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The concept was first proposed by Rosalynn Carter in 1988 ...

Biography

She was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

She was baptized as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in 1869, possibly in preparation for her marriage to Abraham Beasley, a wealthy free black restaurant owner in Savannah, who died in 1877. With Catherine and Jane Deveaux, Beasley educated slaves in her home in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

before the Civil War although this was illegal at the time. Later in life, after becoming a Franciscan nun in England, Beasley returned to the United States and founded a group of African-American sisters in Georgia, called the

Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many married men and women to ...

. Beasley attempted to affiliate her group with the Franciscan Order but was ultimately unsuccessful. She also started one of the first orphanages in the United States for African-American girls, the St. Francis Home for Colored Orphans. She died on December 20, 1903.

Legacy

In 1982 the Mother Mathilda Beasley Park was dedicated in Savannah on a tract of land east of East Broad Street. A

Georgia Historical Marker A Historic marker is an "Alamo"-shaped plaque affixed to the top of a pole and erected next to a significant historic site, battlefield or county courthouse. In the state of Georgia there are roughly 2,000 historic markers. Kevin Levin of the ...

documenting her life was erected in 1988 at her home in Savannah. In 2014 her cottage, formerly located at 1511 Price Street, was relocated into Mother Mathilda Beasley Park as an interpretive center. In 2004, Beasley was inducted into the

Georgia Women of Achievement The Georgia Women of Achievement (GWA) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Georgia for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The concept was first proposed by Rosalynn Carter in 1988. The first induction ...

hall of fame. Beasley Cottage and plaque

References

External links

* 1832 births 1903 deaths People from New Orleans African-American educators 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Franciscan nuns African-American Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns African-American Catholic superiors general {{US-edu-bio-stub

Biography

Legacy

Further reading

References

External links