Sarah Gibson Jones (1843 – ) was an African American educator, journalist, poet, lecturer, and

clubwoman The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...

. She may have been the first Black female journalist in the United States.

Early life

Sarah Gibson Jones was born in 1843 in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. She moved with her family to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio. She studied with private tutors and at the Colored Public Schools. She studied at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Career

Sarah Gibson worked as a governess and teacher. In 1862, she worked for J.P. Sampson at the '' Colored Citizen'', and was likely the first Black female journalist in the United States. In 1863, she began teaching for the Cincinnati Colored School Board. From 1875 to 1911, she taught in the Elm Street Colored School in

Walnut Hills, Cincinnati Walnut Hills is one of the 52 neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. One of the city's oldest hilltop neighborhoods, it is a large diverse area on the near east side of Cincinnati. The population was 6,344 in the 2020 census. History The neighborho ...

. In 1904, she joined the Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. The Ohio State Federation of the

National Association of Colored Women's Clubs The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of ...

named her their poet laureate.

Personal life

In 1865, she married Marshall P. H. Jones. They had three children, though only Joseph Lawrence Jones survived past infancy. Sarah Gibson Jones died on 21 October 1938.

References

19th-century African-American women writers 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers 19th-century African-American writers 19th-century African-American educators African-American women educators 1843 births 1938 deaths Created via preloaddraft 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women American women journalists African-American poets American women poets African-American journalists 19th-century American journalists American newspaper editors American women newspaper editors Educators from Ohio American women educators 19th-century American educators People from Alexandria, Virginia Writers from Cincinnati Journalists from Cincinnati {{US-edu-bio-stub