Mary Ames (1831-June 1903) and Emily Bliss were two educators from Springfield, Massachusetts who taught for a year on Edisto Island in South Carolina.
Background
editMary Ames was the daughter of paper manufacturer David Ames Jr..[1]
Both Ames and Bliss were Unitarians.[2]: 29
School in South Carolina
editAfter hearing from another New England woman who had been teaching freedmen in the South, friends Mary Ames and Emily Bliss decided to follow in her example, despite their protests and predictions that they would "return in less than a month".[2]: 1-2
In early 1865, Ames and Bliss traveled to Boston, where they signed up with the Freedmen's Bureau to work as teachers of formerly enslaved people in South Carolina, although neither had any specialized teaching training.[3]
On May 1, 1865, Ames and Bliss boarded a steamship in New York. They arrived first in Hilton Head, then traveled on to Charleston, where they were offered position's in the city's public schools. They declined, choosing to accept positions on Edisto Island, where they arrived on May 10.[1][2]: 5 [3]
The two took residents at the former plantation of Dr. Whaley, which had been deserted by its white occupants four years prior, and was now home to many formerly-enslaved persons.[2]: 9 They stayed in one of the plantation homes, living alongside Jim and Sarah, who had been formerly enslaved, and the couple's six children.[2]: 14 The two hired Sarah to wash, iron, and cook for them.[2]: 18
Ames and Bliss set up their school in a nearby former church, with plans to hold sessions during the day and during some evenings, for adults who were busy with agricultural work during the day.[2]: 17-18 The school officially opened on May 15, with fifteen children attending, none of whom were able to read.[2]: 22-23 Enrollment at the school increased greatly over the first week; by May 17, 66 students were attending.[2]: 29 Ames and Bliss focused on teaching the children the alphabet, counting, and days of the week and months of the year.[2]: 29 On May 18, the two held their first evening school, which was "well attended".[2]: 33
In June, the two also began holding Sunday school, during which Ames preached and Emily sang.[2]: 68
By June 9, the school was attracting between 60 and 70 students each day, with 140 students recorded in total.[2]: 55 On hotter days, when the two were unable to walk to the school building, children came to their house, and school was held on the piazza.[2]: 59 The Freedmen's Bureau authorities advised the two women to leave for the summer, due to the high temperatures and local outbreaks of illnesses such as smallpox, but Ames and Bliss resolved to stay, saying if they left they "should never return".[2]: 61 However, on June 30 they did dismiss the children for the summer,[2]: 72 and on July 11 they moved to Edisto Bay for the summer,[2]: 83-85 where they shared a home with Miss Kempton and Miss Stanton, who were also schoolteachers on the island.[2]: 89
In September 1865, both Jim and Sarah became sick and died. Ames and Bliss worked to find homes for their seven children, the youngest of whom had been born in the summer of 1865. One of the children, Ann, was adopted by Ames' sister, and brought back to live in Springfield.[2]: 93-94
In October, Ames and Bliss relocated from their summer home to a home at Seabrook, where they held school in a rooms once used for billiards.[2]: 108-109
The school closed for five weeks in January 1866 following a smallpox outbreak, reopening on February 26.[2]: 112
In May 1866, the Freedmen's Bureau retracted funding from the school. Ames and Bliss closed the school in July, and returned to Springfield in September 1866.[4]
In 1906, Ames' records of the year were posthumously published as From A NEW ENGLAND WOMAN'S DIARY in DIXIE in 1865.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Landrigan, Leslie (2014-06-04). "Mary Ames of Springfield Teaches Freed Slaves in South Carolina". New England Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Ames, Mary (1906). From A New England Woman's Diary in Dixie in 1865.
- ^ a b Spencer, Charles (2008-03-21). Edisto Island, 1861 to 2006: Ruin, Recovery and Rebirth. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62584-457-6.
- ^ "Summary of From a New England Woman's Diary in Dixie in 1865". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ "Mary Ames, 1831-1903. From a New England Woman's Diary in Dixie in 1865". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-13.