Lea, Solomon, 1807-1897

Solomon Lea (1807-1897) was the son of William and Sarah McNeil Lea. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1833. In 1837, Lea married Sophia Ainger, an English woman. In 1846, he became the first president of Greensboro Female College, the first regularly chartered female college in North Carolina and the second one "south of the Potomac." He returned to Leasburg, N.C, in 1847 and, in 1848, founded the Somerville Female Institute, a school for young women; the school closed in 1892. Solomon Lea and Sophia Ainger Lea were the parents of eight children: Henrietta, Wilhemina, Lillian (Lily Ann), Anness, Addie, Eugenia, Edward, and Robert Lea.

From the description of Solomon Lea family papers, 1856-1936. WorldCat record id: 422776192