Beasley, Mathilda, Mother, 1832-1903
Mother Mathilda Beasley (née Taylor) was the first African American Roman Catholic nun in Georgia. Much of Beasley’s life—including the circumstances that led to her freedom, her move from her birthplace in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Savannah, Georgia, and her conversion to Roman Catholicism—remain generally undocumented. What is known, however, is her birth year, 1832, and her lifelong commitment to the care and education of black children of Savannah.
Born to an enslaved mother in New Orleans and probably orphaned at a young age, Beasley made her way to Savannah and joined the small community of free people of color in the booming port city sometime in the early 1850s. Before the Civil War, Beasley supported herself through work as a seamstress and waitress. Throughout the 1850s, Beasley also ran a secret school for enslaved and free black children, in contravention of Georgia law which prohibited the education of people of color.
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2022-07-25 10:07:57 am |
Jerry Simmons (Personal) |
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2022-07-25 10:07:41 am |
Jerry Simmons (Personal) |
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2022-07-21 05:07:12 pm |
Jerry Simmons (Personal) |
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2018-03-05 02:03:37 pm |
Doug Ross |
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