Manumit School was a Christian socialist co-educational, elementary, non-denominational, boarding school in Pawling, NY, 1924-1943, then in Bristol, PA, 1944-1958. In 1924, Rev. William Mann Fincke and his wife, Helen Hamlin, founded Manumit as an elementary level, co-educational, boarding school on a working farm in Pawling, NY. In 1926, Henry I. Lineman became interim Director upon illness of Rev. Fincke, who died in 1927. In 1927-1928 Nellie M. Seeds became Director, Seeds resigned in 1933 and joined the New York State Education Department. In 1933, William Mann Fincke, the son of Fincke and Hamlin, assumed Co-Directorship, with wife, Mildred Gignoux By 1938-1939 the Progressive Schools' Committee for Refugee Children formed under leadership of Mildred and William Fincke. In 1944, Manumit moved to Bristol, Bensalem Township, Bucks County, PA. The first full high school graduation occurred in 1951. During this period, Benjamin (“Ben”) C. G. Fincke [son of founders], with wife, Magda, were Co-Director, from 1947-1954, until replaced by John A. Lindhof. In 1956, external attacks on the school began, due to it being an interracial school, which led to the school closure in 1958. In the 2000s, alumni of the school began holding reunions and symposiums, resulting in additional materials in this collection.
From the guide to the Manumit School Collection, 1920s-2000s, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)
