Emily Lewis [ ] Inaugural Female student, Teacher, first Deaf Woman Principal

Transcription

1 Emily Lewis [ ] Inaugural Female student, Teacher, first Deaf Woman Principal On the 18th day of May 1857, the writer entered the Institution for the first time, where she found seven boys at school. She was about 12 years old, and refused to stay because she was very shy and afraid of the big boys. --Emily Lewis Born: 7 April 1845 (some records erroneously say 1844) La Grange, Texas Died: 25 January 1917 Austin, Texas Oakwood Cemetery Family of origin: Father John Edward Lewis ( ) and mother (Cornelia) Ann Scott ( ) were both born in New York. As a young man, her father fought for Texas Independence in 1836 in the Battle of San Jacinto. He returned to New York and married, but moved to land in Texas he received for his service. Emily had about 12 brothers and sisters. Schooling: from Texas School for the Deaf, entered as the first girl student at TSD Professional Experiences: Hired as teacher at Texas School for the Deaf, starting in 1864, and taught for over 50 years Served a brief tenure as Principal (the first known Deaf Woman Principal at a Deaf School)

2 Personal Information: Was a boarder for a number of years along with other teachers in the home of teacher Robert Rives and family Resigned from teaching during a 3 year period when she didn t get along with the superintendent Contributions/Honors/Relationship to the Deaf Community: First girl to enroll in Texas School for the Deaf First known Deaf Woman to be principal Wrote the first brief history of Texas School The Emily Lewis Dormitory at Texas School for the Deaf was named in her honor Member of Texas School for the Deaf Hall of Fame References about Emily Lewis: Ancestry. com and findagrave.com Hovinga, S.K.C.F. (Ed). (2010). A Proud Tradition: Texas School for the Deaf Sesquicentennial. Austin, Texas: Texas School for the Deaf Alumni Association/Historical Publications, Inc. {see a number of pictures of Emily Lewis in this book} Holcomb, M. and Wood, S. (1989). Deaf Women: A Parade through the Decades. Berkeley, CA: DawnSignPress. Thompson, K.R. and Howell, K. R. (2000). Austin, Texas. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. {see picture of Emily Lewis } Other documents/photographs/information: A Brief History of the Texas School for the Deaf by Emily Lewis [see ] Texas School for the Deaf Historical Marker [from Historical Marker Database

3 List of Faculty/Staff in Reports of the Superintendent and Board of Trustees of the Texas Deaf and Dumb Asylum for the year Austin, Texas: State Printing Office Federal Census Emily along with several other teachers from the Texas School is living as a boarder in the house of teacher, Robert Rives {it reads: Lewis Emily boarder, white, female, birth date: April 1845 age: 55 martial status: single Teacher of D&D S]

4 Directory information (via ancestry.com) over the years shows how census labeled Emily Lewis job most notably from literary teacher to teacher in the manual department.

5 Below from: (1918). Proceedings of the Twenty-first Meetings of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf at Hartford, Conn., June 29-July Washington, DC : Government Printing Office, pg From the Texas School for the Deaf (school news). (1918). American Annals of the Deaf, 63, pg a granite monument in memory of Emily Lewis, the first girl to enter the School and after graduation a beloved teacher for fifty years, was unveiled Nov. 11, On one side of the monument is the inscription: Emily Lewis Born April 7, 1844 (sic, she was born in 1845) Died Jan. 25, 1917 Acts 9, On the other side is the following: Erected by the deaf of Texas, relatives, and friends. First girl pupil of the Texas School for the Deaf, Fifty years teacher of the deaf of Texas. Her Christian character inspired thousands of the deaf in Texas to higher ideals and life.

6 Death certificate: Below from findagrave.com