David Abner Jr. (November 25, 1860 – July 21, 1928) was an American
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
. He was the first president of
Guadalupe College
Guadalupe College was a private Baptist college for African Americans in Seguin, Texas. It was established in 1884 and opened officially in 1887. Its founding was chiefly due to the efforts of William B. Ball, who later became its president. D ...
and then of
Conroe College.
Early life
David Abner Jr. was born November 25, 1860, in
Upshur County, Texas, the son of
David Abner
David Abner Sr. (1826–1902) was an American politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives.
Born into slavery in Selma, Alabama, he served in the Fourteenth Texas Legislature for District 5 and sat on the Education Committee. ...
and Louisa Abner. His family was enslaved until
emancipation, but his father would become a
delegate to the state constitutional convention and state legislature. In 1870 they moved to
Marshall, Texas, where Abner attended
Wiley University. He then enrolled in
Straight University in
New Orleans. In 1877 he enrolled at
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee. In 1881 he enrolled at
Bishop College, where he graduated in 1884,
becoming the first African American to graduate from a Texas school of higher education.
He then became a professor at the school. He was a delegate to the National Convention of Colored men (part of the
Colored Conventions Movement) in September 1883; in 1884 he became the corresponding secretary of the Baptist State Convention of Texas. He also edited the convention's paper, known as the ''Baptist Journal'' and later as the ''Baptist Pilot''.
College president
In 1884,
Guadalupe College
Guadalupe College was a private Baptist college for African Americans in Seguin, Texas. It was established in 1884 and opened officially in 1887. Its founding was chiefly due to the efforts of William B. Ball, who later became its president. D ...
was founded, primarily through the efforts of William B. Ball, who would later serve as president. The school opened in 1887, and Abner was made the first president of the school, a position he served until 1905,
when he was forcibly removed due to opposition within the Baptist church leadership. The
denomination opened a new (third) convention in the state and created a new college,
Conroe College. Thereupon, in 1906, Abner was elected the first president of Conroe College.
Personal life
Abner married Ella M. Wheeler (1877–1950), with whom he had two children. He died on August 21, 1928, in
Houston, Texas.
See also
*
Men of Mark
''Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising'' (1887) is an anthology of 177 short biographies of African-American men written by Rev. William J. Simmons (teacher), William J. Simmons, a Baptist minister and college administrator. The book has b ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abner, David Jr.
1860 births
1928 deaths
19th-century African-American educators
19th-century American educators
African-American journalists
American male journalists
Bishop College alumni
Educators from Texas
Fisk University alumni
People from Upshur County, Texas
Straight University alumni
Wiley University alumni
20th-century African-American educators
20th-century American educators