Della Irving Hayden (c. 1851-1924) was an American educator. She founded Franklin Normal and Industrial Institute in Virginia in 1904.
Early life
Della Irving was born into slavery and raised by a grandmother in
Tarboro, North Carolina until she was reunited with her mother Charlotte Irving in 1865, after Emancipation. She attended school in
Franklin, Virginia, and graduated in 1877 from
Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association afte ...
.
[L. A. Scruggs]
''Women of Distinction: Remarkable in Works and Invincible in Character''
(Scruggs 1893): 241-247. At Hampton she knew fellow students
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
and his first wife
Fannie Smith Washington. Della Irving spoke at Hampton's graduation exercises in 1877, on "Our Work as Women", and won a cash prize presented by the First Lady,
Lucy Webb Hayes
Lucy Ware Hayes ( née Webb; August 28, 1831 – June 25, 1889) was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes and served as first lady of the United States from 1877 to 1881.
Hayes was the first First Lady to have a college degree. She was a ...
.
[Della Irving Hayden]
"A Graduate's Reminiscences"
''The Southern Workman'' (January 1917): 59-63.
Career
Della Irving began teaching in rural Virginia in 1875, during a break from her studies at Hampton.
In 1881 Della Irving Hayden was elected principal of a school in Franklin, a position she held for nine years. In 1890, she returned to her alma mater to serve as "lady principal" at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute.
She was also "lady principal" of the
State Normal School at Petersburg for thirteen years. In 1904, she organized the Franklin Normal and Industrial Institute, and was its principal. By 1916 Franklin had buildings and a land to run a small farm and board dozens of women students, funded mainly by donations solicited by Hayden. "I have been trying to teach my people to help themselves. It has been my heart's desire to help elevate my race," she wrote.
She led local chapters of the
Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Home Missionary Society, as well as presiding over the Virginia Teachers' Temperance Union. She was active with the
Young Women's Christian Association. She also held officer positions in the county's Sunday School Union.
Personal life and legacy
Della Irving married a school principal and fellow Hampton alumnus, Lindsay Hayden, in 1880; he died within a few months after their wedding.
She died in 1924, aged 73 years, in the first known fatal automobile accident in Franklin.
[Stephen H. Cowles]
"Della Irving Hayden: Educator Taught, Inspired Thousands of Students"
''Progress 2016'' (February 27, 2016): 28-29. A large monument was erected in her memory at Southview Cemetery in 1927, and in 1953
Hayden High School in Franklin was named for Della I. Hayden (the site is now the Hayden Village Center, a residence and community center for seniors run by Senior Citizens of Southeastern Virginia).
"Hayden Village Center Groundbreaking"
Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia. In 2016 Della Irving Hayden was included as one of "The 15 Most Influential People in Western Tidewater History" by ''Progress'' magazine.
References
External links
* Veronica A. Davis
''Inspiring African American Women of Virginia''
(iUniverse 2005).
A 1909 display advertisement for the Franklin Normal and Industrial Institute
from the ''Times Dispatch'' of Richmond, Virginia; from Newspapers.com.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Della Irving
1850s births
1924 deaths
Hampton University alumni
Educators from North Carolina
Educators from Virginia
People from Tarboro, North Carolina
People from Franklin, Virginia
Virginia State University faculty
19th-century American educators
20th-century American educators
Road incident deaths in Virginia
19th-century American women educators
20th-century American women educators
American women academics
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American educators