Rachel Crane Rich Mather (February 5, 1823 – February 11, 1903) established the Mather School for daughters of

freed slaves A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

in 1867 in South Carolina. The school eventually became the

Technical College of the Lowcountry The Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) is a public community college in Beaufort, South Carolina, that serves the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Campuses The main campus is located in Beaufort along Ribaut Road. Additional facilitie ...

Biography

Rachel Crane Mather was the sixth of nine children born to

Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

living in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1823. Her father, Ezekiel Rich, was a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister. Rachel worked as a teacher in

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, and in 1846 married a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister named Joseph Higgins Mather, Jr. in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. They had two sons, but a just few years after marrying, her husband and their youngest son Samuel both died. Mather believed that God wanted her to help freed slaves, and was assigned by the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

to teach at a

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

for freed slaves in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

. She was especially heartbroken over the many orphans she saw, whose parents had often been sold or shipped elsewhere, and who were living in the streets with no access to food or education. After a year of teaching for the AMA, she founded the Mather School of Beaufort, which opened in 1868, during America's

Reconstruction Period The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebui ...

, with Mather serving as principal. The school provided housing, food, and clothing in addition to education such as reading, grammar, math, housekeeping skills, and "moral development" with a curriculum centered around the Bible. The Mather School was supported financially by the

Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society The Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society was an American Christian women's missionary organization. Harriet E. Giles and Sophia B. Packard co-founded, in 1877, the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society, supporting missionary wom ...

. It began with a focus on

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...

-aged girls, but expanded to

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, and college as time went on. The school was one of the pioneering schools for teaching former slaves and their children, and provided a "rigorous and character-building experience", according to Dr. Lucy Reuben who attended the school. The school continued until 1968, at which point it was sold to the state of South Carolina. The school eventually became the

. In 2017, the Mather Interpretive Center, housed in the school's former library, opened in Beaufort to preserve the history of the school and its founder. Greg Rawls, a Beaufort Arts Council member, said regarding the opening: "This is an amazing story that people just don't seem to know about... What we want is for this Beaufort story to be more than just a sign by the road." Thomas Leitzel, president of the Technical College of the Lowcountry, called Mather a "hero with a vision and commitment to making life better through education."

References

External links

Technical College of the Lowcountry official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, Rachel Crane 1823 births 1903 deaths Educators from New Hampshire 19th-century American women educators Founders of schools in the United States 19th-century American educators 19th-century American philanthropists