Susan Tolman Mills, Who's who among the women of California

Susan Tolman Mills (November 18, 1826 – December 12, 1912) was the co-founder of

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

(formerly the ''Young Ladies Seminary'' at Benicia, California).

Background

Mills was born on November 18, 1826, in Enosburgh, Vermont. She was one of eight children of John Tolman and Elizabeth (Nichols) Tolman. Her family moved to Ware, Massachusetts by 1836, where her father and brothers expanded the family's tannery business. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College (then ''Mount Holyoke Female Seminary'') in 1845. As a young woman, Mills taught at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary the first three years after she herself graduated, and was a teacher there during

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

's year at the Seminary in 1847–1848. She continued to teach at the seminary until she married the missionary Cyrus Mills on September 11, 1848. In October of that year they departed to teach in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), on an assignment from the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

. They taught there for many years, until they returned to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1854. Mrs. Mills contracted amoebic dysentery during their tour abroad, and was in distinctly ill health by the time they returned to the United States.

Punahou School

In 1860 the couple traveled to Honolulu where Cyrus Mills became president of Oahu College (now known as Punahou School). Susan served as a teacher at the school, instructing in geography, geology, chemistry, and botany. They moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1864.

Mills College

was initially founded as the '' Young Ladies Seminary'' at Benicia in 1852. It was under the leadership of Mary Atkins, a graduate of Oberlin College. Susan and Cyrus Mills bought the grounds and organization from Atkins for $5000 in 1865. In 1866, Susan and Cyrus bought the ''Young Ladies Seminary'' and renamed it ''Mills Seminary''. In 1871 the school was moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and the school was incorporated in 1877. The school became

in 1885. In 1890, after serving for decades as principal (under two presidents as well), Susan became the President of the college and held the position for 19 years.

Death

Mills retired in 1909 and died in Oakland,

, on December 12, 1912. Susan Tolman Mills is buried at Sunnyside Cemetery, located on the

Campus.

References

External links