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 Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

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 Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

(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, Massach ...

'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 Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

), 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 Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

). Susan served as a teacher at the school, instructing in geography, geology, chemistry, and botany. They moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1864.

Mills College

was initially founded as the '' Young Ladies Seminary'' at

Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

in 1852. It was under the leadership of Mary Atkins, a graduate of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

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

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

Campus.

References

External links