The Education of Lula A. Scott - Part 2

Once upon a time, in 1897, a woman named Lula A. Scott began her studies at Spelman Seminary. She was the younger half-sister of my 2x Great-Grandmother, Scoatney Scott. Perhaps she looked like, or was even one of, the young ladies in this photo, published in 1897.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. (1897). Students of Spelman Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-7120-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

I ended my last post on Lula Scott’s education by asking if she’d made it through her studies, earning her degree. Well, good news: she did! 

 

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On May 12, 1902, just one year after her brother Borden graduated from neighboring Atlanta Baptist College, Lula was handed her diploma by Spelman Seminary co-founder Harriet Giles. You can read the full program reported in the school's newsletter, The Spelman Messenger, here, on page 6: https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/sc.001.messenger%3A1902.05 

The commencement exercises were also covered in the local newspaper, the Atlanta Constitution, with satisfaction, if also brevity.

The Atlanta Constitution, 18 May 1902, P18.

 

She would have posed with her classmates in a photo like this one, of the 13 graduates of the Academic Course in 1902. In fact, Lula would have known these young ladies. Some of them may have been her good friends.

Spelman Seminary Academic Graduates 1902. Courtesy of the Spelman Archives.

 

By the fall of 1902, Lula is listed among the newest graduates of Spelman Seminary:

Twenty-Second Annual Circular and Catalogue of Spelman Seminary for Women and Girls in Atlanta, GA for the Academic Year 1902-1903. See Lula's name at bottom. Courtesy of the Spelman Archives.

After graduation, Lula maintained her connection to the school, sending life updates – like this one - that appear in print at least 8 times over the next 24 years:

Spelman Messenger, October 1909, Vol. 26, No. 1, p6. Courtesy of the Spelman Archives.

 

She also donated money to the school on at least 1 occasion:

Spelman Messenger, May 1910, Vol 26, No 8, P7. Courtesy of the Spelman Archives.

But perhaps the deepest sign of her affection for, and affinity to, Spelman is that she sends her daughter there as well. Beuna Nelle Crew will get her own post, but it’s worth spoiling the surprise to show you her page in the yearbook! Check her out, second from the bottom:

The Campus Mirror (Spelman College), 1 May 1938, P6.

 

Do you know anything about Lula Scott’s time at Spelman Seminary? Drop me a note in the comments!

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A Note on Sources

Spelman has done a great job of making some of their most broadly useful records – school catalogs, magazines, and the like, available – and keyword searchable! – online. You can find much of it on the website of the Atlanta University Center's Robert W. Woodruff Library: https://digitalexhibits.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/ourstory/spelman. 

Some editions of The Campus Mirror are available on the Digital Library of Georgia’s Georgia Historic Newspapers website: https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn38019897/. 

And the Spelman Archives itself seems to be doing good work to encourage access: https://www.spelman.edu/about-us/archives. Many thanks to College Archivist Holly A. Smith for her assistance!