Roberta Sheridan
Roberta B. Sheridan (ca. 1864-1918) was the first African American public school teacher in a Baltimore City public school.[1]
Sheridan was born in Baltimore County to Daniel and Arietta Sheridan.[2][3] A graduate of the city's “colored high and grammar school, and colored normal school,” Sheridan was appointed as teacher at the Waverly Colored Public School in 1888.[4][5] Prior to her teaching appointment in Baltimore, Sheridan was employed as a teacher in Baltimore County, during the 1882-1883 and 1887-1888 school years.[6] Her appointment at Waverly quelled seven years of protest over the lack of African-American teachers at the school.[7]
While at Waverly, Sheridan married fellow teacher, George W. Biddle on July 26, 1892.[8] A daughter, Hester Maud Biddle, was born in 1893.[9] The couple separated after two years of marriage after claims of abuse by Sheridan towards Biddle. While Sheridan was denied a divorce twice, Biddle was granted a divorce in 1903 on the grounds of desertion.[10] She began to use her maiden name again and resumed her work as a teacher in Baltimore. From the time of her divorce until her death in 1918 from “natural insufficiency” and “shock," Sheridan lived with her mother and daughter at 1441 North Carey Street in the neighborhood of Sandtown-Winchester.[2][11]
References[edit]
- ^ Cummings, Elijah (February 29, 2000). "Heritage and horizons: The African-American legacy and the challenges of the 21st century" (PDF). Special Orders. Congressional Record (House): H526.
With the help of the African American community, a campaign was waged to allow African Americans to teach in black public schools. This campaign resulted in the appointment of Roberta Sheridan in 1888 as the first African American teacher in a Baltimore City public school. Indeed, in the State of Maryland
- ^ a b "Prominent Teacher Dead" (PDF). Afro American. June 28, 1918 – via Maryland State Archives.
- ^ Johnson, Angela D. (2012). The Strayer survey and the colored schools of Baltimore City, 1923–1943. Dissertation. Morgan State University – via Proquest.
Roberta Sheridan was the daughter of Daniel and Arietta Sheridan, lifelong Baltimore residents. Sheridan attended segregated schools, including the segregated Normal School.
- ^ "First Colored Public School Teacher". Baltimore Sun. Oct 5, 1888.
- ^ Graham, LeRoy (1982). Baltimore: The Nineteenth Century Black Capital. University Press of America. p. 222. ISBN 9780819126245.
By the fall term of 1888, a high school was made ready and the Mayor, having signed an ordinance authorizing black teachers, saw Roberta Sheridan as the first black teacher at Waverly Colored Public School.
- ^ Maryland. State Board of Education (1866). Report. College Park University of Maryland. Annapolis [etc.]
- ^ Wind, James P.; Lewis, James W. (1994). American Congregations, Volume 1: Portraits of Twelve Religious Communities. University of Chicago Press. p. 244. ISBN 9780226901862.
- ^ BALTIMORE CITY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, (Marriage Record), 1865-1914, Geo. W. Biddle, 26 July 1892, JTG 4, ff. 12, MSA CM 206-12, CR 10283-1.
- ^ BALTIMORE CITY CIRCUIT COURT (Equity Docket B, Divorces and Foreclosures), 1875-1982, MSA T464 No. 2239B.
- ^ BALTIMORE CITY CIRCUIT COURT (Equity Docket B, Divorces and Foreclosures), 1875-1982, MSA T464 No. 7251B
- ^ BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record), 1874-1972, Bertha E. Sheridan, 24 June 1918.
External links[edit]
- Roberta Sheridan biography at Maryland State Archives