Sumter High School: Class of 1898

The Truth... What is it?

Sumter High School, Class of 1898

Dave Pettigrew, SHS class of 1971, has developed an outstanding website in which yearbooks are being scanned onto his free website (HERE..click on a yearbook image) with many class photos, lists of graduates, and an outstanding graphics and text page of the school's history (HERE).

On this page you are now viewing, the memorial #s are memorials on the free Find a Grave (separate but owned by the subscription genealogy website, Ancestry.com).

I want to directly link to some old, online newspaper sources (Sumter's The Watchman & Southron via Library of Congress' Chronicling America, which detail some history and the senior class graduates.

S. C. petition of Legislature, May 1888, HERE.
Commisioner J. T. Green's 1890 letter about the schools, HERE.
Sumter public school system opens 2 Sept 1889, young John B. Duffie, superintendent.
First year (9 months) ends (students: 310 whites & 294 blacks), HERE (Watchman & Southron issue of 4 June 1890, vol. IX #43, page [image] 3, 2nd column from viewer's left near page top).

Links to classes 1889-1912, HERE . W & S of 1910 has 1891-1910 lists HERE and W & S of 1912 lists 1891-1911 HERE.

***(1889-1913, only 10 grades; 1914-1944, only 11 grades)***

***(Student names: before maybe 1915, names by which people were baptized were frequently & without legal process, changed before, say, age 12. Grade school nicknames often changed as the person became older (HERE). In cases of those with 1 or 2 middle names, either or both of those might be deleted as they became older or married. Old printed source material was printed by a more tedious process than today & typos were not uncommon. Females are especially hard to track down from names on graduate lists; so, the birth year range of a graduation group becomes helpful.)***

Sumter HS Class of 1898 (W&S 8 June 1898, page 3, column 3, "The Graded School Commencement", HERE):
(the name they apparently "went by" in italics)

***[CLASS PHOTO]***

Boys (3 vs 5):

"Sam" Samuel Benjamin Mitchell, (born 1878), FaG mem. # 135853801
"L. C." Lucius Clifton Moise, (born 1881); FaG mem. # 51458659
John Sinkler Richardson [Jonathan ?], (born 1874); FaG mem. # 77172744
? [unidentified in class picture, above]
"Ollie" Oliver Lawrence Yates, (born 1880), (in the above fall of 1897 class picture but not listed in commencement; became a Sumter banker), FaG mem. # 109592720

Girls (16):

Maggie Bradford, (born 1878), FaG mem. # 104411627.
Jessie Russell Folsom, (born 1878), FaG mem. # 130594127.
"Nita" Anita Harby, (born 1881), FaG mem. # 33941230.
Theresa James, (born 1879), FaG mem. # 71818619.
Maude Jones, (born 1877), FaG mem. # 132146671.
Isabelle McLaurin, (born 1881), FaG mem. # 65628035.
Rosa Clarendon Mood, (born 18820, FaG mem. # 50006158.
Flora Levy Moses, (born 1880), FaG mem. # 19451601.
Louise Moses, (born 18), FaG mem. # (not found yet).
Moneta Osteen, (born 1886), (dau. of Sumter newspaperman, Noah G. & Esther A. Doar Osteen in 1910 census), FaG mem. # 186290889.
Stella Phillips, (born 1879), FaG mem. # 132145347.
Irma Smith, (born 18) & dau. of William Paul Smith [# 48794547], FaG mem. # (not found yet).
Lizzie Stuckey [or ? Lizzy Stuckey], (not found yet), FaG mem. #
Daisy Scott, (born 1881), FaG mem. # 130869566.
Maude Wallace, FaG mem. # (not found yet).
Daisy Yeadon, (born 1881), FaG mem. # 132052806.

Lincoln HS Class of 1898:
(it is hard to be sure of gender & student vs. adult & may be ALL grades [no graduate list]...see above W&S, 8 June 1898, p3, col. 4, "Lincoln School Commencement", HERE)

Names that appear to be students vs program participants: Della Dimery, Florence Dicks, Lillian Spears, Julia Jayroe, Helen Owens, Mary Sanders, D. Lewis, Nonie Edwards ("& others"), Rosa Harrlson (? Rosa Harrelson ?), Annie Thomas, Marie Thomas ("& others"), Marie Hunter and Moses Dennis.

Years 1892-1912, LINKS:

1891

1892

1893 (no graduates, HERE)

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

1900

1901