The Truth... What is it?





  Sumter High School, Class of 1908

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 1908 (W&S 3 June 1908, page 5, column 2&3, "High School Commencement", HERE):
(the name they apparently "went by" in italics)

Boys (8):

  • James Jennings Chandler, Sr., (born 1891), FaG mem. # 130877953
  • William James Crowson, Jr., (born 1890), FaG mem. # 125749531
  • Anthony Lee Jones, (born 1888), FaG mem. # 61990150.
  • Frank Lesesne, (born 18), FaG mem. # (not found yet).
  • Wendell Mitchell Levi, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 80049676
  • Henry Lee Sandel, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 32181322
  • John Karl Scott, (born 1892), FaG mem. # 43671931
  • Quay Donovan Williford, (born 1890), FaG mem. # 39477453

Girls (15):

  • Emma Richardson Baker, (born 18), FaG mem. # (not found yet).
  • Helen Broughton, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 128561543.
  • Irene Allan Bryan, (born 1892), FaG mem. #130156107
  • "Bessie" Ida Elizabeth Ives, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 143891324
  • Eva Lee McGee, (born 18), FaG mem. # (not found yet).
  • Sarah Ann Mellette, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 84618279.
  • Sarah Richardson Moore, (born 1890), Fag # 59191967.
  • LaRee Allen Pate, (born 1890), married Walter Haynes Millard, Sr.& was daughter of J. Frank Pate; FaG mem. # (not found yet).
  • Ulrica Dinkins Pate, (born 1890), FaG mem. # 132240092.
  • Mary Aretus Pitts, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 132143026.
  • Virginia Childs Reynolds, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 126524817.
  • Octavia Harby Schwerin, (born 1892), FaG mem. # 86446461
  • Ada Frances Seymour, (born 1891), FaG mem. # 85777592.
  • Vileta Agnes Tisdale, (born 1889), FaG mem. # 125257835

Lincoln HS Class of 1908:
(none found)

Names that appear to be students vs program participants: none found

Years 1892-1912, LINKS:

1891

1892

1893 (no graduates, HERE)

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1920 through at least 1972
(then click on any yearbook image)

***PLEASE!!! email me (poptop43@yahoo.com) about errors, broken links, & infomation "leads"***

check out the Highest TRUTH

(posted 12 December 2017; latest update June 2020)

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