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  Sumter High School Class of 1917

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 1917 (W & S 13 June 1917, p. 7, columns 3&4, "Forty-four Graduates", HERE):
(the name they apparently "went by" in italics)

Boys (16):

  • Robert Beaumont, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 196016197.
  • Anthony Kennedy Bowman, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 101850594.
  • Peyton Graham Bowman, (born ), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Thomas Belton Boyle, Sr., (born 1900), FaG mem. # 174739325.
  • James McDowell Dick, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 5205077.
  • Marion Ashton DuRant, (born 1898), FaG mem. # 9102975.
  • Samuel Howard Jones, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 112844172.
  • Lawrence Eramus Kirven, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 133762642.
  • Thomas Jackson Kirven, (born 1898), FaG mem. # 129572025.
  • Charles W. McGrew, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 41529453),
  • Robert Sidney Mellette, Sr., (born 1900), FaG mem. # 84623092.
  • Edward Mims Pitts, Jr., (born 1899), FaG mem. # 101968682.
  • "Weetie" Leonard Eugene Purdy, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 131655434.
  • "Sam" Samuel Sanders, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • David Charles Shaw, Jr., (born 1901), FaG mem. # 142270737.
  • William Henry Thomas, Jr., (born 1900), FaG mem. # 132163016.

Girls (28):

  • Tora Bagnal, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 61623906.
  • Clara Ruby Benbow, (born 1897), FaG mem. # 45130809.
  • Margaret McFaddin Blanding, (born 1898), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Zola Mae Britton, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 79104346.
  • Lucille Fladger Brunson, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Mary Elizabeth Brunson, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 94151509.
  • Dorothy Marietta Burns, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 129157766.
  • Gladys Augusta Chandler, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Marguerite Chandler, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 132149359.
  • Annie Norman Churchill, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 124313721.
  • Frances Nettles DeLorme, (born 1899), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Carolina Virginia Dick, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 88267808.
  • Marjorie Herbert Kennedy, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Carrie Fuller Marshall, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 9763186.
  • Jane Baxter Miller, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 131353791.
  • Dorita Cecelia Moise, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 114653903.
  • Bessie Law Nash, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Rubye Randolph Oliver, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 104442952.
  • Myrtle Mary Pace, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Emma Bradley Pinckney, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Rose Marie Price, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • Marian Raffield, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 96035504.
  • Grace Reynolds, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 73775652.
  • Caroline Preston Richardson, (born 1900), FaG mem. # 101850563)
  • Nancy Burchell Richardson, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 93018777.
  • Minnie Adele Smith, (born), FaG mem. # (nothing found yet).
  • "Kittie" Mary Kathryn Stubbs, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 121481431.
  • Leona Frances Walker, (born 1899), FaG mem. # 131590342.

Lincoln HS Class of 1917:
(W&S 13 June 1917, p. 7, column 5, "Lincoln School Commencement", HERE)

Boys (?):

Girl (?):

Years 1892-1912, LINKS:

1891

1892

1893 (no graduates, W&S 7 June 1893, p5, col. #3, 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 27 Dec 2017; latest update June 2020)

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