Mathilda Taylor Beasley educated slaves prior to the Civil War, although it was not legal to do at the time.  She also became a Franciscan nun who founded the first religious community for African-American women in Georgia and she opened an orphanage in Savannah in the late nineteenth century.  She was named a Georgia Woman of Achievement in 2004 by Georgia Women of Achievement, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Atlanta.  In 2005, Mathilda Beasley was also named as a Georgia Heritage Celebration Honoree by the Georgia Historical Society.

This photograph demonstrates some of the difficulties involved in doing archival research with few pieces of evidence to go by. Originally it was thought to be a portrait of Mother Matilda.  However, the woman in the picture is more likely Josephine Beasley, wife of Abram Beasley who was the son of Mathilda’s husband Abraham. Based on the style of clothing and hair, it is thought to have been taken around 1890, when Mathilda would have been at least 56 years old.

Mathilda Taylor Beasley was born in 1832 or possibly 1834 in New Orleans to a French Creole slave named Caroline, who was owned by James C. Taylor. Some historians think that her father may have been of Native American descent. It is thought that Mathilda became an orphan at an early age, but the exact date and details of this and how she became freed are unknown. However, it is known that she moved to Savannah, Georgia as a freed woman, in the 1850s. The 1860 census listed her as a 21-year old free woman, one of 705 free blacks living in Savannah at the time. Of course if she was born in 1834, she would have been 26.  Mathilda made her living as a seamstress-dressmaker and, in her spare time, she ran a small secret school in her home. Remembering the “kindnesses that had been done in her childhood by Negros,” she dared to teach African-American children from around 1850-1860, before the Civil War, at a time when it was illegal to do so. If caught, the punishment for teaching slaves was a fine of $500 for white teachers. For black teachers, slave or freed, the punishment was $100 and up to thirty-two lashes with a whip in the public square.

While working as a seamstress, she also was employed at a restaurant called The Railroad House, which was run by a successful black businessman named Abraham Beasley. In addition to the restaurant, he owned land, a produce market, a saloon, and a boarding house. He also earned some of his money in the slave trade. It was probably while she was working in Beasley’s restaurant that Mathilda met him. In 1869, she was baptized as a Catholic and married Abraham. After his death in 1877, Abraham left all of his assets to Mathilda, who then donated all of her inheritance to the Roman Catholic Church. While documents that confirm this theory have not been found, many historians believe that Mathilda did this to atone for her late husband’s financial gain from the slave trade. 

It’s not clear how Mathilda first became familiar with Catholicism, but it could have been related to the French Catholic influence in New Orleans during her childhood. It is also possible that she was cared for in a Catholic orphanage after the death of her mother. Mathilda traveled to York, England, where she joined the Franciscan order in 1885 and studied as a novitiate at their convent. Details regarding her journey, her stay there and when she may have taken her vows are not currently available.

Mathilda returned to Savannah in 1886 and established an orphanage, named the St. Francis Home for Colored Orphans, in the spring of 1887. She also founded the first community of African-American nuns in Georgia in 1889 and became known as Mother Mathilda. This second photograph could be a portrait of Mother Mathilda, but no information regarding the date or subject is currently known. Mother Mathilda worked for the orphanage and helped the poor in Savannah until her death on December 20, 1903. In honor of Mathilda, Sacred Heart Church established the Mother Mathilda Beasley Society. This organization promotes charitable programs and works to raise awareness of African-American contributions to the Roman Catholic Church. A Georgia Historical Marker can be found at her former home at 1707 Bull Street which today is the current home of the Mother Mathilda Beasley Society. 

 

Reference: The Georgia Historical Society,  https://georgiahistory.com/education-outreach/online-exhibits/featured-historical-figures/mother-mathilda-beasley/

Image 1: Mathilda Beasley or (more likely) Josephine Beasley, Mathilda’s step daughter-in-law. From the Georgia Historical Society Collection of Photographs, 1870-1960 – Print, Photographic.

Image 2: Unidentified woman, date unknown. From the Georgia Historical Society Walter Charlton Hartridge Jr. Collection, MS 1349-27-398-01.