Mary B. White
Mary B. White was a kind stepmother who cared for her stepchildren’s education. Born sometime in 1878, Mary grew up without an education. It is likely that she had eight siblings, one of whom was named Mary as well. In 1902, she married Haywood White and adopted Alec White, Hannie White, and Brady White as her stepchildren. As their stepmother, she made sure Hannie and Brady, who were the only ones still in school, could read and write. She most likely believed in Booker T. Washington’s idea of gradualism. Gradualism was an idea that African Americans would educate themselves in order to get better jobs, which in turn would make them more economically sound and eventually would lead to white southerners seeing them as equals. Unfortunately, during her time the white southerners never warmed up to the idea of equality. She worked as a cook in a private home, most likely as a servant of another family. During her adult life, she went against the Cult of Domesticity, which was an idea that women should always be feminine by staying at home and being submissive to their husbands. Mary goes against this idea by going out and working as a cook because it was the only way to support her family, as did many other African American women. After only 8 years of marriage, Mary B. White died on February 5th, 1919, at 41 years old. She has the mark of the Mosaic Templars of America, an organization for African Americans that offered illness, death, and burial insurance, based in Arkansas. The reason for this connection is unknown. If anything else about Mary B. White is known, the information will be greatly appreciated.
Contributed by Aiden and John from Auburn High School
Sources:
1900 Federal Census
1910 Federal Census
1900 Federal Census
1910 Federal Census