America.William Still,described as being "second only to Harriet Tubman in underground railroad operations", was an active and prominent abolitionist in Philadelphia who spent
nearly all of of his adult life as a businessman,author,and philanthropist in the service of African-American liberation and advancement.
The educational and spiritual development of his children was of great significance to William Still.
Although he was self-educated for the most part,he made every attempt to inform his children about the advantages of a good education and to make them aware of the privilege they enjoyed by having access to schooling.He often expressed this sentiment in his letters to them.In a letter to Caroline dated February 1,1876,William wrote,"I woud advice you to give more anxeiety and consideration to the all important knowledge and studies,which will [ripen?] your mind and strengthen your purpose...
Having lived a life with rich with experience,still possessed a great deal of personal insight with which to inspire Caroline toward successes.He
often shared with her his various business engagements,successes,and plans.In his March 5,1868,letter to Caroline,William described his business:"... sales are more than double what they were this time last year,and I have no fear if my success continues my yard will be decidedly the leading one on yar Washing Avenue."
Further in his letter of August 13,1867,William revealed to Caroline his intentions of writing a book on the Underground Railroad five years prior to its publication.This would prove to be his his most famous contributions as an abolitionist and philanthropist.He stated,"As I am going to write the history 0f the U.G.R.R. I must do a good deal of reading and thinking in order to to write well.I May commence my book this fall some time." William utilized the records he kept during his years as an abolitionist,to write his 1872 book,The Underground Railroad,which remains a seminal and unparalleled text on the subject.
It is a remarkable work known or its stories of escaping slaves told in their own words. More importantly, in ths work William emphasized the agency and genius of the enslaved.
To William delight,Caroline demonstrated a sincere interest in education.William saw a spirit of excellence in her that very closely closely resembled his own.With unwavering dedication,he would write letter after letter to Caroline,extending moral,spiritual and financial support to assist her in her most difficult affairs.He never once reprimanded her for being prodigal.It can be presumed that in his correspondence with Caroline,William attempted to guide her ambitions towards Christian work.It is also evident that he tried to cement in her consciousness a sense of responsibility andaccountability to her race.
Regarding his own work in the service of African-Americans,he wrote to
Caroline on August 13,1867, "Possessing desires so ardent as I did to see our people moving in the direction of self-elevation and,in order to aid the good cause,i was putting forth efforts far beyond my strength."
Caroline seemed to have gained a vision for her life through her daddy.As he might have hoped,she later mirrored her daddy's work in the service of African-Americans.She utilized her educational gifts to become a medical professional African-American families as well as a social reformer in African-American Phiadelphiaian society.
Nineteenth-century Philadelphia was not a a welcoming environment for most African-Americans.In addition to violence,there was local legislation put in place to halt the implementation of African-American citizenry and to curtail the growing migration (of the formerly enslaved) from the South into the city.Despite this hostile setting,some African-American families prospered socially and economically.As a member of this elite community,Caroline was protected from much of the ill treatment that many African-Americans encountered during this period.She would remain aware of her privileges and take full advantage of the opportunities they offered.
Caroline received her schooling at a number of institutions that served the educational needs of African-American children.They included Mrs.Henry Gordon's private school,the Friends Raspberry Alley School,and the Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University). In
1864 at the age of fifteen,Caroline entered Oberlin College in Ohio.She
graduated in 1868,becoming the youngest graduate and only African-American woman in a class of forty-five students.During the commencement ceremonies Oberli,she was asked to preside over the college's Ladies Literacy Society,in honor never before bestowed upon an African-American student.After graduating from Oberlin College she moved back to Philadelphia to teach.
William played and active role in the education of his daughter,paying close attention to the obstacles and successes she encountered while searching for her ninche in college.William had the greatest influence on her studies,commanding her to display a high degree of perseverance and persistence when it came to her studies.His degree of commitment to this cause was truly extraordinary,especially considering the different and unequal gender roles and social lives led by men & women of the time.One letter in particular,dated April 30,1866,bespeaks William's confidence in Caroline's abilities and capacity to succeed.He stated:
You seem to be worried about your mathematical studies. "Sphere or no
sphere,I want you to work at it & master it...I admit it is hard,yet,remember everything that is particulary valuable is not gained by except by exertion.That you have the capacity to succeed fairly in this study I do not doubt...The idea of having to turn back is not pleasant to contemplate- yet not to be thorough is still more to be dreaded....The great majority of our young people are carried away with dress & show,love pleasure,music & light studies-but I hope you will go in for solid worth.Aim for a high moral character,superior knowledge & marked love for justice and right.If I were you I would make very strenuous efforts before I would be turned back....
As there are no extended biographical writings on Caroline's life,her letters to her daddy,her first husband,Edward Wiley,and other family members and friends reveal who she was as an African-American woman living in the late nineteenth century.They also allow for a better look at her personality commitments,hopes,vision,and ideas with regard to marriage,motherhood,and Christian work.Her expressions on marriage hightlight a desire for equality in the household which would allow for improvements in other others areas of her life.Observing her cousin Dr.James Still taking part in domestic affairs gave cause for her to reflect taking part in domestic affairs gave cause for her to reflect on qualities she most desired in a relationship where equal shares of work
were distributed.In her may 28,1878 letter,wrote that if a husband committed to even a fourth of the worth that Dr.James Still contributed, it "would be delightful and at the same time the wife retaining an independence which would not give another to suppose she stood somewhat in awe of her better half."
Caroline met Edward at Oberlin College.Edward,from Alabama,was Caroline's first husband.The two were married on December 28,1869.
The wedding ceremony was attended by a great number of prominent men and women abolitionist movement and the well-to-do among Phiadelphia society folk.They had two children, William (who experienced sickness as a child) and Letitia. During their marriage,
Edward spent a great deal of time apart from Caroline traveling and selling William's book The Underground Railroad (1872).In her letter of
June 18,1873,writing to her first husband,Caroline seemed to be displeased that the life she envisioned with him as "reformers" had yet to be realized.As such,it formed in her the longing for the time and space conductive to personal development.Explaining her lametation to Edward,"I am tired of being so situated as to accomplish so little either for myself or anybody else." Little is known about Caroline's first husband Edward,what can be ascertained from his letters is that he was religious man who possibly sought to become a minister.Futhermore,he
he considered it a man's duty to provide shelter and substance for a wife and children.Working as an agent for his daddy-in-law Edward was underpaid and could not peform his duties as a daddy and husband to the degree that he desired.Amidst these issues,he grappled with his ever-deteriorating health.Edward died on March 22,18O74 from an unknown illness.
The death of her husband may have influenced Caroline decision to enroll in medical school.Her letters do not precisely state her reason for entry,the number of illnesses and deaths of others close to her might also have contributed to her decision.Often,health would be a certain theme discussed in the letters. few would begin or end with an account of the sickness and suffering endured by family members and friends.
An example of the notices Caroline receive appears in the following letter dated March 6,1876,from her daddy:
Our little Willie is not very well.Nor is your mother quite up to her usual degree of health-she and willie both took some gold castor last evening.
Indeed we have a great deal of sickness in the city.Mrs. Sayers is very sick so is her oldest Bro,and his wife and child,and only two or three weeks past her Bro.buried his oldest boy -now Joe White's child is lying dead.So the hand of affliction is heavily upon the family-but if I was to continue I could go from house to house and give you quite a sad picture but will here withhold....
Also her close relationship with cousin Dr.James Still,a physician and among the first African-American graduates from Harvard University,
might further explain Caroline's aspiration for medical career.
Caroline is most readily recognized as being one of the first African-American female doctors in Pennsylvania.In regards to the marginalized status of African-American women in medicine,Darlene Clark Hine states,"If white women,black men,and poor whites,as many scholars argue,were outsiders in medicine then black women,belonging as they dis to two subordinate groups,surely inhadited the most distant perimeters of the profession."In spite of this,Caroline,began her medical studies in 1875,at Howard University while at the same time teaching music,drawing,and elocution there.The following she returned to Philadelphia to be near her family.She later enrolled in the Women's
Medical College of Pennsylvia in Philadelphia,where in 1878 she received her medical degree.She continued with an internship at Boston's New England Hospital for women and children in 1879.She initially was denied entry into the New England Hospital due to her race,but soon after was was admitted as a result of a unanimous vote.
She later became City District Physician in Philadelphia.Never ceasing to offer some kind of inspiration to his daughter,William sought to teach
her about the power of conviction and the honor of hard work.On March 7,1879,William mailed to Caroline,copies of the Christian recorder which included an article entitled "Dr.tying and his church organization." He commands, "Don't [sic] fail to read it carefully.It shows how much may be accomplished by a single individual when dead earnest."
In 1880,Caroline married Matthew Anderson,a Doctor of Divinity and pastor of Berean Presbyterian church,which provided medical,financial
and educational services offered at the Berean Church.Writing in 1899,
in the Philadelphia negro.W.E.B. Du Bois noted that the Berean Church"... conducts a successful building and Loan Association,a kindergarten,a medical dispensary and a seaside home,beside the numerous church societies.Probably no church in the city,except the Episcopal Church of the Crucifixion,is doing so much for the social betterment of the negro.Along with the church,Matthew Anderson also
founded the Berean Manual Training Industrial School.Here,Caroline
You seem to be worried about your mathematical studies. "Sphere or no
sphere,I want you to work at it & master it...I admit it is hard,yet,remember everything that is particulary valuable is not gained by except by exertion.That you have the capacity to succeed fairly in this study I do not doubt...The idea of having to turn back is not pleasant to contemplate- yet not to be thorough is still more to be dreaded....The great majority of our young people are carried away with dress & show,love pleasure,music & light studies-but I hope you will go in for solid worth.Aim for a high moral character,superior knowledge & marked love for justice and right.If I were you I would make very strenuous efforts before I would be turned back....
As there are no extended biographical writings on Caroline's life,her letters to her daddy,her first husband,Edward Wiley,and other family members and friends reveal who she was as an African-American woman living in the late nineteenth century.They also allow for a better look at her personality commitments,hopes,vision,and ideas with regard to marriage,motherhood,and Christian work.Her expressions on marriage hightlight a desire for equality in the household which would allow for improvements in other others areas of her life.Observing her cousin Dr.James Still taking part in domestic affairs gave cause for her to reflect taking part in domestic affairs gave cause for her to reflect on qualities she most desired in a relationship where equal shares of work
were distributed.In her may 28,1878 letter,wrote that if a husband committed to even a fourth of the worth that Dr.James Still contributed, it "would be delightful and at the same time the wife retaining an independence which would not give another to suppose she stood somewhat in awe of her better half."
Caroline met Edward at Oberlin College.Edward,from Alabama,was Caroline's first husband.The two were married on December 28,1869.
The wedding ceremony was attended by a great number of prominent men and women abolitionist movement and the well-to-do among Phiadelphia society folk.They had two children, William (who experienced sickness as a child) and Letitia. During their marriage,
Edward spent a great deal of time apart from Caroline traveling and selling William's book The Underground Railroad (1872).In her letter of
June 18,1873,writing to her first husband,Caroline seemed to be displeased that the life she envisioned with him as "reformers" had yet to be realized.As such,it formed in her the longing for the time and space conductive to personal development.Explaining her lametation to Edward,"I am tired of being so situated as to accomplish so little either for myself or anybody else." Little is known about Caroline's first husband Edward,what can be ascertained from his letters is that he was religious man who possibly sought to become a minister.Futhermore,he
he considered it a man's duty to provide shelter and substance for a wife and children.Working as an agent for his daddy-in-law Edward was underpaid and could not peform his duties as a daddy and husband to the degree that he desired.Amidst these issues,he grappled with his ever-deteriorating health.Edward died on March 22,18O74 from an unknown illness.
The death of her husband may have influenced Caroline decision to enroll in medical school.Her letters do not precisely state her reason for entry,the number of illnesses and deaths of others close to her might also have contributed to her decision.Often,health would be a certain theme discussed in the letters. few would begin or end with an account of the sickness and suffering endured by family members and friends.
An example of the notices Caroline receive appears in the following letter dated March 6,1876,from her daddy:
Our little Willie is not very well.Nor is your mother quite up to her usual degree of health-she and willie both took some gold castor last evening.
Indeed we have a great deal of sickness in the city.Mrs. Sayers is very sick so is her oldest Bro,and his wife and child,and only two or three weeks past her Bro.buried his oldest boy -now Joe White's child is lying dead.So the hand of affliction is heavily upon the family-but if I was to continue I could go from house to house and give you quite a sad picture but will here withhold....
Also her close relationship with cousin Dr.James Still,a physician and among the first African-American graduates from Harvard University,
might further explain Caroline's aspiration for medical career.
Caroline is most readily recognized as being one of the first African-American female doctors in Pennsylvania.In regards to the marginalized status of African-American women in medicine,Darlene Clark Hine states,"If white women,black men,and poor whites,as many scholars argue,were outsiders in medicine then black women,belonging as they dis to two subordinate groups,surely inhadited the most distant perimeters of the profession."In spite of this,Caroline,began her medical studies in 1875,at Howard University while at the same time teaching music,drawing,and elocution there.The following she returned to Philadelphia to be near her family.She later enrolled in the Women's
Medical College of Pennsylvia in Philadelphia,where in 1878 she received her medical degree.She continued with an internship at Boston's New England Hospital for women and children in 1879.She initially was denied entry into the New England Hospital due to her race,but soon after was was admitted as a result of a unanimous vote.
She later became City District Physician in Philadelphia.Never ceasing to offer some kind of inspiration to his daughter,William sought to teach
her about the power of conviction and the honor of hard work.On March 7,1879,William mailed to Caroline,copies of the Christian recorder which included an article entitled "Dr.tying and his church organization." He commands, "Don't [sic] fail to read it carefully.It shows how much may be accomplished by a single individual when dead earnest."
In 1880,Caroline married Matthew Anderson,a Doctor of Divinity and pastor of Berean Presbyterian church,which provided medical,financial
and educational services offered at the Berean Church.Writing in 1899,
in the Philadelphia negro.W.E.B. Du Bois noted that the Berean Church"... conducts a successful building and Loan Association,a kindergarten,a medical dispensary and a seaside home,beside the numerous church societies.Probably no church in the city,except the Episcopal Church of the Crucifixion,is doing so much for the social betterment of the negro.Along with the church,Matthew Anderson also
founded the Berean Manual Training Industrial School.Here,Caroline
taught hygiene,physsiology,and public speaking,and also served as the
assistant principal for over thirty years.
Beyond working with her husband,Caroline participated in many civic and educational activities.This extensive involvement included being president of the Berean Women's Christian Temberance Union,a member of the board of the Home for aged and Infirm Colored People and co-organizer of the first Colored Young Women's Christian Association in Philadelphia.
Caroline was appointed treasurer of the Woman's Medical College Alumnae Association in 1888,and was a member of the Women's Medical Society.She remained active in the medical profession by engaging in research and presenting papers at medical conventions.She
was a practicing physician until her death.
assistant principal for over thirty years.
Beyond working with her husband,Caroline participated in many civic and educational activities.This extensive involvement included being president of the Berean Women's Christian Temberance Union,a member of the board of the Home for aged and Infirm Colored People and co-organizer of the first Colored Young Women's Christian Association in Philadelphia.
Caroline was appointed treasurer of the Woman's Medical College Alumnae Association in 1888,and was a member of the Women's Medical Society.She remained active in the medical profession by engaging in research and presenting papers at medical conventions.She
was a practicing physician until her death.
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