Sylvia Anna Lindley (1854 - 1922)

Born 10 Apr 1854 in Milford, Wayne, Indiana, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Benjamin Barclay Johnson — married 11 Feb 1871 in , Wayne, Indiana, USA

Descendants

Died 17 Mar 1922 at age 67 in Orange, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Allen McGrew [send private message]

Biography

Sylvia Anna ("Anna") was born on April 10, 1854 to Osmond Lindley and Achsah W Wilson near Milford in Wayne County, Indiana. Her parents had met while both students at Earlham boarding school in Richmond, Indiana. At not quite 17 years of age she married Barclay Johnson near Lewisville, Henry County, Indiana

The young couple had already committed to mission service as teachers at Southland College near Lexa Arkansas. Originally established as an orphanage for African American children, by the time Barclay and Anna taught there in 1871-72, Southland had developed into a mission of greater ambition as the first institution of higher learning for African-Americans west of the Mississippi. The founders and early directors of Southland, Calvin and Alida Clark are reported to have both been descendants of John Clark and Anne (Gibson) Clark, which would have made them second cousins to Anna’s grandparents, but whether they were aware of this distant family connection, and whether it had anything to do with the attraction of Barclay and Anna to the institution is not known.

Raising a Family

After their initial stint teaching at Southland, Barclay and Anna returned to Indiana, and purchased a farm near Herbst in Franklin Township in Grant County in 1874. Anna gave birth to a family of ten children, one of whom (Earl) died shortly after his birth, and another, Myra, who died at age 4. The family placed great stock in education for both their male and female children, and when their eldest children, Ernest and Elizabeth, completed grammar school they made the decision to sell their land in Franklin Township and to purchase a farm a couple miles from the town of Fairmount where the highly regarded Fairmount Academy would afford Elizabeth and the younger children the opportunity of a high school education. They closed on the farm the same day that their eighth child, Will, was born. Following Anna and Barclay's deaths in 1922, Will purchased the farm from his siblings, and the farm remain in the family until 2013. The farmhouse where they raised their family still stands on the west side of Indiana St Rte. 9 at Lat. 40.442028, Long. -85.673931.

Anna is reputed to have been quick-witted and strong willed. She and her husband, Barclay, often wiled away the evening hours playing chess, and according to family tradition, she never lost -- whenever a defeat appeared imminent she would find a way to upset the table (her manner of conceding). ^[1] The family placed great stock in education and showed considerable educational attainment according to the standards of the late 19th and early 20th century. The oldest son Ernest and his sister, Elizabeth, began school at the Fairmount Academy the same day, graduated the same day, both worked as teachers themselves, and were married just a day apart -- he to Bertha Coggeshall and she to Walter W. Rush.^[2] Of their other children, all graduated from the Fairmount Academy. In addition, Clayton acquired advanced training in business, Alice and Alfred attended the University of Illinois, and Annette and Will graduated from Earlham College. The youngest, Geneva, began at Earlham College but completed her Bachelor's degree at Whittier College in California. Exceptionally at the time, all three of the younger children also pursued post-graduate education-- Annette at Bryn Mawr, Will at the University of California, and Geneva at Stanford. Most of their children at some point followed their parents in spending at least part of their careers as teachers, with Geneva and Will making careers of it. Two daughters married into the family of Nixon and Louisa Rush, prominent and widely traveled Quaker ministers and scions of a prominent farming and banking family in Fairmount. As mentioned above, Elizabeth married their oldest son, Walter whereas Annette married Calvin, who went on to earn a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania specializing in Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat. Calvin and Annette also served in various capacities with the American Friends Service Committee, including a year of service in China, where he diagnosed and treated a variety of visual maladies.^[3] ,^[4] One of the Rush sisters, Olive Rush, went on to considerable acclaim as an artist and illustrator.

Into the Breach: Return to Southland College

With the maturing of their family and the marriage of Elizabeth to Walter Rush, Barclay and Anna again felt free to answer the call to Southland in 1899, and continued as the superintendent and head matron of the school until 1903, leaving the younger children under the care of Elizabeth. The second oldest sister, Alice, followed Barclay and Anna to Southland to serve as a teacher. According to the family lore handed down through the youngest son left at home, Will, Elizabeth was not a particularly versatile cook, being skilled primarily in the preparation of rudabagas, which they had so frequently that the family took to calling them “it” – as in “We’re having ‘it’ for dinner again tonight." ^[5].

Apparently, Barclay and Anna (he as “superintendant” and she as “matron”) arrived at a particularly perilous time for its future. The previous “president” of the college, Stanley Pearson, had begun his tenure with great ambition and hopeful plans to follow the Tuskegee Institute model, but then unexpectedly died in his first year, living just long enough to see the roofs of the chapel and the classroom building torn off and the crops damaged by a tornado in June of 1899. ^[6] The following March, a suspected arsonist completed the destruction by setting fire to the two damaged buildings, and the Friends Mission Board was forced to consider whether it was time to lay-down the ill-starred ministry. Although the buildings were insured, following the fires the insurance company dropped coverage of the remaining buildings due to the suspicion of malicious arson, and some members of the mission board began to argue against the prudence of continuing the mission. With the support of Stanley Pearson’s widow Barclay was able to argue that the faith and sacrifices of their predecessors placed on them an obligation to continue the work by providing for the construction of a modern new classroom building and chapel, ^[7]

At the end of their tenure in 1903, as they sought relief from the administration of the College in order to again take up their responsibilities at home in Indiana, Barclay and Anna were able to report to Indiana Yearly Meeting that the surviving buildings had all been put in good repair, and a new heating plant installed to service them, that a substantial, three-story new classroom building and chapel had been constructed, that enrollments had stabilized and begun to grow again, and that the full teaching faculty had been retained to support the transition to a new superintendent.^[8] At that time, three-fourths of the teachers throughout the “tri-county region” of the delta were Southland graduates, and in 1901 a graduating Southland student had been chosen to read her paper on “Modern Education” to the State teachers institute in Helena.

In 1903 the report of the Missionary Board in 1903 thanked them for their service and reported the hiring of a promising young, new superintendent, Henry C. (“Harry”) Wolford, who was destined to lead the school through most of the next two decades:

"In making the fortieth annual report of the Missionary Board on Southland, we desire to gratefully acknowledge the blessing of our Heavenly Father which has rested down upon the labor of love and benefit done for the people of the negro race at Southland, under the care of this committee. Of its success we owe much to the earnest solicitude and watchful care of our dear Friends, Barclay Johnson and wife, who have so well served in their respective capacities as Superintendent and Matron. At their own urgent request they were relieved from further service about the 25th of Eighth month, and their places have been filled by our dear younger Friends, Henry C. Wolford and wife, who are now in charge."

For their part, Barclay and Anna proudly reported the closing of their tenure at Southland with the first commencement held in the new facilities:

"Our commencement exercises and other entertainments have all been of high character and well attended. Our assem bly room will seat about 400, and has been crowded on several occasions. The last gathering, on the 8th of Eighth month, was a Sabbath School picnic, " farewell " and " inaugural." We expected a full house, but the gathering exceeded our expectation. Amongst the regrets expressed at our leaving we almost regretted to leave ourselves, and, but for the home-coming, the regrets would have prevailed."

To illustrate the impact the Johnsons had during their brief but influential 3-year tenure at Southland, among the students whose graduation they observed that year of 1903 was Anna (Paschal) Strong who would go on to study at Tuskegee and Columbia and then to co-found the National Congress of Colored Teachers and Parents in 1926 and to be elected president of the Arkansas Teacher’s Association in 1929.^[9] Strong continued as a principle of Moton High School in Marianna, Arkansas until 1951. ^[10]

Retirement and Passing

After their return to Indiana, Barclay and Anna turned over farming to the children and retired into the community of Fairmount, where they lived until moving to Orange County, California in about 1913. Having been eldered themselves at the beginning of their marriage so many years before, Anna herself became recognized as an elder of the Fairmount Friends Meeting. ^[11] Barclay and Anna lived out their remaining days in Orange County, California. Anna died of influenza complicated by pneumonia less than a month shy of her 68th birthday, on 17 March, 1922. Barclay followed her nine months later, passing at age 79 on 17 December, 1922. Anna and Barclay are buried side by side in Rose Hill Memorial Park in Whittier, California. ^[12]

Name

Sylvia Anna /Lindley/^[13][14]

Sylvia Ann /Lindley/^[15]

Sylvia Ann /Lindley/^[16]

Sylvia Ann /Lindley/^[17]

Found multiple versions of NAME. Using Sylvia Anna /Lindley/.

Birth

10 APR 1854

Milford, Wayne, Indiana, USA^[18]

10 APR 1854

Howard, Indiana, USA^[19][20]

10 APR 1854

, Howard, Indiana, USA^[21]

10 APR 1854

, Howard, Indiana, USA^[22]

10 APR 1854

Milford, Wayne, Indiana, United States^[23]

10 APR 1854

Milford, Wayne, Indiana, United States^[24]

1877

Illinois, United States^[25]

Found multiple copies of BIRT DATE. Using 10 APR 1854

Death

1922

California

Fairmount, Indiana, USA^[26]

1920

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, USA^[27]

1920

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, USA^[28]

1920

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, United States^[29]

1920

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, United States^[30]

1930^[31]

Found multiple copies of DEAT DATE. Using 1922Array

Residence

1870

Dudley, Henry, Indiana, United States^[32][33][34]

1910

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana^[35]

1910

Fairmount, Grant, Indiana^[36]

Object

@M25@

@M26@

@M32@

Marriage

FAM

@I13@

@I14@

@I146@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I145@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I144@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I143@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I142@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I141@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I7@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I137@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I140@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I139@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I138@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

11 FEB 1871

, Wayne, Indiana, USA^[37][38]

@M88@

FAM

@I135@

@I136@

@I14@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I227@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I230@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I231@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I232@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I233@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I234@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I235@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I236@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I237@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I238@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I239@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

@I240@

to Father: Natural

to Mother: Natural

28 MAR 1853

Milford Mm, Wayne Co., Indiana^[39]

Sources

• Source: S1 Author: Ancestry.com Title: OneWorldTree Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Repository: #R1
• Repository: R1 Name: www.ancestry.com Address: E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S2 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; Repository: #R1
• Source: S8 Author: Ancestry.com Title: 1910 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; Repository: #R1 NOTEUnited States of America, Bureau of the Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1910

1. ↑ Janet E. Johnson, pers. comm.
2. ↑ Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 703.
3. ↑ Xu, Guangqiu. American Doctors in Canton: Modernization in China, 1835 - 1935. Routledge, 2017, p. 35.
4. ↑ Rush, Calvin C. Treatment of Myopia, China Medical Journal, v. 34, 1920, p. 606
5. ↑ Janet E. Johnson McGrew, pers. comm.
6. ↑ Kennedy, Thomas. A History of Southland College: The Society of Friends and Black Education in Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press, 2009, 349 p
7. ↑ Kennedy, Thomas. A History of Southland College: The Society of Friends and Black Education in Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press, 2009, 349 p
8. ↑ Minutes, Indiana Yearly Meeting, 1900 - 1903.
9. ↑ Dillard, T. Opinion: In Honor of Dedicated Educators. Arkasas Democrat Gazette, Aug. 11, 2019
10. ↑ "Anna M.P. Strong: Dedicated Her Life to Improving Education for African Americans," [1]
11. ↑ Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 703.
12. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13199340/b-john
13. ↑ Source: #S8 Page: Database online. Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, ED , roll T624_351, part , page . Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson Object: @M8@
14. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Lindley
15. ↑ Source: #S1 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for William Johnson
16. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Ann Lindley
17. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
18. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Lindley
19. ↑ Source: #S1 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for William Johnson
20. ↑ Source: #S8 Page: Database online. Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, ED , roll T624_351, part , page . Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson Object: @M8@
21. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Ann Lindley
22. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
23. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
24. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
25. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
26. ↑ Source: #S1 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for William Johnson
27. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Ann Lindley
28. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
29. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
30. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
31. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
32. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Ann Lindley
33. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
34. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
35. ↑ Source: #S8 Page: Database online. Fairmount, Grant, Indiana, ED , roll T624_351, part , page . Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson Object: @M8@
36. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
37. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Sylvia Ann Lindley
38. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Barclay Johnson
39. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Achsah W Wilson

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Allen McGrew for creating WikiTree profile Lindley-538 through the import of McGrew_2010-01-09_2013-03-22.ged on Mar 22, 2013.

Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Allen and others.