Mary Peake (1823-1862) endured persecution, violent attacks, and illness for the cause of education -- inspiring hundreds of formerly enslaved people in the process.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know -- but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Leading Ladies, Activists, STEMinists, Hometown Heroes, and many more. Encyclopedia Womannica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Encyclopedia Womannica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Cinthia Pimentel, Grace Lynch, and Maddy Foley. Special thanks to Shira Atkins, Edie Allard, and Luisa Garbowit.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at jenny@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s activist risked her life to spread something that’s crucial for any community: education. She endured persecution, violent attacks, and illness for the cause of education -- inspiring hundreds of formerly enslaved people in the process. Let’s talk about Mary Peake.
Mary Peake was born Mary Smith Kelsey in Norfolk, Virginia in 1823. Her mother was a free Black woman, and her father was an upper class Englishman. When Mary was six, her mother sent her to the District of Columbia to attend school and live with her aunt.
Over the subsequent decade, Mary received an education that included needlework, reading, writing, and math. Then Southern slaveholders’ racist fear of educated Black citizens boiled to the surface, and Congress banned all Black people in the District of Columbia from attending school.
So, at sixteen years old, Mary Peake had to go back to Virginia to live with her mother. Education was also banned there, but Mary refused to let that stop her from spreading her knowledge.. She risked her freedom to secretly start teaching enslaved and free Black people how to read and write.
In 1847, Mary’s mother remarried and the whole family moved to Hampton, Virginia. Mary made a living by sewing clothes and she continued to teach Black children and adults on the side. She even taught her own new stepfather!
Mary got married to Thomas Peake, a formerly enslaved man, in 1851. They had a daughter named Hattie, and Mary continued to happily teach the community -- until an act of hate interrupted their lives.
On a summer midnight in 1861, hundreds of Confederates stormed Hampton, a Union-controlled town. They lit all 500 buildings on fire, killing some of the sleeping residents inside. Many were able to escape, but the blaze raged all night and left only a few buildings standing.
Still, Mary continued teaching after this horrific attack, though only a few dozen remained in Hampton.
Little did she know, she was about to get a lot more students.
Nearby, the largest stone fort ever built in the United States, Fortress Monroe, became a place of refuge for formerly enslaved people fleeing Confederate territory. General Benjamin Butler, the fort’s Union commander, convinced Congress to pass the First Confiscation Act, which nullified the Fugitive Slave Act and allowed formerly enslaved people who had escaped to stay safely behind Union lines by being declared quote “contraband.”
So many people fled to Fortress Monroe that they outgrew the walls and began to build housing on the ruins of Hampton. They called this new town the Grand Contraband Camp. Grand Contraband Camp was complete with its own churches, businesses, and of course schools.
The American Missionary Association, or AMA, sent Rev. Lewis Lockwood to open the first Sabbath School in the community. As soon as news broke that an official school was opening up, students said they wanted Mary to teach them. After all, she had been defying Virginia law to teach them secretly all along.
The AMA hired Mary and she became the first Black teacher at the Grand Contraband Camp’s Sabbath school. On September 17th, 1861, half-a-dozen children gathered together as students underneath an enormous oak tree for Mary’s first official class. Within a few days, that small group became fifty or sixty eager students.
The iconic tree that acted as their classroom would later come to be known as Emancipation Oak.
The children learned quickly, and soon adults also sought to learn from Mary. She began teaching night classes as well.
The AMA soon granted Mary use of Brown Cottage, and Mary began to live and teach there. Unfortunately, her health was starting to fail. She had contracted tuberculosis before the war, and it left her bedridden on her worst days. Even then, students would gather around Mary’s bed to hear her lessons. Mary fought against her weakness for the good of education -- but by the end of 1861, she was too sick to teach.
Mary Peake died from tuberculosis in 1862. She was 39 years old.
Mary’s life ended far too soon. She didn’t see the war end, or her students grow up. However, her impact is undeniable. The site where she taught would later become the prestigious Hampton Institute.
All month, we’re talking about Activists.
Tune in tomorrow for a bonus episode brought to you by the The Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission. The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the U.S. Senate designated August as National Women's Suffrage Month, a month-long celebration honoring the history of women's fight for the vote. They have a nonpartisan mission to ensure that Americans across the country have the opportunity to participate in the centennial and to learn about this important but often overlooked history. To learn more about the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and its initiatives, tune in to bonus episodes releasing every weekend this month on Womannica and head to www.womensvote100.org.
For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, check out our Encyclopedia Womannica newsletter, Womannica Weekly.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @EncyclopediaWomannica and you can follow me directly on twitter @jennymkaplan.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!