Denise Roe, Deputy County Clerk, is shown with a copy of the New York Archive magazine featuring her article titled A Natural Right to Knowledge.
(Wampsville, NY – Aug. 25, 2013) New York Archives Magazine has publish
ed an article by Denise Roe, Madison County Deputy Clerk, about Madison County native Myrtilla Miner. “A Natural Right to Knowledge” is featured in the Spring 2013 edition.
Myrtilla Miner opened the first school for African American girls so they could teach others to support her conviction that education should be used as a tool to uplift oppressed groups. With $100, Miner began her endeavor in Washington DC in 1851 with 6 pupils. Within two months, she had 40 pupils.
This was prior to the Civil War, and resentment was strong against Northern abolitionists meddling with local institutions. Miner had to fend off several attacks and move several times. She finally was able to buy a three-acre lot on the edge of the city. Even Frederick Douglass tried to discourage her, fearing for her safety. Supporters included Harriet Beecher Stowe, Johns Hopkins and Henry Ward Beecher. Her papers are held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.
Today, Miner’s enterprise is educating students as the University of the District of Columbia Teachers College.
Roe states, “Miner is a shining example of what one dedicated Madison County woman can accomplish despite overwhelming odds. She is only one of many Madison County residents that have made important contributions to our world.”
The Clerk’s office is promoting Madison County’s history using archival documents. Roe is quoted in the summer issue of Plank Road Magazine, “Being grounded, knowledgeable about our history reminds people of their civic obligations. As citizens of our community, we have a social contract to fulfill…to be engaged in the democratic process.”