Oxford Democrat., 1915-11-23
WASHINGTON WAS
LEADER OF RACE
Former Slave Rose to Be Great
Educator Of Negroes.
FOUNDER OF BIG INSTITUTE
Tusksose 10 Known All Over the coun-
Try az tho Best School For Colored
psrsons In the United Statss-lts
Head Was Friend of Two Presidents
and other Noted Men.

Head Was Friend OF TWO Presioehts
and other Noted Men.
Booker II. Washington, who died the
other day. was the most widely known
man his race has ever produced In this
country and its foremost educator.
Born Of a slave mother into slavery,
the fortunes of his life led him to be
White House guest Of q president at
luncheon, to be entertained and re-
ceived by queens and princes abroad,
to have Harvard and Dartmouth uni
versities confer degrees upon him and
to die leaving behind him record OF
achievement and ability which Is gen.
orally considered never to have been
eQualed by any one Of his race.
1t was with the Tuskegee Normal and
Industrial institute that DR.. Washington
was most generally associated. From
its foundation In 1881 until his death
he had been its principal Under his
management and leading this school
for negroes had grown from q shack
In which thirty pupils gathered for
lessons to one of the largest and most
munificently equipped normal educa-
tional institutions in this country,
where more than 1900 negro boys and
girls, young men and women, annually
receive instruction.
But DR.. Washington's work was not
confined to the administration Of one
school. It's Importance, 1t IS generally
acknowledged, lay in his national lead
ership of his race. Into practically
every state Of the Union the negro ed
ucator went, giving advice to his peo-
pie, spreading his influence, dealing
with their problems whatever they
were.
Trusted by Roosevelt.
In 1904 he accepted q luncheon invi.
tation extended to him by Theodore
Roosevelt, then president.
Included In the number Of Dr.. Wash.
ington's close personal friends may be
mentioned such men as Theodore
Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Os-
wald Garrison Willard, President Kel.
sey of the Title Guarantee and Trust
company, Andrew Carnegie, Jacob
Schiff, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Rob
ert Shaw Minturn, Felix NJ. Warburg,
William Jay Schieffelin, DR.. Hills,
Seth Low and Governor Whitman.
Began Life as Slave.
DR.. Washington was born in 1857 OF
1853 at Hales Ford, Franklin county,
Va. a few years later the family
which owned him moved to West Viz
ginia, where the boy was put to work
In salt works near Madison. About
the time the war ended he began to
show a desire for an education. BE
went to school about two months o
year and read and studied at night
In 1871 he heard Of the Hampton In
stitute at Hampton, Va. He walked
part of the way to Hampton and stud
led ut the institute. from which he was
graduated with high honors. He re-
turned 10 West Virginia, where he
taught school for time and then
went to the Wayland institute In
Washington. From there he was call
ed to HAMPTON as teacher. After two
years of this General S. G. Armstrong
was asked by the citizens Of Tuskegee,
Ala, to find some one to start an In
stitution at that place similar to the
one at Hampton. He recommended
young Washington. and the latter took
the job, going to Alabama in 1881.
DR.. Washington had been married
three times. his third wife surviving
him. His first wife was Fannie NJ.
Smith, whom he married In 1882 and
who died In 1884. She was grad
uate of Hampton, and the wedding
took place In Tuskegee. In 1885 he
married Olivia Davidson, one Of the
teachers at the school. She died In
1880, and DR.. Washington married
Margaret ]. Murray. graduate Of Frick
institute. In 1893.
He leaves three children, two sons
and a daughter. His daughter, Por'
tia, was born Of his first marriage.
His two sons, Booker T., Jr.. and Ed
ward Davidson, Of his second. All
three We're educated In the north.