death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date image article_title name occupation alma_mater
24 september 1894 washington , d.c. raleigh , north carolina american 12 september 1840 10marypatterson1862.jpeg mary jane patterson
 mary jane patterson teacher principal oberlin college -lrb- ba -rrb-
mary jane patterson

mary jane patterson -lrb- september 12 , 1840 -- september 24 , 1894 -rrb- was the first african-american woman to receive a b.a degree in 1862 .
she was the oldest of henry irving patterson and emeline eliza -lrb- taylor -rrb- patterson 's children .
there is conflicting data on how many siblings she had , but most sources cite between seven and ten .
henry patterson worked as a bricklayer and plasterer who gained his freedom , after mary was born , in 1852 .
after this , he moved his family north to ohio .
the patterson 's settled in oberlin , ohio , in 1856 .
oberlin had a large community of black families ; some were freed slaves and some were fugitive slaves .
oberlin was popular because it had a racially integrated co-ed college .
henry patterson worked as a master mason , and for many years the family boarded large numbers of black students in their home .
