Ada Brown Withrow served first as a teacher and then as principal of the African American High School in London, Laurel County, from 1927 to 1930.
Miss Withrow was only in Laurel County for a short time, but I believe Laurel County played a large part in her success throughout the remainder of her life.
Ada Brown Withrow was born on June 16, 1908 in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Jessie Holladay Withrow and Charles H. Withrow, who married in 1907.
Ada was an only child.
Unfortunately, on June 17, 1917, Charles was confined to Eastern State Hospital in Lexington with Paresis, a condition of muscular weakness caused by nerve damage or disease resulting in partial paralysis.
He died the following year, on April 19, 1918, less than two months before Ada's tenth birthday.
He was only 38 years old.
In 1925, Ada graduated from Dunbar High School in Lexington, and went on the graduate from the Normal Department of Kentucky State Industrial College at Frankfort in 1927, a college for African Americans.
That college is known today as Kentucky State University.
In the fall semester of the 1927-28 school year, Ada started teaching at the African American High School at London in Laurel County.
By the 1928-1929 school year – only her second year of teaching, Ada had been promoted to principal.
And by the 1930 fall semester Ada was teaching sixth grade at Constitution Elementary School in Lexington, a post she held through June 1940.
In September 1940, Ada was appointed as principal of George Washington Carver Elementary School in Lexington.
Ada served as principal of George Washington Carver Elementary School from 1940 until 1945, when she was hired as principal at Constitution school, where she had taught sixth grade after she left Laurel County.
Ada Withrow died on January 9, 1951 from a pulmonary infarction, which occurs when a section of lung tissue dies because its blood supply has become blocked.
The condition was caused by thrombophlebitis, an inflammatory process that caused a blood clot to form in one of her veins and slowed down the blood supply to her lung tissue.
She was only 42 years old.
Ada was survived by her mother, Jessie Holladay Withrow, two uncles, Kemp Holladay, of Chicago, and Huston Holladay, of Cincinnati, and an aunt, Mrs. Nannie Washington, of Lexington.
Ada never married or had children of her own, though she certainly served as a mother-figure to numerous school children under her care.
Her obituary called her a prominent educator, a veteran teacher, a fine principal, and said her death was marked as a regrettable loss by the members of the Lexington Board of Education.
There is much more to her story, so please listen to the entire episode for all the details about Ada Brown Withrow's life and teaching career.
This podcast is presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.
Ada Brown Withrow served first as a teacher and then as principal of the African American High School in London, Laurel County, from 1927 to 1930.
Miss Withrow was only in Laurel County for a short time, but I believe Laurel County played a large part in her success throughout the remainder of her life.
Ada Brown Withrow was born on June 16, 1908 in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Jessie Holladay Withrow and Charles H. Withrow, who married in 1907.
Ada was an only child.
Unfortunately, on June 17, 1917, Charles was confined to Eastern State Hospital in Lexington with Paresis, a condition of muscular weakness caused by nerve damage or disease resulting in partial paralysis.
He died the following year, on April 19, 1918, less than two months before Ada's tenth birthday.
He was only 38 years old.
In 1925, Ada graduated from Dunbar High School in Lexington, and went on the graduate from the Normal Department of Kentucky State Industrial College at Frankfort in 1927, a college for African Americans.
That college is known today as Kentucky State University.
In the fall semester of the 1927-28 school year, Ada started teaching at the African American High School at London in Laurel County.
By the 1928-1929 school year – only her second year of teaching, Ada had been promoted to principal.
And by the 1930 fall semester Ada was teaching sixth grade at Constitution Elementary School in Lexington, a post she held through June 1940.
In September 1940, Ada was appointed as principal of George Washington Carver Elementary School in Lexington.
Ada served as principal of George Washington Carver Elementary School from 1940 until 1945, when she was hired as principal at Constitution school, where she had taught sixth grade after she left Laurel County.
Ada Withrow died on January 9, 1951 from a pulmonary infarction, which occurs when a section of lung tissue dies because its blood supply has become blocked.
The condition was caused by thrombophlebitis, an inflammatory process that caused a blood clot to form in one of her veins and slowed down the blood supply to her lung tissue.
She was only 42 years old.
Ada was survived by her mother, Jessie Holladay Withrow, two uncles, Kemp Holladay, of Chicago, and Huston Holladay, of Cincinnati, and an aunt, Mrs. Nannie Washington, of Lexington.
Ada never married or had children of her own, though she certainly served as a mother-figure to numerous school children under her care.
Her obituary called her a prominent educator, a veteran teacher, a fine principal, and said her death was marked as a regrettable loss by the members of the Lexington Board of Education.
There is much more to her story, so please listen to the entire episode for all the details about Ada Brown Withrow's life and teaching career.
This podcast is presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.