1

Elizabeth Winter

Dr. Buchanan

6 December 2017

Grace C. Bibb-Sudborough: Tireless Educator

As MU celebrates the 150th anniversary of the College of Education, which currently

boasts of having six departments, 31,000,000+ research dollars awarded in 2016, programs and

outreach in every county in Missouri, and 39,000+ alumni worldwide, it is almost unimaginable

that the College’s future was in question—numerous times. Indeed, within the first decade of its

existence, the College of Education’s future was fraught with uncertainty. Following the Great

Awakening in the late 18th to early 19th century, public education and state universities

bourgeoned westward. The “University of the State of Missouri”1 was first established in

Columbia in 1839. In 1841, the College of Arts and Science was officially founded, and in 1843

Robert L. Todd and Robert B. Todd became the first graduates.2 Although President John Hiram

Lathrop heartily appealed to the Board of Curators to instate a teachers college, writing that “The

University is best accomplished its mission when it becomes the school of schoolmasters,” it was

not until years later, in 1867, that the Normal College was founded.3

In its infancy the department was led by Dean E. L. Ripley, “one of the best-known

members of the Faculty,” but MU’s administration and external forces hampered the success of

the program.4 Upon his election in 1876, President Samuel Spahr Laws quickly dismantled the

program by abolishing the preparatory department and the model school. Soon thereafter, Dean

1
MU’s original name. MU and MIZZOU are the current acronyms for the University of Missouri-Columbia.
2
“Significant Dates in the History of the University of Missouri” (University Archives, 2014).
https://muarchives.missouri.edu/sigdates.html. The College of Education was originally called the Normal College.
3
Christopher J. Lucas, School of the Schoolmasters: A Brief History of the College of Education (Columbia, MO:
University of Missouri Press, 1989), 10.
4
Frank F. Stephens, A History of the University of Missouri (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1962),
270.
 2

Ripley resigned his post in August of 1878. While this historical period as a whole requires

further study, this paper will zero in on the second Dean of Normal Faculty: Grace C. Bibb-

Sudborough (Bibb). 5Bibb’s role as “first woman dean” in MU’s contemporary institutional

memory is but the entry point for exploring previously uncharted areas of her life.

As this paper was produced as part of a graduate level archives class, it seeks to fulfill the

fundamental archival values of advocacy: “to promote the use and understanding of the historical

record;” diversity: to document marginalized voices; and history and memory: to utilize primary

sources in a way that encourages critical analysis and yields “insights into the human

experience.”6 Indeed, while the history books shine brightly on Bibb’s accomplishment as the

first woman dean at MU and one of the first women hired at the university level in the United

States, this is but one of her numerous accomplishments.7 Educated in the Classics, prolific

writer, defender of education, champion of Normal Schools (teacher’s colleges), passionate

speaker, proficient leader, skilled teacher, able negotiator—Bibb embodied these qualities and

confidently lived according to a philosophical ethic that prized the universal education of young

people and its corollary: higher education for teachers. 8

Despite Grace C. Bibb-Sudborough’s copious accomplishments and energetic

involvement in high-profile philosophical and educational movements, her womanhood directly

obscured her historical legacy and the record of her life was relegated to a sparse number of

handwritten letters in various archives, articles in journals, and a nexus of newspaper clippings

from Peoria, IL; St. Louis, MO; Columbia, MO; Omaha, NE. This paper seeks to place

5
See Sarah Gabriel’s paper about the beginning of the Normal School and the admission of female students for
more information about this period in the College’s history.
6
“SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics,” SAA Council, May 2011, accessed November 15, 2017,
https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics
7
See Appendix A: Grace C. Bibb-Sudborough Curriculum Vitae/Resume
8
I can only speculate about her beliefs on race. She talks about race or specifically mentions African-Americans or
segregation in her writings.
 3

Bibb’s Deanship in context with her pre-and post-activities, and will be divided into three

sections to holistically represent her accomplishments: Early Life and Career (Peoria), Middle

Career (St. Louis, Columbia), and Late Career (Omaha).

I) Early Life and Career (Peoria), 1842 to 1872

The details of Grace’s early life and career are fuzzy, so much so that her obituary in the

Omaha World Herald newspaper stated that she was born in Missouri, and numerous other

secondary sources pinpoint her career as beginning at St. Louis Public Schools.9 Nevertheless, a

few records have shed light on this oft overlooked time period. Bibb was actually born in Nelson,

Virginia, a small farming community of 12, 287 freepersons and 5, 967 slaves, in 1842.10 Her

mother was Mary Bibb, Father George Bibb, and younger brothers John, Robert William, and

Henry.11 The Bibb family moved to Peoria, Illinois sometime before the 1850 census was

conducted. The family probably stayed in Peoria for the remainder of Bibb’s life, but more

research is required to ascertain the specifics.12 It is assumed that Bibb received a high school

education and attended a Normal School, as a high school education (something past primary

school) would be a prerequisite to teaching, and she dedicated a large portion of her life to

furthering the agenda of normal schools.13 She began her teaching career in the 1860s and filled

various high school teaching positions in cities throughout Illinois, including Peoria and

9
Omaha World Herald, “Mrs. Grace Sudborough, Former Teacher, Dead,” September 16, 1912 vol. XXVIII 20, 1.
10
“Population of Virginia, 1840” (Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1840numbers.html.
11
1850 & 1860 US Census Data
12
It is clear from a handwritten letter sent to President SS Laws from Bibb that she does not reside in St. Louis all
year and the letter is addressed from Peoria, IL. MUC University Archives Board of Curators; Official
Correspondence (call number UW:1/4/1a), box 4, folder 3a
13
More research is required to ascertain the specifics.
 4

Chicago, for the rest of the decade.14 The Illinois Teacher, one of the oldest educational journals

in America, lists her as a member of the Illinois State Teachers Association in 1866.15

Bibb’s early involvement in the teachers’ association and publications in educational

journals established a precedent that she would continue throughout her life. Her initial

publications in the Illinois Teacher, The Training to Citizenship (1869), In the Vineyard (1870),16

Monthly Examinations—Do They Have Their Perfect Work? (1871) and Course of Study for

High Schools (1871),17 display a deft hand at writing and a critical understanding of the external

and internal issues facing the education profession. Specifically, Monthly Examinations—Do

They Have Their Perfect Work? (1871)18 shows that she was greatly attuned to the fluctuating

interest and support for public education among “large tax-payers of little public spirit, short-

sighted politicians, advocates of private or denominational schools, and that portion of our

‘American Aristocracy’ who fear lest scholastic equality may level social barriers.”19 In the

Vineyard addresses internal problems such as poor standards for instruction, low pay for

teachers, and questionable conditions in schools. Her description of teaching environments is

revealing:

They teach, during the time they do teach, in ill-arranged, ill-ventilated, unsightly
buildings, which are rendered in winter almost inaccessible by the bad condition of the
roads…The pupils collected are of all ages and of all degrees of advancement. The time
of instruction is divided among a number of classes nearly coequal with the entire
number of pupils. Uniformity of textbooks is frequently unattainable. These depressing
outside influences, taken together with the actual fatigue resultant upon labor in the
school room, must effectually lower the tone both of mind and body.”20

14
“Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Schools, 1871-72” (St. Louis: Democrat Litho.
and Printing Co., 1873), 88.
15
Illinois Teacher: Devoted to Education, Science and Free Schools vol. 13. This is the first record about her as a
teacher.
16
“In the Vineyard,” The Illinois Teacher vol. 16.
17
The Illinois Teacher vol. 17.
18
Ibid.
19
The Illinois Teacher vol. 17, 299.
20
“In the Vineyard,” The Illinois Teacher vol.16, 80.
 5

Additionally, Bibb’s early publications show that by the age of 28 she was firmly grounded in

the belief that women were uniquely capable teachers. In the field of education, according to

Bibb, “all is open to her, and by right of natural fitness she enters in and possesses the land.”21

During the mid to late 19th century, male and female educational leaders were among the

strongest advocates for the education of girls in addition to boys, but other sectors of society

were not uniformly in agreement.

II) Middle Career (St. Louis and Columbia), 1873-1883

Bibb’s move to St. Louis in 1872 to take a job at 1st Branch High School ushered in a

new area of professional connections and publications. She was quickly promoted to Assistant

Principal of the St. Louis Normal School in 1873. St. Louis was thriving economically in the

1870s; in 1876 the St. Louis political and business elites established home rule, “which erected a

political and geographic barrier” between the city and the county, in an effort to capitalize on the

city’s current success.22 More importantly for Bibb, St. Louis was a nexus for the American

idealist philosophical movement—led by educator William Torrey Harris—that welded German

idealist principals to practical educational frameworks.23 Bibb soon familiarized herself with the

leading St. Louis educators, became a member of the Pedagogical Society, the Missouri State

Teachers’ Association, and the National Educational Association (NEA),24 and regularly

contributed pieces to the Journal of Education (St. Louis) and The Western Review: A Journal of

Literature, Education, and Art (The Western).

21
Ibid, 79.
22
Valerie Strauss, “The Sad Story of Public Education in St. Louis,” Washington Post, September 7, 2017, accessed
October 10, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/09/07/the-sad-story-of-public-
education-in-st-louis/?utm_term=.befe396aa7fd
23
This was later dubbed the St. Louis Movement (1860-1880).
24
The NEA was founded in 1857.
 6

Harris served as the Superintendent of St. Louis Schools while Bibb was teaching in St.

Louis, and the two developed a strong professional friendship. Bibb regularly attended meetings

of the Philosophical Society and soon was invited to join an elite, exclusive inner-circle known

as the “Kant Club,” where Hegel’s Phenomenology and Science of Logic were discussed and

analyzed.25 She subsequently demonstrated a keen interest in literary criticism and in applying

Hegelian principals to educational realities through her writing. Women as Teachers (1873) and

Lady Macbeth (1875) are analyzed in detail by Dorothy G. Rogers in her treatment of women in

the philosophical movement in “America’s First Women Philosopher’s: Transplanting Hegel,

1860-1925.” Rogers argues that Bibb was an early progenitor of feminism; indeed she calls

Women as Teachers “unquestionably feminist, and a tinge philosophical.”26 Not only was Bibb’s

Women as Teachers important for the growth of feminism in America, it also was one of

fourteen tracts distributed as “Popular Educational Documents” by the American Journal of

Education. These tracts were sent to teachers and schools across the country because—according

to the Journal—they “embody some of the most practical ideas, and the freshest thought and

expression of the age on this subject.”27

Women as Teachers’ circulation in teaching circles across the country catapulted Bibb to

national recognition, but The Relation of Art to Education—delivered on August 4th 1875, at the

second day proceedings of the 15th NEA conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota—cemented her

as a distinguished writer, speaker, and educator. Importantly, Bibb may have crossed paths with

UM President Dr. Reed, who was also in attendance. Bibb continued to present this paper at

25
It is important to note, however, that women were not allowed to become official members of these groups.
26
Dorothy G. Rogers, America’s First Women Philosopher’s: Transplanting Hegel, 1860-1925 (New York:
Continuum, 2005), 102.
27
“Educational Documents,” American Journal of Education (Chicago, December 1874), American Journal of
Education Volumes 7-11 (Google Books), 11.
 7

various meetings and conferences. The American Journal of Education reported that her essay

“received marked attention from the large audience present; and a resolution was unanimously

adopted, looking to the practical application of the valuable suggestions it contained.”28 While

Bibb’s essay generally received high marks, a writer for the Nebraska State Journal declared that

“Miss Grace C. Bibb, a bonny, good looking lady from St. Louis, read a very long and learned

dissertation on ‘Art,’ that smelled very strongly of encyclopedia and tired out the audience. She

apparently wished her hearers to understand that a woman can play the pedant as well as a

man.”29 Remarks about her appearance aside, the writer appears to be dismissive of women in

roles outside the home.

Continuing on theme of “Art,” The English Novel; Its Art Value, published in the

Western Review in May of 1876, was the apex of her non-educational writings, combining

Hegelian philosophical principals with striking literary critiques. In it, Bibb exhibits an extensive

knowledge of the Classical Canon, tracing the evolution of the novel from the times of “illiterate

peoples and mythologic ages” to Latin Romance, and finally culminating in the English novel

which, at its best, “shall most perfectly interpret to man the problem of his spiritual life.”30 She

shows that she is aware of the current position of women in society, but is unwilling to cower to

expected norms. Bibb criticizes “classical romances,” writing that “in them woman is assigned

an ideal elevation and prominence in contrast with her real position in society at the time.”31

And, as evidence of her unwavering support of idealism and her confidence in her intellectual

28
“General Association,” American Journal of Education (St. Louis, September 1875), American Journal of
Education Volumes 7-11 (Google Books), 5.
29
The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, NE: 1875), 3.
30
Grace C. Bibb, “The English Novel; Its Art Value” The Western: A Journal of Literature, Education, and Art 2
(St. Louis: Western Publishing Association, 1876), 257.
31
Ibid, 259.
 8

prowess, she eviscerates Charles Dickens’ realism and concludes that “it is doubted if any true

art can be found in Dickens…”32

Bibb’s career was on the upswing throughout the 1870s. She received multiple pay raises

over the years. The State Journal newspaper declared on December 1st, 1876, that she held “the

highest position of any lady, seven dollars a day,” though the Principal of the St. Louis Normal

School Prof. Soldar was paid $15 dollars a day.33 While the journalist writing this article

believed that public teachers perform “the highest and holiest of work,” legislators in Jefferson

City were not unanimously in support of public education. Nevertheless, Bibb tirelessly defended

public education and Normal Schools.34 She passionately rebutted five attacks on Normal

Schools at the NEA conference in Louisville, Kentucky in 1877 in her paper “Attacks on Normal

Schools” contending “That Pedagogy is a Science; that teaching is a profession; that Normal

Schools have the same inherent right as other professional Schools to honorable regard...”35 Bibb

was chosen to be secretary of the NEA’s Normal Department at this conference.

It is this atmosphere of widespread recognition that, in August of 1878, Bibb was

propositioned by MU President Laws, at the bequest of the Board of Curators, to accept Dean

Ripley’s recently vacated post of Professor of Pedagogy.36 Bibb did not immediately accept the

post. Instead, she wrote a long, detailed letter to Pres. Laws explaining that she had decided to

accept the position “should it be offered me at the salary of which we spoke, $2000.”37 But since

the final offer of $1200 was less than her current pay in St. Louis of $1800, she would have to

32
Ibid, 273.
33
The State Journal (Jefferson City, MO: December 8, 1876) 4.
34
Grace Bibb, “Attacks on Normal Schools” Paper presented at the National Education Association Session,
Louisville, KY, August 16, 1877 (National Education Association Addresses and Proceedings 17).
35
Ibid.
36
Thomas J. Scharf, “History of St. Louis City and County, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Day: Including
Biographical Sketches of Representative Men” (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts, 1883), 1604.
37
Board of Curators; Official Correspondence, Box 4, Folder 3a. University Archives (MU).
 9

mull the decision over. Bibb used several other negotiating tactics in the letter as well. For

instance, she noted that in St. Louis men and women of the same position were paid equally, and

that it would be difficult for the university to find someone with similar experience in Normal

Schools who could leave their current position for the salary offered.38 The details of Bibb’s

continued negotiations with Pres. Laws are unknown, but she ultimately accepted the position

and began teaching in October 1878.

The College of Education was in flux when Bibb took the helm. Nevertheless, despite

Pres. Laws’ distaste for the practical sciences and active dismantling of the College of Education,

Bibb appeared to be happy in her position. In a letter addressed to Harris, written the year

following her appointment, Bibb stated, “You will be glad to learn the Normal Department at the

University is in quite a flourishing condition.”39 She successfully added a few courses to the

curriculum, even though it was well-known that Pres. Laws sought to shorten the program. Her

administrative skills were also on display as attendance in classes increased over her tenure and

more students obtained a Bachelor’s degree in addition to the Normal School certification. For

instance, in 1878 out of 22 students recommended for graduation in the Normal Department, 11

were eligible to receive a bachelor’s degree as well.40

Bibb probably had Pres. Laws in mind when she delivered the paper Normal

Departments in State Universities at the 1880 NEA conference. She argues that state universities

were “established for a definite and very practical purpose” that must deal in “human affairs.”41

Moreover, she contends that “whatever arguments have secured recognition to schools of Law or

38
Ibid.
39
William Torrey Harris Papers. Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis. Letter dated April 4th, 1879.
40
Ibid
41
Grace C. Bibb, “Normal Departments in State Universities,” Paper presented at the National Education
Association Session, Chautauqua, NY NEA Proceedings, Salem, Ohio, 1880 (The Addresses and Journal of
Proceedings of the National Educational Association), 51
 10

of Medicine, apply with equal force…to schools of Pedagogy.”42 Outside her duties at the

university, Bibb was active in the NEA’s administration, as Secretary in 1879, Missouri Vice-

President in 79-80, and Missouri State Manager in 81-82. And, throughout her tenure at MU, she

remained in contact with Harris and the Philosophical society members and attended the

infamous sessions at Amos Bronson Alcott’s Orchard House in Concord, MA, where the likes of

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau waxed philosophically on transcendentalist

themes such as Neo-Platonism and Hegelianism. Bibb was not a bystander in this movement.

She avidly wrote about her two intertwined interests of philosophy and education. Bibb delivered

a lecture on the life of Arnold of Rugby, who was a reformer of education in England in the early

18th century, as part of a university wide public lecture series held in the MU chapel in the winter

of 1877-78. She concludes her biography of Rugby in a poetic manner, describing his impact

thusly:

The life of Arnold more almost than that of any other man of our times must be estimated
as a whole; not as that of a teacher though instruction was his delight; not as that of a
student though every day added to the rich treasures of his knowledge; not as that of a
clergyman though his chaplaincy was a veritable cure of souls, not as that of husband and
father though no domestic life was ever happier; not as that of Regis Professor at Oxford,
though here he found the crowning glory of his ambition, but as that of a man, most
worthy to be thus designated, embracing all these as its moments…43

The same could be said for Bibb herself. It is only through a holistic lens, covering as many

moments from her life as possible, that her legacy can shine brightly.

Though the date of their courtship is unknown, Bibb was married to Thomas K.

Sudborough, an Englishman, in 1882. Soon thereafter, Bibb resigned her position for “domestic

42
Ibid.
43
Grace C. Bibb, “Arnold of Rugby,” in University of Missouri Public Lectures by Members of the Faculty, 1878-
1879 (Columbia, MO: Statesman Book and Job Print, 1879), 261-262.
 11

reasons” and moved to Omaha, NE, with her husband.44 As evidenced by a memo recorded in

the minutes of a Board of Curators meeting, the university lamented her departure and expressed

their high appreciation for her work.45 MU historians unequivocally describe Bibb as “an able

administer of considerable energy and enthusiasm.”46 Unfortunately, Bibb’s legacy was quickly

undone. After her resignation in 1883, Pres. Laws shortened the program to 1 year, with plans to

abolish the program entirely. The College of Education “virtually ceased to exist” from 1883 to

1891 as there was no Model School, no preparatory department, and no clinical experience in

public schools for aspiring teachers.47

David R. McAnally, Jr., a Professor of English, was chosen to be Bibb’s successor. Dean

McAnally was ambivalent in his leadership and quickly resigned his post in 1885—returning to a

former position as literary editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He left the Normal School in

a precarious state. More broadly, the University of Missouri’s future in Columbia was never

assured. The habitation of the library by Civil War soldiers left the university in grave disarray.

Also, a fire destroyed the academic building in 1892, causing state legislators to question the

location of the school. Only in the latter half of President Jesse’s tenure (1891-1908) was MU’s

longevity was cemented, and under Dean of Education Albert Ross Hill’s active leadership the

College of Education prospered.

III) Late Career (Omaha), 1884-1912

Bibb may have missed Columbia, but her westward move to the developing city of

Omaha generated new battles to face in the field of education as well as newly acquired domestic

44
Board of Curators; Official Correspondence, Box 4, Folder 3a. University Archives (MU).
45
Ibid
46
Christopher J. Lucas, School of the Schoolmasters: A Brief History of the College of Education (Columbia, MO:
University of Missouri, 1989) 15.
47
Ibid.
 12

responsibilities. The latter presumably occupied much of her time for the first years in Omaha, as

she did not resume working in an official capacity in the schools until she was appointed

Principal of Normal Schools in 1890. Along with attending to the servants, Bibb began reading

the works of Rousseau, especially Emile (On Education). She developed an appreciation for his

work and wrote a short essay about his philosophy. As she had kept up her correspondence with

Harris, Bibb wrote to him on January 28th, 1884, asking if “a concise work on Rousseau

consisting in the main a brief ethical condensation of his chief works would find a market?”48

She also wrote a letter on February 7th, 1884, informing Harris that she had finished the essay

and asking for his assistance in finding a place to publish it. Since only the letters from Bibb

survived to the present time, it must be presumed that he never responded. This is evidenced by

Bibb’s letter dating March 11th, 1884, where she asks if Harris received the February 7th letter

and delicately expresses that a timely response would be beneficial as she has leisure time now,

but won’t in the spring “what with the house cleaning, a complicated change of servants…”49

Her friendship with Harris ended following this incident.

Possibly as a replacement for her activity with Harris and the Philosophical Society, Bibb

became heavily involved in the Omaha Women’s Club. Founded in the spring of 1893, the club

quickly gained popularity—150 members signed the constitution and began paying dues in May

of 1893.50 The Omaha Women’s Club was an outgrowth of a national trend. Writing in the late

19th century, Jane Cunningham Croly, the Honorary Vice-President of the General Federation of

Woman’s Clubs, described the women’s movement as a “means for the acquisition of

knowledge, the training of power; and the working of human solidarity, a comprehension of the

48
William Torrey Harris Papers. Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
49
Ibid.
50
Jane Cunningham Croly, The History of the Woman's Club Movement in America (New York: Henry G. Allen &
Co., 1898), 786.
 13

continuity of life….”51 It was a place where Bibb could indulge her interests in various topics by

heading departments in education and history as well as present papers to roomfuls of

intellectual, high society ladies. In addition, she was a member of the Nebraska state examining

committee (which conducted statewide teacher examinations) from 1885-87. As aforementioned,

she returned to the field of education in an official capacity in 1890. Soon thereafter, Bibb

contended with state legislators and the Nebraska Board of Education over the scale and

existence of the Normal School.

In 1892, the Nebraska Board of Education voted to abolish the Normal School.

Nevertheless, before the administrative machinery actually closed the school, a newly elected

Board voted to reestablish the Normal School a year later. 19 aspiring teachers attended the

school that year. To be admitted, students were required to pass an examination (if they had not

graduated from high school). To graduate, they were to complete one and a half years of

schooling that included the following subjects: mental and moral science, school economy,

educational history, physiology, drawing, music, calisthenics, and a review of common school

branches. Bibb avoided closure of the school, but was only able to maintain stasis. The following

year, on December 27, 1894, Bibb delivered a paper on “Child Study and the Professional

Training of Teachers” at the 29th Nebraska State Teachers’ Association meeting.52 The same

Omaha World Herald newspaper article that describes her paper also documents a meeting of the

Board of Education, in which members grappled with the question of whether an additional

normal school should be established in the state of Nebraska. While the chairman of the

committee was in favor of an additional normal school, the reporter notes that “the majority of

51
Croly, Preface.
52
Omaha World Herald vol. XXX 88, 7.
 14

the speakers seemed to think that one more normal school would not give the results expected.”53

The motion to allocate funds for an additional normal school was denied.

Not content with the existence of any normal schools, F. B. Lowe—a school board

member—filed an injunction suit in June of 1895, seeking to restrain the board from further

operation of the teacher’s training school. Although the injunction was maintained, Bibb

obtained a modification of the decree that permitted her to retain the school, “provided that there

be no expense for the Omaha school district.”54 The battle continued over the next year at school

board meetings. Lowe contended that the Normal School was revived illegally in 1893 and

argued that students in the school displaced experienced teachers, syphoned money from primary

and secondary schools, and that Bibb had “taken charge of school rooms.”55 The injunction was

finally dismissed in April of 1896. The training school was maintained by a vote of 10 to 5 and

Bibb was elected principal by a vote of 10 to 4. Normal Schools were challenged across the

country for financial reasons as legislatures and school boards alike perceived teacher education

as a superfluous expense. Accordingly, Bibb conceded that she would find alternative funds. It is

a given in contemporary American society that teachers should be required to have some sort of

prerequisite training and that is because Bibb and her fellow educational reformers insisted

teaching was a profession that required prerequisite skills. What is known as the “progressive era

(1890-1930s)” in the history of American education started in the 1890s, but there was a marked

rise in the number of schools in metropolitan areas as well as small towns after 1910 as the ideal

of universal education became the accepted presumption rather than the questioned hypothesis.

53
Ibid.
54
Omaha World Herald, “Mrs. Sudborough’s School, April 26, 1896 vol. XXXI 209, 2
55
Ibid.
 15

With her legal troubles resolved, Bibb turned her attention to seeking nomination for state

superintendent of schools. A run of newspaper articles in May of 1896 shows that the city was

enthralled with possibility of a woman in the highest role. Nevertheless, an article in the Omaha

World Herald that documents the results of the election fails to mention Bibb at all, stating that

“W.R. Jackson was the 8th man to occupy the office in Nebraska, beating Corbett.” It is

important to note that the newspapers of the time were cluttered spaces that included descriptions

of all the events in the city. Accordingly, the Women’s Club activities were documented

frequently, though not prominently. Bibb was mentioned approximately 80 times in the Omaha

World Herald from 1884 to her death in 1912, but her ability to wield significant, long lasting

power had been curtailed—not only by the rampant inequality between women and men, but by

the persistent inequality between education and other professions. Bibb tried her best to encroach

on what was believed to be the purview of men. In January of 1897, Bibb, along with Sophia H.

Barton, Frances M. Ford, Ella Penfold, and Clara S. Rosewater filed papers for the incorporation

of the Woman’s Building Company (whose purpose was to erect a building for the Women’s

Club). Although it is unclear whether the women were successful in their endeavor, the

incorporation of an all-women company was a major feat.

For unknown reasons, Bibb left her position as Principal of the Normal School to take on

the duties of a high school teacher in 1898. Perhaps the Normal School was once again

abolished, or maybe she recalled fondly her years of teaching in Illinois high schools. It is also

possible that she required a less stressful job as she reached the latter half of her 50s. Whatever

the reason, Bibb appears to have been satisfied with her role in the high school because she

continued to teach various subjects, including history, mathematics, physiology, and physical

geography-geology, for the next thirteen years. It was during her first year at the high school that
 16

Bibb’s husband was discharged from his position of Chief Clerk at the Pacific Express Company

for alleged embezzlement. A few months later, according to a newspaper report dating June 21st,

1898, Sudborough and W. F. Bechel, his former supervisor at Pacific Express, were arrested and

charged with embezzlement.56 There was speculation that sum of $2,000 was paid to the

Republican County Central Committee in Sudborough’s campaign for State Senator on the

republican ticket. Sudborough was acquitted of embezzlement on March 13th, 1899.57 Again

speculation is the only recourse here, but the incident likely had a negative impact on Bibb—if

not personally, then financially—because, as is indicated in a newspaper article from 1911,

Sudborough subsequently worked as a lowly cashier at Tracy Brothers.58 The trial did not affect

Bibb’s position in the Women’s Club, however. She ascended to the position of president in

1900. While it is evident that Bibb continued to teach and attended various teaching conventions,

she kept a lower profile in the last decade of her life (1902-1912).

Bibb died suddenly of unknown causes on September 16th, 1912. Her legacy was soon

muddied by factual inaccuracies and overly general tributes that compounded over time. Her

obituary read:

Mrs. Sudborough was a native of Missouri, highly educated, and prior to coming
Omaha twenty-five years ago, she had been first assistant of the head of the St.
Louis Normal School, and then dean of the normal of faculty of the Missouri State
University. She came to Omaha as a teacher in the high school. Later wedding
Thomas K. Sudborough then chief clerk of the Pacific Express company, who
survives her.59

Bibb’s obituary in the Omaha World Herald, which was printed over the course of three days

(September 17, 18, and 19) in various forms, states that she was a native of Missouri. Not only

56
Omaha World Herald vol. XXXIII 264, 1.
57
Indiana State Journal vol. LXXIV 11, 7.
58
“Sudborough Talks,” Omaha World Herald (September 23rd, 1911), 17.
59
“Obituaries,” Omaha World Herald vol. XXVIII 20.
 17

do more authoritative sources prove that she was born in Nelson, Virginia, she also lived in

Peoria, IL, for at least twenty years prior to moving to St. Louis in 1872.60 This seemingly

inconsequential inaccuracy proved to be extremely important in obscuring her legacy. In fact, not

one secondary source discusses her achievements in Peoria. Revelations such as these call into

question the narratives about Bibb’s life.

In this vein, historians who discuss Bibb in the course of charting larger historical

events—such as Rogers’ analysis of women in the St. Louis Movement, or Lucas’ history of

MU’s College of Education—neglect to investigate her life in detail. Rogers devotes half of a

chapter, a mere seven pages, to Bibb’s life and career and neglects to include a discussion of

important essays such as The English Novel—Its Art Value. Lucas’ tired description of Bibb as

“an able administrator of considerable energy and enthusiasm” and brief overview of her tenure

fail to detail her educational philosophy or her life before and after her deanship—a glaring

omission if compared to the sketches of other MU deans.61 Brief and overly general analysis of

Bibb’s tenure are not as concerning as the consistent inaccuracies in varied sources concerning

the dates and places she did certain things. For instance, both Rogers’ book and a website

maintaining a short (but comparatively comprehensive) biography of Bibb note that Bibb moved

to Omaha with Thomas K. Sudborough in 1884.62 Without giving the date of her marriage, the

implication is that she was married in 1884. The date of Bibb’s marriage was definitively

recorded in the Columbia Statesman and the Omaha World Herald as June 8th, 1882. Although

this paper corrects many of these inaccuracies, there is still plenty of research that needs to be

done, especially concerning her early years.

60
Census records in 1850 and 1860 list her as living in Peoria, IL.
61
Lucas,12.
62
Rogers, http://www.societyforthestudyofwomenphilosophers.org/Grace_C_Bibb.html
 18

What does this paper not address? It does not reveal Bibb’s personality or personal life

experiences. Nothing is known of her childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The personal

letters she wrote to Harris were deferential and therefore did not show her inner desires or

thoughts about life. Why did she become a teacher? How did she develop such strong

convictions about the importance of Normal Schools? How did she meet her husband? What did

she think about him? Was she upset when he was charged with alleged embezzlement and lost

his job? Without further evidence, these questions concerning her personal life may simply be

unanswerable.

IV) Conclusion

Considering the great strides that MU’s College of Education has undertook over the

last 150 years, it is befitting to investigate the individuals that contributed to the school’s legacy.

Though Grace C. Bibb-Sudborough faced daunting setbacks during her tenure, her efforts to

maintain pedagogical education were successful. While historians have looked kindly on her role

as “first woman dean,” no researcher of yet has completed critical, in-depth research of the

historical record, thereby unknowingly excluding her other accomplishments in secondary

literature. Consequently, Bibb currently stands as a mere figure holder in the timeline of female

firsts, rather than a fully-fleshed out individual who contributed to the advancement of education

and philosophy in America over the course of her entire lifetime. It was telling to read her job

negotiation letter to Pres. Laws in which she gives no indication that the position was

groundbreaking.63 Instead of groveling for a potential job at MU, she relegates the decision to

one of simple mathematics—$2000 or find somebody else. This finding is but one of many

63
It seems that she was not initially hired as Dean. It is possible that she may have thought about the job differently
had “Dean” been in play from the start, but I doubt it. The position she was hired for was “Professor of Pedagogy,”
which in the contemporary mind is a higher title than that of “teacher of pedagogy,” but at the time state universities
did not have high reputations like they do today.
 19

extrapolated from primary source materials, but there is more work to be done. For instance, it

would be a wonderful contribution if a future researcher could thoroughly search through the

historical society archives in Peoria, IL, and Omaha, NE, to see if those repositories have any

pertinent information about Bibb.64 Furthermore, if all the known information contained in

various cultural heritage institutions about Bibb was compiled in one collection, then it could

facilitate greater awareness about her life and her accomplishments. This would be in line with

what Paul Marty advocates for in his “Digital Convergence” essay. He envisions a future in

which libraries, archives, and museums pool resources and share information thereby helping

“cultural heritage organizations [to] collect, preserve, and disseminate the very information

resources that make these institutions more than a collection of records and objects, but the sum

total of what it means to be human.”65 Fortunately, that future is not far off. Digitization projects

are currently supported by large and powerful companies like Google and small repositories

alike. Continued digitization efforts that acknowledge the importance of archival collections and

implement policies that make those collections broadly accessible will result in a plethora of

insights about individuals, like Bibb, who were previously overlooked in secondary sources. And

this will, hopefully, enable a greater number of individuals and communities to understand that

individuals and communities different from their own are fully human, have unique value, and

deserve to be recognized with dignity.

64
Douglas County Historical Society
5730 N 30th St #11b, Omaha, NE 68111
Peoria Historical Society
611 SW Washington Street
65
Paul F. Marty, “Digital Convergence and the Information Profession in Cultural Heritage Organizations:
Reconciling Internal and External Demands,” Library Trends 62 no. 3, (Winter 2014), 625.

Appendix A: Grace C. Bibb-Sudborough’s Resume
GRACE C. BIBB-SUDBOROUGH’S RESUME, 1842-
1912
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
The Training to Citizenship, Illinois Teacher, November 1869
In the Vineyard, Illinois Teacher, December 1870
Course of Study of High Schools, Illinois Teacher, 1871
Women as Teachers, Journal of Education (St. Louis), 1873
The Theatre in Blackfriars, The Western, February 1875
Lady Macbeth, The Western, May 1875
Avenues into which Our Work Leads Us, The Western,
December 1875
Art as a Medium of Civilization, American Journal of
Education, 1876
The English Novel—Its Art Value, The Western, May 1876
Women as Teachers, American Journal of Education,
November 1877
Arnold of Rugby, UM Public Lectures, 1878-79
Normal Departments in State Universities, Journal and
Proceedings of NEA, 1880
The Education of the Public with Reference to Normal
Schools and Their Work, Education, July 1881
Educational Intelligence, Journal of Education, 1894
Rousseau, 1895
Children’s Interests, The Northwestern Journal of
Education, July 1896
What Children Imitate, The Northwestern Journal of
Education, July 1896
What They Say, Journal of Education 1898
LEADERSHIP
Member Illinois State Teachers Association, 1866
NEA Missouri Vice-President, 1879-80
NEA Officer, 1881-1882
NEA Missouri State Manager, 1876-77, 1882-83
NEA Secretary for Louisville, 1877
NEA Secretary for Philadelphia Department of Normal
Schools, 1879
NEA Missouri State Director, 1881-82
President of The Society of Child Study, Library
Association of Nebraska, 1896
20
Officer of Library Committee of the Omaha Women’s
Club, 1897
Omaha Women’s Club Leader, 1900
Omaha Women’s Club Leader, Department of History,
1901
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Monthly Examinations—Do They Have Their Perfect Work?, Illinois State
Teachers Association, Decatur, August 1871
Relation of Art to Education, National Education
Association Convention, Minneapolis, August 4th, 1875
Women as Teachers, Minneapolis, August 1875
Attacks on Normal Schools, Louisville, Teachers’ National
Association, August 1877
Evening Session: What Shall We Read?, Missouri Valley
State Teachers Association, 1878
The Best Way of Arousing an Interest in Normal Work,
19th Annual Teachers’ Association Session, Columbia, MO,
July 1880
Child Study and the Professional Training of Teachers,
Nebraska Teachers’ Association 29th Meeting, December
27th, 1894
Child Study Session, Educational Convention Program,
Omaha, NE, June 28th-30th, 1898
WORK EXPERIENCE
ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL (Peoria, Chicago, ?), High
School Teacher, 1860-1870 (exact start date unknown)
ILLINOIS NORMAL SCHOOL, Assistant Principal, 1870-
71
ST. LOUIS CITY SCHOOLS, High School Teacher, 1872-
73
ST. LOUIS NORMAL SCHOOL, Assistant Principal
1873-78
DEAN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI NORMAL
COLLEGE, 1878-83
OMAHA NORMAL SCHOOL, Principal, 1890-1898
OMAHA HIGH SCHOOL, Highschool Teacher, 1898-1911
(History, Mathematics, Physiology, Physical Geography-
Geology)
 Page 21

Bibliography

Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Schools, Volume 21. Saint Louis,
MO: Board of Saint Louis Public Schools, 1876.
https://books.google.com/books?id=V47FOicz0SsC
American Journal of Education, Volumes 7-11. Perrin & Smith, 1874.
https://books.google.com/books?id=FFR1En7_O8AC
Bibb, Grace C. “Arnold of Rugby.” In University of Missouri Public Lectures by Members of the
Faculty, 1878-1879, 239-262. Columbia, MO: Statesman Book and Job Print, 1879.
Bibb, Grace C. "Avenues into which our Work Leads Us.” The Western Review 1 (1875).
Bibb, Grace C. “Course of Study for High Schools.” The Illinois Teacher 17 (1871), 173-184.
https://books.google.com/books?id=v109AQAAMAAJ
Bibb, Grace C. “The English Novel; Its Art Value.” The Western 2 (1876), 257-278.
https://books.google.com/books?id=offVAAAAMAAJ
Bibb, Grace C. "Educational Intelligence.” Journal of Education 40, no. 24 (1894), 416-18.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44044997.
Bibb, Grace C. "Education of the Public as to Normal School Education.” Journal of Education
1 (1880).
Bibb, Grace C. “In the Vineyard.” The Illinois Teacher 16 (1870), 79-83.
https://books.google.com/books?id=bz0dAQAAIAAJ
Bibb, Grace C. "Lady Macbeth: A Study in Character." The Western Review 1 (1875).
Bibb, Grace C. “Monthly Examinations—Do They Have Their Perfect Work?” The Illinois
Teacher 17 (1871), 298-300. https://books.google.com/books?id=v109AQAAMAAJ
Bibb, Grace C. "Normal Departments in State Universities". Address to the National
Education Association. Chautauqua, New York, 1880.
Bibb, Grace C. “The Relation of Art to Education.” Addresses and Journal of Proceedings of the
National Educational Association by Grace C. Bibb. Minneapolis: NEA (1875), 32-40.
Bibb, Grace C. "What They Say." Journal of Education 48, no. 15 (1898): 251.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44051733
Bibb, Grace C. "Women as Teachers." Journal of Education 6, no.1 (1873).
Board of Curators Collection. University Archives. Columbia, MO.
Bulletin Missouri State Teachers' Association, Volumes 2-3. Missouri State Teachers
Association. 1916-1917. https://books.google.com/books?id=w08wAQAAMAAJ
Croly, Jane Cunningham. The History of the Woman's Club Movement in America. New York:
Henry G. Allen & Co., 1898.
Dykeman, Therese B. 2006. "America's First Women Philosophers: Transplanting Hegel, 1860-
1925." Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 42, no. 1: 164-167.
Gould & Aldrich's Annual Directory of the City of St. Louis, 1872-1878. Missouri Digital
Heritage Collections.
http://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16795coll7/id/4121
Holmes, James H. The Addresses and Journal of Proceedings of the National Educational
Association 17. National Educational Association (U.S.), 1881.
https://books.google.com/books?id=U04XAAAAYAAJ
Kurt F. Leidecker Collection, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
The Illinois Teacher: Devoted to Education, Science and Free Schools, Volume 13. The Illinois
Education Association, 1867.
 Page 22

The Illinois Teacher: Devoted to Education, Science and Free Schools, Volume 16. The Illinois
Education Association, 1870. https://books.google.com/books?id=bz0dAQAAIAAJ
Lucas, Christopher J. School of the Schoolmasters: A Brief History of the College of Education.
Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, 1989.
Marty, Paul F. “Digital Convergence and the Information Profession in Cultural Heritage
Organizations: Reconciling Internal and External Demands.” Library Trends 62 no. 3, (Winter
2014), 613-627.
National Education Association of the United States. 50th Anniversary Volume, 1857-1906.
Winona: MN: The Association, 1907.
https://books.google.com/books?id=QMQwAQAAMAAJ
New England Journal of Education, Volumes 9-10. Thomas W. Bicknell (publisher), 1879.
https://books.google.com/books?id=uuhEAQAAMAAJ
Omaha Obits: Obits from Omaha and Surrounding Areas. Accessed October 5, 2017.
https://omahaobits.wordpress.com/stp-stz/
“Population of Virginia, 1840,” Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and
Social Research http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1840numbers.html.

Report Board of Public Schools, St. Louis, 1870-71. Missouri History Museum Archives, St.
Louis.
Rogers, Dorothy G. America’s First Philosophers: Transplanting Hegel, 1860-1925. New York:
Continuum, 2005.
Rogers, Dorothy G. Women in the St. Louis idealist movement, 1860-1925. N.P.: Bristol,
England : Thoemmes, 2003.

Ronda, Bruce. "The Concord School of Philosophy and the Legacy of Transcendentalism." The
New England Quarterly 82, no. 4 (2009): 575-607.
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/stable/25652051
“SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics.” SAA Council. May 2011. Accessed
November 15, 2017.
https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics
Scharf, J. Thomas. History of St. Louis City and county, from the earliest periods to the present
day: including biographical sketches of representative men. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts,
1883.
Saint Louis Philosophical Society Record Book, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
Saint Louis, Missouri, Board of Education Records, Missouri History Museum Archives,
St. Louis.
Society for the Study of Women Philosophers, Inc. Lindemann, Kate. Accessed September 10,
2017. http://www.societyforthestudyofwomenphilosophers.org/Grace_C_Bibb.html
State Historical Society of Missouri Archives. Columbia, MO.
Stephens, Frank F. A History of the University of Missouri. Columbia, MO: University of
Missouri Press, 1962.
Susan Blow Lectures, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX4C-P7Z : 12 April 2016), Grace Bibb in
entry for Mary Bibb, 1860.
 Page 23

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch

(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M856-4F5 : 12 April 2016), Grace C Bibb in
household of Ge W Bibb, Peoria City, Peoria, Illinois, United States; citing family 97,
NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d.).
William R. Carter Papers (1867-1917). State Historical Archives of Missouri, Columbia.
William Torrey Harris Concord School of Philosophy Scrapbook, 1879-1887. Concord Free
Public Library Special Collection, Concord, MA.
William Torrey Harris Papers. Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.