Grace A. Mapps

Grace A. Mapps
Bornc. 1835
Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJune 11, 1897 (aged 62)
Burlington, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placeLebanon Cemetery, Philadelphia
EducationMcGrawville College, graduated 1852
Occupation(s)Educator, administrator, poet
Employer(s)Institute for Colored Youth, 1852/3–1864/5
OrganizationSociety of Friends
RelativesSarah Mapps Douglass (cousin)
Grace Douglass (aunt)

Grace A. Mapps (c. 1835 – June 11, 1897)[1] was an American educator, administrator and poet,[2] who may have been the first African-American woman to graduate with a four-year college degree.[3] Mapps graduated from New-York Central College at McGrawville in 1852, but the type of degree she received (if any) is not recorded.[4] As such, Mary Jane Patterson is widely regarded as the first African-American woman to graduate with a four-year bachelor's degree.[3] Understandings of Mapps' achievements are also complicated by regular confusion with relatives Sarah Mapps Douglass and Grace Douglass, both of whom were prominent activists and educators.[2]

  1. ^ "Died". Philadelphia Inquirer. June 15, 1897.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Jessie Carney (1996). Notable Black American Women. New York: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b "Aramini Oxford African American National Biography". sites.google.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Stanton, Glenn T. (February 25, 2019). "The First Female African-American Scholars". Daily Citizen. Retrieved March 26, 2021.