Mother Mathilda Beasley, O.S.F. Marker

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Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Mother Mathilda Beasley, O.S.F.
Georgia's First Black Nun

Mother Mathilda Beasley, O.S.F. Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Mike Stroud, March 2008

1. Mother Mathilda Beasley, O.S.F. Marker

Inscription. Mathilda Taylor was born in 1834 in New Orleans, and came to Savannah as a young woman. She taught black children in her home before the Civil War, when it was still illegal. She married Abraham Beasley, a successful black businessman, in 1869. After the death of her husband in 1877, Mrs. Beasley journeyed to York England around 1885 to study as a nun, a Poor Clare, a branch of the Franciscan sisters. She returned to Savannah and established an orphanage in 1886 which became the St. Francis Home in 1892. In 1889, Sister Mathilda founded the first group of black nuns in Georgia which were of the 3rd order of St. Francis and became known as `Mother Mathilda.` Under her direction, this small order ran the orphanage for several years until it dispersed, Mother Mathilda gained help from the Church for her orphanage and in 1899, took the habit of the Franciscans and continued working at the orphanage. In 1901, she was given a cottage near the Sacred Heart Church to which she had earlier given her husband`s landholdings. She began to sew in her home and give the proceeds to poor blacks. On Dec. 20, 1903, the much beloved "Mother Beasley" was found dead kneeling in the cottage`s private chapel. Nearby were her burial clothes, funeral instructions and will.

Erected 1988 by Georgia Historic Marker. (Marker Number 025-104.)

1707 Bull Street and Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Mike Stroud, March 2008

2. 1707 Bull Street and Marker

Home of the Mother Beasley Society, Sacred Heart Parish.

Location. 32° 3.611′ N, 81° 5.955′ W. Marker is in Savannah, Georgia, in Chatham County. Marker is on Bull St, on the right when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1707 Bull St, Savannah GA 31401, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lawton Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Georgia Infirmary (approx. 0.2 miles away); British Evacuation (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Georgia Volunteer (approx. 0.3 miles away); Birthplace of Eighth Air Force (approx. 0.3 miles away); Saint Phillips Monumental A.M.E. Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); Nina Anderson Pape (approx. 0.5 miles away); Charity Hospital and Training School for Nurses (approx. 0.5 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Savannah.

Also see . . .
1. Georgia Women of Achievement. "Mother Beasley" was honored in 2004 as an important women of Georgia's history by the Georgia Women of Achievement organization. A picture and brief biography of Mathilda Taylor Beasley is included on this site. (Submitted on March 7, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. Mother Matilda Beasley. A photograph and brief biography of Mother Matilda Beasley, hosted by the Georgia Historical Society. It includes several additional links, for educational use, that provide insight and information into Mother Beasley's life and times. (Submitted on March 7, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.)