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Grace Morris Allen Jones papers

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: IWA0277

Scope and Contents

The Grace Morris Allen Jones papers date from 1927 to 1975 and contain 6 photocopied items. The papers include a photocopied section from Who's Who in Colored America (1927), three newspaper clippings about Jones, an article that Jones wrote for The Palimpsest about her grandparents, Harry and Charlotta Pyles, and a dedication address Jones presented at the Piney Woods Country Life School.

Dates

  • Creation: 1927-1975

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Originals of these papers are housed at the Piney Woods Country Life School. To quote from these materials, please request permission from Angela Stewart, Piney Woods Country Life School Archives, P.O. Box 92, Piney Woods, Mississippi 39148.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Grace Morris Allen Jones, educator, was born in Keokuk, Iowa on January 7, 1876 and grew up in Burlington, Iowa. Allen was the grandaughter of Charlotta Pyles, a formerly enslaved woman from Kentucky who moved to Iowa upon gaining her freedom, became an abolitionist lecturer, and assisted fugitives from slavery in her Keokuk home.

In 1902, Allen established the Grace M. Allen Industrial School in Burlington for African-American students. The school was so successful that white students began to attend. Allen employed both African-American and white teachers. She closed the school in 1906.

In 1912, she married Dr. Laurence Jones, a University of Iowa graduate who founded the Piney Woods Country Life School in Piney Woods, Mississippi. Grace Jones was proficient at fundraising for the Piney Woods School and also taught laundry, sewing, domestic science, weaving and textiles, and basketry courses there. Jones was a member of the Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. As part of her club work, she taught the women of the area about child rearing and nutrition.

Jones was deeply involved in women's issues and was particularly concerned about the welfare of children. She led an effort to establish a training school for African-American children, which resulted in the founding of a school by the Mississippi State Federated Colored Women's Clubs in 1928. That institution, based in Learned, Mississippi, eventually was purchased by the State of Mississippi and renamed Oakley School. Jones was also concerned about health care and sanitation issues, particularly the number of tuberculosis cases among blacks in the same state. In 1923, she organized a state conference on health and welfare. She died from the after-effects of pneumonia in 1928.

Extent

0.25 linear inches

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Burlington, Iowa born educator and wife of Dr. Laurence C. Jones, founder of Piney Woods Country Life School in Piney Woods, Mississippi.

Arrangement

One folder, shelved in SCVF.

Method of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 380) were donated by the Piney Woods Country Life School in 1996.

Related Materials

Additional information on Grace Morris Allen Jones is housed at the Piney Woods Country Life School Archives, Piney Woods, MS 39148. Phone: (601) 845-2114.

Author
Kristen Rassbach, 1997; Kathryn M. Neal, 1998.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)