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Delphine Feminear Thomas

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Delphine Feminear Thomas
A middle-aged white woman, smiling, with grey hair in curls.
Delphine Feminear Thomas, from a 1941 newspaper.
Born
Delphine Feminear

October 1, 1890
Bay Minette, Alabama
DiedJuly 22, 1963
Auburn, Alabama
Other namesMrs. A. L. Thomas
OccupationEducator

Delphine Feminear Thomas (October 1, 1890 – July 22, 1963) was an American educator and civic leader in Auburn, Alabama.

Early life

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Delphine Feminear was born in Bay Minette, Alabama, the daughter of Joseph Feminear and Delphine Byrne Feminear. She graduated from Troy State Normal School in 1910.[1][2] She attended a summer program for teachers at the University of Alabama in 1914.[3]

Career

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Feminear was a high school teacher in rural Pike County, Alabama as a young woman.[4][5] In 1913 she became principal of a school in Edgewater, a mining community near Birmingham.[6] In 1915 she presented a paper on "Homes for Rural Teachers", and was elected vice president of the Alabama Educational Association, and the association's meeting in Montgomery.[7] From 1919 Thomas was an assistant in the English department at Auburn University.[8][9] While at Auburn, she volunteered as a nurse during the 1918 flu pandemic.[10] She taught junior high school at the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education in Fairhope in 1930.[11]

Thomas organized Auburn's first Girl Scout troop and the first girls' 4-H Club programs,[12] and was active in politics,[13] the Alabama Congress of Parents and Teachers,[14] Auburn Methodist Church, and American Red Cross work.[15][16] Her 1938 essay, "Some Facts About the Alabama Poll Tax Laws", was printed in newspapers statewide.[17][18] She served on the Alabama State Personnel Board from 1941 to 1953.[19][20][21] "She has made herself a place in the grateful affections of thousands who live in the rural districts on account of her work with canning clubs and in supervising rural schools," according to a 1916 report.[22]

Personal life

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In 1916, Delphine Feminear married engineering professor Albert Lee Thomas (1885–1963). They had a son, Albert Lee Thomas Jr. (1923–1996), and a daughter, Delphine Thomas Cain.[20][23] She died in Auburn in 1963, a few weeks after her husband, aged 72 years.[24][25] In 1977, Thomas was nominated for the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame, as a notable educator and community leader.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Troy University (1919). The Palladium 1919. Troy University Archives. Troy University. p. 101 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "State Normal Class of 1910 Holds Reunion". The Montgomery Advertiser. 1940-06-02. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Alabama, University of (1914). Catalogue. University of Alabama. p. 183.
  4. ^ Duncan, L. N. (1911). "What Constitutes Successful Work in Agriculture in the High School". Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the 1st-25th Annual Meeting of the Southern Educational Association: 535–536.
  5. ^ Ziegler, Edith (2010-10-06). Schools in the Landscape: Localism, Cultural Tradition, and the Development of Alabama's Public Education System, 1865-1915. University of Alabama Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8173-1709-6.
  6. ^ "Notes and Personal". The Baldwin Times. 1913-10-23. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Publications of Associations". Bulletin, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 49: 3. December 1915.
  8. ^ Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (1916). Catalogue of the State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. The College. p. 8.
  9. ^ "List of Faculty Members". Auburn University, 1856-1956. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  10. ^ "Letter of Appreciation". The Selma Times-Journal. 1918-11-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Organic School Notes". Fairhope Courier. 1930-05-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "4-H Club Work Leads the Way in Alabama". Greene County Democrat. 1949-08-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Women Voters for Hill in the Senate Race". The Baldwin Times. 1937-12-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "The Women Tell Us". The Cullman Tribune. 1938-11-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Red Cross Holds Annual Meeting Here and Elects New Officers". Opelika Daily News. 1960-06-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Hall of Fame Women Nominated". The Selma Times-Journal. 1977-03-27. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Thomas, Delphine F. (1938-11-24). "Some Facts About the Alabama Poll Tax Laws". The Union-Banner. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Thomas, Delphine F. (1938-12-01). "Some Facts about Alabama's Poll Tax Laws". The Ashland Progress. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Named by Dixon". The Cherokee County Herald. 1941-02-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Mrs. Thomas Rites Today". The Montgomery Advertiser. 1963-07-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Woman Will Succeed Hall". The Decatur Daily. 1941-01-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Wedding Bells". The Baldwin Times. 1916-07-27. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Auburn Professor Buried Last Monday". The Baldwin Times. 1963-06-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Mrs. A. L. Thomas Dies in Hospital". The Baldwin Times. 1963-07-25. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "A Great Lady Passes". The Baldwin Times. 1963-08-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
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