There was a great clamor of voices when Wesleyan Female College was founded in Macon, Georgia, in 1836. That year, girls who had yet to receive a proper college education could enroll.
The reason was practical because women did not work in the public arena and were confined to home and farm duties. The education received in the field schools was geared towards farming. For example, if you dug a ditch 10 feet x 10 feet and 20 feet deep, how much cement would be required to fill the hole?
In other words, farming included the construction of homes, barns, stables, coops, etc. We think of a farmer standing behind a mule or horse, plowing in a great sweat. The early settlers to the Georgia Colony were virtually poor, as evidenced by the free passage given by the Trustees. They suffered drought and famine years, and by 1742, a large group of settlers had defied their agreement with the Trustees and had run away to Charleston, South Carolina. General James Oglethorpe remained in the Colony for fifteen years and went unrewarded by King George for winning the land war in Georgia with Spain (the War of Jenkin’s Ear).
The slave population was not allowed in the Colony of Georgia until about 1755 when the Trustees turned the Colony over to King George.
The earliest known school in Georgia was Bethesda Orphanage in Savannah.
The Macon Telegraph published many articles concerning the avid desires of the male population to educate their women. Chartered as the Georgia Female College on December 23, 1836, Wesleyan was founded through the efforts of a group of Macon citizens and the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as evidence of their concern for women's education. Ninety women were enrolled in the first classes.
After Wesleyan, other female academies were opened throughout the state.
Genealogy Tips:
The names of the 1850 class of Wesleyan students were listed on the 1850 Bibb County, Georgia Census. Other than that, the early records of students did not survive.
Memoirs of Georgia, published in 1895 in Atlanta, was the work of the Georgia Historical Society. Its two volumes contained detailed records of family histories. This is a superb reference to finding ancestors during the 1800s. Surprisingly, most families sent their sons abroad, to England or Scotland, to receive a collegiate education.
The Macon Telegraph, founded in 1826, published news for central Georgia. Coupled with national news, news of marriages, deaths, and local and world events, it is informative for historians and genealogists. Be sure to read every page; news is printed throughout, even on the advertisements page!
Learn if your families are listed in the old wills and estates. Click below:
Bibb - Georgia Pioneers
Bibb County Probate Records and Genealogy Bibb County was created on Dec. 9, 1822, from portions of Jones, Monroe…georgiapioneers.com
5. The Washington Memorial Library in Macon, Georgia, features an extensive microfilm collection and books.
6. Search old newspapers for notices of academies and schools. Graduations included class photographs and names!